Chapter 75: What Else Did You Do to Shen Yuan?
The noisy hospital room finally returned to silence.
Yu Xiuqing rubbed his temples, looking somewhat exhausted, then leaned down to help the weak-kneed person up from the floor.
Seeing that the man’s expression was no longer as gloomy as before, Su Huaiyao grew bolder and collapsed directly into his embrace.
His delicate, pale hands weakly grasped the lapels of Yu Xiuqing’s shirt, refusing to let go, as he said coquettishly:
“Xiuqing-gege… please don’t be angry. I know I was wrong. Will you forgive me this once?”
His voice carried a hint of acting spoiled and a sense of grievance, like a wounded fawn—fragile, piteous, and evoking immediate heartache.
Yu Xiuqing grasped his cold wrists, but there was little pity in his heart. Instead, he pushed the young man away from his body and said coldly, “Mm, don’t do this again.”
“I won’t! I definitely won’t! Thank you for forgiving me, Xiuqing-gege! This way, Xiuqing-gege won’t have to feel like he owes me anything for what happened when we were kids…”
Su Huaiyao’s voice grew softer and softer. He lowered his head guiltily, not daring to look at the man, yet his words carried a hidden meaning, constantly reminding the other that it was he who had saved his life.
A glint flashed in Yu Xiuqing’s eyes; he naturally understood the implication behind those words. He loathed this feeling of being manipulated.
Frowning in irritation, he stared at the young man, his tone as cold as if it were seeping frost:
“These are two separate matters, Xiaoyao. You deserved that slap just now, but I won’t lessen how well I treat you.”
Su Huaiyao trembled. He looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes, a trace of anger coloring his exquisite features.
He bit his lip, seemingly hesitating over an incredibly serious issue, but ultimately couldn’t hold back and raised his voice:
“Xiuqing-gege! You’ve changed! You used to stand by my side unconditionally, but now you hit me for Shen Yuan’s sake. Do you not love me as much anymore?”
Yu Xiuqing hadn’t expected him to ask this. His brows instantly furrowed tightly. He froze for a few seconds before stepping toward him.
The sudden approach sent a jolt of panic through Su Huaiyao’s heart, and his legs trembled. He had never seen such a chilling look in the man’s eyes; they looked as if they were ready to swallow him whole.
He instinctively wanted to step back, but the man’s large hand viciously clamped onto his cheeks. Instantly immobilized, he had no choice but to tilt his head up and meet that profound, abyssal gaze.
“I’ve changed?”
Yu Xiuqing’s voice dropped suddenly, but the grip pinching those cheeks involuntarily tightened, seemingly intent on forcibly dislocating Su Huaiyao’s jaw.
“Ugh… it hurts…”
Su Huaiyao let out a muffled groan of pain, his delicate face turning pale from both the severe pinching and overwhelming fear.
He looked at the man with tear-filled eyes, hoping to find even a shred of pity on Yu Xiuqing’s face, but he was profoundly disappointed. All he saw was an increasingly dark and freezing gaze.
Yu Xiuqing’s fingers maintained their iron grip on his chin, refusing to loosen even a fraction. Instead, they left five striking, bright red finger marks on that pale, exquisite little face.
“Xiaoyao, isn’t it you who has changed? Or have you been deceiving me from the very beginning? Was all your usual obedience and sweetness just an act?!”
His voice sounded as if it were being ground out through his teeth, every single word laced with a bone-chilling, murderous intent.
Su Huaiyao couldn’t help but feel a surge of guilt. Cold sweat dripped down his spine, and he no longer dared to look the man straight in the eye.
This meant Yu Xiuqing had started to suspect him! If the man found out he had been using Shen Nianzhu from the very start to repeatedly frame Shen Yuan, he would definitely not let him off lightly! He would be skinned alive, if not killed!
Yu Xiuqing’s eyes bored into the pure, innocent face before him, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
He caught every fleeting emotion in the other’s eyes, yet he couldn’t fathom what other unspeakable things Su Huaiyao had done behind his back!
He also couldn’t understand it. Over all these years, he had given Su Huaiyao whatever he asked for. Aside from the years they were separated—when he couldn’t fulfill the responsibilities of a boyfriend by his side—he had done everything flawlessly.
So what was Su Huaiyao dissatisfied with?
“Xiuqing-gege, i-it’s not what you think. I haven’t been pretending at all, I swear! We’ve been childhood sweethearts for over twenty years; don’t you know me by now?”
The tears welling up in Su Huaiyao’s eyes spilled over. His lips trembled, and he had never wept so miserably. His aggrieved yet earnest expression seemed to be begging for the man’s mercy.
“But your actions in that surveillance video make it impossible for me to tell which one is the real you.”
Yu Xiuqing swept a cold glance over him, his expression brimming with alienation and disdain. His voice was as piercing as an ice pick:
“The Su Huaiyao I know is kind and gentle, someone who even feels sympathy for stray cats, not the vicious person you are now! What else did you do to Shen Yuan?!”
Trust is something you only get once. The moment a crack appears, no matter how small the fissure, it’s like a thorn buried deep in the heart—the former intimacy can never be fully restored.
He didn’t want to doubt Su Huaiyao either, nor did he want to question their relationship of over a decade. Yet, he himself didn’t know why he would subconsciously go mad for Shen Yuan’s sake.
Faced with the man’s harsh interrogation, Su Huaiyao shivered in fear. He cried and shook his head, then stammered out:
“N-no… I didn’t do anything to him! That day, I just accidentally saw Xiuqing-gege and… and Shen Yuan in bed… and I had a momentary lapse in judgment!”
The moment these words were spoken, the air instantly solidified, and the atmosphere grew oppressive and eerie.
Qi Yunzhao awkwardly raised a fist to his mouth, wanting to cough a few times, but immediately suppressed it. He had no choice but to turn his back on the two of them and stare straight out at the high-rise buildings.
Su Huaiyao abruptly realized he had said something he shouldn’t have. He was instantly consumed by shock and guilt, staring at the man in helpless panic, stuttering from the sheer grievance: “I…”
Yu Xiuqing’s expression grew even more terrible, so gloomy it looked as if it could drip water. Su Huaiyao’s words had undoubtedly stepped squarely on his landmine, filling him with explosive rage.
The hand gripping the young man’s cheeks suddenly released. With a forceful shove, he knocked the person to the ground, then turned his back and said coldly:
“Remember your place. You are just a girlfriend, not my legally bound wife. Don’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you! Otherwise, don’t blame me for disregarding our past affection!”
Su Huaiyao was dizzy from the fall. He propped himself up on one arm, glaring unwillingly at the man’s retreating back.
He would become the Young Madam of the Yu family sooner or later!
As long as this man hadn’t completely abandoned him, he still had a chance to drive Shen Yuan out of the Yu household!
Yu Xiuqing stood tall by the side of the bed, his gaze fixed on the pale youth lying unconscious within it.
Then, he issued a faint, cool command:
“Qi Yunzhao, escort Xiaoyao back.”
“Yes.” Qi Yunzhao nodded.
“Wait, Xiuqing-gege, listen to me!”
Su Huaiyao struggled up from the floor, pushed past the bodyguard, and stumbled toward the man.
He threw his arms open and hugged Yu Xiuqing from behind, pressing his tear-stained face tightly against the man’s broad back as he choked out:
“Just being able to quietly stay by your side is the greatest honor of my life. I know you loathe betrayal and deceit, so I’ve never dared to do those things. I’ve always cherished the feelings we shared…”
Yu Xiuqing didn’t push him away, nor did he turn around. He just felt deeply unsettled by those words.
Su Huaiyao buried his head into the man’s broad, warm shoulder. Teardrops spilled from his eyes, soaking through the shoulder of the white dress shirt, as he cried and pleaded:
“Please don’t abandon me, okay? Everything I’ve done is because I love you too much, because I’m too terrified of losing you… I could even risk my life when I saved you back then, yet now, the one thing I fear most is you leaving…”
Every single word the young man spoke sounded so sincere, straight from the bottom of his heart, without a single flaw to be found. This caused Yu Xiuqing’s resolve to waver.
He couldn’t just completely erase all the good things the other had done over the years—especially the life-saving grace from their youth and the piano melody played in the dungeon—just because of this one incident.
“I won’t abandon you, Xiaoyao.”
Yu Xiuqing took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then gently removed the hands resting on his chest. He turned around and wiped the tears from the young man’s cheeks.
“R-really?”
Tears still glistened in Su Huaiyao’s eyes, but the gaze directed at the man had already turned incredibly expectant.
“Mm, really.”
Yu Xiuqing nodded. With lowered eyelashes, he gazed at him, his eyes as tender as a pool of water.
“You are my girlfriend. Being hurt by a servant—and a substitute at that—is unfair to you, and even more unfair to our relationship.”
Thrilled, Su Huaiyao hugged the man tightly, burying his face in his chest to bask in his body heat.
Then, he tilted his head up, stealing a glance at the hospital bed out of the corner of his eye. “Then… what about Shen Yuan? Does Xiuqing-gege still intend to keep him?”
“Of course I’m keeping him.”
The man answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Su Huaiyao’s eyes darkened, feeling slightly dejected, but he immediately heard Yu Xiuqing add in a sinister voice: “He actually dared to betray me and collude with Yu Peishang. I won’t let him off so easily.”
Seeing the ruthless anger flashing deep in the man’s eyes, Su Huaiyao chuckled inwardly. It seemed Yu Xiuqing fully believed the story about Shen Yuan hooking up with Yu Peishang!
After all, Yu Xiuqing had never seen Shen Nianzhu. He had absolutely no idea that Shen Yuan had a twin brother. How could anyone possibly tell apart two people who looked exactly the same?
But what infuriated him was that even though Shen Yuan was the traitor and deserved to be tortured, Yu Xiuqing still ruthlessly slapped him twice for the sake of that idiot!
“What is it, Xiaoyao?”
The man’s voice, carrying a hint of inquiry and doubt, pulled Su Huaiyao out of his thoughts. He immediately shook his head imperceptibly, forcing out a smile: “N-nothing.”
Yu Xiuqing obviously noticed the abnormality in his expression but chose not to point it out. Instead, he raised a hand to stroke the swollen cheek, his gaze carrying a hint of frost as he said softly:
“Does it hurt, Xiaoyao?”
When touched, Su Huaiyao subconsciously trembled in fear. He hastily shook his head and forced a bright smile:
“It doesn’t hurt, Xiuqing-gege!”
“Mm.”
Yu Xiuqing lowered his hand. Suddenly remembering something, he looked at him, the emotions in his eyes unreadable:
“Oh, right. Since you returned to the country, you’ve been staying at the Yu manor and haven’t reunited with your family. Why don’t you pack your things and move back to the Su family for now.”
Recommended Reads
