Evil Love Appears chapter 53

Fu Xiaoyu’s lower back still hurt, and even lying flat, he didn’t feel comfortable. However, he couldn’t lie on Xu Jiale all night, so he had to lie on his side.

In this position, he couldn’t cuddle with Xu Jiale like before, so he took a while to fall asleep.

Xu Jiale was a light sleeper, and in the middle of the night, he touched Fu Xiaoyu’s forehead, which felt a bit warm.

As the doctor had suspected, he had a fever.

Xu Jiale had to wake Fu Xiaoyu carefully and give him two fever-reducing pills.

“Xu Jiale.” Fu Xiaoyu, who was still somewhat delirious due to the fever, lay back on his pillow after taking the medicine and seemed to remember something. “Tomorrow… I won’t be able to see Han Jiangque, will I?”

“Of course not.”

“I dreamt of him just now. He woke up and sent me an invitation to his wedding with Wen Ke.”

Xu Jiale gently touched Fu Xiaoyu’s slightly feverish forehead, reassuring him, “Once you’re better, we’ll go to the hospital to see him.”

“Xu Jiale, I… I still miss him.” Fu Xiaoyu’s voice was somewhat muffled, and he sniffled lightly. “A lot.”

“I know.” Xu Jiale sighed softly and said, “I know.”

Fu Xiaoyu was so strong that, at many moments of sorrow, Xu Jiale only saw glimpses of his vulnerability during these late-night feverish episodes.

Xu Jiale still remembered the time when Han Jiangque was first hospitalized. Fu Xiaoyu would often sit silently by his bedside for the whole afternoon, as if he could awaken Han Jiangque by waiting like that.

The depth of that concern made Xu Jiale feel heartbroken.

Sometimes, the vulnerability hidden beneath a strong exterior was truly touching.

When he was with Fu Xiaoyu, he was reminded of his father, Murong Jingya, more often.

From childhood to adulthood, he and Murong Jingya seemed to have little parent-child time. His father was an exceptionally strong and cold Omega, never constrained by family obligations, unlike other Omegas who were influenced by their maternal instincts.

When Xu Jiale was five or six years old, his grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer. By the time it was diagnosed, it was almost too late, and he passed away shortly after a short hospital stay.

During that period, he couldn’t remember seeing Murong Jingya express any evident sadness. It was as if he hadn’t cried.

It was only on the day of his grandpa’s cremation that Murong Jingya behaved strangely. He stubbornly held onto the bed on which his grandpa was lying, preventing it from being pushed into the cremator, disrupting the normal process.

It was his dad, Xu Lang, who finally pulled Murong Jingya aside, holding him tightly and covering his eyes, allowing the cremation to proceed.

Could Murong Jingya also be fragile?

Xu Jiale couldn’t help but wonder.

…

Fu Xiaoyu’s physical condition was indeed very good, and by the next morning, he was no longer running a fever.

Xu Jiale went outside to buy hot dumplings, and after having breakfast together, Fu Xiaoyu’s back was still too sore to move, so they simply lay in bed watching documentaries on a streaming platform.

Xu Jiale had a lazy support stand set up at the head of the bed, so he didn’t need to hold the iPad in his hands; they could just lie back and watch.

After a while, Fu Xiaoyu’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and hesitated for a moment, but eventually answered it.

“Fu Xiaoyu! What’s going on? I asked you about your new profile picture on WeChat a few days ago, but you didn’t reply!”

“I forgot—” Fu Xiaoyu didn’t finish his sentence.

“It makes me so angry. Have you learned to smoke now?”

Xu Jiale couldn’t help but smile when he heard Fu Xiaoyu’s father yelling on the phone since the volume was loud enough for him to hear.

“No, I just took a random picture. I haven’t actually started smoking,” Fu Xiaoyu replied, casting an embarrassed glance at Xu Jiale. He was a little embarrassed at his age to be questioned about something like this.

“Why did you think of using a smoking picture as your profile photo? It doesn’t look good,” Fu Jing seemed quite annoyed, scolding him like a machine gun. “Have you forgotten that you have a blind date? By the way, I heard that you still haven’t met each other. What’s wrong with you? Make some time to meet, have a meal together, and get to know each other. It won’t hurt, right? If you don’t like each other, then forget it. But doing it like this is making it really difficult for your aunt, you know?”

The moment the topic shifted to the blind date, Xu Jiale’s ears perked up. He had intended to listen carefully, but suddenly, his phone beeped with several WeChat message notifications. He glanced at them and was momentarily stunned.

Jin Chu: I broke up with the skiing instructor; it’s been three days.

Jin Chu: Jiale, I feel really awful inside, I still can’t sleep. Are you awake?

Xu Jiale stared at his phone, not sure how to respond.

But within moments, Jin Chu had already called him.

The Omega was as wilful as ever, checking if he was awake in the first WeChat message and then calling without giving him time to respond, seemingly not caring if he was awake or not.

Fu Xiaoyu was still on the phone beside him, and he wanted to resolve things with his father quickly. So, he didn’t say, “Not now,” but instead changed his strategy and said, “Dad, I hurt my back while working out the last couple of days, and I can’t move around much.”

Fu Jing immediately changed the topic, concerned, “Is it serious? Why didn’t you tell me? Do you want me to come see you?”

“No need, it’s not that serious. I just need to rest for a week or two,” Fu Xiaoyu replied.

“Who’s taking care of you?”

“My… my assistant,” Fu Xiaoyu said. “Alright, Dad, I have a conference call later. Let’s talk another time.”

After that, he hung up and looked at Xu Jiale, who was holding his phone which was ringing endlessly. “Aren’t you going to answer it?”

“Give me a second.”

Xu Jiale instinctively went out to the balcony, and Xia’an followed him, meowing. But when he stood on the balcony, he hesitated, his finger hovering over the answer button.

The phone rang impatiently: one ring, two rings, three rings.

Xu Jiale eventually ended the call and replied via WeChat.

-.-: I can’t take calls right now.

While typing, he suddenly received a response.

Jin Chu: Alright, never mind. You’re busy. I’ll just have a couple of glasses of red wine and go to sleep.

Jin Chu: Sad Dog.jpg

After the divorce, the balcony was often associated with smoking. Xu Jiale subconsciously felt his pocket, only to realize that he hadn’t brought any cigarettes to the balcony this time.

He took a deep breath and, finally feeling calm, replied.

-.-: Jin Chu, take good care of yourself.

After sending that message, he pocketed his phone, turned around, and saw Fu Xiaoyu lying on the bed, propped up on his elbows, looking at him.

Fu Xiaoyu was wearing Xu Jiale’s white sleep shirt, with his round eyes curious, like a cat peeking in to see what he was doing.

In that moment, Xu Jiale realized that, deep within himself, he was selfishly and guiltily yearning for one thing – a world where only he and Fu Xiaoyu existed, a utopia far removed from reality.

There would be no responsibilities, no guilt.

Only happiness.