Evil Love Appears chapter 102

Fu Xiaoyu found it difficult to understand why the words “cheap late-night snack” sounded so enticing. It seemed like Xu Jiale possessed some strange abilities. Everytime he was with Xu Jiale, he became even more food-obsessed than ever before.

The food Xu Jiale ate always looked delicious. Even his descriptions of the food made it sound so appetizing that it went beyond mere sensory perception.

Even as they sat at a plastic table by the roadside, Fu Xiaoyu still felt somewhat bewildered. Xu Jiale had gone inside the convenience store to order oden, and through the brightly lit glass, Fu Xiaoyu could see the tall alpha earnestly choosing the oden ingredients.

After a short while, Xu Jiale emerged, carrying a steaming paper bowl.

Fu Xiaoyu’s eyes stayed on the two bowls. The one in front of him seemed to have more ingredients.

Unable to resist, he leaned over, only to see that besides the rich-looking soup, there were several chunks of white radish, seaweed knots, fish roe pouches, bamboo wheels, and small cheese sausages.

The rich aroma of the sweet and savory oden soup wafted through the warm steam, touching his face gently. The feeling of emptiness in his stomach suddenly intensified; he was hungry.

As Fu Xiaoyu used a small spoon to dig into his oden, Xu Jiale returned from the convenience store with two cans of ice-cold beer, finally sitting across from him with a sigh of relief.

“Care for a drink?” Xu Jiale asked while opening the beer.

“Yes,” Fu Xiaoyu replied simply.

At first, Fu Xiaoyu was quite silent while eating. His curiosity was strong, so he tried each ingredient one by one, with the big, tender white radish and the fish roe pouches particularly appealing to his taste buds.

In particular, the fish roe pouches, soaked in the oden broth, had softened the tofu skin around them. When he bit into them, they were dense, fresh, and sweet.

After finishing the fish roe pouches in his bowl, as he used chopsticks to scrape the bottom of the bowl, Xu Jiale, sitting opposite him, raised his head, took a sip of beer, and suddenly picked up two more fish roe pouches, quickly placing them in Fu Xiaoyu’s bowl.

Xu Jiale’s movements were so quick that Fu Xiaoyu was slightly taken aback before he raised his head and asked, “Aren’t you going to eat them?”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Xu Jiale’s bowl was still almost full, barely touched.

“This is a backup bowl,” Xu Jiale explained as he added a piece of white radish to Fu Xiaoyu’s bowl. “You’ve never had oden before?”

“No,” Fu Xiaoyu said with an assertive tone.

Late at night, the street was relatively quiet, with an occasional car speeding past.

There were more people passing by in front of the convenience store, and they often gave the two of them curious glances. It was indeed an unusual sight to see two people dressed in formal attire sitting on plastic stools by the roadside, enjoying oden.

From childhood to adulthood, Fu Xiaoyu had always been sensitive to the gazes of others, so he rarely did anything that drew attention to himself.

But strangely, when he was with Xu Jiale, the concept of impropriety seemed to disappear. The occasion and timing became unimportant. He sat there earnestly, eating a large bowl of oden until he was sweating, undoing his windbreaker to reveal a creamy-white sweater. The cool breeze, a couple more sips of beer, and he felt refreshed.

Xu Jiale’s gaze lingered on the omega’s figure, and the combination of the sweater and Fu Xiaoyu was still irresistibly appealing to him even after a year had passed.

“Full?” he coughed and asked.

“Yeah,” Fu Xiaoyu replied, looking at the wide street, sipping his beer slowly.

Xu Jiale smiled again, but as he did, he looked down at the table. Then, he spoke in a low voice, “Fu Xiaoyu, I spoke with Jin Chu this afternoon.”

However, Fu Xiaoyu didn’t respond.

The response, or rather the complete silence from the other side, seemed somewhat abrupt. Xu Jiale couldn’t help but lift his head, only to find the omega clutching a beer can, his round eyes focused and serious, locked on him.

Xu Jiale felt Fu Xiaoyu’s intentions—

Fu Xiaoyu may not have asked questions, but that didn’t mean he could avoid answering.

“We didn’t have time to discuss anything else; it was mainly about property matters. The conversation wasn’t too pleasant, but regardless of how Jin Chu feels—”

Xu Jiale took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I will reclaim the part that wasn’t divided clearly before. From now on, I’ll strictly follow the court’s judgment.”

In fact, “unpleasant” was an understatement.

He kept his explanation concise, essentially stating the conclusion.

Because recalling the conversation from the afternoon was really tough.

When Jin Chu came to the hospital in the afternoon to talk, it was essentially an unexpected ambush. Xu Jiale had to manage his IV drip while discussing property issues with the omega.

After the divorce from Jin Chu, most of the marital assets, including three properties and several cars, were awarded to Jin Chu. Xu Jiale had decided not to contest it. However, in practice, even with this agreement, it wasn’t strictly adhered to. Several holiday properties under his name were still used by Jin Chu during breaks, and various expenses, including credit card bills and many daily expenses, were still handled by Xu Jiale.

The muddled accounts from before had been dragging on until now. During their recent conversation, without their lawyers present, Jin Chu suddenly cried. As he wept, he asked Xu Jiale, “Do we really have to split everything so clearly? Every little bit?”

It was challenging to say if Jin Chu’s sadness was solely due to property matters. Regardless, the alimony Xu Jiale was providing wasn’t a small amount, and it wouldn’t significantly affect Jin Chu’s quality of life.

But when Jin Chu cried, there was a deep fear and unease in his eyes. It was as if he was realizing, for the first time, that from now on, everything, from their emotions to finances, would be divided so clearly.

While Xu Jiale watched Jin Chu wiping his tears, he remained silent for a long time before continuing, “Yes. Apart from Nanyi’s education expenses, I’ll stop using the credit card under my name for you. Some of your personal bills, starting from this month, I won’t cover them either.”

While waiting for Jin Chu to finish crying, he sat on the hospital bed, watching the IV drip steadily drop.

These words should have been spoken by a lawyer. But in the end, Xu Jiale said them himself.

It was almost as if it was karma. His initial weakness and reluctance led him to personally tear apart the dignified façade he had offered Jin Chu.

Fu Xiaoyu finally spoke, “You mean to say that you didn’t clearly divide the property before?”

Xu Jiale said quietly, “That’s right. The divorce judgment was clear at the time, but he didn’t follow it, and I didn’t insist. It remained ambiguous until now. I’ve only recently stopped the credit card I had left with him. Next, it’s time to deal with Nanyi’s matters.”

Fu Xiaoyu frowned and said assertively, “Why are you telling me this now?”

His cheeks felt slightly warm, perhaps due to the effects of alcohol. He had been pursued by Xu Jiale for just a day, and the pent-up anger inside him felt like prickly fur, and it finally erupted.

Fu Xiaoyu didn’t wait for Xu Jiale’s reply but continued, “Xu Jiale, these are things we could have faced together, and it’s not really that difficult. But, damn it, you chose to turn your back. So, listen carefully, I’m not going to be by your side anymore, I won’t fight alongside you.”

“I won’t fight alongside you.”

As soon as this sentence left his lips, Fu Xiaoyu’s nose couldn’t help but feel a bit sour.

“I know,” Xu Jiale said, looking at the omega in front of him. “Xiaoyu, I know that this is my battle. Whether it’s dealing with family matters or pursuing you, it’s all my battle.”

He paused and suddenly said, “Xiaoyu, did my pursuit of you make you angry? Because my thoughts were a bit muddled, and I didn’t know how to respond, which made you angrier.”

Fu Xiaoyu refused to answer but lowered his head and took a big gulp of beer, flushing his cheeks slightly.

“In fact, I’ve been hesitant all along. I wondered if I should pursue you before I resolved my family issues. But the day you came, I had already made up my mind. I had to tell you that my feelings and decisions can’t wait. Truly, they can’t wait.”

“Do you know my professor? He seems to have a pretty good life on the surface. He’s an academic genius with qualifications and fame in various fields. He married an omega he fell in love with during university, and they’ve been together for over a decade. But their child was diagnosed with a fatal disease at the age of six. Ever since, my professor and his omega have been traveling the world to seek expert opinions. Over the years, the situation has fluctuated. But they’ve accepted it—there’s no cure. I always thought that they, as a couple, had overcome such a significant difficulty and endured together for over ten years, they should be deeply in love. However, there was one recent conversation where my professor said—”

“He told me that they can’t really be considered in love anymore. When they’re together at home, they barely speak, except for discussing their child. They don’t exchange any extra words.”

“I asked the professor why it had come to this.”

“He told me that it’s tough for people to feel happiness in the presence of someone with whom they’ve experienced long-lasting shared sadness. No matter how deeply they loved each other in the beginning, seeing each other just reminds them of the unavoidable pain. Over time, pain becomes naturally associated with that person. It’s not that they don’t want to love each other; they just can’t.”

Fu Xiaoyu silently gripped his beer can, and this story suddenly left him with a hollow feeling in his chest.

He stared at Xu Jiale, who continued his narrative.

The alpha took a deep breath and said in a hushed tone, “Xiaoyu, when you saw me in Vietnam, your initial reaction was sadness.”

“Even now, I remember how sad you looked at that time. Every time I think of it, I’m afraid. So I can’t wait. Xiaoyu, I can’t let you remember me as a source of sadness every time. With time, I’m afraid you won’t remember how we felt when we were in love.”

“Every moment, I’m in a hurry. I have to create more, fresher memories for us. I have to create happy memories as quickly as possible, pushing all the sad ones to the back. This is my battle, not yours.”

“So, don’t think about fighting alongside me anymore. This time, be the referee.”

“Be the referee?” Fu Xiaoyu felt the taste of beer creeping up his throat. He wanted to burp but held it in with effort.

He was a natural fighter. In every battle in his life, he fought with all his might to win. Therefore, he was eager to understand what it meant to be a referee.

“Yes, be the referee,” Xu Jiale said word by word. “You don’t have to think about anything, just relax and watch me fight. Until the day I can make you smile again, make you happy once more, you can blow the whistle—”

“Just relax and enjoy it. Be the referee, alright?”