Chapter 113 Like an older brother

The man's emotions were like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins. The anger from his earlier questioning had not yet dissipated, and now it was surging with uncontrollable violence.

Fu Jingchen narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled softly.

"Mr. Seren, my lover's and my private life is none of your business, is it?"

These barbed words instantly ignited Seren's anger. He raised his voice sharply, each word filled with suppressed grit and resentment.

"Who do you think you are, her lover!"

An identity obtained by threatening others with underhanded means is completely invalid!

As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Jingchen chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; instead, it seemed as if his eyes were covered with ice.

“Mr. Seren Anderson, that’s a rather unusual statement.”

"How could you think that? I've never pressured my lover."

"Is that right, Xiaoyi?"

Ruan Yi was a little confused, but she still nodded.

The girl's subconscious agreement struck the man hard, causing his already fragile nerves to snap.

Pain overwhelmed him like a tidal wave; the dull ache of rejection made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

The man suddenly swept the things off the edge of the table and roared.

"All of you, get out!"

The onlookers were so frightened by Seren's furious appearance that they fell silent. Upon hearing this, they hurriedly packed their things as if their lives depended on it and slunk out of the room, even closing the door carefully.

Only three people remained in the meeting room.

The man's chest heaved violently, his gaze fixed intently on Ruan Yi.

He practically rushed toward Ruan Yi, as if grasping at the last straw.

But Fu Jingchen was prepared. He stretched out his long arm and shielded Ruan Yi behind him, his broad body completely blocking her out. His tone was even more sarcastic and malicious.

"Mr. Seren, are you having an attack? Should I call a doctor to take a look at you?"

"Fu Jingchen, what are you still pretending for?"

The man's voice was terribly hoarse, carrying an almost desperate question.

The familiar tone of his voice and the tall, lean silhouette linked together the strange things "Serren" had done, as well as his stiff reactions.

Ruan Yi felt her heart suddenly clench, and even her breathing became erratic. She looked at the man in front of her who was out of control, her throat feeling dry.

After a long while, he managed to call out the name hidden behind Seren with difficulty and a trembling voice.

"Fu Wang...?"

The man's eyes welled up with tears almost instantly when he heard Ruan Yi call his name.

Even through that dazzlingly cut diamond mask, the reddish outline was strikingly clear, fragile yet scorching hot.

“Ruan Yi…” he began, his voice thick with sobs, resentment mingled in his tone, every syllable carrying pain and hurt.

"You promised me..."

Looking at the man's completely broken state, Ruan Yi felt a pang of indescribable bitterness in her heart.

Fu Wang's emotions were so turbulent and genuine that they almost invaded her thoughts.

But the next second, Ruan Yi thought of something, and a feeling of being more aggrieved than the other person welled up inside her.

She was the one who confessed first! It was Fu Wang who rejected her, saying he hadn't thought it through.

Why are you questioning her like this now?

The girl's eyes also reddened, and her voice was choked with anger.

"I did promise you and say it out loud, but didn't you reject me back then? Am I supposed to be a dutiful wife for you? What a pipe dream!"

Fu Jingchen immediately pulled the girl, whose eyes were red, into his arms, gently placing his hand on the top of her head and stroking it.

"Xiaoyi, ignore him."

He patted her back with his other hand, constantly comforting the sobbing girl.

Fu Wang watched this scene with his teeth almost grinding to powder.

Tears, which could no longer be stopped, fell in large drops.

Unseen water droplets overflowed from the empty eye sockets of the diamond mask, sliding down the edges of the mask and refracting a delicate yet melancholic light in the sunlight.

Fu Wang stood there, clearly in a disheveled state, but his back was ramrod straight, and even his tears were tinged with stubbornness.

Why would you think that about me?

The man's voice was terribly hoarse, filled with suppressed, surging emotions.

“I have never... never thought of asking you to do anything for me.”

"I just want to tell you the truth: all those words of rejection I said to you in the hospital room were lies! They were all against my will!"

Fu Wang clenched his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his chest heaved violently, as if something was about to burst out of his chest.

"If I could tell the truth... I should be the one standing next to you right now!"

"You should be my girlfriend, my lover! Not this—"

He glared fiercely at Fu Jingchen, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What a hypocrite!"

The last few words were almost shouted out, with a force of venting anger.

Fu Jingchen paused, looked up, and his gaze toward Fu Wang suddenly changed.

His gaze was like a frozen blade, gradually losing all its warmth, his pupils swirling with darkness, and his entire aura turning cold.

When Fu Wang's words reached Ruan Yi's ears, she froze, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Was that unprovoked refusal at the hospital a threat? Did he originally intend to agree?

Ruan Yi looked at the man's reddened eyes and the tear stains still wet on the diamond mask, feeling the pain that was so real it was almost overflowing.

Yeah... If Fu Wang didn't like her, why would he act like an idiot, wearing his emotions on his face and showing them on his body?

Ruan Yi felt a sudden discomfort in her chest. Before she could recover from the shock, Fu Jingchen suddenly tightened his arms, pulling her even closer into his embrace. His broad shoulders completely blocked her view of Fu Wang.

"Xiaoyi..." the man called her name softly.

Ruan Yi's thoughts instantly became a jumbled mess, but it was a fact that Fu Jingchen was now her boyfriend, and it was also a fact that she had feelings for him.

But Fu Wang's appearance was like a slap in the face, revealing the true feelings that had been hidden before, the pure and mutually attractive affection they once shared.

Feelings from different periods, stemming from the same body, collide at this moment, leaving her completely at a loss as to how to handle them.

She's not a time management expert!

A lump formed in her throat again. Ruan Yi sniffed and looked up at him with teary eyes.

"Fu Jingchen, is what he said true?"

The man reached out his large hand and gently cupped her face, his fingertips softly wiping away the tear stains on her cheeks, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.

"It's true."

Fu Jingchen spoke frankly, his voice low and earnest.

"I've said I'll always like Xiaoyi and always pursue Xiaoyi, and I'm not just saying it."

"When faced with a love rival, one will always do something a little less dignified."

Fu Jingchen gazed into her eyes, his tone carrying an almost pleading tone.

"Xiaoyi understands me, right?"

"But... even if you like me, you don't have to threaten others!"

Ruan Yi's sobbing tone suggested a hint of disapproval.

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, and said, word by word.

"It's more than just liking; it's more than Xiaoyi imagined."

I prefer small gestures.

As soon as she finished speaking, a gentle kiss landed on the corner of Ruan Yi's eye, as if to kiss away the remaining tear stains.

But just as their lips touched skin, Fu Wang suddenly rushed over, yanked Fu Jingchen away, and slammed his fist into his face with vicious force.

"You love her my ass! Stay away from her!"

Fu Jingchen's head was turned to the side by the blow, and blood immediately seeped from the corner of his lips. He slowly turned his face back, suddenly let out a cold laugh, and his eyes were filled with contempt.

"Fu Wang, do you think you can turn things around by relying on a stolen identity and playing these childish tricks?"

Fu Jingchen's words were sharp and unrestrained.

"No matter what you do, it still won't change the fact that you're a piece of trash."

“Serren Anderson? That identity was never yours.”

Fu Wang's eyes instantly ignited with a furious flame, mixed with despair and a ruthless determination, as if he were about to pounce on the attack and perish together with the attacker.

But then he suddenly twitched the corners of his mouth and let out a few short, self-deprecating laughs.

"Fu Jingchen, do you think these words can provoke me? I'm already used to the vicious words that come out of your mouth."

Fu Wang's gaze was fixed on Fu Jingchen, filled with a resolute determination to destroy everything.

"I don't care about anything else, but Ruan Yi isn't yours. The feelings you achieved through deception don't count at all!"

"Oh."

Fu Jingchen chuckled, his eyes suddenly turning fierce, and his fist, accompanied by a whistling wind, slammed back at Fu Wang's face.

With a muffled thud, Fu Wang staggered back a few steps, blood immediately trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"I was just lying to you, you idiot."

"It's never been about being careless."

Fu Jingchen cracked his fist, staring at him with a sinister look, his tone casual yet carrying absolute pressure.

"Want to fight me? You can try."

Fu Wang showed no fear, raised his hand and ripped open his suit jacket, revealing the tight shirt underneath.

With a flick of his arm, his jacket was thrown to the ground, his smooth shoulders and back instantly filling out his shirt, and the bulging muscles on his forearms rolled with the movement, the bulging veins throbbing beneath his pale skin.

"Do you think I'm still that naive kid you could easily manipulate?"

Fu Wang let out a cold laugh, his jawline taut and sharp, the childishness in his eyes long since worn away to the point of being numb and hard.

"You think your words can threaten me?"

"So what if I'm a stand-in?" He suddenly chuckled, his voice hoarse with a hint of self-mockery.

"I've never cared about these identities or these disguises." Fu Wang raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. The crimson stain on his fingertips only made his eyes look more sinister.

"He's just a stepping stone to get to her."

“Brother, I once thought I was really no match for you, and I was almost fooled by your few words.”

Fu Wang's gaze was fixed on Ruan Yi, and he couldn't help but frown as he looked at the girl's tear-reddened face.

"But now I've figured it out. It doesn't seem so hard to do anything for the person you love."

He deliberately imitated Fu Jingchen's tone of voice.

"How did I gain control of the Anderson family so quickly? I just need to learn your despicable methods back then."

Fu Wang lowered his voice to a very low hue, his tone carrying a self-deprecating tone devoid of emotion.

"Old Mr. Anderson will be lying half-dead in his hospital room now, and I'll just be like 'my dear brother' who locked me in his hospital room back then."

"To hurt others in the same despicable way."