Chapter 16

Fu Jingyuan always felt that God had been unfair to him.

For example, he was doing well at the Manchurian branch when he was suddenly transferred back to the head office in Beiping to cover news. The reason, he later learned, was that the branch manager's brother-in-law had taken his position in Fengtian, since his brother-in-law's wife's family was there. Covering news was fine, as it was his specialty, but he also faced exclusion from his former colleagues, and everything went wrong for him. After enduring this frustration for more than half a year, he became disheartened and resigned, returning to his elder brother's side.

In Xi'an, he couldn't afford to be bad; as the only younger brother of the provincial chairman, he was treated with superiority wherever he went. However, this didn't change his dejected mood. Fu Yangshan had always believed in the saying "brothers fight together, fathers and sons go to war together," so seeing his brother finally settle down, he devoted himself to cultivating him, taking him to every occasion. This almost drove Fu Jingyuan to the brink of running away from home again. Fu Yangshan got angry, gave him a severe scolding, and threatened him financially. Only then did Fu Jingyuan realize reality, knowing he had nowhere to run, and had no choice but to accept his fate, absentmindedly following Fu Yangshan to social events every day.

A month ago, he knew that guests would be staying at the Garden Mansion. He hadn't paid much attention at the time. The world was in chaos, especially with the establishment of a state in Manchuria, making the situation even worse. Every month, politicians and dignitaries fled to Xi'an seeking refuge. For a time, Xi'an was teeming with distinguished guests, especially generals, though they usually had few soldiers under their command, essentially commanders without troops. Therefore, he didn't even bother to hum a tune when he heard Fu Yangshan's words. Later, when he heard there was a dance party that evening, his interest was piqued. He had been pursuing the youngest daughter of the great poet Yan Zhenchan for two months, and a dance party was a perfect place for open flirting.

The dance wouldn't start until after dinner, and the lawn would be dark without lights. How could he invite Miss Yan for a walk then? Thinking of this, he immediately called the electrician to discuss how to run electrical wires from the house to the lawn. Just as they had a rough idea, the old gatekeeper came running and called him out.

He walked reluctantly, so he deliberately slowed his pace. Reaching the building, he casually glanced up and saw a tall man standing next to his elder brother. The man was in military uniform, his cap pulled low, and he was speaking to someone with his head tilted to the side, so for a moment, he couldn't make out the man's face clearly, only vaguely recognizing him. When his elder brother pointed at him and spoke, their eyes met, and their expressions instantly changed.

Compared to the modern and handsome young man he remembered, Rong Xiang had clearly changed. The military uniform hung neatly on him, making him appear even thinner. His face was still delicate and fair, but his lips were bloodless, making him look like a jade statue, with a sickly, lifeless air.

"Fu Jingyuan?"

He heard Rong Xiang utter those three words with a surprised yet seemingly gritted teeth.

Oh, you remember me?

Fu Jingyuan deliberately adopted a distant attitude, only nodding and smiling faintly: "Rongxiang, it's been a long time. What a coincidence that we meet here."

Fu Yangshan was clearly puzzled: "How come... you two know each other?"

Rong Xiang withdrew his smile and turned to Fu Yangshan, saying, "Back when your younger brother worked at a newspaper in Fengtian, we met a few times."

"Oh my—that's wonderful! So you two are old acquaintances. That's great. Since you're new here these days, Jingyuan can show you around. Jingyuan, you never even mentioned it to me, really!"

Fu Jingyuan frowned: "I didn't know it was him. Why are you saying this out of the blue?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Yangshan felt that his attitude was rather rude, but he didn't want to say anything in front of others, so he turned back to Rong Xiang and continued chatting and laughing.

Fu Jingyuan turned and left. He felt a surge of excited anger, an emotion that made him want to immediately hide away in a secluded place to quietly ponder how to deal with this heartless and ungrateful friend.

Since the guests had come from afar, they must have had poor meals on the train. Therefore, the dinner started at three o'clock.

Rong Xiang didn't seem tired at all; at the dinner table, he was still able to chat and laugh as he handled the toasts from the high-ranking officials. Fu Jingyuan watched coldly from another table; he hadn't known before that Rong Xiang was such a heavy drinker.

After several rounds of drinks, everyone was slightly tipsy, but their spirits were high. Fu Yangshan stood up and delivered a passionate toast, expressing the heroic spirit of a soldier. Under the influence of alcohol, Rong Xiang also stood up, leaning on Fu Yangshan's shoulder, repeatedly shouting "Restore Manchuria!" Then, the lone commanders present joined in, chanting a few incoherent slogans, creating an atmosphere befitting wartime, as if they were about to go straight to the battlefield after leaving the table.

Fu Jingyuan watched indifferently. He knew it was all an act, his elder brother was acting, Rong Xiang was acting, and he didn't know who they were putting on a show for. "Liberate Manchuria"? They'd already been driven out by the Japanese, and they still wanted to "liberate Manchuria"? Ridiculous!

Fu Jingyuan found the dinner party very difficult. The man surnamed Rong was sitting not far from him; with just a glance, he could see his profile—a very beautiful profile, his fair cheeks subtly flushed with a blush, a picture of radiant beauty!

...Traitors! Vulgar and boring politicians! Warlords who prey on the people!

I can't believe I was with a man like that... I was in a relationship with him!

Fu Jingyuan lowered his head, feeling ashamed as he recalled the last letter he had sent.

By the time the banquet ended, it was indeed already dark.

The ladies and young women of Xi'an's so-called high society arrived in their family cars. Regardless of the political situation, the ball was always a joyous occasion. As the band began playing the first waltz, Fu Jingyuan and Yan Guanglin walked arm in arm onto the dance floor. Looking past Yan Guanglin's glossy black curls, he noticed Rong Xiang swaying in a corner of the dance floor with the most beautiful Miss Chen in his arms. From the beginning of the ball until now, Rong Xiang had clearly been attracting a lot of attention from the girls. This was normal; no girl could resist the allure of a handsome military officer. And Rong Xiang clearly possessed all the qualities of a handsome military officer.

But before the dance was over, Rong Xiang suddenly leaned down and said something to Miss Chen, then turned and left the dance floor, heading upstairs. He walked quickly, followed by an attendant in a black suit, whom Fu Jingyuan vaguely recognized as Xiao Meng. Looking at Miss Chen standing alone in the corner of the dance floor, she seemed to pause for a moment, then raised her eyebrows, lifted her long skirt, and huffed as she walked back to her seat.

"What are you looking at?" Yan Guanglin suddenly asked.

Fu Jingyuan then realized that he had been so focused on Rong Xiang's movements that he had neglected Miss Yan beside him. He quickly smiled and explained, "I'm sorry, I was just curious why Rong Xiang didn't jump down with Miss Chen. That's really rude of him."

Yan Guanglin raised an eyebrow knowingly, as if she knew everything: "It must be because of that!"

What is that?

"Don't you know?"

"What?"

“My third brother told me that Rongxiang seems to be heavily addicted to morphine. When he first arrived at your house, he couldn’t even get out of the car because he was having withdrawal symptoms. He only recovered after getting an injection.”

Fu Jingyuan felt a slight ache in his facial muscles, as if he was about to lose control of his smile: "Oh? Is that so?"

Yan Guanglin nodded. She knew what her third brother meant by telling her this. That man surnamed Rong did indeed look charming, and he was still unmarried. If someone fell in love with him without knowing his background, things would get complicated later.

That was her perspective. In fact, Yan Laosan had another worry: his younger sister was quite beautiful, and if Rongxiang took a liking to her, things would be even more complicated. Therefore, he secretly ordered his wife to keep an eye on his sister and prevent her from appearing before Rongxiang.

When the music ended, everyone returned to their seats to rest and chat. At this moment, Rong Xiang reappeared downstairs. He had changed into a gray suit, which gave him a different kind of charm compared to his military uniform. He walked briskly to Miss Chen's side, said something with a grin, which made Miss Chen glare at him reproachfully, but then couldn't help but chuckle.

Fu Jingyuan couldn't stand it any longer and turned to Yan Guanglin with a smile, saying, "It's all messy and boring here. How about we go for a walk?"

Yan Guanglin nodded: "Okay, it is indeed very hot here."

The ball ended at midnight.

On the lawn illuminated by colored lights, Fu Jingyuan successfully confessed his feelings to Yan Guanglin. Yan Guanglin tried her best to appear indifferent, but the flickering lights revealed her blushing. The Yan family had been proponents of Westernization for generations, and although Yan Guanglin was young, she had studied in England for two years, developing a unique and independent style, always seeming indifferent to everything. But she was, after all, still a girl, and facing a handsome man like Fu Jingyuan, with his somewhat scholarly air, she found it difficult to remain unmoved.

Although she didn't have any special feelings for Fu Jingyuan.

Fu Jingyuan, however, lacked the ability to read people's minds. Seeing that Yan Guanglin didn't seem to dislike him, he figured he'd probably succeeded. He attentively and considerately saw her into the car, and the two said goodnight to each other through the car window. Even after the car had driven away, Fu Jingyuan still stood there, gazing at her longingly.

Rongxiang passed by him, letting out a cold laugh. He immediately turned around and glared at him, but the other man was already far away.

Xiao Meng stood alone at the table, organizing the syringes in her suitcase.

He carries this suitcase everywhere he goes now. Injecting morphine has become his most important daily task. Because of his skillful hands, he can make people feel almost no pain when the needle pierces the skin.

He felt that Rongxiang couldn't be separated from him for even a moment now.

He truly couldn't live without Rongxiang. He remembered last month when he didn't hear Rongxiang's call, and when the servants summoned him into the room, he found Rongxiang lying on the ground, convulsing. After giving him an injection, Rongxiang gave him a thorough beating with a horsewhip.

He hadn't been beaten by Rongxiang in a long time, so after being whipped, he felt a bit nostalgic for his younger days.

"I'll teach you to run around like that!" Rong Xiang said fiercely. He hadn't realized that his physical strength was much weaker than before. Xiao Meng, however, had noticed it very quickly. Just a few dozen lashes and he was already panting?

The small, transparent glass vials were neatly arranged in a row, with several unopened syringes below. They were arranged with a sense of symmetry. He glanced back at the bed; Rongxiang's arm, which had just received an injection, lay naked on the blanket; he appeared to be asleep, his breathing heavy and steady.

Xiao Meng went over, helped him pull down his pajama sleeves, and then tucked his arm into the blanket.

He closed the box, turned off the light, and left.