I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 45

If it weren’t intentional, the two of them might never cross paths again.

Fu Xunzhou closed his eyes, sitting quietly in the back seat. In his hand was a snowflake-shaped pendant, a gift he intended for Zhou Youling upon returning from a business trip, but he never managed to give it to her.

In truth, she probably never needed his gifts.

Over the years, no matter what he gave her, she kept them all intact.

In the end, she left without taking any of them.

In the front seat, Fu Hexu finally finished a game and turned to Fu Xunzhou, asking, “So, what did you want to see me for at this late hour?”

Fu Hexu looked up and asked, “Are you interested in…”

Before he could finish, Fu Xunzhou interrupted, “Hold on! You’re not trying to get me to take over the family business, are you?”

Fu Xunzhou remained silent, simply looking at Fu Hexu.

Smart as Fu Hexu was, he understood without needing further explanation.

“Seriously?” Fu Hexu smirked, “I’ve told you a thousand times, I’m not interested.”

Fu Xunzhou replied coldly, “I’m planning to be based in the European market next year. Someone needs to handle things here.”

For the past few years, Fu Xunzhou had been traveling between places. If it weren’t for someone he cared about back home, he might never have returned.

But now, things were different. He had no ties, or rather, no right to have any. So, choosing to stay in Europe seemed like a good option.

Fu Hexu glanced at Fu Xunzhou and chuckled, “Are you running away from heartbreak?”

Fu Xunzhou didn’t answer.

Whether he was or not didn’t matter.

The car soon reached their destination, a music bar recommended by Fu Hexu, called “Qingxin.”

Afraid the driver might get lost, Fu Hexu had sat in the front passenger seat to guide him, though he spent most of the time engrossed in his game. It was Fu Xunzhou in the back seat who actually directed the way.

Standing at the bar entrance, Fu Xunzhou recalled the last time Zhou Youling got drunk here. It was at this very bar.

This bar was owned by a friend of Zhou Youling’s, and Fu Xunzhou still remembered that person.

Fu Hexu came over, slinging an arm around Fu Xunzhou’s shoulder, “Come on, why aren’t you going in?”

Fu Xunzhou remained silent.

Once inside, Fu Hexu led Fu Xunzhou to the bar with practiced ease and ordered two drinks.

When the drinks arrived, Fu Hexu clinked his glass against Fu Xunzhou’s and handed him a drink, “You know I’m not cut out for business.”

Fu Xunzhou took the glass, saying, “You can learn, slowly.”

He himself had started from scratch, learning bit by bit.

Fu Hexu had always been smarter than him, picking up things faster. But Fu Hexu was never one to settle down and focus. If he ever got serious, nothing could stop him.

“You’re really trying to convince me, huh?” Fu Hexu pointed at the glass and said to Fu Xunzhou, “Well, you’ll have to drink me under the table first.”

Fu Xunzhou frowned slightly at that.

Drinking was never his forte, mainly because he had no interest in it. Anyone who knew Fu Xunzhou knew he almost never drank. He used to smoke, but since getting married, he had given that up too.

Fu Hexu knew his younger brother all too well and couldn’t resist teasing him, “What? Afraid to drink?”

Afraid? Not quite.

Fu Xunzhou picked up his glass and took a small sip, the sharp taste making him furrow his brow.

In Xunzhou’s memory, Zhou Youling seemed to be someone who never drank, yet he had seen her completely wasted that day.

“Alcohol’s a wonderful thing, you know. It can drown a thousand sorrows,” Hexu said, already halfway through his drink.

Xunzhou took another sip.

Little did he know, he was slowly falling into Hexu’s trap.

As if Hexu, who had always been carefree, would suddenly decide to take over the family business. If he had wanted to, he would have done it ages ago.

Hexu pondered over it. This had to be closely related to his sister-in-law, Zhou Youling. Xunzhou’s decision to head to the European market at this time was surely to avoid Youling. If he had truly moved on, why would he need to escape?

Hexu patted Xunzhou on the shoulder, chuckling, “You’re such a blockhead, what am I going to do with you?”

Xunzhou’s cheeks were slightly flushed as he looked at Hexu, puzzled.

Hexu asked, “Brother, have you ever chased after a girl?”

Xunzhou shook his head.

Such trivial questions weren’t worth his time.

From a young age, Xunzhou was introverted, his daily routine revolving around studying. Even during his teenage years, he was unlike other boys, uninterested in romantic pursuits. By then, Hexu had already dated several girls, and seeing Xunzhou’s monk-like calmness, he asked him why. Xunzhou had seriously considered the question and concluded that he simply didn’t know what it felt like to be moved, so pursuing someone was out of the question.

On the flip side, many had pursued Xunzhou, but he always rejected them bluntly with a cold, “I don’t have feelings for you, don’t waste your time on me.”

Xunzhou was known as an ice king from a young age, and that was something ingrained in him.

Hexu couldn’t help but advise Xunzhou, “If you like someone and they don’t know, would you tell them?”

Xunzhou had never thought about such a question and was momentarily taken aback.

Hexu continued, “Let me give you an example. If I liked a girl, I’d definitely tell her.”

“Oh,” Xunzhou nodded slightly.

Hexu went on, “If she likes me back, she might agree to be my girlfriend. If she doesn’t, I’d find a way to make her like me.”

Xunzhou rested his head on his hand, listening intently.

Hexu raised an eyebrow, “That’s what pursuing is about. You have to show her your good side, attract her, make her feel something for you.”

Xunzhou remained silent.

He wasn’t dense; he understood the meaning behind Hexu’s words.

“What if she dislikes you?” Xunzhou asked.

Hexu clicked his tongue, “So what? Dislike can turn into like. It all depends on what you do. If you do nothing, she’ll just stay at the dislike stage. But if you do something, she might gradually change her mind about you.”

“What should I do then?” Fu Xunzhou asked again.

“Now you’re asking the right person.” Fu Hexu couldn’t resist draping an arm over Xunzhou’s shoulder. “There’s a saying: cater to their interests. If she likes flowers, send her flowers every day. If she enjoys food, take her out to try all sorts of cuisines. If she likes having fun, invite her out…”

Xunzhou nodded, not realizing that his glass had been refilled by Fu Hexu four times already.

He was starting to feel a bit fuzzy.

With the air of someone who’s been through it all, Fu Hexu told Xunzhou, “You’re a good guy, but your emotional intelligence is just too low!”

…

The night stretched on.

For Zhou Youling, there was still a mountain of things to do once she got home.

The snow in Nanzhou City made the cold bite through to the bone, but thankfully, her home had underfloor heating. As soon as she got back, she kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot on the floor, then turned on some music.

The pregnancy app said that at this stage, the baby could benefit from prenatal education. So every day, Youling would listen to some soothing music suitable for prenatal development. After that, she would remove her makeup and wash her face.

In the past, Youling would spend at least two hours a day on skincare. Now, she had become a bit lazier in that regard, choosing instead to focus her energy on exercising. Doing yoga had become a nightly routine for her, usually lasting about forty minutes.

After finishing her yoga, Youling would take a break, watch some TV, and then it was time for a bath and bed.

Her days were full now, with restaurant affairs during the day and her own little world at night. If it weren’t for certain people suddenly popping up and disturbing her thoughts, she would have believed she had truly left the past behind.

After yoga, Youling sat cross-legged on the floor, lost in thought, not even sure what she was pondering.

The snow outside had long stopped, with only a few flakes falling in the evening. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she might have doubted it had snowed at all.

For a moment, Youling even wondered if fate was giving them a chance.

Shaking her head at the thought, she reminded herself that the city was so small, the chances of running into each other were too high.

After her bath, it was eleven o’clock.

Youling sent a message to Bai Lingxue, asking where she had been tonight.

Ever since Lingxue started dating Luo Hang, staying out all night had become a regular occurrence. They were adults, and Youling had no right to pry, but she couldn’t help worrying a little.

Just after sending the message, Youling heard her doorbell ring.

“Lingxue?” she called out.

No answer came, but the doorbell rang again.

Sighing, Youling thought it must be Lingxue coming back from another night out.

Still cautious, she went to the door to check the peephole, surprised to find no one there.

Alarm bells rang in her mind, wondering if she was hearing things. She decided to ignore it, but just as she turned away, the doorbell rang once more.

“Who’s there? If you don’t answer, I’m calling the police!” Youling warned.

“Your knight in shining armor,” Fu Hexu replied.

Frowning, Youling looked through the peephole again, only to see Fu Hexu making faces at it.

Zhou Youling let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.

Fu Hexu chuckled, “Not bad, you’ve got some sense of security.”

“How did you know I live here?” Zhou Youling asked.

“That’s not hard,” Fu Hexu pointed to the guy slumped in the hallway, completely out of it, and said to Zhou Youling, “I’ll leave this guy to you!”

Following Fu Hexu’s gesture, Zhou Youling finally noticed Fu Xunzhou sitting in the hallway.

Fu Xunzhou looked utterly drunk, sitting on the floor as if he might topple over at any moment.

“Why is he here?” Zhou Youling asked with a frown.

Fu Hexu shrugged innocently, “He said he wanted to see you, so I kindly brought him here.”

He finished speaking with a helpless gesture, palms upturned.

“I don’t want to see him,” Zhou Youling said sternly, “Take him away.”

“I went through a lot to get him up here,” Fu Hexu said, washing his hands of the situation, “I’m not dealing with it.”

With that, he walked away without looking back, leaving Fu Xunzhou there alone.

Zhou Youling was furious, slamming the door shut, ignoring the drunken man in the hallway.

Inside, it was warm, but Fu Xunzhou was only wearing a thin shirt out in the corridor.

Half an hour later, Zhou Youling couldn’t help but open her door again.

Fu Xunzhou was still in the hallway, but now he had gone from sitting to lying on the floor.

He must have really felt the chill, as he was curled up tightly.

Zhou Youling couldn’t help but find it amusing to see him like this.

Fu Xunzhou, always meticulous in life, probably never imagined he’d end up so disheveled.

“Hey, wake up,” Zhou Youling crouched in front of Fu Xunzhou.

Fu Xunzhou mumbled something, furrowing his brow slightly, then continued to sleep.

“Aren’t you cold?” Zhou Youling asked in a chilly tone.

Fu Xunzhou didn’t respond.

Zhou Youling reached out and nudged him, “Can you hear me?”

Fu Xunzhou seemed lifeless.

Zhou Youling looked closely at him and then patted his cheek, “If you don’t get up, I’m calling the police.”

Just as she finished speaking, the hand she had placed on his cheek was suddenly grabbed tightly.