I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 39

Fu Xunzhou didn’t leave. He strode towards Zhou Youling, finally blocking her path.

Just a second ago, Zhou Youling was smiling and chatting with Ji Yangwen, but her expression turned cold the moment she saw Fu Xunzhou. “Please move aside.”

Ji Yangwen noticed Fu Xunzhou too, looking rather disheveled, his clothes soaked by the rain.

“I have something to say to you,” Fu Xunzhou said to Zhou Youling, trying to soften his usually aloof tone to bridge the gap between them. But being accustomed to authority, his words still carried a hint of dominance.

Zhou Youling shook her head, her refusal was decisive. “There’s nothing left to say between us.”

Fu Xunzhou didn’t step aside, speaking urgently, “I know you misunderstood my relationship with Xue Yining, Youling, I want to clear things up.”

“It’s too late.” Zhou Youling instinctively stepped back, moving behind Ji Yangwen. “Besides, our issues aren’t about Xue Yining. Even without her, we would have ended up here.”

“Youling, give me a chance.”

Fu Xunzhou tried to step forward, but Ji Yangwen placed a hand on his shoulder, “Mr. Fu, your actions are only causing distress to the lady.”

Fu Xunzhou brushed off Ji Yangwen’s hand, stepping forward to reach for Zhou Youling’s hand, but quickly realized his grip often hurt her.

This time, he refrained from grabbing her hand forcefully, which only made her retreat further.

Zhou Youling seized the opportunity to escape, a flicker of fear in her eyes. “Fu Xunzhou, we’re divorced. Please stop being unreasonable!”

With that, she hurried into the restaurant with the two pots of flowers, not looking back.

The restaurant doors closed automatically, shutting out the cold from outside.

Ji Yangwen looked at Fu Xunzhou coldly, “What are you doing?”

Without his usual grandeur, Fu Xunzhou looked like a pitiful, abandoned creature.

“The mighty leader of Fu’s Group, Fu Xunzhou, if people saw you like this today, they’d laugh their heads off.” Ji Yangwen stood on the steps, looking down at him. He patted Fu Xunzhou’s shoulder with a face full of regret, “It’s foolish to only cherish something after losing it.”

With those words, Ji Yangwen gave Fu Xunzhou a gentle push on the shoulder, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

Ji Yangwen’s expression was serious and disdainful, “As Youling’s friend, I hope you won’t bother her again. If not for old times’ sake, your actions today could be considered a threat to her.”

Whether Fu Xunzhou absorbed these words was unclear. He looked into the restaurant, separated by a large glass window, where several waiters were whispering among themselves.

Naturally, the waiters were curious about their boss’s gossip, especially seeing Zhou Youling caught between two handsome men, a scene straight out of a drama.

Ji Yangwen soon turned and left as well.

In the biting wind, Fu Xunzhou felt a chill to his bones for the first time.

Fu Xunzhou didn’t leave; he stood outside the restaurant, awaiting her judgment.

From dusk till nightfall, and into the deep of night, Zhou Youling never reappeared.

Fu Xunzhou seemed like he had been abandoned by the entire world. Passersby would glance at him with curiosity, but none showed him any sympathy. Inside the restaurant, the waiters initially whispered among themselves, but eventually, they got used to his presence.

When Fu Hexu arrived after hearing the news, he found Fu Xunzhou standing alone in the cold wind. Xunzhou was dressed lightly, likely having rushed over in the thin shirt he wore after a meeting that afternoon.

It was now nine at night, and the temperature outside in Nanzhou City was only five degrees Celsius.

The rainwater on Xunzhou’s clothes had dried at some point.

A black coat was draped over his cold, almost numb body.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Fu Hexu shoved it into Xunzhou’s mouth, cursing, “You’re frozen like a popsicle. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Xunzhou took a deep drag, the smoke hitting his lungs and making him unable to breathe for a moment, causing him to cough violently.

He fell to his knees, as if he might die the next second. His mind went blank, followed by a flash of white light.

Before passing out, Xunzhou could still hear Hexu cursing, “Chasing after a woman without using your brain? Do you really think anyone would sympathize with such a foolish act?”

Indeed.

She wouldn’t sympathize.

Xunzhou never expected her to.

He just wanted to wait for her to come out, to tell her that he regretted a thousand times over.

But as she said, it was all too late.

After that day, Fu Xunzhou fell seriously ill.

…

Christmas arrived as expected, a lively occasion imported from abroad.

Zhou Youling always had a strong sense of ritual for various holidays. In the past, she would have bought a Christmas tree early and decorated her home herself. This year, however, she focused all her energy on the restaurant, organizing a special Christmas event.

The event at Food and Color was simple: a raffle based on purchase receipts.

At the entrance of the restaurant stood a three-meter-tall Christmas tree adorned with various gifts. Customers could pick a gift from the tree with their receipt.

The gifts ranged from free meals to major appliances, with prizes more abundant than those at a supermarket’s mid-year celebration. Additionally, every guest received a thoughtfully wrapped Christmas gift, earning Food and Color great popularity among onlookers.

This Christmas, business at Food and Color reached unprecedented levels.

Zhou Youling hadn’t expected her first venture into the restaurant business to be so successful, which gave her a significant boost in confidence. Although the restaurant’s success also owed much to the previous boss’s efforts.

Recently, Youling even considered opening a branch. Seeing customers queue up every time due to lack of space sparked this idea. However, considering her current pregnancy and limited energy, she decided not to overextend herself for now.

Early in the morning, Ji Yangwen sent Youling a message, wishing her a Merry Christmas.

Zhou Youling was contemplating whether to buy Ji Yangwen a Christmas gift. After all, she had received several pots of flowers from him last time, and she felt uneasy about not reciprocating the gesture.

Early on, Zhou Youling left the restaurant, mainly planning to celebrate the festival with her best friend.

Zhou Youling hailed a car and was on her way to meet Congshi at the bar when she suddenly received a call from Old Master Fu.

“Lingling, are you busy?” Old Master Fu’s voice was as it had been the day before.

“Not busy,” Zhou Youling replied, adding, “Grandfather, it’s been a long time since I heard your voice.”

Old Master Fu sighed and asked, “Is it that you won’t call me unless I call you first?”

“That’s not it, Grandfather…” Zhou Youling felt a bit guilty. For various reasons, she hadn’t contacted Old Master Fu since her divorce from Fu Xunzhou.

Old Master Fu had said that even though Zhou Youling and Fu Xunzhou were divorced, she remained his granddaughter. Zhou Youling felt undeserving of this. She dared not call Old Master Fu, acting like an ostrich hoping time would resolve everything.

“I’d like to see you, is that possible?” Old Master Fu asked.

Zhou Youling hesitated, “Grandfather…”

Old Master Fu interrupted, “I won’t take up much of your time, just two hours at most. Is that okay?”

Zhou Youling couldn’t refuse the kind Old Master Fu and reluctantly nodded in agreement, but she had a condition: “Grandfather, besides you, I don’t want to see anyone else from the Fu Family.”

“Fine.”

The driver turned around and headed directly to the Fu Family’s ancestral home.

Having been there many times, Zhou Youling almost felt dazed, as if she were still the Fu Family’s grandson’s wife.

Truth be told, Old Master Fu indeed treated Zhou Youling as his own granddaughter. To some extent, Zhou Youling had also won over Old Master Fu’s heart through his stomach.

In past Christmases, Zhou Youling usually spent the holiday at the ancestral home, even cooking Old Master Fu’s favorite dishes.

Stepping out of the car, Zhou Youling familiarly walked into the ancestral home.

Unlike before, the house seemed unusually quiet today, with no one to greet her.

“Grandfather, Grandfather?” After searching around and not finding him, Zhou Youling casually walked to the fish tank and fed the fish inside.

The fish in this tank were a precious variety that Zhou Youling had bought for Old Master Fu, although she couldn’t remember their name.

Bored and waiting with no response, Zhou Youling finally picked up her phone to call Old Master Fu, but no one answered.

Facing the empty house, Zhou Youling felt like she had been played.

Suddenly, she heard a few coughs and followed the sound upstairs.

The second floor contained bedrooms and a study. In the past, if Zhou Youling stayed late, she would sleep upstairs. Old Master Fu, who had mobility issues, also lived on this floor.

Curious yet puzzled, Zhou Youling slowly ascended the stairs: “Grandfather, is that you?”

“Cough, cough…” The coughing sounded again, seemingly more severe.

Just as Zhou Youling was about to push open the door, it swung open from the inside.

Zhou Youling unexpectedly collided with a wall of flesh, and a familiar scent instantly brought her back to reality.

Fu Xunzhou was equally surprised to see Zhou Youling, thinking he was hallucinating.

He had been ill for several days, feeling groggy from the medication, as if living in a dream.

Zhou Youling stood frozen for a moment, then quickly realized that Old Master Fu had set a “trap” for her.

Without much thought, she turned to run. But before she could escape, Fu Xunzhou had already restrained her.

He reached out, embracing her from behind, burying his face in her shoulder.

“What are you doing here?” Fu Xunzhou asked hoarsely.

Zhou Youling struggled, shouting loudly, “Fu Xunzhou! Let me go!”

It was as if Fu Xunzhou hadn’t heard her. He murmured to himself, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

His voice was faint, as if he barely had the strength to speak.

Zhou Youling soon realized something was off; his body was burning hot against her shoulder.

In all the years she had known Fu Xunzhou, she had never seen him sick. She always thought he was made of iron, and this was the first time she saw him like this.

“Fu Xunzhou?” Zhou Youling tentatively called his name.

“Mm.” Fu Xunzhou’s response was still soft, but his grip tightened slightly. He said, “Stay with me, just for a while, okay?”

“No!” Zhou Youling frowned, “Stop pretending, will you?”

Fu Xunzhou didn’t answer.

Zhou Youling, frustrated, exclaimed, “What are you all trying to do? Is it fun to toy with me like this?”

With that, Zhou Youling turned and pushed Fu Xunzhou forcefully, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Fu Xunzhou, standing at 1.85 meters, fell straight to the floor without any resistance.

He was completely limp, devoid of his usual vitality, his face pale as he leaned against the wall, resembling a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Zhou Youling gritted her teeth, fully aware that this was just one of Old Master Fu’s tactics.

She turned and left without looking back, hearing Fu Xunzhou’s weak voice behind her, “Please don’t go.”

Zhou Youling hesitated for a moment but ultimately left without turning back.