Distorted Fairy Tale - Chapter 37

Before going abroad, Fu Yuhang had gone to visit his mother.

In previous years, he would always go in the morning, it was a non-negotiable ritual. However, this year, on the anniversary of Lin Zhiqing’s death, he was struck down by a fever.

On the night before the anniversary, he had given his suit jacket to Song Zhen, returning to the office to work overtime in nothing but a thin shirt. He had spent hours smoking on the balcony in that shirt; the biting wind was enough to break even the strongest constitution.

As a result, he arrived at the cemetery much later than usual. It was 2:00 p.m. when he reached the grounds, carrying a bouquet of small daisies his mother’s favourite.

Upon arrival, he spotted his father’s car. A strange, bitter feeling washed over him; it felt as though it had been an eternity since their family had been “together.” Normally, he and Fu Zhiyuan came at different times. Fu Zhiyuan knew his son’s habits and deliberately avoided him. If Fu Yuhang came in the morning, he would come in the afternoon.

As Fu Yuhang rounded a corner less than five metres from the headstone, he saw Fu Zhiyuan. He was about to call out when his father’s voice drifted through the air: “Lin Zhiqing, oh Lin Zhiqing. you’ve been dead all these years, so why do you keep haunting my dreams?”

“Did you think I’d be guilty? That I’d be afraid?” Fu Zhiyuan’s voice was laced with a derision that sat in stark contrast to his usual cultured public persona. He looked manic. “I’ve never believed in ‘karma’ or ghosts. You said you wouldn’t let me go even in death? Well, look at me. I strangled you all those years ago, and I’m still flourishing, aren’t I?”

“Your Lin family always looked down on me. Your arrogant, high-and-mighty attitudes made me sick! But look at how things turned out. Your family’s assets are all mine now, and one day they’ll belong to my son!”

“Even your own son is an arrogant brat, exactly like the rest of the Lins,” Fu Zhiyuan sneered. “He doesn’t want to acknowledge me? Fine. I’ve never seen him as my own flesh and blood anyway. My only son is Fu Yuchen. The fact that Yuhang carries half of your Lin blood makes me nauseous.”

“Once I finish off your father too, I’ll dig up your grave and feed your ashes to the dogs!” Fu Zhiyuan let out a harrowing laugh. “Every last one of you Lins will die a miserable death!”

“As for Fu Yuhang, since he has my blood and a bit of talent, I’ll keep him as a hardworking dog at the company for now. Let him finish a few more projects to pave the way for Xiaochen then he can rot.”

Fu Zhiyuan continued to outline his grand ambitions, unaware that a few metres away, Fu Yuhang’s hand was trembling as he pressed the “stop” button on his phone’s recorder. He slipped away from the cemetery unnoticed.

So, this was the truth? All along?

No matter how much he loathed Fu Zhiyuan, they were father and son. There had been a time when the three of them were a happy family. Fu Zhiyuan had once carried him on his shoulders to see the view; he had taught him to read; he had bought him the latest model racing cars.

So it was all a lie? What else is fake? What in this world is actually real? How could he hate us to this extent? What is this. Wuthering Heights?

Fu Yuhang had investigated his past memory loss, but the clues had been thoroughly erased. He had always suspected Cheng Xin and Fu Yuchen after all, they benefited most from his death. Now, he wondered if Fu Zhiyuan had been the one pulling the strings.

It was absurd. It was laughable!

And his kidnapping at ten? Who planned that? Was it really those Betas from the slums? Did they truly have the nerve?

Questions flooded his mind, and every suspicious detail from the past years suddenly clicked into place.

Fu Yuhang felt as though something had shattered within him. He was reeling from the sheer weight of the information. When he returned to the office, he was still in a daze.

He was certain of only one thing: he would retaliate. No matter how difficult, he would have his revenge.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

Fu Yuhang had overestimated his self-control. He thought he could remain calm when he saw Fu Zhiyuan at the office, but a minor disagreement quickly escalated into a shouting match. He needed to vent.

Thankfully, since they were always at each other’s throats, no one suspected a thing. He simply claimed he was unwell and left early.

His mind was a mess. He needed to find peace.

But where? With whom?

A beautiful, gentle face flashed across his mind. He suddenly missed Song Zhen with an intensity that bordered on physical pain.

Song Zhen wasn’t home when he arrived. Fu Yuhang’s head was thumping with fever; he intended to call him but fainted outside the door instead.

He woke to a familiar, comforting aroma. He remembered that Song Zhen’s braised egg noodles were delicious. In truth, Song Zhen didn’t do much he just watched him eat, watched him do chores, watched him clip the puppy’s claws. Yet, Fu Yuhang felt himself calming down.

When humans are in a state of high stress, they instinctively gravitate towards things that make them feel safe and unthreatened. A wandering soul needs a home.

Song Zhen wouldn’t lie to him. This was the one person who had once treated him with a sincere heart.

It was ironic. Fu Yuhang had once felt that loving Song Zhen was a betrayal of his mother. His misplaced anger seemed utterly ridiculous now that he knew the truth. He abandoned his plan of a “slow pursuit.” He didn’t want to wait anymore; he needed to take this person home immediately to find peace.

After the business trip, he told himself. He had to go abroad; his mother’s former nurse was currently in Country U. He also knew Fu Zhiyuan held a secret fund and several properties overseas. There were many secrets that had to be unearthed from abroad.

What did “an eye for an eye” look like?

To Fu Yuhang, it wasn’t just returning the harm. It was crushing everything the person held dear right before their eyes, leaving them to crawl through the dust of their broken dreams.

He had originally stayed in the company to ensure his mother’s hard work wasn’t defiled by a bastard son. He had vowed to trample over those who said he was a “motherless child with no discipline.” Now, he had a new goal: to make every one of them pay.

***

The trip was fruitful. He gathered evidence of Fu Zhiyuan’s illegal dealings and grey-market businesses. His father was even more “talented” than he had imagined. He met the nurse, who fell to her knees and wept the moment she saw him, as if she had been waiting for this day.

She claimed she had evidence that Fu Zhiyuan had strangled Lin Zhiqing.

Fu Yuhang didn’t bring her back to the country yet—it was too risky. He cut his trip short to return in time for Song Zhen’s birthday.

For safety, he sent Old Chen off in his usual car while he drove a rented vehicle towards Song Zhen’s flat. He was going to keep his promise.

When Song Heng had received a ring from Song Zhen, he had promised that one day, when he had the money, he would replace it with the most beautiful, sparkling ring in the world.

Fu Yuhang had found it. A ring once worn by the royalty of Country U.

Song Heng had also promised to love Song Zhen for a lifetime.

Fu Yuhang remembered that too. Every promise made by “Song Heng” would be fulfilled by “Fu Yuhang.”

In the moment the crash occurred, his only thought was that his promises to Song Zhen were yet to be fulfilled. He couldn’t die.

“Song Zhen.” he murmured before the darkness claimed him.

If a person truly sees their life flash before their eyes when they die, Fu Yuhang saw the few fragments of his short life that had left a mark.

The grey rain at his mother’s funeral. Standing before a cold headstone, before he even understood the concept of death, he had come face-to-face with it. Death is a cold stone. Death is someone who never comes back.

The scene shifted. He saw his classmates, led by Qin Heng, circling him and jeering: “Fu Yuhang has a mother to give birth to him but no mother to raise him! Even his dad doesn’t want him!” The malice of a child is often sharper than that of an adult, lacking the mask of civility.

He learned what rage felt like. He didn’t know how he had beaten four Alphas his own age into the dirt, but he remembered the feeling of standing over them. “You’re all pathetic,” he had whispered. “I will keep you beneath my feet for the rest of your lives.”

He had spent the next decade being the “nightmare” of every child his age the one who was perfect at everything.

Then, he saw the days he had once dismissed as an “accident.” Moving crates for Uncle Wu in the slums. Song Zhen waiting for him to finish work, wiping the sweat from his brow with a tender smile. “It’s been hard for you. Let’s go home; I’ll make you braised pork.”

The first time they were intimate, Song Zhen was flushed pink with shyness, trembling yet clinging to his neck. “I’m a little scared… be gentle, alright?”

Every day they walked home hand-in-hand, as if rehearsing for a lifetime together. When the snow fell on their heads in the winter, it felt like they had aged into an old couple together.

The memories were a kaleidoscope. Fu Yuhang felt he was in a long dream, his subconscious telling him there was still work to be done. But the memories were like vines, wrapping around him, enticing him to stay in this blissful illusion.

What was it I had to do? What was it.?

“FU YUHANG!!!”

A heart-wrenching wail pulled him back. He slowly opened his eyes to see a face drenched in tears.

“Heaven be praised! You’re finally awake!” Zhou Nining sobbed. He looked like he was mourning at a grave.

“Do you know you’ve been lying here for two whole months?!”

Fu Yuhang froze, his brow furrowing. “What?”

“You nearly scared me to death! I thought you were.  I thought.” Zhou Nining wiped his eyes. “I was coming back to A City for Zhenzhen’s birthday when I saw the crash. I called the police.”

“I was about to leave when I glanced into the car and saw you covered in blood.” Zhou Nining started crying again. “The doctor said if you’d been a few minutes later, you’d be dead.”

Zhou Nining had saved him again. Fu Yuhang made a mental note to hire even more extras for his next art show.

“Two months. ” Fu Yuhang sat up, rubbing his temples. “Tell me. everything that happened while I was out.”

“Once I tell you,” Zhou Nining whispered, “you have to promise to stay calm.”

Support Distorted Fairy Tale