Chapter 56

The elevator was very quiet, with only the sound of the machine operating, and no one said a word.

Fu Qingyan’s gaze was fixed on the person in front of him.

He noticed that the person seemed to have a signal jammer installed on them—no matter what he said, it was automatically blocked.

At first, he had only guessed that “Catcat” might feel this way toward him.

But now, seeing that the other person still hadn’t said anything, he was sure.

So, the person in the cute costume was truly avoiding him on purpose.

Although he realized this, Fu Qingyan still felt a bit unwilling to accept it.

He really wanted to understand what he had done to make the other person inexplicably dislike him.

After all, when they first met, the other person had this attitude, avoiding him as soon as they saw him.

Fu Qingyan couldn’t figure it out.

The elevator descended quickly, and it didn’t take long to reach the lower floors.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Su Xingyao didn’t even say goodbye, and walked straight out.

He got into Master Wang’s car without looking back. Instead of hurriedly removing his costume, he began to reflect on the two questions Fu Qingyan had just asked him.

It was somewhat ironic—once upon a time, he had asked similar questions to Fu Qingyan.

Who would have thought that the tables had turned, and now Fu Qingyan was the one eagerly asking him?

Su Xingyao found it really laughable.

Just a costume, and it could change so many things.

But even so, he still couldn’t understand where the hatred from Fu Qingyan had come from.

They had been so close once, but everything changed after the fire.

Because of the frequent encounters with Fu Qingyan today, those unpleasant memories resurfaced in Su Xingyao’s mind.

As soon as he closed his eyes, the past appeared before him.

That event had happened six years ago, after his college entrance exam.

Among a few friends he knew, the rich second-generation sons had already secured spots to study abroad.

So, in the end, he was the only one who had to go through the real, formal college entrance exam.

Because of this, right after he graduated, Qin Mingchuan, who had never experienced the torment of the college entrance exam, took the initiative to organize a gathering to celebrate his smooth exam completion.

The venue was a villa on an island abroad, and he invited Shen Huaixi, Fu Qingyan, and Ban Yang to join.

At that time, all of their relationships were still good, and the first three days of the graduation trip were pleasant.

But no one had expected that so many things would happen on the last night.

Su Xingyao still remembered that night when his parents and Qin Mingchuan’s parents unexpectedly arrived.

Upon receiving the news, Qin Mingchuan immediately drove to pick them up.

After they left, Fu Qingyan, who had been diving, came back and suddenly developed a low fever in the middle of the night.

Seeing that Fu Qingyan wasn’t feeling well, Su Xingyao wanted to take him to the hospital, but Fu Qingyan refused to go no matter what.

Reluctantly, Su Xingyao went out to buy medicine for him.

When he returned, he saw the villa engulfed in flames.

Then, he saw Shen Huaixi, who had been taking care of Fu Qingyan, run out of the fire by himself.

He looked around but couldn’t find Fu Qingyan, so he hurriedly asked, “Where’s Qingyan?”

To his surprise, Shen Huaixi didn’t say anything and, without warning, fainted.

The situation was so urgent that Su Xingyao worried Fu Qingyan might have passed out and didn’t know about the fire. He quickly grabbed the damp towel from Shen Huaixi’s hand, covered his mouth and nose, and rushed into the flames.

When he reached Fu Qingyan’s room, as he had guessed, Fu Qingyan was lying on the bed, unconscious.

The fire was growing fiercer, and if they didn’t leave soon, they would die here.

Su Xingyao couldn’t remember exactly how he found the strength to carry him, but on the brink of life and death, he somehow miraculously managed to lift Fu Qingyan onto his back.

How he stumbled and fumbled to get Fu Qingyan out of the room was a blur, but the searing pain from his skin being burned by the surrounding flames still felt vivid in his memory.

The journey downstairs was not smooth. His skin was covered with burn marks from the flames, but he couldn’t let go of Fu Qingyan for even a second.

Because if he let go, he wouldn’t have the strength to carry him again.

Fu Qingyan would die in the fire…

But Su Xingyao hoped he could escape with his friend.

The fire spread quickly.

In just a few minutes, the flames on the first floor grew so large that they engulfed the path he had taken earlier.

Fortunately, Su Xingyao found a window that he could escape through.

He was able to safely send Fu Qingyan out through the window.

But just as he was about to jump out after him, a huge burning painting from the second floor suddenly fell and crashed onto his back.

In an instant, the fabric and wood caught fire and burned against his skin.

Su Xingyao’s vision darkened, and the pain was so intense that he nearly passed out.

But what was even more terrifying than the pain was that his only escape route had been blocked by the burning painting.

—

The memories resurfaced, and Su Xingyao could still feel the despair and pain from that time.

But compared to the pain from the injuries, it was Fu Qingyan’s attitude toward him afterward that truly made his heart ache.

He had finally jumped from the other side of the villa’s second floor.

When he woke up again, he was alone in the hospital.

The nurse later told him that the place he had jumped from was a blind spot, and at first, no one had noticed. It wasn’t until the next day that he was found and sent to the hospital.

His phone and passport had fallen into the fire, and it was only through the help of local police that his family was contacted.

But after his parents learned about his ordeal, they didn’t come to visit him at the hospital.

It was only when he was about to be discharged that they sent Aunt Liu to check on him and help settle the hospital bill.

As for Fu Qingyan, whom he had been worried about…

As soon as he woke up, he borrowed a phone from the nurse to call, wanting to confirm that Fu Qingyan was safe.

But every time he called, Fu Qingyan didn’t pick up.

The messages he sent were also left unanswered.

When he finally returned to the country after a long delay, he immediately noticed that Fu Qingyan had started to distance himself from him for no apparent reason.

He ignored him, didn’t respond, avoided him, and refused to meet.

Whenever they appeared at the same event, Fu Qingyan would always find ways to actively avoid him.

Back then, he couldn’t understand why, after saving Fu Qingyan, the others seemed to hate him instead.

He had tried asking Fu Qingyan about it, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings.

But every time, before he could say much, Fu Qingyan would leave with a cold face.

Over the following years, their relationship remained that way.

And even now…

Other than the scar on his body, which still reminded him of what had happened, it seemed everything had turned into a fleeting memory.

As for the truth and the reason behind it all…

Su Xingyao had long since lost the desire to look into it.

After the recording, Fu Qingyan didn’t go home but instead found Qin Mingchuan.

After a period of not seeing him, Fu Qingyan noticed that Qin Mingchuan looked much more haggard than before.

He no longer had the high spirits he had in the past, and he now appeared like a wounded beast nursing its injuries alone.

Fu Qingyan poured him a glass of wine and started the conversation directly.

“I heard from Aunt that you haven’t been going home much lately.”

Recently, Qin Mingchuan seemed to have lost his mind, and his relationship with his family had become particularly strained.

His parents didn’t know the reason, so they had asked him to subtly inquire about it.

Hearing Fu Qingyan’s words, Qin Mingchuan didn’t take the drink. Instead, he lifted his eyelids and glanced at him.

“What’s going on, Best Actor Fu? Are you here to act as my mediator too?”

Fu Qingyan smiled and placed the drink in front of him, looking innocent.

“Mediator? What do you mean? You really fell out with your family?”

Qin Mingchuan waved his hand, clearly not wanting to discuss it further.

“Falling out is too much of an exaggeration…”

But when it came to the engagement, he truly couldn’t forgive it.

He had always thought that Su Xingyao wanted him to help fight for the Shen family’s inheritance, using his identity as their son to force both families to change the engagement terms.

It wasn’t until recently that he learned that the engagement was actually proposed by his parents, who had suggested swapping him out for Su Xingyao, the Shen family’s biological son.

But no one had explained this to him back then.

As a result, he had misunderstood Su Xingyao for many years.

Thinking about this, Qin Mingchuan’s mood soured even further.

After downing the glass in front of him, he spoke in a muffled voice.

“I’ve been in a bad mood lately.”

Ever since he saw Su Xingyao at the SCG club, he had been in a haze, feeling lost.

Especially when he witnessed his rival celebrating Su Xingyao’s birthday—it had become a mental scar he would carry for the rest of his life.

He and Su Xingyao had known each other for almost seven years, yet he didn’t even know his birthday.

With his pitiful state, he didn’t even know how to face Su Xingyao and confess his feelings.

Recalling all these troubling matters, Qin Mingchuan’s mood visibly worsened.

He couldn’t be bothered to talk to Fu Qingyan anymore and started drinking alone.

Fu Qingyan, too, had his own things on his mind. Instead of trying to persuade Qin Mingchuan, he joined him and drank along.

It was unclear how much time passed before Qin Mingchuan called out to him.

“Mr. Fu…”

The person across from him had clearly had enough to drink, and there was already a hint of drunkenness in his eyes.

The night breeze ruffled his hair as Qin Mingchuan mumbled, “I really am a mess… It’s only now that I realize, all these years, I’ve… always liked Xingyao.”

Fu Qingyan had also drunk quite a bit.

Hearing Qin Mingchuan’s muttering, he almost thought he was hallucinating from the alcohol.

“President Qin, what are you saying?”

Qin Mingchuan smiled self-deprecatingly, the frustration in his heart urgently needing an outlet.

“It’s laughable, right? I’ve hurt him for so many years, and only after he couldn’t take it anymore and left did I realize I actually liked him.”

Finally, after confiding in his friend, Qin Mingchuan, who had been bottling up his emotions for so long, no longer held back and poured out his feelings to Fu Qingyan.

“I’m such an idiot…”

“A total fool!”

“I clearly fell for him the moment we first met, yet I kept denying it, again and again.”

“And now, look at where we are… he already has someone by his side…”

Thinking of Lu Jiuxu, Qin Mingchuan drank a glass of wine helplessly and unwillingly.

After that night, he finally discovered the identity of the man by Su Xingyao’s side.

Lu Jiuxu…

The eldest son of Lu Tianyan.

The first heir of the Lu Group.

That man was so open and bold about pursuing him, while on his side, he couldn’t even find out where Su Xingyao was living.

Faced with such a powerful rival in love, Qin Mingchuan was extremely frustrated.

“That person is pursuing him, and I… I have no idea what to do…”

“Xingyao doesn’t even want to meet me and won’t answer my calls.”

Qin Mingchuan blurted all of this out. Fu Qingyan, sitting across from him, just listened silently, not saying a word.

When Qin Mingchuan had vented enough, Fu Qingyan finally responded coldly.

“No wonder you’ve been acting so strangely lately.”

Fu Qingyan showed no understanding of Qin Mingchuan’s pain, instead pouring cold water on him.

“Who you like is none of my business, but can’t you have a bit more normal taste?”

Fu Qingyan’s icy words snapped Qin Mingchuan out of his emo state, making him sit up straighter and look directly at him. Instinctively, he began to defend Su Xingyao.

“My taste was indeed bad…”

Qin Mingchuan was referring to how he had seen Shen Huaixi through rose-colored glasses for so many years.

After saying this mockingly, his tone became firm as he insisted, “But Xingyao is different.”

“As for you, stop blindly trusting Shen Huaixi.”

Qin Mingchuan noticed the disdain in Fu Qingyan’s eyes and patiently explained everything he had learned to him.

“Shen Huaixi isn’t as simple as you think.”

Fu Qingyan raised an eyebrow. “You’re trying to say that Huaixi got involved with the Yingxing’s business?”

Before Qin Mingchuan could speak, Fu Qingyan continued, “Isn’t that just something the netizens made up?”

Qin Mingchuan smiled.

“I investigated it myself.”

Fu Qingyan’s movement of pouring the wine clearly faltered.

“And as for Xingyao’s situation in the Shen family, it might not be what we think.”

“He’s probably not living too well in the Shen family.”

Fu Qingyan didn’t respond.

After several seconds, he coldly said, “That’s none of my business.”

He didn’t like Su Xingyao and didn’t care about the troubles he might be facing in the Shen family.

Qin Mingchuan saw that Fu Qingyan didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t press further.

He filled his own glass and gently clinked it with Fu Qingyan’s.

“Then tell me this.”

Fu Qingyan was confused. “Tell you what?”

“The fire during the graduation trip. What actually happened back then?”

Mentioning the fire clearly made Fu Qingyan upset, and his tone turned less polite.

“Are you pretending to not know?”

After speaking, he still felt irritated. “Or is it that, Mr. Qin, you came here today just to add to my frustration?”

That fire almost cost him his life and caused him to lose the role of the male lead in a movie that was very important to him…

It was something he never wanted to talk about and could never forgive.

“Don’t react like that. I just wanted to say, is it possible that you and Xingyao had some misunderstanding back then? After all, I only just found out…”

Before Qin Mingchuan could finish, Fu Qingyan interrupted him. “The fire started in Su Xingyao’s room.”

Seeing Fu Qingyan so worked up, Qin Mingchuan sighed helplessly.

“Even if it was his room, that doesn’t prove anything. He wasn’t even there at the time.”

Fu Qingyan felt like he couldn’t communicate with Qin Mingchuan anymore, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Now that you like him, of course, you’ll defend him at every turn.”

He found Qin Mingchuan ridiculous.

When he didn’t like Su Xingyao, he never questioned anything.

But now that he liked him, he chose to unconditionally believe in him, even trying to make the victim—him—accept what happened during the fire.

But is that possible?

“Qin Mingchuan, you weren’t the one who went through this, so it’s easy for you to bring it up so lightly.”

“But have you ever thought about it? At that time, I was unconscious in bed. If it wasn’t for Huaixi rushing to save me, do you think I would even be here today, drinking casually with you?”

He slammed the glass down heavily, his gaze fixed on Qin Mingchuan’s face.

“No matter how you see Su Xingyao, to me, he’s a cold, heartless, selfish person without a sense of responsibility.”

Fu Qingyan’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

He could forgive Su Xingyao for not saving him when he saw the fire.

After all, it was such a big fire, not everyone had the courage of Shen Huaixi, rushing into the flames without regard for their life to pull him out.

But he couldn’t forgive Su Xingyao’s negligence when he left, which caused the electrical short circuit and the fire, and then disappeared, never to be found!

At first, he didn’t want to believe it.

So, during his hospital stay, he kept waiting for Su Xingyao to come to him, to give him an explanation or an apology.

But even after he was discharged, Su Xingyao never came to see him once!!

Not only that, but not even a single phone call!

What was even harder to accept was that after such a long disappearance, once everything had passed, Su Xingyao reappeared in front of him, as if nothing had happened.

But behind his back, Su Xingyao had tried to have Shen Huaixi cover up the incident!

Fu Qingyan raised his arm.

The scars were no longer visible.

But at the time… his hand had almost been destroyed by that fire.

Along with his budding career… which had been nearly ruined by this accident.

How could he forgive that?

Countless nights, he woke up asking himself:

Why did the person he once considered his closest friend turn out to be so heartless?

Thinking about it all, Fu Qingyan still couldn’t calm himself down.

Over the years, he had tried not to dwell on it.

For Su Xingyao, indifference was the only respect he could give him now.

But today, once again, with Qin Mingchuan bringing up the wound, Fu Qingyan’s anger was redirected at him.

He felt he couldn’t continue talking with him and stood up to leave.

Fu Qingyan didn’t go straight home but instead walked along the river.

In the night breeze, he thought about the past with Su Xingyao.

The first time he heard the name Yue Shuang was when his friends joked about Qin Mingchuan.

At that time, everyone was saying that Young Master Qin had been unlucky recently, going crazy every day to the “^[1]“Beauty Shuang” (霜美人) literally translates to “Frost Beauty” in English. The term “Beauty Shuang” is likely a nickname or a metaphorical reference to a woman … Continue readingBeauty Shuang” next door, flaunting his peacock feathers.

Upon hearing the term, he initially thought it referred to some girl who had captured Qin Mingchuan’s attention.

But when he went with Qin Mingchuan to the neighboring school for an award ceremony, he realized that the stunning student representative speaking on the podium was the legendary “Beauty Shuang.”

At that time, Su Xingyao wore a perfectly pressed white shirt.

The shirt was tucked neatly into his pants, his waist so slim it didn’t look like a boy’s.

At a glance, he stood out beautifully among the crowd.

His friends were all whistling and calling out “Beauty Shuang.”

Fu Qingyan didn’t join them.

He didn’t particularly like those well-behaved types.

When he first saw Su Xingyao, he assumed he was just another good-looking, but dull, well-behaved student.

This impression stayed with him for a while.

It wasn’t until he accidentally ran into Su Xingyao at an art exhibition that his perspective began to change.

The exhibition featured works from a lesser-known foreign artist.

Since there weren’t many attendees, he was surprised to see Su Xingyao in the gallery.

Later that evening, when they met again at a gathering organized by Qin Mingchuan, he casually brought up the art exhibit.

Their conversation lasted for several hours.

They talked about the exhibition, then songs, and then movies.

He realized Su Xingyao wasn’t the typical bookish type.

On the contrary, he was very artistically gifted, and they shared many common interests.

Naturally, they began to get to know each other better.

There was a time when Fu Qingyan considered Su Xingyao his muse.

Because when he expressed his desire to become an actor, but everyone around him thought he should study abroad and return to inherit the family business, Su Xingyao was the only one who wholeheartedly supported him.

He still remembered what Su Xingyao had said to him.

“No one can dictate your decisions. The only person who can judge whether your choices are right or wrong is yourself.”

“But if one day in the future, you win the Best Actor award, I will be clapping for you in front of the screen and proudly telling everyone…”

“I was Fu Qingyan’s first fan. Before he debuted, I already knew he was going to be the Best Actor!”

Fu Qingyan stopped in his tracks and gazed into the distance.

The person who once said these words, what happened to them in the end?

—

After returning home, Su Xingyao hurriedly changed out of his costume.

After quickly finishing his shower, he realized his back was itching and hurting.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, he discovered that there was a large patch of small red bumps on his back.

Su Xingyao’s skin was sensitive and couldn’t handle such itching and pain.

Late at night, unable to sleep due to the itching and not daring to scratch, he went downstairs to find some medicine in the first aid kit.

He remembered that Aunt Zhang had bought this kind of medicine before, and he had helped her organize it.

Sure enough, when Su Xingyao opened the ointment section of the medicine cabinet, he found the anti-itch cream.

Just as he was about to take the cream back to his dorm, he saw Lu Jiuxu returning from overtime.

Lu Jiuxu was a little surprised. “Why are you still awake?”

Su Xingyao stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

“I can’t sleep because it’s itching…”

After saying that, he ran directly up to Lu Jiuxu.

“Mr. Lu, you’re just in time.”

With his back to Lu Jiuxu, Su Xingyao lifted his shirt slightly.

“Could you help me apply some medicine?”