I am not!
I did not!
Stop talking nonsense!
As a newly promoted older father-figure fan, Fu Juncheng felt a swirling mix of emotions all at once.
Covet Xu Yaozhou’s body?
He didn’t dare!
If those people around Wu Jin ever found out, they would practically flay him alive!
With a complex expression, Fu Juncheng thought of that scum Wu Jin, then glanced back at the precious little pitiful creature before him who looked like fresh snow after a clearing storm. He grew even more conflicted about whether he should tactfully remind the other person to cherish life and stay far away from Wu Jin.
Before he expected it, Xu Yaozhou let out a short, sharp gasp of air.
With a hint of helplessness in his voice, Xu Yaozhou said, “You’re hurting me.”
Fu Juncheng froze for half a second, startled into releasing a good portion of his grip, and was just about to speak—
The door was kicked open directly from the outside!
A familiar voice rang out—it was the young girl who had guided Fu Juncheng earlier: “Mr. Xie, you cannot go in!”
The next second, Xie Chen’s eyes were red. Without breaking his stride, the first thing he saw was Fu Juncheng and Xu Yaozhou sitting closely together on the window-side sofa.
From Xie Chen’s perspective, that precious and poised young master whom he held in the very center of his heart was being intimately embraced with both arms by Fu Juncheng.
Recalling the moment he pushed the door open and the vague, indistinct conversation drifting from inside the room…
Seething with rage, Xie Chen rolled up his sleeves, looking entirely ready for a brawl: “Fu Juncheng, you shameless bastard!”
Fu Juncheng froze, his moment of bewilderment aligning precisely with Xu Yaozhou’s gaze shifting toward him.
Just thinking about how Xu Yaozhou had appeared before Xie Chen with such zero concealment, even if it was only his upper body…
Even just his upper body was dangerous!
Fu Juncheng’s brain spun at lightning speed, but his hands moved even faster. He casually grabbed a piece of clothing and pressed it directly onto Xu Yaozhou.
Xu Yaozhou didn’t dodge either, following Fu Juncheng’s lead to put the garment back on. By the time Fu Juncheng shifted his gaze back to his side, he discovered that Xu Yaozhou had already unassumingly buttoned it all the way up.
Yet, viewed through the eyes of an outsider, this looked like the classic textbook scene of being caught in the act of adultery. It was as if he, Xie Chen, were the uninvited, shameless intruder. All his pent-up curses choked right in his throat. Watching this, Xie Chen was left dazed, his heart shattered into pieces.
To make matters worse, the moment Xu Yaozhou cast a cold glance in his direction, he instinctively leaned closer toward Fu Juncheng, then flicked a glance to signal the female helper to leave first.
Xie Chen could even be certain that if he dared to lay a hand on Fu Juncheng right now, Xu Yaozhou might very well team up with Fu Juncheng to deal with him.
As expected, this Fu Juncheng was simply no good!
Not only had he bluffed Wu Jin into paying off his debts, but now, who knew when he had managed to get close to Xu Yaozhou, and even…
Xie Chen held back for a long time. Constrained by Xu Yaozhou’s presence and unwilling to lose face in front of him with nowhere to vent his anger, his baby-faced visage turned alternating shades of red as he stamped his feet in frustration: “Yaozhou, this guy is nothing more than a vixen. Don’t let him trick you.”
It was Fu Juncheng’s first time seeing Xie Chen looking so thwarted, and he almost burst out laughing before he suddenly felt his shirt hem being gently tugged.
Sideways glancing, he saw Xu Yaozhou meeting his eyes thoughtfully: “Why is he saying those things about you?”
Fu Juncheng was taken aback, having no idea how the topic had ended up pinned squarely on him with no way out.
Across the room, Xie Chen’s eyes lit up, assuming his warning had worked. He hurriedly chimed in, his words dripping with unmasked disdain: “It’s true! This punk Fu Juncheng was brought here by Wu Jin today. You can find out just by asking around—he’s been kept hidden away in a golden house by Wu Jin for a while now, totally devoted to him. To think he’d actually turn around and try to hook up with you now—utterly shameless.”
Not only was Xie Chen’s remark subtly implying that Fu Juncheng was a kept mistress, but he was also dragging his rival Wu Jin down into the muddy waters along the way.
Instead of being annoyed, Fu Juncheng found it amusing. His slightly drooping outer-corner eyes narrowed slightly, and as he parted his lips, he habitually tilted his head with a casual, nonchalant smile: “And what, I’m supposed to be crying, making a scene, and hanging myself for Wu Jin’s sake?”
“Right!” Xie Chen reflexively shot back, but the moment he collided with Fu Juncheng’s smiling eyes, his entire body stiffened. Beside himself with rage, he snapped, “You still have the nerve to talk!”
Fu Juncheng retorted, “Knowing me inside out like that—could it be that you actually like me?”
Fu Juncheng talked back purely to disgust Xie Chen. Seeing Xie Chen’s throat choke up as he flushed red with anger, the amusement in his eyes only deepened.
This stubborn brat was actually quite entertaining.
After a long pause of stunned silence, Xie Chen burned with indignation and snapped back, “Stop flattering yourself! How could I possibly…”
With that, his gaze lingered for a brief moment on the tightly furrowed crease between Xu Yaozhou’s brows before he angrily continued, “How could I possibly like you? Disgusting.”
Having laughed to his heart’s content, Fu Juncheng waved a hand and said, “Alright, what are you even doing here?”
Xie Chen threw him a suspicious look, his cheeks puffed up as he opened his mouth: “None of your business.”
Fu Juncheng pondered for a fleeting moment: “Knowing I was here, did you come looking for me on purpose?”
Xie Chen’s lips parted, but after fumbling for a long time, he couldn’t spit out a single retort.
It seemed he had guessed correctly.
Presumably, the unlucky kid couldn’t swallow the bitter pill of his previous humiliation and had deliberately come looking for trouble.
Fu Juncheng raised a brow slightly: “Tsk tsk, and you still claim you don’t like me.”
“You—”
At those words, Xie Chen turned ashen-faced. If not for the constraint of being inside the Xu family estate, he probably would have picked up a chair and smashed it over Fu Juncheng’s head.
Just as Xie Chen reached the peak of his fury, he suddenly heard Xu Yaozhou let out a low, muffled groan.
Though the sound wasn’t loud, as if he were exercising extreme restraint, it landed in the ears of the other two like a thunderclap, effortlessly drawing every eye.
Fu Juncheng’s expression shifted drastically as his hand instinctively went to steady Xu Yaozhou’s arm: “What’s wrong?”
Lowering his gaze to mask the flash of displeasure in his eyes, Xu Yaozhou shook his head and replied softly, “I accidentally brushed against my injury just now.”
Xie Chen’s anger instantly evaporated, replaced by total bewilderment as he stepped closer: “Injury? What injury?”
Sitting beside Fu Juncheng without lifting his eyes, Xu Yaozhou answered, “I had an accident while filming. Fortunately, the rooftop wasn’t very high, but I scraped my waist.”
“Your waist?”
At a loss for what to connect it to, Xie Chen blurted out in alarm, “You can’t mess up your waist! If something happens to—”
Xie Chen’s train of thought took a bizarre turn. Finally, Xu Yaozhou gave him a reaction, lifting his eyelids slightly to cast a cool, detached glance at him. For some unknown reason, that single look made Xie Chen feel as though the surrounding temperature had inexplicably dropped several degrees.
Instantly altering his tune, Xie Chen pivoted: “No, no, I mean… how could you be so careless?”
Fu Juncheng hadn’t paid attention to the subtle micro-dynamics between the two of them. Hearing Xu Yaozhou’s words caused him to freeze for a split second, his complexion souring in an instant.
In a stern voice, Fu Juncheng demanded, “And you call falling like that careless?”
The words carried a clear edge of irritation. Xu Yaozhou hadn’t expected Fu Juncheng to react this way either, and after a moment of stunned silence, he answered, “I spoke about it lightly earlier because I was afraid you’d worry.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a twinge of regret hit Fu Juncheng.
He and Xu Yaozhou were non-relatives; his tone was far too heavy and laced with blame, making it completely unjustified no matter how he looked at it.
It was purely because the moment Xu Yaozhou’s previous sentence had fallen, Fu Juncheng had instantly been hurled back in memory to the instant before arriving in this world—the snapping of the wire and the weightless plunge from the building.
He never wanted to experience that kind of terror again, which was why he had briefly lost his composure.
Yet not only did Xu Yaozhou not mind his overstepping, but he had responded with such gentleness.
Fu Juncheng’s internal state grew all the more indescribable.
What kind of absolute little angel on earth was this!
He must never, ever allow that scum Wu Jin to taint him!
Back and forth the conversation went, leaving Xie Chen feeling once again like an outsider.
Yet the current occasion truly did not permit him to throw a tantrum at random.
Fiercely forcing down the dissatisfaction churning in his chest, Xie Chen poked his head in with a timid interjection: “So the two of you just now… were you really not…?”
Xu Yaozhou remained silent.
Looking utterly baffled, Fu Juncheng asked, “Not doing what?”
Choking on his words, Xie Chen let out a huff, turned his face away, and muttered, “Never mind.”
Just as Fu Juncheng prepared to press further, Xu Yaozhou suddenly spoke up: “Gege, my clothes were worn by you.”
Xie Chen: “???”
Hearing this, Xie Chen’s expression instantly cracked.
What does “my clothes were worn by you” even mean?
Why on earth are you wearing that vixen’s clothes?!
Interrupted mid-thought, Fu Juncheng didn’t react immediately: “Huh?”
Xu Yaozhou continued, “Wait a moment. I’ll have someone bring over a fresh set.”
Fu Juncheng took a beat to realize that the garment he had casually draped over Xu Yaozhou earlier was none other than the change of clothes the young girl had brought him earlier.
“It’s fine…”
Before Fu Juncheng could finish refusing, he watched Xu Yaozhou pull out his phone and send a message.
To push back any further would make him look overly dramatic.
Opting for practicality, Fu Juncheng nodded, changed the subject, and offered a simple word of thanks.
Xie Chen’s suspicious gaze oscillated back and forth between Fu Juncheng and Xu Yaozhou for a brief moment before a deep frown crunched his features, prompting him to fire off a soul-searching question: “Yaozhou, the person who asked Aunt Yun to come look for us earlier… don’t tell me that was you?”
Xu Yaozhou didn’t answer right away. Burning with impatience, Xie Chen blurted out, “I went to look for Madam Xu privately just a moment ago, and she knew nothing about that whole mess. It wasn’t until Aunt Yun explained it to her on the side that she understood.”
As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly profound.
Staring blankly, Fu Juncheng looked over.
To his surprise, Xu Yaozhou didn’t try to hide it at all. After a quiet moment, he nodded: “I happened to see it.”
With that, his gaze drifted slightly, meeting Fu Juncheng’s dazed expression with a faint, meaningful smile.
Not only had he seen it, but he had seen every single detail clearly.
He had personally asked Aunt Yun to invite the person to this room.
In that fleeting instant, a memory flashed unbidden into Xu Yaozhou’s mind—the sight of the person before him standing amidst the crowd, looking seemingly dazed and helpless.
Clearly looking so pitiable, yet turning his head away with a subtle, crafty arc of triumph playing at the corners of his lips, a flash of mischievous cleverness that had accidentally been caught in his line of sight.
The warm sunlight filtered through the gaps of thin clouds and tender leaves, casting dappled, shifting lights and shadows right across the curve of a slightly hooked smile.
It was identical to the face that had flashed unannounced across his mind earlier that day while filming.
Only, the overly gentle morning glow had been replaced by the bloody crimson canvas of a setting sun. The afterglow had swallowed the entire horizon like raging flames devouring all surrounding life, reflecting dancing sparks within the depths of that person’s crystal-clear pupils and making his gaze shine with intense brilliance.
The sensation felt far too real. Suddenly, darkness swallowed his vision, followed by a sensation akin to being trapped in a nightmare.
If not for that, he wouldn’t have let his guard down and tumbled off the constructed rooftop set.
Accompanied by this inexplicable memory, Xu Yaozhou felt a phantom, stabbing ache throbbing rhythmically right at the site of his injury, transmitting all the way to his heart.
His palm tightened instinctively, then relaxed again.
He sought an answer right here from Fu Juncheng.
Suppressing the questions swirling in his mind, Xu Yaozhou blinked, his refined and delicate features carrying an air of untarnished, worldly innocence as he asked with feigned perplexity, “Could it be that Gege didn’t see me back then?”