It was her.
It really was her.
The person he had searched for five years had appeared before him so abruptly.
Fu Huaixu stood at the doorway, his gaze fixed intently on that slender figure. His heart contracted violently, almost bursting through his chest.
Five years of searching, five years of torment, had transformed in this moment into a surge of bitterness and anger.
Before him, Shen Zhaoning’s long hair was casually tied up into a lazy bun, with a few stray strands falling rebelliously by her ears. Her lips were a full rose-red, more alluring than he remembered.
But that face, which had once haunted his dreams, now filled him with a suffocating pain.
“It really is you,” he murmured, his voice hoarse and strained.
When Shen Zhaoning saw the man before her, her breath hitched, and her mind went blank.
As soon as she regained her senses, she tried to close the door.
Suddenly, with a loud “bang,”
Fu Huaixu slammed the door shut with his hand. He advanced step by step, his tall figure exuding an oppressive aura, forcing her back against the door.
“What are you doing?” she instinctively tried to push him away, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re trespassing!”
“I’m trespassing in a hotel,” he corrected coldly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
In the next second, he grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the cold door.
Before Shen Zhaoning could react, a rough sensation pressed against her lips.
“Mmph—”
Fu Huaixu kissed her frantically, pouring five years of longing, grievance, and anger into it.
As if trying to meld her into his very bones, his lips and tongue invaded aggressively, giving her no chance to catch her breath.
Shen Zhaoning struggled in panic, her fists pounding against his back with the force of cotton balls—utterly ineffective against him.
In desperation, she lifted her foot and stomped hard on his shoe.
“Hiss—”
Fu Huaixu winced in pain and finally released her.
Shen Zhaoning gasped for air, her cheeks flushed red. Suddenly, she raised her hand.
A crisp “slap” echoed sharply in the quiet room, jolting him fully awake.
A bright red handprint instantly appeared on Fu Huaixu’s face. He froze, his eyes reddening, now filled with hurt and grievance.
“What’s wrong with you?” Shen Zhaoning demanded, her chest heaving violently.
But Fu Huaixu suddenly laughed, a bitter, self-mocking smile.
His hands trembled slightly as he held her arms, his voice hoarse and strained:
“I am crazy. Are you only realizing that today? For the past five years, I’ve thought countless times, ‘Don’t let me find you. If I do, I’ll chain you up!’
You owe me five years, and you’ll spend the rest of your life paying it back!”
Shen Zhaoning was stunned. Seeing his reddened eyes, she felt an inexplicable twinge of emotion.
He had searched for her for five years?
But soon, she remembered the scene she had witnessed at the airport earlier that day. Suppressing that flicker of emotion, she sneered:
“Fu Huaixu, you’re quite the actor. After treating me like that, did you expect me to stay and watch you flaunt your affection with your fiancée?”
“Fiancée? Who said I have a fiancée?” Fu Huaixu frowned, looking genuinely confused.
“What does it matter to me whether you do or not? It’s all in the past,” Shen Zhaoning turned her head away.
“In the past?” Fu Huaixu sneered. “Hah, you disappeared without a word, without even saying goodbye, and just sentenced me to death like that?”
Shen Zhaoning took a deep breath, then frowned. “Back then, it was you who sent me a message saying you were returning to the country to get engaged and wanted to break up with me.”
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
“Me?” Fu Huaixu looked stunned. “When I woke up from my coma, I couldn’t find you anywhere! I asked your classmates, and they said you had dropped out!”
“Coma?” Shen Zhaoning turned her head, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“I was in a car accident back then and was in a coma for over two months.” Fu Huaixu’s gaze flickered slightly, his voice growing low:
“After I woke up, your phone was turned off, all your social media accounts were deleted. I searched everywhere, asked everyone who knew you, and they all said you had disappeared.”
Shen Zhaoning froze. Car accident? Coma?…
“Zhaozhao, listen to me. I will definitely get to the bottom of this. For the past five years, I’ve traveled between Y Country and Kyoto several times a year, just to find you.”
He gripped Shen Zhaoning’s shoulders tightly, his gaze burning as he looked at her. “I loved you so much—how could I ever bear to break up with you?”
Shen Zhaoning looked into his sincere eyes, and the defenses in her heart began to waver.
Could it really have been a misunderstanding?
“Well, are you done?” She turned her head away, not wanting him to see the hesitation in her eyes. “If you’re done, then hurry up and leave!”
“I’m not leaving.” Fu Huaixu stubbornly refused, acting like a child.
“Fine, if you won’t leave, I will.” Shen Zhaoning pushed him away, making as if to leave.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go, I’ll go.” Fu Huaixu sighed helplessly but suddenly grabbed her hand. “But first, you have to give me your current phone number.”
Shen Zhaoning hesitated for a moment before taking the phone he handed her, entering her number, and then tossing it back to him:
“Can you leave now?”
Fu Huaixu looked at the number on the phone, dialed it, and instantly, a phone on the coffee table rang. A triumphant smile curled at the corner of his lips.
He leaned in close, gently kissing the corner of her mouth, then whispered in her ear:
“Zhaozhao, get some rest. I’ll find out the truth as soon as possible. Wait for me.”
With that, he turned and opened the door, disappearing down the hallway.
Shen Zhaoning leaned against the door, listening as the footsteps outside gradually faded away, her heart a whirlwind of conflicting emotions.
Fu Huaixu walked out of the hotel lobby.
“Hah…” He chuckled softly, his fingers lightly tracing the screen of his phone before dialing Mu Yufeng’s number. Once the call connected:
“Where are you right now.”
Fu Huaixu’s voice was eerily calm, betraying neither joy nor anger, only a suppressed intensity. “I’m coming to find you now.”
Mu Yufeng on the other end clearly paused for a moment before finally giving his address.