Nightfall Bar
Inside the VIP lounge on the top floor
Fu Huaixu sat in the middle of the sofa like an abandoned sculpture.
Two buttons of his shirt were undone, his face expressionless as he tightly clutched a glass of whiskey, gulping down one glass after another, his eyes hollow and unfocused.
Qin Chao and Xie Xiuyuan, sitting opposite him, exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
Having known Fu Huaixu for so many years, they had only seen him in this devastated state once before—five years ago.
And now it was happening again?
Just then, the heavy soundproof door of the lounge was pushed open, and a tall figure walked in against the light from the hallway.
It was Zhou Sinian, who was ten minutes late.
As soon as Zhou Sinian stepped into the lounge, his brows furrowed slightly at the sight of Fu Huaixu—the man who was usually in control of everything, now slumped on the sofa like a down-and-out drunk.
“Old Fu, what’s wrong with you today? Why are you drinking so much?” Zhou Sinian walked over to Fu Huaixu, looking at the many empty bottles on the table with concern.
Fu Huaixu didn’t answer, merely downing glass after glass of alcohol, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if swallowing endless bitterness.
Zhou Sinian glanced at the two men sitting opposite, who were watching the scene with amusement. Qin Chao shrugged helplessly and said:
“We don’t know either. He asked us out for a drink, and he’s been drinking nonstop since we got here. He won’t say a word when we ask.”
The three exchanged glances, all seeing confusion and worry in each other’s eyes. Fu Huaixu had never been one to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
Was something major going on today for him to be in such a state?
“Maybe we should ask Assistant Lin?” Xie Xiuyuan suggested.
Qin Chao nodded, took out his phone, and dialed Lin Jing’s number.
The call connected quickly, and with the speaker on, Lin Jing’s voice came through the receiver: “Hello, Mr. Qin, what can I do for you?”
“What’s going on with your boss today? Do you know what happened?” Qin Chao asked directly.
“My boss? What’s wrong with him now?”
“Your boss is currently drinking heavily at Nightfall Bar. We asked him, but he won’t say anything.”
Lin Jing paused for a moment. “My boss… found Miss Shen.”
“Huh? Which Miss Shen?” Qin Chao was momentarily confused.
“The Miss Shen he’s been looking for all this time.”
Qin Chao was stunned for a moment before it clicked. “Isn’t finding her a good thing? Why is he still drinking like this?”
“Well… you’ll have to ask the boss about that. I’m not entirely sure about the details. When the boss went to see Miss Shen today, it seems… he was rejected.”
Lin Jing truly felt he had no way to explain. Ever since he found out some things about Miss Shen, his boss’s face had turned colder than a Siberian cold front!
As a humble employee, he had spent the entire day keeping his head down, trembling with fear, afraid of accidentally setting off his boss’s temper.
“Rejected?” Qin Chao repeated in surprise, his gaze toward Fu Huaixu now tinged with sympathy.
They knew how deeply Fu Huaixu felt for that woman.
“No wonder he’s drinking like this,” Xie Xiuyuan sighed. “Old Fu has put so much effort into finding her over the years. Who would have thought it would end like this?”
The three of them looked at Fu Huaixu, who was still drinking nonstop, unsure of what to say. Matters of the heart were ultimately something outsiders couldn’t interfere with.
But seeing Fu Huaixu in this life-threatening state, everyone knew something was bound to happen sooner or later.
Five years ago, he had been the same, drinking until he gave himself a stomach hemorrhage and ended up hospitalized for several days.
Xie Xiuyuan couldn’t stand it any longer. He snatched the wine glass from Fu Huaixu’s hand and slammed it onto the table with a bang.
Fu Huaixu’s eyes were unfocused, and it took him half a second to react. He staggered to his feet, reaching out to grab his glass back from the table.
“Old Fu, snap out of it!”
Zhou Sinian looked at him with exasperation. “Now that you’ve found her, why not just win her back? What’s the point of drowning your sorrows in alcohol here?”
These words struck Fu Huaixu’s most vulnerable nerve like a precise silver needle. He slumped back into his seat, his voice hoarse as if scraped by sandpaper:
“She doesn’t want me anymore… There’s someone else by her side now, that damn homewrecker. We weren’t even broken up yet…”
“Is that all?” Zhou Sinian was almost amused by his misery. “Then just win her back! With your status, is there any wall Fu the CEO can’t tear down?”
He used to be like this too…
Fu Huaixu’s voice carried a barely noticeable sob:
“She has a new life now. She doesn’t want me anymore. Once she decides something, she never changes her mind easily… And it wasn’t even my fault…”
“Wahhh, why doesn’t she want me anymore? Why?! I used to treat her like a damn simp!”
Fu Huaixu cried and rambled incoherently, bearing no resemblance to the dignified head of the Fu Group he usually was.
“All these years, I’ve stayed faithful for her! Just to wait for her return with a clean slate… I kept looking for her, using every connection I could…”
“Wasn’t I good enough to her? Wahhh!”
He grabbed the remaining whiskey on the table and took a fierce gulp straight from the bottle, choking and coughing violently as tears streamed down even harder.
“And what about her? She just received a breakup text and didn’t even come to ask me about it… Does she really not trust me that much?
She disappeared without a word, vanished for five whole years! Sentenced me to death just like that… Wahhh, how could she be so heartless?!”
“Enough! Enough, stop crying!” Zhou Sinian couldn’t bear it either. He walked over and snatched the bottle from Fu Huaixu’s hand. “As long as you’re shameless enough, just keep pursuing her until she forgives you, right?”
Qin Chao looked at Fu Huaixu and teased recklessly:
“Ah, love really is no good thing. Old Fu, is it worth it for a woman who doesn’t want you?
Drowning your sorrows in alcohol only makes them worse. There are so many women in the world, all shapes and sizes. As long as Young Master Fu crooks his finger, wouldn’t they line up for you to pick? Why bother…”
“Shut up! What do you know? You don’t know a damn thing about love!”
Fu Huaixu’s voice was hoarse and rough, filled with a furious sting:
“You playboy who changes women as often as you change clothes—you’ll regret it someday!”
Qin Chao was momentarily stunned by his sudden outburst, then helplessly shrugged, rolling his eyes inwardly.
Yeah, yeah, you’re so great at understanding love, yet here you are drinking yourself half to death.
And what’s wrong with him changing women? Life is short, seize the moment. Happiness is what matters most.
“And she didn’t abandon me… That was a misunderstanding! A damn misunderstanding! She loved me so much before, she’ll forgive me sooner or later… She definitely will…”
Suddenly, Fu Huaixu shifted his target, “And you! You’re no good either!”
Zhou Sinian frowned. What had he done? How had he offended him?
Those dazed eyes fixed on Zhou Sinian:
“You wronged your wife when you were young, you’re a scoundrel! Why should she forgive you, yet now you have a wife and son, living such a comfortable life…
Wah wah, I envy you! I envy you, Zhou Sinian! Why could you win her back, why…”
Zhou Sinian: “…”
He had also pursued his wife for a long time, the process so arduous—were you just going to ignore that?
Speaking of his love life, it had been full of twists and turns.
Since childhood, Ji Feifei had always followed behind Zhou Sinian. Yet he, taking advantage of her affection, enjoyed her unconditional favor while maintaining an aloof, ambiguous attitude.
In college, he became infatuated with the campus belle’s passionate pursuit, allowing her to interfere in his relationship with Feifei. He himself wavered, even spreading ambiguous rumors with the campus belle.
No matter how many times Ji Feifei made a scene, he dismissed it as childish tantrums, never truly taking it to heart.
Until one day, he realized that familiar figure behind him had completely vanished. She no longer revolved around him, her gaze no longer lingered on him, and she was surrounded by many suitors, even attempting to start a new relationship.
Only then did Zhou Sinian suddenly awaken—he had long fallen for her, but had been too slow to realize it.
After this epiphany, the ever-proud young master Zhou set aside his pride, began to “steal” her back, and embarked on a long journey to win her heart.
Using all his patience and tenderness, through three whole years of relentless pursuit, he finally warmed her heart again.
Three years ago, they registered their marriage, and now they have a one-year-old son.
“Alright, alright, Old Fu.”
“Old Zhou at least shamelessly pursued her for three years, didn’t he also ‘steal’ her back?” Qin Chao walked over and patted Fu Huaixu’s shoulder.
“Yeah!”Fu Huaixu abruptly lifted his head, his eyes although unfocused but showing a streak of ruthlessness, “I’m going to find her now… No one can take her from me. Even if I have to die, I’ll tie her back to my side…”
He swayed as he straightened up, adjusted his crumpled shirt, and turned toward the private room door.
“Old Fu, you’re drunk, where are you going?” Zhou Sinian called after him.