Distorted Fairy Tale - Chapter 16

“Madam?” That must be Fu Yuhang’s mother, Song Zhen thought.

Thinking about it now, Song Zhen realized he actually knew very little about Fu Yuhang. Aside from knowing he was the young master of the Fu Group, that his family was incredibly wealthy, and that he was always busy with work, he knew next to nothing else.

It turned out Fu Yuhang’s mother had passed away quite early. Fourteen years ago, Fu Yuhang would have only been ten years old then.

Song Zhen realized late that he had never heard Fu Yuhang mention his family, and neither had anyone else in the house.

“What about his father?” Song Zhen asked.

“Not even two years after Madam passed away, the Chairman brought his mistress home,” the housekeeper paused. “Along with a seven or eight-year-old boy.”

It was a classic, soap-opera-style plot; it wasn’t hard to guess how the story went from there.

“The young master wouldn’t let anyone sleep in Madam’s bed. He threw all the mistress’s things into the trash and gave that boy a beating. Later, the Chairman moved out with them. The young master has lived here alone since he was thirteen.”

Hearing this made Song Zhen feel a dull ache in his chest. He couldn’t imagine what a thirteen-year-old Fu Yuhang must have felt, seeing his father usher a new woman into the house so soon after his mother’s death.

Alone and stubborn, he had lived in this house a place that might have once been full of family warmth, only to be invaded by loneliness in the middle of the night. Did he find it hard to sleep?

***

Fu Yuhang had a crucial piece of land in F City that required a site inspection, followed by meetings with local partners. The business trip was expected to last about half a month.

Since the last time he left for a week resulted in Song Zhen catching a fever due to pheromone withdrawal, Fu Yuhang decided to bring Song Zhen along this time.

F City was a tourist hub, bustling with visitors year-round. Fu Yuhang planned to build a resort in the suburbs. He had pulled many strings to secure the land, and the potential profits were staggering.

However, high rewards came with high risks.

The price of the land was exorbitant. Fu Yuhang had pushed through the acquisition against all odds, using other company projects as collateral. Many on the board of directors disapproved of such aggressive tactics.

If even the slightest thing went wrong with this project, Fu Yuhang would face the board’s accountability and his father’s interrogation.

Fu Yuhang owned a villa in F City. Because of his trip, the staff had cleaned it in advance. After dropping Song Zhen off at the villa, Fu Yuhang immediately rushed out to meet clients.

He gave Song Zhen a phone number, saying that if he got bored, he could call it and someone would take him to see the sights in F City.

Song Zhen had no intention of going on an awkward excursion with an unfamiliar guide. He didn’t plan to call the number.

Instead, his plan was to spend the next few days watching the discs Ji Qinglin had sent him. They were all Ji Qinglin’s works; he was quite curious to see what Ji Qinglin was like as an actor.

Ji Qinglin was essentially Song Zhen’s first friend in A City. They usually exchanged messages, though the frequency had dropped recently since Ji Qinglin had just joined a new film set.

Although Ji Qinglin was an Alpha, he didn’t possess the aggressive look typical of most Alphas. His features were soft; when he smiled, his eyes curved into crescents and showed off a small canine tooth, giving him a very youthful, boyish charm.

Perhaps for this reason, Ji Qinglin’s first role was in a youth idol drama, where he played the unrequited second lead.

The series was short, only twelve episodes. Song Zhen sat on the living room sofa, tucked under a small blanket, watching the TV with great interest and laughing heartily.

There was something inherently hilarious about watching someone you knew personally acting. Every time Ji Qinglin appeared on screen, Song Zhen would crack up for ages.

When Fu Yuhang returned, this was the scene he walked into: Song Zhen under a blanket, his pale, bare feet exposed to the air, focused intently on the TV and laughing.

“Not wearing socks again,” Fu Yuhang’s voice rang out. Song Zhen finally noticed he was back and turned to look at him.

“Do you think your health is just too good or something?” Fu Yuhang said coldly. Guiltily, Song Zhen tucked his feet back under the blanket.

“Put your socks on. We’re going out to eat.”

“Oh.” As Song Zhen started putting on his socks, he heard Fu Yuhang add crossly, “And stop watching these brainless dramas. It’ll lower the baby’s IQ.”

With a beep, Fu Yuhang turned off the TV.

Fu Yuhang took Song Zhen to a famous rooftop garden restaurant in F City. The tables were separated by wooden partitions, providing a strong sense of privacy.

The waiter handed over the menus. Fu Yuhang ordered several dishes with practiced ease.

“Order whatever you want to eat,” Fu Yuhang said.

Song Zhen nodded. He wanted to order, but he couldn’t understand a single word on the menu.

Not wanting to ask Fu Yuhang for help in front of the waiter out of sheer embarrassment, he braced himself and randomly pointed at three items.

When the food started arriving, Fu Yuhang already had nearly four dishes in front of him, while Song Zhen’s spot remained empty. Song Zhen asked the waiter, “Excuse me, is my food not ready yet?”

The waiter wore a perfectly professional smile. “Sir, the three violin pieces you requested have already been performed.”

“Huh?!”

The air suddenly became deathly silent.

To make matters worse, Fu Yuhang sat there watching the drama unfold. “Kreisler’s Liebesleid. A fine piece. You have good taste.”

Song Zhen glared at him, his face flushing a deep crimson. He desperately wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

“Give him exactly what I’m having. Switch his steak to well-done,” Fu Yuhang said. Despite his sarcasm, he didn’t intend to let Song Zhen go home on an empty stomach.

Song Zhen felt Fu Yuhang had watched him embarrass himself on purpose. He knew Song Zhen didn’t have much of an education, how could he possibly read a menu that looked like a foreign language? Yet, Fu Yuhang had watched him order blindly without saying a word.

Song Zhen glared petulantly at Fu Yuhang. As Fu Yuhang sliced into his steak, he looked up. Song Zhen caught the scent of the steak, and his stomach betrayed him with several loud growls.

Though Fu Yuhang kept his usual expressionless face, Song Zhen could tell he was in a good mood. Right in front of Song Zhen, he used a fork to put a piece of cut steak into his mouth and chewed slowly and deliberately.

Song Zhen pursed his lips and turned his head away, but his stomach only growled louder.

Fu Yuhang pushed a plate of Tapas toward Song Zhen. “If you’re hungry, take some. Or are you waiting for the food to fly into your mouth?”

Song Zhen said, quite spinelessly, “I want the rice you have.”

Rice was more filling. The food on the plate Fu Yuhang pushed over looked like it had shrunk; every portion was tiny.

Fu Yuhang pushed the seafood risotto toward Song Zhen.

There was a reason this rooftop restaurant was so popular. After just one bite of the risotto, Song Zhen’s almond-shaped eyes lit up.

So delicious!

A moment later, Song Zhen’s own dishes arrived—the exact same ones Fu Yuhang had. Song Zhen placed the fresh seafood risotto in front of Fu Yuhang. “Try this, it’s great.”

Fu Yuhang pushed it back. “I’m full. You eat it.” Having said that, Fu Yuhang picked up his phone to check the itinerary Lin Ze had sent him for the next day.

“Oh.”

Every dish amazed Song Zhen. The portions weren’t large, so he had no trouble finishing them.

The standout was the Mixed Berry Basque Cheesecake. The cheese and milk flavors were incredibly rich. The only downside was that the portion was too small; Song Zhen didn’t get his fill.

Seeing Song Zhen’s lingering look, Fu Yuhang asked the waiter to bring another serving. Suddenly, Song Zhen felt that Fu Yuhang wasn’t so annoying after all.

Song Zhen savored the cake. As the rich, creamy flavor exploded on his tongue.

CRASH!

A loud bang erupted from the next table. The wooden partition between the booths collapsed.

Voices from the neighboring table instantly spilled over.

“Ji Xiuyuan, I am a human being! Not your pet! What right do you have to spy on me?”

Song Zhen looked up sharply. The face he had seen on TV just that afternoon was suddenly right in front of him.

“You refuse to act in the movies I arrange for you, yet you take on this low-budget web drama? What is that supposed to mean?” A steady but somewhat brooding voice spoke. Ji Xiuyuan gave a cold laugh. “Are you trying to rekindle things with your first love?”

“Making a newly crowned Best Actor play a supporting role for me? Ji Xiuyuan, have you lost your mind? Are you afraid my reputation isn’t bad enough?”

“My agent will arrange the best career path for me—what dramas I take, what roles I play. I don’t need you to ‘prop me up.’ Are you trying to kill my career?”

“Oh, I see. President Ji thinks I don’t have enough scandals, so you’re trying to add some more bricks to my glorious history of bad press?”

Ji Xiuyuan suddenly went quiet. Seeing him staring at something, Ji Qinglin followed his gaze and locked eyes with Song Zhen.

And the tall Alpha sitting next to Song Zhen.

The four of them stared at one another. An atmosphere thick with “awkwardness” permeated the air.

In the car back to the villa, Song Zhen looked at the messages from Ji Qinglin.

Ji Qinglin: Don’t tell me your blind-as-a-bat soon-to-be-ex-husband is Fu Yuhang. 

Song Zhen: Yeah. 

Ji Qinglin: Holy crap. (Thumbs up) 

Ji Qinglin: It’s a small world. 

Ji Qinglin: By the way, why are you in F City?

 Song Zhen: He’s here for work, so I came with him. 

Ji Qinglin: The way you say that makes it sound like you’re not getting a divorce. You guys seem to have a pretty good relationship, clinging to each other even for business trips.

 Song Zhen: It’s… complicated. Anyway, you and that.

Ji Qinglin: My stepbrother. He’s a psychopath, ignore him. How long are you staying in F City? My drama wraps up in half a month.

 Song Zhen: About ten days. I’m not sure; it depends on when he finishes his work. 

Ji Qinglin: I’ll treat you to dinner when I have time. I know F City well. 

Song Zhen: Sure, we’ll see. Work comes first,  though. I actually watched one of your old dramas today. Every time you appeared, I just wanted to laugh, hahaha. Covering mouth emoji.

Ji Qinglin: AHHHHHH so embarrassing! 

Ji Qinglin: Awkward Puppy Sticker.jpg

At the same time, Fu Yuhang, sitting next to Song Zhen, opened his chat with Ji Xiuyuan and read the message his friend had sent.

Ji Xiuyuan: I thought you were getting a divorce? Why are you bringing him on a business trip?

Fu Yuhang gave a cold snort and replied:

Fu Yuhang: I thought you were seeking revenge? Why are you investing in movies to support him?

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