Fu Yan Ting remembered every moment he spent with Yan Xi, the mutual hurt, the schemes, the manipulations, and most importantly, the companionship.
Those past memories, bit by bit, flooded his mind.
Fu Yan Ting's thoughts drifted far away.
If he could, he would rather Yan Xi stayed by his side, even if it meant she schemed against him or hurt him. He didn't want to be like this now, letting Yan Xi leave him.
Every time he thought of this, Fu Yan Ting's eyes would close tightly, closing in despair.
He would never forget Yan Xi's every smile and frown.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Yan Ting fell asleep on the sofa.
In his dream, a woman held a dagger to his chest. Fu Yan Ting had no time to dodge and was pierced by the dagger.
Fu Yan Ting coughed up a mouthful of blood. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, the woman slowly turned around. Fu Yan Ting saw her face – it was the Yan Xi he longed for day and night.
Yan Xi said coldly, "Fu Yan Ting, I hate you. I never loved you. Marrying you was the biggest mistake of my life. Thankfully, this mistake has now ended."
After speaking, Yan Xi turned and left, not even looking back at Fu Yan Ting.
Fu Yan Ting tried desperately to get up, to grab Yan Xi's hand, but he couldn't.
As Zhang Ma was draping a blanket over Fu Yan Ting, he suddenly woke up.
Seeing that Fu Yan Ting was awake, Zhang Ma said apologetically, "Sir, did I disturb your rest? I saw you were asleep and worried you might catch a chill, so I covered you with a blanket."
"It's fine."
Even without Zhang Ma, Fu Yan Ting would have woken up.
Hearing Fu Yan Ting's reply, Zhang Ma sighed silently and then turned to go to the kitchen to cook.
Fu Yan Ting suddenly called out to Zhang Ma.
Zhang Ma turned around, confused, looking at Fu Yan Ting. She didn't understand why he had suddenly called her back.
Could it be about Yan Xi?
Did the master know that she was actually an accomplice to Xin Yi, and was he going to blame her now that he knew Yan Xi had met with misfortune?
"Zhang Ma, do you think... do you think Xi Xi is still alive?"
Zhang Ma had thought Fu Yan Ting was going to scold her, but she never expected him to suddenly ask this. Hearing Fu Yan Ting's question, Zhang Ma felt a pang in her heart.
The master was such a good person, yet he had to endure so much torment in his love life. Thinking about it made Zhang Ma feel terrible.
Before Zhang Ma could respond, Fu Yan Ting murmured softly, "My Xi Xi will come back. She hates me so much, she wants me dead so badly. I'm not dead yet, how could anything happen to her."
Seeing Fu Yan Ting like this, Zhang Ma secretly wiped away tears.
She had worked in the Fu family for so many years, and this was the first time she had ever seen Fu Yan Ting look so utterly lost.
After Yan Xi's accident, Mu Jing Chen also returned to Yan Cheng from Kyoto. Mu Jing Chen was unaware of what had transpired between Fu Yan Ting and Yan Xi.
However, Mu Jing Chen knew that Yan Xi had returned to Yan Cheng this time to find Fu Yan Ting. Now that Yan Xi was in trouble, it must be related to Fu Yan Ting.
Mu Jing Chen used his connections in Kyoto and began to suppress Fu Yan Ting upon his return to Yan Cheng.
Before Fu Yan Ting could even find Yan Xi's body, or recover from his despair, his company ran into trouble.
Fu Yan Ting paid no attention to it.
He locked himself at home all day, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
Initially, Mu Qing Xiang did not come to comfort Fu Yan Ting. She knew that Yan Xi's misfortune had been a devastating blow to Fu Yan Ting, and he needed time to process it.
But now, with the company in trouble and on the brink of collapse, Fu Yan Ting remained indifferent.
Mu Qing Xiang could no longer stand it. She drove to Fu Yan Ting's villa. As soon as she stopped the car, before it had even fully parked, Mu Qing Xiang impatiently opened the car door and got out. Upon entering, she saw Zhang Ma and asked, "Where is Fu Yan Ting?"
"Old Madam, Sir is still in his room."
Zhang Ma could tell that Mu Qing Xiang was very angry at the moment. She hadn't seen Mu Qing Xiang so furious in many years, and it must be something major that had happened.
Zhang Ma was also worried about Fu Yan Ting and followed Mu Qing Xiang upstairs.
Mu Qing Xiang entered the room and saw Fu Yan Ting sitting on the floor, his stubble unshaven, surrounded by empty wine bottles.
There was red wine and beer.
Fu Yan Ting stared blankly ahead, his eyes hollow. He didn't even seem to notice Mu Qing Xiang entering.
Mu Qing Xiang had never seen Fu Yan Ting so distraught. Seeing him in such a wretched state, she felt a surge of disappointment and anger. She raised her hand and slapped Fu Yan Ting.
The slap was hard. Fu Yan Ting snapped back to reality and looked at Mu Qing Xiang. The sudden pain did not improve his mood. He asked faintly, "Grandmother, why have you come?"
"If I hadn't come, would you have just tormented yourself to death?"
Fu Yan Ting did not respond to Mu Qing Xiang.
"Yan Ting, if you don't go to the company, it will go bankrupt."
Fu Yan Ting remained unmoved.
Before, Fu Yan Ting had worked so desperately because Yan Xi was scheming for his family fortune. He felt he had a goal. But now that Yan Xi was gone, what was the use of earning more money? That money was just a string of numbers to Fu Yan Ting.
Mu Qing Xiang knew that Fu Yan Ting was a person of deep loyalty and righteousness. Confronting him directly now would not solve anything.
Mu Qing Xiang coughed twice and said, "Yan Ting, Grandmother knows you are very sad about Yan Xi's accident. Actually, I know about these things. But why are you so certain that Yan Xi is dead?"
Indeed, upon hearing Mu Qing Xiang's question, Fu Yan Ting's expression improved. He turned to look at Mu Qing Xiang, excitedly shaking her shoulders and asking, "Grandmother, what do you mean by that?"
Mu Qing Xiang glanced at Fu Yan Ting and did not respond.
Fu Yan Ting was unwilling and asked again, "Grandmother, do you know something?"
Mu Qing Xiang still ignored Fu Yan Ting.
Fu Yan Ting desperately wanted to know the answer, to know if Yan Xi had indeed met with misfortune.
Therefore, he was consumed by anxiety.
Seeing Mu Qing Xiang's silence, Fu Yan Ting asked again, "Grandmother, what do you mean by that?"
"Look at yourself, what has become of you? A descendant of the Fu family, fallen so low, one would think our Fu family had gone bankrupt prematurely."
Mu Qing Xiang said irritably, seeing Fu Yan Ting looking like a vagrant.
Hearing Mu Qing Xiang's words, Fu Yan Ting touched his stubble. He had been so immersed in the pain of losing Yan Xi these past few days that he hadn't paid attention to his appearance at all.
Now, hearing Mu Qing Xiang say this, Fu Yan Ting quickly got up and went to the bathroom to tidy himself up.