He slammed the bathroom door shut as he entered, and even as warm water poured down his head, Fu Xuanliao's breathing remained undisturbed.
He knew he had acted impulsively and said things against his conscience, but in that situation, he had no choice.
Shi Meng pressed forward relentlessly, like a sniper with pinpoint accuracy, aiming straight for vitals. With no cover around him, all he could do was pick up a more lethal weapon to fight back and repel his opponent.
Because in this war there is no right or wrong, only winning or losing. Whoever backs down first loses, even if it ends in bloodshed and mutual destruction.
The long-buried, unpleasant past was uprooted. Fu Xuanliao closed his eyes, letting the hot water he was splashing steam up in a cloud of mist around him.
He remembered that year, not long after Shi Mu had passed away, he had not yet recovered from his grief when the difficulties his family and company encountered dragged him into another bottomless swamp.
Therefore, when he was drugged and tricked, he was furious but helpless, like a fish on a chopping board, lying there to be slaughtered.
Although the Shi family later stepped in to suppress the scandal and prevent it from spreading, everyone in the industry knew the truth. When Fu Xuanliao signed that contract with the Shi family, the outside world mostly just watched the expected drama unfold.
Time is like a slow anesthetic, gradually burying the shame and resentment. Suddenly, he woke up and realized the weight he had carried away and deliberately ignored all these years.
To do such a thing while Shi Mu's body is still warm is unforgivable, regardless of the motive.
Having figured this out, Fu Xuanliao dispelled the inexplicable guilt that had been lingering in his heart. After taking a shower and returning to the bedroom, he saw Shi Meng sitting hunched over on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, and he couldn't even muster up any anger.
Too lazy to waste any more words with him, Fu Xuanliao went around to the other side of the bed and lay down on his side, intending to make the most of the last bit of time before dawn to get some sleep.
Before long, the familiar sounds and the arms wrapped around his waist filled Fu Xuanliao with an absurd irony.
To be humiliated with such words and yet still act as if nothing happened.
Just a moment ago it was pecking at everyone it met like a fighting cock, but now it's starting to act like a well-behaved little white rabbit.
In fact, Shi Meng was once well-behaved. Fu Xuanliao still remembers that quiet child who always followed behind him, and the handsome boy who would occasionally pass by the door of the upper grades and whose gaze would seemingly collide with his own after they started school.
Fu Xuanliao couldn't even understand what had happened to him to make him like this.
If he had always been so well-behaved, things wouldn't have come to this...
When their wrists touched, Fu Xuanliao realized that Shi Meng hadn't worn the necklace that had been turned into a bracelet since she proposed terminating the contract.
He doesn't want what belongs to him, but he tries to forcibly possess what doesn't belong to him.
In a daze, Fu Xuanliao thought, he would never learn his lesson, never. "Mountain! And! Water! Evening!"
Otherwise, they wouldn't have reached this point where it's either love or hate, death or injury.
Perhaps due to lack of sleep over the past few days, or perhaps because the Fu family's bed was very comfortable, Shi Meng didn't wake up until late morning again.
As expected, Fu Xuanliao was no longer in the bedroom. Shi Meng got up, washed up quickly, got dressed, and went to the living room. He paid special attention to the dining table, but it was empty and there was no note left by Fu Xuanliao.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Rong came out of the kitchen and smiled politely at Shi Meng, saying, "I just made some simple breakfast. Eat before you go back."
Shi Meng agreed and thanked her. But when Jiang Rong brought out the dishes, he remembered something and added, "Auntie, Happy New Year."
The blessing came suddenly and was delivered in a stiff tone, which surprised Jiang Rong. Considering that this child was usually quiet and reserved, and probably not used to interacting with elders, she understood a bit more.
"Hey, Happy New Year," Jiang Rong greeted. "Sit down, make yourself at home, don't be too formal."
Upon hearing that Fu Xuanliao and his father had gone out to pay New Year's visits to several investors, Shi Meng asked, "Will he be back today?"
Jiang Rong said, "It's hard to say. They usually have a lot of social engagements, so they'll probably go back after dinner."
Shi Meng nodded: "Thank you, Auntie."
Jiang Rong felt embarrassed and flustered by his repeated thanks, so she forked a slice of dragon fruit from the fruit plate and put it in his bowl: "Here, eat more, you like dragon fruit, don't you..."
Even though she quickly shut up, the deep rose-red flesh of the fruit had already landed on the plate in front of Shi Meng.
Recalling the bizarre stories she had heard from many people, and considering that she was the one who spearheaded the contract termination, Jiang Rong thought Shi Meng would be angry, or at least show signs of being offended.
He simply stared at the dragon fruit on the plate for a while, then picked it up with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and calmly said "thank you" again.
After finishing their meal and clearing the dishes, Shi Meng offered to help wash the dishes. Jiang Rong had nothing to do after wiping the table. Standing by the sink, unable to help, she made conversation by saying, "I've never seen you do housework before. I didn't expect you to be so skilled."
Shi Meng thought for a moment and said, "I can also cook."
He put the clean bowl aside, picked up another one from the sink, and continued, "I can take good care of Fu Xuanliao."
At first, Jiang Rong didn't understand why he said these things. Later, she remembered seeing that Fu Xuanliao's room was clean and tidy when she returned from abroad, and realized that Shi Meng might be trying to make a good impression on her.
Looking back at Fu Xuanliao's words, "We can't even find time to hide," it's hard not to feel pity for the child in front of you who is so clumsy at even trying to please you.
“Xuan Liao looks tall and strong, but he’s actually a bit of a hothead. He’s especially bad at talking. If he offends you, I hope you’ll forgive him.”
Jiang Rong's words were tactful, but Shi Meng wasn't stupid. With the unresolved legal issues still in place, he could understand the consolation in her words.
Shi Meng never took such gentle words for granted. He even clearly understood that Fu Xuanliao harbored resentment and had no obligation to accommodate him.
Therefore, he cherished all the hard-won good things in his heart.
“No, he was very kind to me.” To prove this, Shi Meng said, “He took me in last night and even cooked noodles for me.”
Seemingly surprised by Shi Meng's answer, Jiang Rong was taken aback for a moment, then turned around, grabbed a dry towel, and stood aside to wipe away the remaining water on the bowl.
As she wiped the dishes, she said, "When this house was renovated, we didn't consider whether it would be convenient to do housework, especially in the kitchen. The cook has told me a lot of problems, including the stove being too far to the right against the wall, making it easy to bump your arm when cooking, and the ceiling light being positioned off-center, blocking the light when chopping vegetables."
“I used to think these weren’t problems. I thought I could get used to them, overcome them, and just make do,” Jiang Rong continued. “But now, after living here for several years, my aunt still complains from time to time that the kitchen facilities are not convenient to use. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that my previous reluctance was quite unreasonable. It was just that I was too stubborn and unwilling to admit that the design was wrong.”
The gentle, conversational tone made Shi Meng pause, her hand still under the flowing water.
"I've figured it out now. I plan to have a designer come over and renovate the kitchen after the New Year." Putting down the cleaned dishes, Jiang Rong pointed to the cabinet below the stove. "I plan to install a dishwasher here, so that when I cook a few dishes at home, I won't have to worry about no one wanting to wash the dishes."
Seeing that Shi Meng was stunned, clearly having understood the unspoken meaning, Jiang Rong, though reluctant, had no choice but to harden her heart and finish what she was saying.
“You see, if you know it’s wrong but still stubbornly persist, the end result will only be nothing, and…” she told Shi Meng, “you’ve also seen that there is nothing in this world that is irreplaceable.”
On the way back, Shi Meng received a call from Jiang Xue.
"Happy Chinese New Year!" Jiang Xue, in a good mood after returning to her hometown, asked in a light tone, "Have you eaten dumplings?"
Shi Meng said, "Not yet."
Jiang Xue was very happy to give a live mukbang performance: "That's great! Look at the dumplings my mom made with their thin skin and lots of filling. One bite, and wow—the soup fills my mouth. They're so delicious!"
The sound of a middle-aged woman's laughter could be heard in the background; it must be Jiang Xue's mother.
Jiang Xue wished the family on the other end of the phone a Happy New Year. She first laughed and said that the New Year's speech sounded like a robot reading a prepared speech. Then, without caring about her image, she stuffed a dumpling into her mouth and continued to tempt them: "It's super delicious, Mengmeng, do you want some?"
Shi Meng graciously hummed in agreement.
Jiang Xue snorted with satisfaction, "I told you to come home with me for the New Year, but you refused."
“I was with Fu Xuanliao yesterday,” Shi Meng said.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone: "You went to see him?"
"Um."
Didn't you say he...didn't want to see you?
So I went to find him.
"I think you should get a pair of handcuffs and tie that guy surnamed Fu to his house, so you won't have to search for him everywhere."
It was meant as a joke, but Shi Meng seriously considered its possibility and asked, "Where can I buy handcuffs?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time.
As the noise faded and they moved to a quieter place, Jiang Xue spoke again: "You've grown another year older. Logically, your older sister shouldn't interfere in your private affairs, but I'm really worried about your current state."
Another person came to persuade him to let go.
Shi Meng didn't want to listen, but hanging up would be impolite, so he pursed his lips and looked down to pick at his fingers.
Jiang Xue rambled on and on, but the main point was similar to what Jiang Rong had said. She was just trying to put herself in Shi Meng's shoes and was worried about him getting hurt.
"Love is when one person is willing to give and the other is willing to receive. Even if you've decided on him, if he can't reciprocate your love in the same way, you have to learn to give love to yourself."
Upon hearing this, Shi Meng reacted slightly: "For...myself?"
"Yes, be good to yourself. It's not your fault if others don't stop for you. Isn't my experience enough to prove the point? Didn't you advise me the same thing before?"
Yes, that's what I advised her. Shi Meng thought, but what's the connection between "it's not my fault" and "giving love to myself"?
What do I have that's worthy of love?
I'm hated by everyone now.
The person named Shi Meng has been rejected wherever he goes since childhood. Even he himself doesn't like himself, so how could anyone be willing to love him?
—Everyone is afraid of you and wants to stay far away from you.
Fu Xuanliao's words were like a spell imprinted in his mind, sending a chill down Shi Meng's spine as he basked in the sunlight.
Then I took a deep breath.
Since he could never fall in love with me, Shi Meng told herself, so be it.
That's all we can do.
A week later, on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Shi Huai also hosted a dinner for the Fu family of three at his home.
Thinking that there had been progress in terminating the contract, Fu Qiming and Jiang Rong were in relatively good spirits. On the way, they even told Fu Xuanliao to invite Li Bihan to dinner alone later.
"It seems your Aunt Li put in a lot of effort to resolve this so quickly," Jiang Rong said. "I should have asked her for help from the beginning, so I wouldn't have had to do all that useless work."
Fu Xuanliao didn't ask which efforts were futile. He was focused on the fact that if Li Bihan really helped him get things done, he would be in a difficult position and would have no choice but to agree to cooperate.
It remains to be seen how Shi Meng will react after the Shi family's shares are taken away. Will he be indifferent, furious, or... disheartened by his involvement?
They arrived at the Shi family home with a mix of curiosity and trepidation, only to be greeted by Shi Huaiyi himself at the door.
Shi Sihui wasn't home, so Li Bihan didn't come downstairs until dinner was served. She greeted everyone briefly and then sat down. After that, she didn't say a word and seemed to have no appetite, not touching her chopsticks for a long time.
Shi Huaiyi, on the other hand, enthusiastically poured wine for everyone present and greeted them with a smile, urging them to eat. His attitude of being in a high position and needing something from others made Fu Xuanliao feel vaguely uneasy.
The father, Fu Qiming, shared the same concern and found an excuse to bring up the topic: "I know Sihui is busy with work, but what about Xiaomeng? Why didn't you call him down to eat with us?"
"He's busy packing his luggage in his room."
As Shi Huaiyi spoke, he put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, as if he had something important to announce.
"To be honest, I invited you all here today because I have a favor to ask."
The Fu family of three exchanged glances, and this time Jiang Rong spoke up: "Just tell us what you need to do, anything we can..."
"Of course I can do it. Given the relationship between our two families, why would I make things difficult for you if I couldn't do it?"
Shi Huaiyi smiled and said, "Actually, it's just a small matter. Mengmeng decided to go back to school to continue studying painting. The school is far from here, but it's close to your house. I was thinking that why don't we let him move in with you? The two young people can look after each other..."
Before he could finish speaking, Fu Xuanliao stood up abruptly: "Then what about the contract? When will it be terminated?"
Perhaps not expecting him to be so impatient, Shi Huaiyi paused for a moment, then said casually, "That contract was practically worthless to begin with. Given the relationship between our two families, and between you and Mengmeng, why would we need something like that..."
Fu Xuanliao couldn't listen anymore, so he turned around and strode towards the stairs.
Just then, Shi Meng finished packing her things and was carrying her suitcase downstairs when she bumped into Fu Xuanliao, who was climbing the steps.
They stopped walking, one above the other, looking at each other across four or five steps. They were so close, yet it felt as if they were separated by a galaxy.
Shi Meng saw a raging fire burning in Fu Xuanliao's eyes, a fire that seemed to want to devour him alive.
Aside from bewilderment and confusion, only a familiar hatred remained.
This is the natural reaction to a disrupted plan. Shi Meng thought that if it were me, I would have reacted even worse, perhaps even wanting to grind the culprit to dust.
But this hatred is like a raging fire in the wind, long and lingering. At first, it will burn you and make you feel a stinging pain. Later, the wound will scab over and heal, but then an itch that gnaws at your bones will arise, urging you to scratch.
So even though he knew the wound would reopen or even get infected, Shi Meng couldn't stop his hand from reaching forward.
Yesterday evening, in the study downstairs, Shi Huaiyi listened to Shi Meng's request and was very puzzled.
"Although this is not a big deal, in my opinion, Mengmeng, you have no reason to choose him."
“He saved my life,” Shi Meng said.
Only he can save me.
“He is irreplaceable,” Shi Meng added.
So the more others said that Fu Xuanliao could be replaced, the more he wanted to prove them wrong.
Since no one ever taught him how to love himself, he naturally didn't know how to love others properly.
He only learned from his own reactions that love is exclusive, selfish, utterly undignified, capable of jealousy, madness, grotesqueness, and endless malice.
"Shi Meng," Fu Xuanliao said through gritted teeth, "what exactly do you want?"
With a slight upturn of his lips, Shi Meng looked down at Fu Xuanliao, who was several steps below, with the disdainful air of a victor.
The victor doesn't need to answer questions; he only needs to give orders.
Carrying her luggage downstairs, Shi Meng glanced at the messy table and turned to Fu Xuanliao, who was standing motionless on the steps, saying in the most casual tone, "Finished eating? Let's go then."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
