Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The elevator was very quiet, with no one saying a word except for the sound of the machine running.

Fu Qingyan's gaze fell on the person in front of him.

He noticed that the other person seemed to have a signal blocker installed, as no matter what he said, it was automatically blocked.

Originally, he had only speculated about the other person's attitude towards him.

But now, seeing that the other person still hadn't said anything, he was truly convinced.

So, the person in front of him, wearing a playful animal costume, was indeed deliberately avoiding him.

Although he had come to terms with this fact, Fu Qingyan still felt a bit resentful.

He really wanted to figure out what he had done to make the other person seemingly dislike him for no reason.

After all, from their first meeting, the other person had this attitude towards him, keeping his distance.

Fu Qingyan couldn't understand.

The elevator descended quickly, covering more than a dozen floors in no time.

The moment the elevator door opened, Su Xingyao stepped out without even saying a word of goodbye.

Without looking back, he got into the car driven by Master Wang. He didn't rush to take off the playful animal costume but instead reflected on the two questions Fu Qingyan had just asked him.

It was ironic, he thought, that he had once asked similar questions to Fu Qingyan.

Who would have thought that the roles would reverse, and now it was Fu Qingyan eagerly asking him...

Su Xingyao found it utterly ridiculous.

Just a playful animal costume could change so many things.

But even so, he couldn't figure out where Fu Qingyan's animosity towards him came from.

They had been so close, but everything changed after that tragic 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 came rushing back.

That event happened six years ago, right after he graduated from high school.

Among the few friends in their circle, the wealthy heirs had already secured spots to study abroad.

So, in the end, he was the only one who endured the formal college entrance exam.

Because of this, as soon as he graduated, Qin Mingchuan, who had never experienced the torment of the college entrance exam, decided to throw a gathering to celebrate the successful end of his exam.

Qin Mingchuan picked an overseas island villa as the venue and invited Shen Huaixi, Fu Qingyan, and Ban Yang to join.

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

But no one expected that so much would happen on the last night.

Su Xingyao vividly recalled that on that night, his parents and Qin Mingchuan's parents suddenly arrived.

Upon receiving the message, Qin Mingchuan drove over to pick them up.

After they left, Fu Qingyan, who had just come back from diving, started running a low fever in the middle of the night.

Seeing Fu Qingyan in bad shape, Su Xingyao wanted to take him to the hospital, but Fu Qingyan flat-out refused.

With no other choice, Su Xingyao had to go out and get him some medicine.

When he got back, he found the villa completely engulfed in flames.

Then he spotted Shen Huaixi, who had been looking after Fu Qingyan, bolting out of the fire by himself.

Not seeing Fu Qingyan around, he hurried over to Shen Huaixi and asked, "Where's Qingyan?"

To his shock, Shen Huaixi didn’t say a word and just passed out the next second.

The situation was dire. Worried that Fu Qingyan, who was out cold, might not realize the fire, Su Xingyao quickly snatched the wet towel from Shen Huaixi's hand, covered his mouth and nose, and charged into the fire.

When he got to Fu Qingyan's room, just as he’d suspected, Fu Qingyan was lying on the bed, completely out.

The fire was getting worse, and if they didn’t get out fast, they’d be goners.

Su Xingyao had no idea where he found the strength, but in that life-or-death moment, he somehow managed to hoist Fu Qingyan onto his back.

He couldn’t quite recall the details of how he stumbled and carried Fu Qingyan out of the room.

But deep down, the searing pain from the flames he’d accidentally brushed against still felt so vivid.

The trip downstairs was rough, and his skin was scorched from the flames.

But he didn’t dare loosen his grip on the guy on his back for a second.

Because if he let go, he wouldn’t have the strength to pick Fu Qingyan up again.

Fu Qingyan would perish in the fire...

But he was determined to get his friend out alive.

The fire was spreading fast.

In just a few minutes, the fire on the first floor had grown so intense that it swallowed up the path he’d taken.

Luckily, he managed to find a window to escape through.

He got Fu Qingyan safely out the window.

But just as he was about to jump out,

a massive burning painting from the second floor came crashing down, slamming into his back.

In an instant, the fabric and wood were searing into his skin.

Su Xingyao’s vision blacked out, and the pain almost knocked him out.

But even scarier than the pain was the fact that his only way out was blocked by the burning painting.

...

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

But more than the physical pain, it was Fu Qingyan's attitude towards him afterwards that truly left him heartbroken.

He ended up jumping from the opposite side of the villa's second floor.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself alone in the hospital.

Later, a nurse told him that because the place he jumped from was a hidden area, no one had noticed him at first.

It wasn't until the next day that someone eventually found him and took him to the hospital.

His phone and passport were lost in the fire, and he only managed to contact his family with the help of the local police.

Despite learning of his ordeal, his parents never visited him in the hospital.

It wasn't until he was about to be discharged that they sent Auntie Liu to check on him and pay the medical expenses.

As for Fu Qingyan, whom he had been so worried about...

As soon as he woke up, he immediately borrowed a nurse's phone to call and confirm Fu Qingyan's safety.

But none of his calls were answered.

All his messages went unanswered as well.

After a long and exhausting journey back to the country, he immediately noticed that Fu Qingyan had started to distance himself for no apparent reason.

No responses, no replies, no acknowledgment, and no meetings.

Whenever they were in the same place, Fu Qingyan made a point of avoiding him.

At the time, he couldn't understand why Fu Qingyan seemed to hate him after he had saved his life.

During that time, he had tried to ask Fu Qingyan for the reason, hoping there was just a misunderstanding.

But every time, before he could even finish a couple of sentences, Fu Qingyan would coldly walk away without a word.

For years, their relationship stayed this way.

Now, except for the scar that still reminded him of the past, everything else seemed like a distant memory.

As for the truth and reasons behind it all, Su Xingyao no longer had the heart to investigate any further.

After the recording, Fu Qingyan didn't head home but went to see Qin Mingchuan instead.

When they met after some time apart, Fu Qingyan noticed Qin Mingchuan looked much more worn out than before.

*

The former vigor was gone, and he looked like a wounded beast licking its wounds.

He casually handed Qin Mingchuan a glass of wine and struck up a conversation.

"Your mother mentioned you haven't been home much lately."

Qin Mingchuan had been acting erratically, and his relationship with his family had recently become particularly tense.

His parents, unaware of the reason, had asked him to subtly find out the reason.

When Qin Mingchuan heard Fu Qingyan's words, he didn’t take the drink. Instead, he glanced up at him.

"What's this, the great actor Fu, are you here to be my mediator too?"

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

"Mediator for what? Have you really had a falling-out with your family?"

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

"It’s not exactly a falling-out..."

But he couldn’t bring himself to forgive the whole engagement situation.

He had always thought that Su Xingyao wanted him to help secure the Shen family's assets, using his status as their biological son to force both parents to change the terms of the engagement.

Only recently did he find out that it was his own parents who had proposed to replace the original engagement with Su Xingyao, the biological son of the Shen family.

But back then, no one had bothered to explain it to him properly.

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

Thinking of these things, Qin Mingchuan grew even more frustrated.

He downed the drink in front of him and muttered under his breath.

"I’ve been in a funk lately."

Ever since he saw Su Xingyao at the SCG club last time, he had been living in this haze.

Especially after seeing his rival throw Su Xingyao a birthday celebration, that moment had become a haunting memory for him.

He had known Su Xingyao for nearly seven years, yet he didn't even know the exact date of his birthday.

Feeling so pathetic, he didn’t know how he could even admit he liked him...

Qin Mingchuan thought of these troubles, and his spirits plummeted.

He didn’t feel like talking anymore and just kept drinking by himself.

Fu Qingyan also had things on his mind and, instead of persuading Qin Mingchuan, he drank with him off and on.

After what felt like forever, he finally heard Qin Mingchuan call him.

"Old Fu..."

The man across from him had clearly had too much to drink, his eyes glazed over.

The night breeze tousled his hair, and Qin Mingchuan murmured, "I'm really a jerk... Only now have I realized that all these years, I've actually... always liked Xing Yao."

Fu Qingyan had had his fair share of drinks too.

Hearing Qin Mingchuan's quiet confession, he almost thought he was drunk and hallucinating.

"Qin Mingchuan, what are you saying?"

Qin Mingchuan gave a self-deprecating smile, the bitterness in his heart desperate for release.

"Isn't it laughable? I hurt him for so many years, and only after he couldn't take it anymore and left did I realize that I actually liked him."

Finally confiding in his friend, Qin Mingchuan, who had been holding it in for a long time, poured out his feelings to Fu Qingyan without restraint.

"I'm such a fool..."

"A total idiot!"

"I was smitten with him from the get-go, but I kept denying it repeatedly."

"And now, he's already with someone else..."

Thinking of Lu Jiuxu, Qin Mingchuan downed a glass of wine, feeling both helpless and resentful.

After that night, he finally found out who the man by Su Xingyao's side was.

Lu Jiuxu...

The eldest son of Lu Tianyan.

The primary heir to the Lu Group.

While the other guy was openly chasing after him, Qin Mingchuan couldn't even figure out where Su Xingyao lived.

Facing such a tough competitor, Qin Mingchuan was on edge.

"That guy is after him, and I... I'm at a loss..."

"Xing Yao won't even see me or pick up my calls."

Qin Mingchuan spilled his guts, while Fu Qingyan, sitting across from him, just listened without saying a word.

Only after Qin Mingchuan had let it all out did Fu Qingyan respond coolly.

"No wonder you've been acting so weird lately."

Fu Qingyan didn't sympathize with Qin Mingchuan's pain at all; instead, he threw cold water on him.

"I can't tell you who to like, but can't you have better taste?"

Fu Qingyan's cold words snapped Qin Mingchuan out of it.

He straightened up and locked eyes with Fu Qingyan, instinctively defending Su Xingyao.

"I had lousy taste before..."

Qin Mingchuan was talking about how he had idealized Shen Huaixi for years.

After a self-deprecating remark, he insisted firmly, "But Xing Yao is a good guy."

"And you, don't just blindly trust Shen Huaixi."

Qin Mingchuan saw the disdain in Fu Qingyan's eyes and patiently told him what he had learned.

"Shen Huaixi isn't as straightforward as you think."

Fu Qingyan raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting that Huai Xi is meddling in the movie star's business?"

Before Qin Mingchuan could speak, Fu Qingyan added, "Isn't that just rumors spread by netizens?"

Qin Mingchuan smiled.

"I looked into it myself."

Fu Qingyan's hand, as he poured the wine, noticeably paused.

"Besides, Xing Yao's circumstances in the Shen family might not be what we think."

"He's probably not been having an easy time in the Shen family."

Fu Qingyan didn't respond.

After a few seconds, he spoke indifferently, "That's not my concern."

He didn't like Su Xingyao and had no interest in his Shen family troubles.

Noticing Fu Qingyan's reluctance, Qin Mingchuan didn't push the topic.

He topped off his glass and lightly clinked it against Fu Qingyan's.

"So, tell me about it."

Fu Qingyan looked puzzled, "About what?"

"The fire during the graduation trip—what exactly happened back then?"

At the mention of the fire, Fu Qingyan's displeasure was evident, his tone sharpening.

"You're asking what you already know, aren't you?"

Still annoyed, he added, "Or is Mr. Qin here today just to get under my skin?"

That fire had nearly taken his life and cost him the lead role in a movie that meant a lot to him...

He never wanted to revisit it and could never bring himself to forgive.

"Don't get so defensive. I'm just saying, could there have been a misunderstanding between you and Xing Yao back then? Especially since I've only recently found out..."

Before Qin Mingchuan could finish, Fu Qingyan cut in, "The fire originated in Su Xingyao's room."

Noticing Fu Qingyan's agitation, Qin Mingchuan sighed in resignation.

"Even if it was his room, that doesn't prove anything. He wasn't even there."

Fu Qingyan saw no point in continuing the conversation with Qin Mingchuan, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Now that you're fond of him, naturally, you defend him at every opportunity."

He thought Qin Mingchuan was being absurd.

Back when he didn't care for Su Xingyao, he never questioned a thing.

Now that he's taken a liking to him, he blindly believes everything he says.

Even with something as clear as the fire, he's trying to get the victim to side with the other party.

But is that even possible?

"Qin Mingchuan, you weren't the one who went through this, so you can talk about it so casually."

"But have you ever thought that if Huai Xi hadn’t come to rescue me in time when I was unconscious in bed, do you think I would have the chance to sit here shooting the breeze over drinks with you today?"

He put down his wine glass heavily, his gaze falling on Qin Mingchuan's face.

"No matter how you view Su Xingyao, to me, he is nothing but a heartless, cold, and utterly irresponsible selfish jerk."

Fu Qingyan's chest rose and fell rapidly several times.

He could forgive Su Xingyao for not coming to rescue him after seeing the fire.

After all, not everyone has the courage like Shen Huaixi to dash into the flames in the face of danger, risking their life to save him.

But he cannot forgive Su Xingyao for his carelessness when leaving the house, which caused an electrical short circuit, leading to the fire, and then going completely off the radar!

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

So during his hospital stay, he kept waiting for him to come forward with an explanation or an apology.

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

Not only did he not come, but he didn’t even bother to call!

What’s even harder for him to accept is that after disappearing for so long, Su Xingyao showed up again like nothing had happened.

Yet, behind his back, he tried to get Shen Huaixi to cover it up for him!

Fu Qingyan lifted his arm.

The scars were no longer visible.

But at that time... his hand was nearly ruined because of the fire.

Along with his budding career... it was also pretty much destroyed by this accident.

How could he forgive?

Countless nights, he woke up, asking himself.

How could someone he once considered a soulmate be so heartless?

Thinking of all the past, Fu Qingyan still couldn’t calm himself down.

Over the years, he had tried his best not to recall this incident.

For Su Xingyao, indifference was the last bit of respect he could offer.

Today, having his wound reopened by Qin Mingchuan, Fu Qingyan also took his anger out on him.

Feeling unable to continue the conversation, he got up and left.

Fu Qingyan didn’t go straight home but walked along the river for a while.

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

The first time he heard the name Yue Shuang was from friends relentlessly teasing Qin Mingchuan.

At that time, everyone was saying that young master Qin had fallen hard, going crazy every day to show off in front of the "Frost Beauty" next door.

Hearing this nickname, he originally thought it was some girl who had Qin Mingchuan completely smitten.

But when he accompanied Qin Mingchuan to sneak into the neighboring school to watch the commendation ceremony, he realized that the student representative speaking on the stage, who was stunningly beautiful, was none other than the legendary "Frost Beauty."

Back then, Su Xingyao was wearing a crisp white shirt.

The hem of his shirt was neatly tucked into his pants, and his waist was so slender it didn't seem like a boy's.

At a glance, he stood out as strikingly beautiful in the crowd.

All his friends around him were whistling and shouting, "Frost Beauty!"

Fu Qingyan wasn't with him.

He wasn't particularly fond of such straight-laced people.

When he first saw Su Xingyao, he assumed he was just another good-looking but boring straight-A student.

This impression stuck with him for a while.

Until he unexpectedly bumped into Su Xingyao at an art exhibition.

This art exhibition showcased works by a niche foreign artist.

There weren't many attendees, so he was surprised to spot Su Xingyao in the gallery.

Later that evening, at a get-together organized by Qin Mingchuan, he ran into Su Xingyao again and struck up a conversation about the art exhibition.

They ended up talking for hours.

From the art exhibition, they drifted to music and then to movies.

That's when he realized that Su Xingyao wasn't just some bookworm.

On the contrary, he was artistically gifted and shared many interests with him.

And just like that, they became friends.

At one point, Fu Qingyan saw Su Xingyao as his muse.

Because when he expressed his desire to become a film actor, everyone around him thought he should study abroad and return to inherit the family business as the most sensible path.

Only Su Xingyao stood firmly by his side.

He still remembered Su Xingyao's words.

"No one can dictate your decisions; only you can judge if your choices are right or wrong."

"But if one day in the future, you win the Best Actor award, I'll be cheering you on in front of the screen and proudly telling everyone."

"I was Fu Qingyan's first fan, and I knew he'd be a Best Actor even before he made his debut!"

Fu Qingyan paused and gazed into the distance.

What became of the person who once said these things?

*

After getting home, Su Xingyao quickly changed out of his mascot costume.

After a quick shower, he noticed his back was both itchy and sore.

Looking in the mirror, he discovered a large patch of red bumps had formed from being overheated.

Su Xingyao's sensitive skin couldn't handle the pain and itchiness.

Late at night, the itchiness kept him from sleeping, but he was afraid to scratch, so he had to go downstairs to look for medicine in the first aid kit.

He remembered that Auntie Zhang had bought this type of medicine before, and he had even helped her organize it.

Sure enough, when he opened the ointment section of the first aid kit, Su Xingyao found the anti-itch ointment inside.

Just as Su Xingyao was about to head back to his room with the ointment, he saw Lu Jiuxu returning from overtime work.

Lu Jiuxu looked a bit surprised, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Su Xingyao paused and turned to face him.

"I can't sleep because it's so itchy..."

After saying that, he hurried over to Lu Jiuxu.

"Mr. Lu, you came back just in time."

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

"Could you help me put this on?"