Chapter 43
Fu Xicheng was upset when the car sped away. He stomped his feet and yelled, "What kind of man hides in a car? Come out if you dare!"
Unfortunately, Fu Chengyan didn't hear him yell at all. His car vanished from sight, leaving Fu Xicheng in the dust. Fu Xicheng could feel fury building up as he watched the car speeding away, but there was nowhere for him to vent his anger.
Damn it! I'd dated Shi Nuan for a long time, but she had always refused to spend a night with me! But this man who appeared out of nowhere got her to spend the night with him!
Fu Xicheng clenched his jaw. If the man hadn't refused to get out of the car, he would've given him a good beating!
Right now, Fu Xicheng had no idea that his actions would affect his company.
Fu Xicheng gritted his teeth as he watched the car speed away. He had never imagined that the conservative Shi Nuan would spend the night with a man. It never crossed his mind to reflect on what he did last night.
Shi Nuan rushed back home and closed the door before sliding to the ground, panting heavily.
She felt horrible.
Shi Nuan wasn't reckless by nature and would normally think twice before making a decision, especially one of such importance. She had no idea why she married Fu Chengyan so impulsively today.
It was true that Fu Chengyan was a successful man and that other people would be terrified of him, too. But now that she thought of it, marrying him wasn't the only way out. Perhaps she had been pushed over the edge by the Shi family last night, as their plan could have ruined her future for real. But now, she had handed her fate to Fu Chengyan instead.
"Oh, Shi Nuan. What have you done?" Shi Nuan clenched her teeth. She remained on the floor for some time before collecting herself and standing to her feet.
She checked her appearance in the mirror. The blushing woman that stared back at her was unfamiliar to her.
She had thought that she would be devastated and heartbroken. After all, her family and the person she held dear to her heart had joined up to betray her. But in reality, it only upset her for a moment before she realized Fu Xicheng wasn't her everything. He was no sun - there was no reason for her to orbit around him.
Perhaps the Shi family was too desperate to sell her out, or perhaps Fu Xicheng had treated her too mercilessly. After being betrayed, Shi Nuan's first reaction wasn't to feel upset. Rather, the first thought to occur was how she could escape the Shi family.
Shi Nuan splashed water on her face to wake herself up before going to her living room. She plopped down on the sofa.
A knock on the door surprised her. After a brief hesitation, she went to the door and looked through the peephole. When she saw Fu Xicheng outside, her brows furrowed.
How dare Fu Xicheng come after what happened last night?
Shi Nuan glared at the man through the peephole. She inhaled deeply and decided not to open the door. But Fu Xicheng wouldn't stop knocking. His persistence that she once found admirable was now extremely annoying.
Fu Xicheng was still seething at the man who had ignored him downstairs. He knocks grew louder and more aggressive as time went by and Shi Nuan refused to even acknowledge him. Exploding, he yelled, "Shi Nuan, open the door!"
Since Shi Nuan didn't reply him, Fu Xicheng continued to harass her, "Shi Nuan, I know you're at home. I saw you come back earlier."
Shi Nuan raised her brows in alarm.
"I'm worried about you. Where did you go last night? Do you know that your sister and I were worried sick? Why didn't you come home? We called you so many times, but you didn't even pick up. Why didn't you answer our calls? Don't you know how worried we were?"
"Worried?" Shi Nuan sneered, "Why would you be worried? Weren't you lot disappointed because Yun Shen didn't rape me? What are you really worried about?"
The fact that Fu Xicheng joined her parents' plan to drug her revolted Shi Nuan extremely.
Even when Fu Xicheng started dating Shi Wei, she never thought of taking revenge or hurting them. But what did they do? They plotted to ruin her and even sacrificed her in exchange for Yun Shen's filthy money!
What would she do if Yun Shen really raped her last night? Or what if Fu Chengyan didn't arrive in time to bring her away? It would be a wholly different story now if that had happened.
It was her grandfather's birthday party last night and the Shi family invited distinguished guests from the upper-class society. If those people had seen her in an intimate position with another man, her life would be ruined.
So what did Fu Xicheng just say? He was worried about her? Would he worry about her?
"Shi Nuan, open the door and let me explain. I don't know what happened last night. Wei told me you went missing and she said the room that you used to stay in was locked. I was worried, so I—" "Enough, Fu Xicheng," Shi Nuan cut him off ruthlessly. "I'm not a three-year-old child. I can tell right from wrong. It was obvious what had really happened last night, so don't pretend to be innocent. If you think you can use me to get the two hundred million from the Yun family, dream on!"
Shi Nuan said angrily, "Leave. You're not welcomed here."
"Nuan!" Fu Xicheng seemed upset upon hearing her words. "Why are you so on guard? We're doing this for your own good. We will never harm you!"
Shi Nuan scoffed at his words, "Never harm me? I have had enough of that. Think about what all of you had done and ask your conscience if you've really never harmed me! Fu Xicheng, please leave! Seeing you... No, hearing your voice alone disgusts me!"
Fu Xicheng refused to give up even though Shi Nuan had already asked him to leave. He banged on the door harder. It seemed like he would never leave if Shi Nuan kept ignoring him. "Shi Nuan, you don't want me to disturb your neighbors, right? Open the door, let's talk. You've misunderstood everything. I betrayed you by dating Wei, but the other things aren't as you think!"
Since Shi Nuan said nothing, Fu Xicheng continued, "Tell me, do you have someone else now? Just now, I saw you getting down from a luxury car downstairs. Were you with that man last night? Where did you go last night? What did you do? Nuan, you—"
"Enough!"
Shi Nuan couldn't believe what Fu Xicheng had just said. The man had gone overboard. "Who was I with doesn't concern you." How dare he question me?
Fu Xicheng's anger flared up upon hearing her answer. "Doesn't concern me? I'm your boyfriend!"
"You're just my ex!" Shi Nuan jeered, "Don't forget that you're Shi Wei's fiancé now." Shi Nuan thought he was being absurd. "Fu Xicheng, you're being ridiculous. When you got engaged to Shi Wei, you wouldn't admit that we were a couple. What's wrong? Are you crawling back to me because you regret your decisions? Does Shi Wei know that you're here today? If I call Shi Wei right now—"
"Nuan, why do you have to do this?" Fu Xicheng never imagined Shi Nuan would be so ruthless. "You weren't like this back then. I remember how gentle and sensible you were. Why are you—"
"What about me? Ha! I've always been like this. The woman you knew back then wasn't me! Or, should I say you've never tried to get to know me at all?" Shi Nuan cut him off with a sneer. "We have nothing to talk about. I remember clearly what happened last night. I, Shi Nuan, am not someone who can be controlled like a puppet. Tell Shi Wei to be careful. Otherwise, I'll make her regret doing this to me!" Shi Nuan wasn't a cold-hearted person. If it weren't for the cruel deeds they did, she wouldn't have responded this way.
After saying that, Shi Nuan rubbed her eyes. Lowering her head in dejection, she smiled bitterly. Even if her parents treated her badly back then, she would only be upset for a while. She was good at entertaining herself, and if she ever felt lonely or craved human interactions, she'd play chess with her grandfathers.
Grandpa told her playing chess would calm one down and allow you to come to terms with your innermost feelings.
Shi Nuan had tried to persuade herself that her parents wanted her to be independent, but when she saw how well her parents treated Shi Wei, she knew that she was only lying to herself.
After all these years, she was still grateful for what Shi Wei did back then to save her. But what about Shi Wei? All Shi Wei did was to take advantage of her gratitude in order to take away Shi Nuan's things and achieve her own goals.
When they were young, Shi Wei took her toys away. Now that they were grown-ups, Shi Wei took her boyfriend away.
Shi Nuan had had enough of this.
Even if she was indebted to her sister for saving her life, she had repaid her debt over all the years.
Fu Xicheng was stunned when he heard her words. Strangely, he felt that something was slipping away from him. He wanted to grab it, but it slipped through his fingers like water and sand.
"Nuan! Your sister... I... Open the door, please. I'll explain everything. We've been dating for a long time. You're a great person, but I've always thought of you as a little sister. You know how gentle your sister is. When you left for a year, I spent more time with her than you, so I couldn't help myself. I never thought of hurting you, so I was going to tell you when you returned. But your sister and I were afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it, so we-"
"So you planned to get engaged secretly when I wasn't here? The whole Jiang City knew you got engaged when I finally returned. What about me? Ha! If I kicked up a fuss, I'd be the other woman who lusted after my brother-in-law, right?" Shi Nuan snorted. But Fu Xicheng cut her off hurriedly, "No, Nuan! How can you think that way? We never wanted to do this to you!"
"Really?" Shi Nuan scoffed, "If I hadn't come back earlier than expected, your engagement party would've gone on smoothly, right? None of you have considered my feelings, so what right do you have to act innocent here?"
"Nuan, you... Listen to me. Don't just find any man out there because you hate us. Do you know who is he? Do you know—" "What I know is that he treats me better than you all. At least he wouldn't betray me and sell me out for two hundred million!"