Chapter 18 The Truth: "Do you want him to pay the price?"...
Fu Huaizhi's hand stroked the photograph, then followed her hand, closely observing her every change.
"When did this happen?" she asked, her anxious eyes fixed on the man.
"Probably before your postgraduate entrance exam interview," Fu Huaizhi said.
Song Luoyun's first reaction was disbelief. She couldn't understand the meaning of Fu Zeming's actions, since he had done so much for her studies.
Fu Huaizhi replied, "He conspired with your mother to instigate your doctoral supervisor, Zhang Ming, to tamper with your grades. Do I need to present all the evidence to you?"
She suddenly remembered his repeated question: "If I do something wrong, will you forgive me?"
She asked, "Does he... want me to go abroad with him?"
“Why can’t it be that he’s afraid he can’t control you, so he’s trying to belittle your value?” Fu Huaizhi brushed a stray strand of hair behind her head.
Song Luoyun refused to believe it.
Fu Zeming was her best friend. He never hesitated to trust and encourage her. He made her believe in herself countless times during her exam preparation period, but in the end, he was the one who ruined her.
She looked at the man, trying to find some evidence of slander in his eyes.
Fu Huaizhi then bit her lip.
Numbly accepting the kiss, he cupped her face, pressed his body between her legs, and kissed her passionately. But she felt nothing at all.
He wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips.
He said, "Do you want him to pay the price?"
Song Luoyun held his hand, but couldn't say a word.
"I will help you continue your studies, and I will make everyone who hurt you pay the price, how about it?" His voice was like poison, seducing her.
The man held a piece of paper in his hand, held it between two fingers, and put it into her pocket.
He tilted his head to look at her, his smile alluring.
She was breathing slowly, finding it hard to agree, but even harder to refuse. In her hesitation, he had already released her, his arm moving down to her slender ankle.
With a little force, I took off her high heels, picked up a pair of flat shoes that had appeared out of nowhere, and put them on her.
“The princess is beautiful even without high heels,” he said, taking a step back.
He then said, "Get yourself ready, and you'll be my partner for the second half."
...
Fu Huaizhi waited patiently for her at the door. Song Luoyun sat in front of the mirror looking at herself. Her face was covered in marks and looked messy.
I took a cotton pad to wipe the lipstick that had smudged at the corner of my lips, and then squeezed some foundation to cover it up, but if you look closely, there's still a trace of red.
She appeared before Fu Huaizhi in comfortable flat shoes, having seemingly erased most of the traces from his face, except for a trace of her lipstick under his lips.
He started to move, then suddenly took her hand, intending to go downstairs.
Song Luoyun tugged at him forcefully and asked, "Can I go back first?"
"Once you're here, do you have the right to leave on your own?" Fu Huaizhi asked her calmly.
She sighed softly, then said, still unwilling to give up, "I don't want to go downstairs. Can I wait for you here?"
The man smiled, taking in her subtle thoughts.
But how could he let her get away with it? "You don't believe what I say, so I have to verify it for you myself."
"..."
In the end, the biggest concession Fu Huaizhi made was to let go of her hand, and the two of them stepped onto the stairs one after the other.
The banquet was already underway. The long table in the center of the hall was full of people, but it was not as noisy as most banquets. The sounds that could be heard were mainly from the elders in the main seats and the younger people he had called out.
Fu Huaizhi instructed the butler to bring an extra chair and place it next to the empty seat beside the main seat. The man sat down, and Song Luoyun could only sit next to him. Opposite them were Fu Sheng and Fu Zeming.
The man crossed his legs elegantly, sat upright, looked at the person opposite him who was staring intently, and said in a low voice, "There are no extra seats, so Miss Song will have to sit next to me. I hope my brother won't mind."
Startled by the sudden roll call, Fu Zeming could only say, "Of course," despite his dissatisfaction, in front of everyone.
Fu Huaizhi smiled gently and turned to chat with the elder.
The elder suddenly said, "Your skills are better than I expected."
It sounds like praise.
Song Luoyun sat there, receiving the gazes of countless people.
Fu Sheng scrutinized her, while Fu Zeming seemed to be questioning her. The gaze of the person in the main seat was particularly cold and intense, yet also meaningful.
Fu Huaizhi, however, seemed oblivious to the situation, and continued to push the food on the table in front of Song Luoyun, pouring her wine and adding dishes for her.
The subtle atmosphere only dissipated slightly after the patriarch left the table. Fu Zeming couldn't hide his emotions. Looking at Song Luoyun's bowl full of steak and sashimi, he finally spoke up: "Big brother, there's no need to trouble you to do these things. Luoyun is my girlfriend, and I will take care of her myself."
The man didn't take his words to heart: "Miss Song will become a member of the Fu family sooner or later, and I will take good care of her."
Fu Zeming's temper was so badly suppressed by a single sentence that he didn't know how to vent it.
Does the fact that she'll become a member of the Fu family mean they're planning to arrange a marriage for them?
But why would he be so kind? I'm afraid the person he's referring to isn't him.
The family dinner was not in a warm and harmonious atmosphere. The food on the long table was mostly uneaten, and the obvious dissatisfaction on some people's faces showed that some negative topics had been discussed just a moment ago.
Many people left, leaving only half the audience. Fu Zeming answered a phone call, intending to leave with Song Luoyun, but as he took a half step back, he suddenly saw what was happening under the table—two hands tightly clasped together, the large fingers pressing on the girl's fair legs.
She slammed the phone face down, glaring angrily at the culprit.
"Big brother, you—"
He was about to speak.
Fu Huaizhi took a sip of champagne, put it down, and spoke slowly and deliberately: "Managing Fu Corporation alone, there are bound to be times when I can't do everything I can. Zeming will graduate with his bachelor's degree soon, and perhaps he can join the company and take charge of some affairs."
Fu Zeming's anger was once again suppressed.
He looked at his father, who was agreeing, and politely declined, saying, "No need, brother. I graduated from medical school and don't know anything about business."
“But I have something I need your help with,” Fu Huaizhi said. “Fu’s future focus will shift to the field of polymer materials. You are quite knowledgeable in this area, and I’ve heard that you’ve recently become close to Zhang Ming. I would like you to invite him to work for Fu’s together.”
"Zhang Ming?" Fu Zeming subconsciously looked at Song Luoyun.
He quickly denied it: "I remember that my elder brother and father were always in charge of Zhang Ming's affairs. I am not familiar with him."
“Why not? Last month, someone discovered that you transferred tens of millions into his account. I assumed that the Fu family’s support for him was still ongoing,” Fu Huaizhi said calmly.
Fu Zeming realized that he had already found out.
Clenching his fists, he said, "No, I don't know where that money went either."
Fu Huaizhi frowned: "Tens of millions is no small sum, how could you not know that?"
“I—” Fu Zeming was speechless.
Song Luoyun grabbed Fu Huaizhi's arms with both hands, unable to listen any longer.
Fu Huaizhi chuckled softly and whispered in her ear, "Do you believe me now? Or, would you like to know anything else?"
Song Luoyun gently shook her head.
Knowing more was useless; she no longer knew how to face Fu Zeming.
He clearly treated her with such care.
Is it just an act?
But what good would it do him?
Unaware that she had broken free of his hand, she turned and walked away from the area.
Fu Huaizhi didn't turn around; his gaze was fixed on Fu Zeming. He looked lost and his fingers trembled slightly as he stared in the direction Song Luoyun had left.
"Brother." At the long table where only the two of them remained, he finally managed to ask him, "Why did you have to take my person?"
"Who says she can only be yours?" Fu Huaizhi put away his somewhat friendly smile, the shadow cast by his brows obscuring his eye sockets, adding to his imposing aura.
"I got her first, she's my girlfriend." Fu Zeming was afraid of him and didn't dare to speak too harshly, but he couldn't hide his eagerness.
“I gave you a chance, but you didn’t seize it.” Fu Huaizhi remained calm and his voice was deep and resonant, much like a victor looking down on a loser. “What you did was something even I couldn’t stand, let alone her.”
“But I will give her a better life,” Fu Zeming said immediately. “She can study abroad, where she has more room for development than she does in China.”
"Is that so?" Fu Huaizhi stood up and held his suit jacket in his hand. "Then from now on, you won't need to worry about me."
The Fu family members mostly dispersed after Fu Huaihe left, leaving only a few people in the hall. Fu Huaizhi stopped and looked at a cautious figure at the door, then suddenly decided not to follow.
A slight smile played on his lips, dispelling the chill, and he slowly stepped forward.
...
Song Luoyun didn't want to get involved in the brothers' fight, so he ran away quickly, got into Fu Qiaoying's car, and left in a flash.
She blocked Fu Zeming's number and set his messages to "Do Not Disturb." She didn't want to hear any explanation from him right now; she just needed some peace and quiet.
"Did you two have a fight?" Fu Qiaoying asked, sitting gracefully and looking at Song Luoyun's expression.
"No." She put down her phone, staring straight ahead, lost in thought.
"Breaking up?" Fu Qiaoying was easygoing about this kind of thing and was already comforting her, "If you break up, then break up. The next one will be better. You'll find that there are plenty of better people in this world than him."
Song Luoyun smiled and said, "You're right."
Then I asked her, "If you found out that a very close friend of yours had done something to hurt you, what would you do?"
“Then he’s no longer my friend,” Fu Qiaoying said nonchalantly. “I don’t expect my friends to be completely devoted to me, but they absolutely cannot betray me.”
"What if he was very good to you before?"
"That won't work either. If something like this happens once, people will be wary of him in the future. How can we be friends then?"
...
Fu Qiaoying escorted Song Luoyun to the subway entrance. She got off the train and waved goodbye.
The van door closed, the window rolled down, and Fu Qiaoying leaned against the window and said, "Do you need me to introduce you to a few men?"
"If there's a chance, sure," Song Luoyun said with a smile, but she didn't take it to heart.
Waving goodbye.
Song Luoyun did not go directly to the subway, but instead wandered around the area, her destination unknown.
Only then did I have the courage to take out the note from my pocket and unfold it.
The above is an address pointing to Fu Huaizhi's private residence.
He told her to come to this address that night, and he would grant her all her requests.
Studying abroad, escaping family, and living a better life.
She was smitten.
But she wasn't sure what the price would be.
Now that her life is back on track and she has gotten rid of the people who hurt her, her world should be allowed to return to normal completely.
This should be the best approach.
I walked to the nearest subway station, boarded the train, and hurried home.
She thought that if all else failed, she could change her place of residence and live a simple life between her company and home.
Never have anything to do with that person again.
She wants to return to a normal life.
As the elevator ascends, the motion-sensor lights in the hallway illuminate.
The door opened, and a pair of legs appeared on the other side, the body leaning against the wall, the hands resting on the windowsill.
Get a clear look at that person's face.
Song Luoyun stood there, stunned.
The whole world spun around her, but she stood straight, her heart pounding at an alarming rate.
The man in the light turned around and raised an eyebrow at her slightly.
His movements were only slightly different, and he spoke to her naturally, as if he were the master of the place.
"I'm back."
-----------------------
Author's note: OK, got it!
The next chapter contains 18+ content.
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