Distorted Fairy Tale - Chapter 23

Fu Zhiyuan, Fu Yuhang’s father, was celebrating his fiftieth birthday today.

Having received a call from his father early that morning, Fu Yuhang kept his response characteristically blunt: “I’m not coming.”

Fu Zhiyuan didn’t seem surprised. He merely let out a series of heavy, ragged coughs before wheezing, “My health is declining year by year, Xiaohang. It’s been a long time since your father last saw you.”

Fu Yuhang sneered inwardly. What a performance.

He was well aware that “that woman” was pregnant again. Fu Zhiyuan, becoming a father again at such an age, was no doubt basking in his own smugness.

This superficial display of paternal longing, this attempt to coax him into attending the fiftieth birthday banquet, was nothing more than a desperate move to silence the rumours. For years, the upper circles of City A had been rife with whispers of “abandoning his wife and child,” “betraying his first wife,” and “an ungrateful wolf.”

Without the support of Fu Yuhang’s mother, Lin Zhiqing, Fu Zhiyuan would never have reached his current standing. The Fu Group itself was built on the foundations of Lin Zhiqing’s hard work; she had only stepped down from her role as Vice General Manager after becoming pregnant with Fu Yuhang.

During her pregnancy, Lin Zhiqing often devoted herself to charity, hoping to earn “merit” for her unborn child. That was the year a devastating flood hit the slums on the border of City A and City C.

While assisting with the rescue efforts, Lin Zhiqing encountered several homeless individuals whose plight moved her. Out of pity, she brought them back to City A to work as domestic staff in her home.

Almost all of them were Betas. Knowing how difficult it was for Betas to find employment, she had intended to provide them with a livelihood.

Among them was the woman who would later become Fu Zhiyuan’s mistress—Cheng Xin.

Cheng Xin was a Beta female who had been a victim of domestic abuse by her ex-husband. Lin Zhiqing, feeling sorry for her, had hired a lawyer to handle her divorce. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Cheng Xin worked diligently and kept to herself, leading Lin Zhiqing to eventually trust her as a personal attendant.

Lin Zhiqing never could have imagined that the seemingly honest and humble Cheng Xin would end up in her husband’s bed.

When Fu Yuhang was ten, he was kidnapped. The investigation later revealed that the masterminds were none other than the group of people from the slums whom Lin Zhiqing had saved.

In the midst of the chaos, someone—it was never clear who informed Lin Zhiqing of the kidnapping and sent her a package containing a child’s severed finger.

Lin Zhiqing’s health had been fragile since childbirth. The sheer terror of the kidnapping had already pushed her to the brink, and the sight of the finger triggered a fatal heart attack.

Then, someone else whispered the truth about Fu Zhiyuan and Cheng Xin into her ear as she lay in the hospital. Lin Zhiqing was quite literally provoked to death.

These were the facts Fu Yuhang had unearthed himself as he grew older.

Those ungrateful wretches from the slums and that shameless Beta, Cheng Xin, became thorns embedded deep within his heart. Over the years, they would occasionally prick him, a sharp pain that had eventually fused with his flesh and bone, becoming an inseparable part of him.

The kidnappers had long since been sent to prison, but Cheng Xin remained, living a flourishing, comfortable life.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhiqing the Omega who had opened her doors to wolves out of a moment of kindness, ended her life alone and heartbroken on a cold hospital bed.

Before the age of ten, Fu Yuhang’s family had been a picture of bliss. A successful, cultured father and a refined, gentle mother; it was a perfect home by all societal standards.

However, when Fu Yuhang looked back on those days, they felt like memories from a past life. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if they had ever truly existed, or if they were merely a figment of his imagination.

Shortly after his mother’s death, when he saw his father bring Cheng Xin into the house where his mother had raised him, Fu Yuhang wanted to ask his father: Do you remember promising to love my mother and me for a lifetime?

They had even brought along a boy who wasn’t much younger than him.

The precious memories of his childhood were brutally torn open, revealing the filthy betrayal and hypocritical sweetness hidden beneath the warm facade.

Young as he was, Fu Yuhang could not accept it. With every ounce of his strength, he had screamed and fought to throw this seemingly “happy” family of three out of his home.

There was little he could do at that age, but at the very least, he refused to let them defile that sanctuary.

“Father, if your health is truly that poor, would you like me to pick out a burial plot for you in advance?” Fu Yuhang said, his tone mocking “filial” concern.

“Fu Yuhang!” Fu Zhiyuan roared, finally dropping the act of a loving father.

“Present,” Fu Yuhang replied lazily.

“Come over,” Fu Zhiyuan said, knowing exactly what his son wanted. “I’ll give you three percent of the shares in the Fu Group.”

“Deal.” Fu Yuhang chuckled. “You really should have brought out the bargaining chips earlier; it saves you the trouble of getting angry, doesn’t it?”

The only response was the sharp click of the line going dead.

“Heh.” Fu Yuhang stared at his phone with a derisive smirk.

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