Chapter 40
Early in the morning, Zhou Ying hurried to Fu Yu’s house, and as soon as she entered, she asked loudly, “Are you okay? What happened?”
She had received a call from Fu Yu last night and heard about his breakup with Xiao Yi. It had left her too shocked to sleep. Fu Yu’s voice had been calm, but the way he described it was almost incoherent. It had taken her quite some time to calm him down. However, her boyfriend had stormed into the bathroom, taking away her phone and interrogating her about who she was talking to. Their heated argument had kept them up most of the night.
Fu Yu’s face didn’t look good; it was evident he hadn’t slept all night, and his voice was hoarse. He said, “It’s my fault.”
He felt that he had kept Xiao Yi waiting for too long, and combined with the misunderstandings from the past few years, it was only natural for Xiao Yi to become disillusioned with him.
“Xiao Yi told you about the breakup himself? And he brought another woman into the house? Did you see it with your own eyes?” Zhou Ying bombarded him with questions.
Fu Yu simply responded with a subdued “yes.”
Zhou Ying was desperate. “No, how can you be so calm? Go and win him back!”
“He doesn’t like me anymore, so what’s the point?” Fu Yu said.
Zhou Ying, frustrated, said, “You and your straight male thinking! I guarantee that Xiao Yi still likes you. There must be some misunderstanding here!”
Fu Yu finally looked up, with redness in his eyes, and asked, “Really?”
“Absolutely! Listen to me; I won’t be wrong!” Zhou Ying exerted a lot of effort to analyze the various unreasonable aspects of the situation with Fu Yu and finally concluded, “Let’s go! I’ll take you to see what his attitude is. If I’m wrong, well, I’ll introduce you to a new partner. I guarantee they’ll be a thousand times better than Xiao Yi!”
Fu Yu thought for a moment and agreed. However, in his heart, there was no one better than Xiao Yi.
That night, the two of them went to a bar that Xiao Yi frequented. They were prepared for the possibility that Xiao Yi might not be there, but they were lucky; as soon as they entered, they spotted Xiao Yi sitting on a sofa in the corner, drinking with Alec, and no one else.
Xiao Yi’s gaze passed coldly over Fu Yu and Zhou Ying without stopping.
Seeing Xiao Yi like that, Fu Yu felt a sharp pain in his heart. He sat down at the bar with Zhou Ying without a word.
“Goodness, it’s been so many years, and he’s even more handsome. I almost couldn’t walk straight when I first saw him,” Zhou Ying marveled in a hushed voice. “I feel like all the women in the bar are secretly looking at him, and after you came in, half of them are watching you.”
“He’s always been quite popular,” Fu Yu said.
Zhou Ying sighed, “Why are all the good men with good men!”
Fu Yu had hardly been to a bar and wasn’t good at drinking. He ordered a glass of juice, and the bartender raised an eyebrow, finding it unusual for a man to order juice in this setting.
Fu Yu noticed that there were various bottles of alcohol placed on Xiao Yi’s table, and he asked the bartender, “Do the customers at that table often drink so much?”
The bartender looked and replied, “Sir, is this your first time here? Our regular customers know that the people at that table tend to drink a lot each time they come, although today they seem to have more bottles than usual.”
“Has he been coming here often these past few days?” Fu Yu asked.
The bartender smiled and said, “Sir, we don’t reveal too much about the customers’ privacy, but if you want to strike up a conversation with that gentleman, I advise against it. He doesn’t have a good temper.”
Fu Yu nodded and didn’t inquire further. Zhou Ying suggested, “Let’s forget about this. Fu Yu, why don’t we just go and ask him directly?”
Before Fu Yu could reply, the bartender suddenly asked, “Sir, is your name Fu Yu?”
Fu Yu raised an eyebrow, “Yes, why?”
The bartender looked surprised, “I’ve heard your name before. Young Master Xiao often mentions you whenever he comes here.”
Fu Yu was taken aback. “He talks about me?”
“Yes, Young Master Xiao started coming to our bar about two or three years ago. He always comes with a bodyguard, and they usually sit right here at the bar. I’ve heard them talk about you many times, or rather, Young Master Xiao seems to come here often because of you.”
Two to three years ago, which was when Xiao Yi had just returned to the country.
Curious, Zhou Ying asked, “What do you mean, he comes here because of him? How do you know?”
“You don’t need to see it; it’s quite obvious,” the bartender said with a wry smile. “Young Master Xiao keeps talking about how to win you over, why you don’t pay attention to him, and why it’s so tough and tiring to like you.”
Fu Yu felt a lump in his chest. “He… has he been coming here frequently?”
“He used to come here often, but he hadn’t been around for a while. Recently, he’s been coming almost every day,” the bartender blinked, “Forgive my bold guess, but it’s probably because of you.”
Fu Yu took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts and deciding what to say. He was about to turn toward Xiao Yi’s table, but suddenly, the bar’s entrance was pushed open with force.
Zhou Ying’s seat was directly facing the door, and she glanced casually at the newcomer. Her expression instantly changed.
Fu Yu, puzzled, followed her gaze. He saw a burly man with an angry expression charging towards them, and within a few steps, he reached them.
The man glared at them for half a second and suddenly, without warning, grabbed Fu Yu by the collar and raised his fist to strike him.
Everything happened so suddenly. Fortunately, Fu Yu had quick reflexes and decent strength. He raised his arm to protect his face, but the force of the blow still left him dazed, his head spinning as he slanted to the side. The impact left him disoriented, and his vision wouldn’t focus.
The man hadn’t expected Fu Yu to be this sturdy. His punch had hit Fu Yu’s arm, but it still hurt so much that he hissed in pain. Thinking of launching a second attack while Fu Yu was disoriented, he was suddenly yanked aside with a great force, his abdomen aching from a kick that sent him crashing into the bar counter. A row of glasses fell to the floor, shattering into pieces, with glass shards scattered everywhere.
“Looking for trouble?” Xiao Yi’s eyes turned crimson as he grabbed the man who had been thrown down and delivered another punch to his face. “Dare to touch him again and see what happens!”
Shaken from her initial shock, Zhou Ying shouted, “Xiao Yi, stop! Don’t hit him!”
However, Xiao Yi, in his fury, couldn’t hear her. The man, now covered in nosebleeds, refused to back down and got up to fight back, leading to a brawl. Seeing the chaotic scene, most of the other customers in the bar fled.
Fu Yu, who had gradually recovered from his dizziness, rushed forward to embrace Xiao Yi, trying to break up the fight. However, he was hit a few times on his back by the man before Xiao Yi noticed and attempted to intervene. In the midst of the scuffle, Fu Yu had had enough and shouted loudly, “Enough! Stop it!”
Xiao Yi was left stunned by the shouting, frozen in place. Slowly, he released his fists, but his chest continued to heave with anger.
Fu Yu glanced at Zhou Ying, who was now both angry and tearful while confronting the other man, and he had a general idea of the situation. This man was probably Zhou Ying’s jealous boyfriend who had misunderstood the situation between him and Zhou Ying, leading to the physical altercation.
“I’ll take him home, Ali. Can you handle things here?” Fu Yu asked, directing his words to Ali, who was standing nearby.
Ali hesitated for a moment, but when he observed the subtle tension between the two men, he figured that it would be better to let them have some time alone. He eventually agreed with a nod and said, “Sure.”
