Chapter 20: The Boss Is Furious

Chapter 20 The Boss Is Furious

*Slap!*

Chu Yan raised his hand and delivered a stinging slap.

Fu Hongan froze, his outstretched hand hanging mid-air, disbelief etched across his face.

The others were equally stunned. When had Fu Hongan, the favored son of heaven, ever been struck? And in front of so many people, no less. Look—his cheek was already flaming red.

"You—you dare hit me?"

That’s exactly what you deserve!

Chu Yan blinked, and the tears welling in his eyes spilled over, soaking his long lashes, trembling along with his shuddering breaths.

"Stop provoking me, Fu Hongan. Keep your cheap pity to yourself. Otherwise, I’m afraid… I’m afraid I’ll regret it."

Fu Hongan: *So this decision pains him so much. He clearly didn’t want to break off the engagement—he’s only stepping back because I have Xiao Yi now.*

*He still loves me deeply.*

The fury from being slapped instantly dissipated.

The onlookers exchanged knowing glances. After all this, how could they not understand?

Chu Yan exhaled, his shoulders slumping in relief. That had been a knee-jerk reaction just now. Thankfully, he’d managed to smooth things over. He’d genuinely feared Fu Hongan might retaliate in anger—his own slight frame wouldn’t stand a chance. Worse, if he fought back, all his earlier acting would’ve been for nothing.

"So, Old Master Fu, please grant me this."

"Once the engagement is dissolved, we’ll cut all ties. I won’t disturb him again, nor will I entertain any hopes about him. Of course, this is also for Hongan-ge’s sake. He’ll never have to endure this desperate lapdog again. He can be with the one he loves freely—date, marry, whatever."

"From now on, we go our separate ways."

His words were final.

Yet Fu Hongan only felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. *He* should have been the one to coldly call off the engagement, while Chu Yan begged tearfully to stay. Not like this.

"Enough," Old Master Fu heaved a long, weary sigh. "It was rash of me and your grandfather to arrange this all those years ago. You’ve suffered enough. You’re a good child. If you insist on ending it, then so be it."

At last…

Chu Yan heaved a massive sigh of relief. The act paid off.

Honestly, this performance had been cathartic.

Hell yeah!

Little did he know, his audience today extended far beyond those present. There was one remote viewer.

After receiving a hefty 100,000-yuan tip from his little patron, Fu Junhang’s mood visibly brightened. The grin tugging at his lips was so irrepressible that it unnerved the person across from him into a hasty retreat, eventually bolting—leaving only Zhu Ye to witness his boss’s bizarre good mood.

Fu Junhang imagined the smirk he must’ve worn while sending the tip. That chin was undoubtedly jutting out arrogantly, accompanied by endless gloating to himself. Knowing his little patron, this had to mean a major financial windfall—otherwise, he’d never part with so much cash.

Which naturally made Fu Junhang curious: *What exactly did he do to earn so much?*

So, he had Zhu Ye track the little patron’s whereabouts and activities for the night. Someone had to keep an eye on him—that gullible idiot was too easily scammed.

Zhu Ye, sharp as ever, knew exactly what his boss wanted. Upon discovering Chu Yan was at the Fu family estate, he left no stone unturned in compiling every detail of the young master’s movements—from his heated exchange with a few young masters at the gate (captured by both guests and surveillance cameras from every angle) to the footage presented before his boss.

Naturally, this included Chu Yan boarding Chu Yi’s car alone. While the interior wasn’t visible, the duration of the young master’s stay in the Chu heir’s vehicle was noted.

Just the two of them. A full ten minutes.

It was here that his boss’s expression began to darken.

Staring at the frozen screen, Fu Junhang’s face grew increasingly stormy. Zhu Ye noticed his gaze fixated on the ticking timer—until, ten minutes later, the young master emerged perfectly fine. Only then did his boss, frozen until now, lean back, his mouth twitching inexplicably.

*What does that mean?* Zhu Ye couldn’t decipher it.

Muttering inwardly about his boss’s unpredictability, he switched the tablet to the estate’s internal surveillance.

The young master entered with Chu Yi…

Wherever he went, he became gossip fodder…

He spotted the boss’s eldest nephew…

Holy shit—the young master left with said nephew! No cameras there.

*Damn.* The boss’s eyes turned stormy again.

Zhu Ye’s stomach dropped. Those two had gone to a camera blind spot.

Two men, alone, childhood fiancés—what could they possibly be doing in an unmonitored corner?

"Boss?"

Fu Junhang didn’t respond, eyes locked on the screen.

One minute passed. Two. Three… Five. Ten…

*Damn.* The boss suddenly laughed. *What’s that about?!*

Fu Junhang could only say: Rage sometimes wears a smile.

*Very* well done. One sugar baby isn’t enough, huh? One for sex, another for love?

*Classy move.* Men’s words in bed really are worthless. ‘I like you the most’—so you only like my body, is that it?

You’ve outdone yourself, Chu Yan.

"Boss, don’t worry—I’ll have someone locate Young Master Chu immediately."

The boss was smiling, but it was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, sending chills down Zhu Ye’s spine. He hastily directed their on-site personnel to track the pair down—even a distant shot of what they were up to would suffice.

Fu Junhang only chuckled coldly.

"Which eye of yours sees me worrying?"

"Right, right—you’re cool as ice. *I’m* the one sweating."

Zhu Ye said no more, simply mobilizing their undercover crew at the estate to search.

Fortunately, the two eventually reappeared—both looking displeased on camera, especially the boss’s eldest nephew, whose face was sour like he’d swallowed a lemon.

Clearly, their talk hadn’t gone well. Zhu Ye exhaled in silent relief.

Turning back, he found his boss now sprawled lazily with crossed legs, thoughtfully tracing a finger along his chin.

Also appearing in the surveillance footage was the Fu family's old butler, who was leading Young Master Chu and the eldest son toward where the old master was.

"Are they going to talk marriage?"

Zhu Ye swore he was genuinely curious.

But the moment he spoke, he received a death glare from his boss.

"Talking marriage, huh?" Fu Junhang pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "Interesting."

"It's said that back when Old Master Chu and Old Master Fu made the engagement agreement, they specified that the marriage could only happen after Young Master Chu turned eighteen. Didn’t he just turn eighteen not long ago? He’s old enough to get married now."

Fu Junhang gave him a cold look. His personal assistant and bodyguard had been with him for nearly a decade. "I never realized you were this talkative before."

"Ahem, I only care so much because it involves you, boss."

"Get the car ready."

Fu Junhang suddenly stood up and walked out. Zhu Ye hurried after him. "Boss, where are we going?"

"Back to the old mansion."

Zhu Ye had an "I told you so" look as he strode to catch up, handing the tablet to his boss.

"Boss, they really went to see the old master."

Fu Junhang had just stepped into the luxury car when Chu Yan launched into his dramatic act.

Zhu Ye drove in a heavy silence.

Ever since Young Master Chu admitted he'd been in love with the boss’s eldest nephew for years, the car had gone cold. Quiet and cold. Then came the part where Young Master Chu admitted he nearly died learning racing for the nephew, and broke two ribs learning to ski…

The air in the car seemed frozen. The boss lit his third cigarette.

He didn’t smoke often—only when he was in a bad mood. Smoking like this could only mean one thing: the boss was really upset.

Zhu Ye didn’t dare speak. He peeked nervously at the rearview mirror. The boss looked calm.

Too calm. But after over a decade of knowing him, Zhu Ye understood—the calmer he seemed, the more dangerous it was.

"Zhu Ye," Fu Junhang suddenly spoke, "do you think a person can have two faces?"

"Schizophrenia?" Zhu Ye pondered seriously. "Or multiple personalities."

One personality loving the boss’s nephew desperately and obsessively, the other blowing money left and right, even going into millions in debt just to keep the boss as his sugar baby.

Makes total sense.

Young Master Chu must have multiple personalities.

Fu Junhang gave a humorless smile, then abruptly pulled out his phone and dialed Old Master Fu’s number.

***

At the Fu family mansion, Chu Yan finally got his way.

But even after playing the victim—even though he was Fu Hongan’s savior, and Fu Hongan was the one who cheated—shouldn’t the Fu family compensate him as the right thing to do?

The problem was, the Fu family had to offer it themselves. Chu Yan couldn’t come right out and ask.

Yet, nobody in the room said a word. Infuriating.

Fu Hongan was useless too. Where was the promised compensation for wasted youth? Standing there looking like he'd swallowed a lemon—was he seriously planning to give nothing?

So, how could Chu Yan subtly steer Old Master Fu into offering compensation?

"Truthfully, this is my fault," the old master suddenly sighed, lost in thought. "Back then, I was the one who proposed the marriage alliance to your grandfather. Now that he’s gone, I never thought the engagement would end like this."

Chu Yan gazed at the old man with big, pleading eyes. "It’s not your fault, Grandpa Fu. Fu Hongan and I just weren’t meant to be."

*Yes, yes, it’s all your fault. Five mil would do, six mil is better, but one hundred million would be perfect.*

"Grandfather, how could this be your fault?" Fu Hongan jumped in. "We’re not compatible. Besides, I already have someone I love."

As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Xiuyi, who met his gaze briefly before looking away. But everyone present was observant—especially the high-society ladies who knew all about scheming. The way Chu Xiuyi played innocent yet couldn’t hide his feelings made him seem two-faced.

"Enough, enough."

The old master sighed, then called off the engagement. That night, he would announce to everyone that the engagement had merely been a verbal promise between two fond old men, but the final decision rested with the two involved. Since they no longer wished to marry, the engagement would be treated as an old man’s joke—not legally binding.

In short, since it was just a joke, no one could bring it up again.

Additionally, the old master ordered both the Fu and Chu corporations to issue official statements clarifying the matter.

He'd covered all the bases.

But—compensation? Where was the compensation?

Chu Yan waited hopefully, but even after Old Master Fu announced the engagement’s dissolution in the banquet hall, still no mention of it.

Chu Yan: "..."

Just then, the butler, old Qin, came hurrying over with a phone like it was an emergency.

"Master, a call!"

"It’s Third Master’s call!"

The lively hall instantly went dead quiet. Everyone swiveled to look at the old master.

Chu Yan: What's this about? Is this *Third Master* some kind of *Living Yama*?