Chapter 135 More Suitable as a Husband
Ruan Yi knew that no amount of gentle explanation would be of any use.
But she simply couldn't bring herself to say anything too harsh to Fu Wang, just as she had to Gu Zhi.
Fu Wang is different. He didn't do anything wrong, but he was dragged into this mess time and time again.
Guilt pierced Ruan Yi's heart, but she knew even more clearly that she couldn't let Fu Wang sink any deeper.
She took a deep breath and spoke with utmost seriousness.
“Fu Wang, I know you are very serious and dedicated, and I believe what you say.”
A glimmer of light flashed in the man's eyes as he clung to the driftwood, but before that light could fully illuminate, it was extinguished by Ruan Yi's next words.
"But perhaps... I'm not like that."
“I liked you before, but not now. I’m Fu Jingchen’s girlfriend now, and I have no intention of breaking up with him.”
The girl paused, her voice still firm.
“I know you had no choice but to reject my confession back then, but when you couldn’t be there for me, I got together with him.”
The man's lips were slightly parted, and his chest heaved violently, as if even breathing had become difficult.
Meeting his distraught gaze, Ruan Yi repeated herself again, each word clear and distinct.
"I like Fu Jingchen, and he likes me too."
"He and I are now a couple, living together, do you understand what I mean?"
These words were like a dull knife, slowly cutting into the man's emotions.
The color drained from Fu Wang's face at a visible speed. His previous grievances and anger vanished, leaving only a deathly pallor. He seemed to have all his strength drained away, and even his eyes were empty.
Ruan Yi suppressed her heartache, looked away and then turned back, her voice hardening. Even though saying things against her will hurt Fu Wang, she had to say it so that he wouldn't get any deeper into it.
"You're right. It's not that you're lacking love; perhaps it's just that you're not mature enough in your relationships."
“I can’t be sure if there’s a future with someone as immature as you… especially since things have already turned out this way.”
She gently pushed Fu Wang away a little, and seeing the man's seemingly collapsing appearance, her heart ached as if it were being squeezed.
A man's pain is too pure; there is no excessive obsession, no malicious scheming, only the grievance and helplessness of being betrayed.
He really did nothing wrong.
A thought suddenly popped into his mind: presenting Fu Jingchen with a pretext to prove something would both extinguish his hopes and prevent him from getting too deeply involved.
It would also let Gu Zhi and Pei Lian know whether Fu Jingchen would easily hurt her.
Ruan Yi pinched the soft flesh of her thigh, forcing herself not to be soft-hearted, and added a sentence, deliberately speaking directly.
“I can have Fu Jingchen prove to you that even if he is fully aware of what's going on between us, he can still handle it.”
Finally, she gritted her teeth and uttered the most hurtful line.
"Anyway, what I mean by all this is that Fu Jingchen is more suitable to be a husband than you."
The air was eerily still. Ruan Yi waited and waited, for an unknown amount of time, before she finally heard the man's voice.
"I... understand." Fu Wang's voice was as soft as a wisp of smoke, and his tone was hoarse.
"What if the most suitable candidate for husband disappears?"
"Does this mean... it'll be my turn?"
In the NovaVoy rooftop office.
The morning light streamed into the room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, landing on the mountain of documents piled up in front of the man.
The table was covered with densely packed data charts, and even the coffee on the corner of the table had gone mostly cold, but his fingers flew across the keyboard, producing rapid and rhythmic taps.
Even when overwhelmed by numerous tasks, the man still handled his work with ease, his calm demeanor overshadowing any impatience.
"President Fu." Assistant Li knocked lightly on the door and entered, holding a report in his hand.
"There was a lapse on Anderson's end. The specific reason is still under investigation, but judging from the current situation, we will be able to turn things around soon."
Fu Jingchen didn't even look up, only giving a faint "hmm".
After Assistant Li left, he picked up the cold coffee, took a sip, and frowned.
The bitterness spread along the tip of his tongue. It was his favorite, the purest black coffee, but now, drinking it, he always felt that something was missing.
It's because Ruan Yi is missing, because she always adds milk and sugar to his coffee. At first, he wasn't used to it, but he gradually started to need that little bit of sweetness in his coffee.
Now, when he makes coffee himself, he subconsciously adds a piece of sugar to the cup, but the coffee that his assistant makes is the original flavor that remains unchanged.
Ruan Yi will be able to go back to work in a few days, and then she can be around him again.
She could openly add sugar to his coffee, and as long as he could see her, even the most chaotic situation seemed to be stabilized.
Thinking of this, the man's tense shoulders relaxed a little, and warmth filled his eyes.
The internal phone on the table suddenly rang, and the receptionist said something respectfully.
Fu Jingchen frowned upon hearing this, his fingertips hovering over the keyboard for two seconds before he replied in a deep voice, "Let him in."
Just a few minutes after I hung up the phone, there was a knock on the office door.
Fu Jingchen didn't look up, only staring at the data on the screen. His tone carried the lingering melancholy from his work, as well as undisguised wariness and impatience towards the newcomer.
"What are you here for?"
The man who pushed open the door walked in wearing a black shirt, with a few strands of silver hair casually falling across his forehead.
Assistant Li had already wisely avoided the situation, leaving only the two seemingly incompatible individuals in the large office.
Pei Lian did not respond. He took a few steps closer and leaned against the edge of the table, his fingertips casually stroking the corner of the table.
Beneath the man's striking white hair, his face was much paler than usual, and even his breath was lighter when he spoke, unlike his usual aggressive demeanor.
"What could I possibly be here for? Besides Ruan Yi, what other reason could there be?"
He looked up and his gaze fell on the person opposite him.
Fu Jingchen's brows furrowed almost immediately, and his fingertips paused slightly as his gaze swept over Pei Lian's pale face.
After spending so many years together, how could he not have noticed that something was wrong with the other person? He subconsciously thought, "Why do you look so pale?"
But when she heard Pei Lian's frank concern for his girlfriend and remembered his feelings for Ruan Yi, the words of concern were instantly swallowed back.
Fu Jingchen tightened his grip on the pen, his tone icy cold, "I don't want to hear it. Don't you know what your purpose is in saying these things?"
Pei Lian ignored the sarcasm in his words and instead chuckled softly, "Well... seeing is believing."
Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand and scattered several photos on Fu Jingchen's desk, the images instantly capturing Fu Jingchen's attention.
In the photo, Ruan Yi stands in front of a private courtyard covered with vines, while the man opposite her has striking blond hair.
The two spoke from half a meter apart, their gestures were natural, and they didn't even touch each other's sleeves, so it couldn't be considered intimate at all.
Fu Jingchen glanced down at them, a cold laugh escaping his throat.
"What does this photo represent?" His tone was completely indifferent.
Pei Lian straightened up, leaning on the edge of the table, a deliberately ambiguous smile on his lips: "I didn't say it meant anything."
His gaze was fixed on Fu Jingchen, and he said, word by word, "What I'm saying is, she's with Fu Wang right now. Did I tell you?"
Fu Jingchen's fist clenched suddenly at his side, his knuckles turning white. He still didn't speak, but his eyes grew even colder.
Pei Lian seemed to think that wasn't enough, so he leaned forward even further, lowering his voice even more, a tone that made one's heart tighten.
"And also, she was with me this afternoon..." he trailed off, adding slowly and ambiguously, making it hard not to have impure thoughts.
"What did Ruan Yi tell you? Did she say she was shopping?"
These words pierced Fu Jingchen's heart instantly. The photo in his palm was gripped tightly, and the cardboard was crumpled to shreds between his fingers.
Fu Jingchen slowly raised his eyes, the darkness surging within them almost overflowing, yet his face remained taut and calm, only his tightly clenched knuckles betraying the emotions he was suppressing to the extreme.
His voice was low and deep, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "So... what did you do?"
Seeing his attempts to restrain himself, Pei Lian's smile deepened. He deliberately dragged out his words, his tone saccharine and suggestive.
"Xiao Yi is great in every way, except—she played a bit too hard in that matter and hurt me."
The man's words were loaded with meaning, practically implying that the two of them had caused his current state due to excessive indulgence.
The moment those words were spoken, Fu Jingchen suddenly stood up, grabbed Pei Lian by the collar with such force that he almost tore the collar apart.
"You're courting death..." Fu Jingchen's murderous intent could no longer be concealed and was fully exposed to Pei Lian.
Pei Lian's eyes widened slightly, but the next second he burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
It was because of Ruan Yi again. Even though he had a second chance and Ruan Yi's choices in this life were so different, Fu Jingchen would still lose his composure for her.
This look of utter rage pleased Pei Lian more than any other reaction.
Pei Lian lightly brushed his fingertips across the corners of his eyes, which were squinting with laughter. Although there was not a trace of moisture in his eyes, he deliberately let out a teasing sigh.
"You really don't trust her at all?"
Fu Jingchen's fingers tightened suddenly, but after seeing the mocking look of anticipation in Pei Lian's eyes, he abruptly released his grip.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he remained silent. Reason repeatedly told him to trust his lover, but the uncontrollable darkness in his heart throbbed like a vine...
The dark thoughts don't climb upwards, but rather burrow into the heart; the tendrils with barbs hook into flesh and blood, and the tighter they entwine, the fuller the dark green becomes.
Seeing this, Pei Lian's smile deepened, and his tone was deliberately persuasive, each word piercing the man's heart.
"I know you're a gentleman, but being too much of a gentleman in relationships is never a good thing."
"Because of his gentlemanly and familial status, Gu Zhi became her... Let me think of what to call him, lover?"
"Because you are too gentlemanly, you allowed Zhou Wan, a third party, to take over the Fu family's home; and because you are too gentlemanly, even the son of that third party was able to interfere in your relationship."
Finally, Pei Lian chuckled softly, his tone full of undisguised sarcasm.
"Honestly, if your life were a play, the title would probably be—'The Tragic Life of a Gentleman,' right?"
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