“Look at how he treats you, he doesn’t even give you a smile,” You Shi said, growing increasingly dissatisfied.
You Wen defended him, “He’s just not good at smiling.”
You Shi snorted, “He’s not good at smiling when he’s with you!” Seeing You Wen remain silent, she continued, “Loving someone isn’t like that.”
“Certainly, it’s not like Fu Mingchuan.”
Zhou Guandong tried to play the peacemaker from the side. When Fu Mingchuan entered, You Shi was already asking You Wen if he had paid him back. Before You Wen could answer, You Shi had already put on a polite smile. “You helped Naonao with a lot of debt issues before. I was asking him if he’d returned the money. Guandong and I were on vacation in a remote area without cell service, and it seems so much has happened since. Naonao’s been relying on you a lot during this time.”
You Shi’s husband, Zhou Guandong, gave Fu Mingchuan a friendly smile.
Fu Mingchuan responded humbly, “There’s no need to pay it back. There’s no need to be so formal between me and You Wen. It’s my responsibility to take care of him.”
You Shi’s smile faded a little. “Even brothers settle their accounts clearly, and especially in love, one person shouldn’t always owe the other.”
The meal ended in an uncomfortable silence.
Later that night, after they’d returned home and You Wen had showered, Fu Mingchuan helped him dry his hair. Once in bed, Fu Mingchuan quietly watched as You Wen played on his phone. You Wen noticed and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Fu Mingchuan asked, “How does someone show they like someone?”
You Wen didn’t seem eager to answer and vaguely replied, “Definitely not like you.” He then mentioned that he’d transferred the money back to Fu Mingchuan’s account and told him to check.
Fu Mingchuan wasn’t particularly concerned about such a small sum, but he didn’t like how You Wen kept such clear boundaries between them. “I’ve already set up a new fund in your name,” he said, “I added some money, and the beneficiary is you.”
You Wen looked away from the video of the kids doing their kindergarten assignments on his screen, curious to know how much he was worth in Fu Mingchuan’s eyes. “How much did you put in?”
Fu Mingchuan named a figure, and You Wen froze, realizing it was twenty times what he’d given back. It was enough to buy a publicly traded company. His voice lowered, “I don’t want it.”
“Just keep it,” Fu Mingchuan insisted. “It’s good to have money set aside.” He feared You Wen would end up back in the desperate situation he’d been in before, harassed by debt collectors, enduring a slap every time he couldn’t pay.
You Wen had once explained his expressionless demeanor as a result of being slapped, but he’d been through far worse than that.
Ever since learning the details, Fu Mingchuan would often wake in the middle of the night, overwhelmed by anger and helplessness.
He’d never experienced failure, had never been weak. He once thought that with the name “Fu Mingchuan,” everything and everyone around him could enjoy a certain privilege. Yet, he hadn’t realized that the label of “abandoned by Fu Mingchuan” carried even more weight.
These past few days, he’d tried to find a time to talk with You Wen, even bringing up Ruan Jing once. But every time he did, You Wen would immediately change the topic or, if he persisted, simply leave.
Before going to bed, Fu Mingchuan said to You Wen, “I’ll learn.”
You Wen didn’t understand what Fu Mingchuan meant at first. After thinking about it, he just glanced at Fu Mingchuan and said strangely, “Oh.”
Fu Mingchuan wanted to say something else, but You Wen seemed unwilling to listen. He forced himself to shut up. When he looked at You Wen again, he had already closed his eyes.
Pretending to be asleep.
Time flew by quickly, and the day of Fu Mingchuan’s gathering arrived. Fu Mingchuan originally wanted to go with You Wen, but You Wen was taking the kids to another city for a dance competition. They wouldn’t be back until eight in the evening and still needed to send the kids home safely.
Fu Mingchuan headed to the villa ahead of him, but he kept messaging You Wen every half hour or so. You Wen, clearly busy, replied in brief messages.
“Arrived.”
“Getting off.”
“Seeing the kids off.”
“Another half an hour.”
“Okay.”
“No need to pick me up.”
The party was lively, but Fu Mingchuan couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. He kept checking on You Wen’s whereabouts, gesturing to Chen An to contact the resort’s manager to track his movements.
A week ago, You Wen had disabled his shared location with him.
Fu Mingchuan half-heartedly mingled with the crowd. When Ruan Jing approached, Fu Mingchuan glanced at him, recalling that Chen An had mentioned You Wen had run into Ruan Jing recently, perhaps even misunderstood their relationship.
He wanted to ask Ruan Jing about that day—what exactly had happened and if he knew more about You Wen’s recent odd behavior. He was trying to piece together the full story from everyone’s perspective, especially Ruan Jing’s.
But Ruan Jing spoke first, “Mingchuan, we haven’t had a chance to talk today.”
Fu Mingchuan nodded. “Thank you for coming.”
Ruan Jing smiled. “We’ve known each other for ten years, haven’t we?”
Fu Mingchuan, with a sharp memory, replied, “Six months short of ten years.” They’d been classmates in high school, even seated next to each other for a brief month in their first year.
Ruan Jing looked slightly surprised that Fu Mingchuan remembered. Encouraged, he looked around at the others. “Then today, I think I might tell you a secret.”
Fu Mingchuan wasn’t particularly interested in others’ secrets and just wanted to check his phone for any messages from You Wen. But, out of courtesy, he responded, “If it’s a secret…”
Ruan Jing cut him off, “I like you. Does that count as a shareable secret?”
The conversation around them suddenly quieted down, and everyone turned to look. A few people were surprised, while most had a knowing look, as if they were expecting this. They eagerly awaited Fu Mingchuan’s reaction, as if it was only natural for them to be together.
A brief look of confusion and surprise crossed Fu Mingchuan’s face. He didn’t answer Ruan Jing immediately but instead turned to another guest nearby who was smiling, awaiting his response. “Did you all know about this?”
Before anyone could respond, a few others started chiming in one after another:
“President Fu and President Ruan are a perfect match, a match made in heaven.”
“If there’s good news, be sure to let us know.”
…
Overwhelmed by the onlookers’ comments, Fu Mingchuan suddenly understood the unspoken words, the disappointment, the heartache, and the reproach that You Wen had been bottling up.
When Chen An had mentioned that You Wen might have misunderstood his relationship with Ruan Jing, he hadn’t thought much of it. After all, he and Ruan Jing had never even had a private meal, so there was no reason to assume any misunderstanding.
If You Wen had truly misunderstood, Fu Mingchuan would bring him here today to show him there was no truth to these rumors.
But it seemed the situation wasn’t as he’d imagined. It shouldn’t be that everyone assumed this.
Ruan Jing spoke again, “It seems everyone is quite supportive of us being together. What do you think, Mingchuan?”
Someone nearby was recording, and the confession video was quickly shared, sparking a minor frenzy and prompting a small wave of speculative betting.
Everyone thought they already knew the answer—except for Fu Mingchuan himself.
The mountain road was crowded, and You Wen’s car kept getting stuck in traffic. He idly watched the vehicles ahead as his phone continuously buzzed. When he finally looked at the screen, he saw over a hundred notifications, all from a group chat.
Seeing the group name, he hesitated to open it.
The group chat was one that Ren Fan had added him to during dinner the other night. He rarely looked at the messages, and he’d even thought about leave the group but hadn’t done so.
This time, he wasn’t planning to check it either, but Zhou Hui’s messages kept flashing up, filled with angry demands:
“What’s wrong with that scumbag Fu Mingchuan?”
“Aren’t you two still together?”
“What does he mean by this?”
“And Ruan Jing! What right does he have to confess?”
“That’s cheating!”
“What’s going on with you?”
“You should hurry and find Fu Mingchuan!”
…
You Wen’s heart sank further as he began to grasp why there were so many messages in the group. His finger hovered over the group name, trembling slightly as he hesitated to click. His hand instinctively moved to his chest, where a dull ache throbbed.
Suddenly, a loud honk from the car behind startled him, turning his face pale. He exhaled sharply and pushed his car forward, steering into a nearby bus stop.
He opened the group chat and tapped on the latest unread message, where he saw a video thumbnail featuring Fu Mingchuan.
You Wen’s hand instinctively moved to his chest, the ache intensifying. He stared at the thumbnail for a moment before clicking on it.
The moment Ruan Jing appeared on screen, You Wen felt as though he was suffocating. When Ruan Jing said, “I like you,” You Wen realized he couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Nothing could penetrate his eyes; his heart felt empty.
Air, blood, emotions—all drained away from his heart. He lost his sight and hearing, and Fu Mingchuan’s question, “Do you all know about this?” struck him like a bolt from the blue, plunging him into despair.
Fu Mingchuan’s surprise stemmed from whether everyone else had known all along.
They had known each other since childhood, ten years of friendship, fighting side by side through thick and thin. How could everyone not have noticed?
The only person in the dark was You Wen.
Driving back in a daze, You Wen felt unwell. He forced himself to focus but found himself lost at a fork in the road, feeling homeless and adrift.
Once again, he felt abandoned by everyone.
He considered calling You Shi, but Fu Mingchuan’s calls kept coming in. Frustrated, he blocked Fu Mingchuan’s number and squinted to find You Shi’s contact, but after several tries, there was no answer.
A new unknown number rang in, and You Wen, gasping, ignored it, tossing his phone onto the passenger seat and unconsciously turning onto another road.
He drove through the ring road and into the other end of the city, taking to the winding mountain road. As he picked up speed, a sudden clarity jolted him, prompting him to slow down, but just as he rounded a corner, he was nearly hit by a motorcycle veering out of control. The steering wheel jerked, and the car plummeted down the slope.
Halfway up the mountain, the car spun three hundred sixty degrees. During the last rotation, the airbag deployed in front of You Wen. In that moment, he thought to himself, “Well, this is for the best.”
