Evil Love Appears chapter 88

Xu Jiale remained silent. Fu Jing stared at him for several seconds, waiting for a response that never came. It wasn’t until Fu Xiaoyu suddenly grabbed his arm and, through clenched teeth, said, “Dad, let’s go home.”

Fu Jing wanted to resist but, upon seeing the expression on his son’s face, he chose to remain silent.

There was a mixture of embarrassment and sadness on Fu Xiaoyu’s face.

Fu Jing also fell silent. As they walked toward the parking lot together, Xu Jiale suddenly took a few steps forward and turned to look at them.

For a moment, in the night breeze, Xu Jiale appeared as though he wanted to say something.

The Alpha’s unusual demeanor made him stand on the threshold between light and shadow, half of his face concealed in darkness. His facial expression, hidden beneath the shadow, turned stiff, resembling a marionette with its strings cut, leaving him in silence.

Only his long and narrow eyes remained locked onto Fu Xiaoyu through the lenses.

Xu Jiale’s gaze was so intense that the brief eye contact felt prolonged, even though it was swift.

Fu Xiaoyu took a deep breath and, this time, walked away without looking back.

Xu Jiale continued standing in place.

Sometimes he felt as though he were incredibly composed, driving, seeing his son, and handling his affairs. Every day was chaotic, but it seemed like he was still living. This strange composure was often interrupted by occasional, hidden fits of hysteria. Like sudden, uncontrollable jerks in a straight line, these emotional outbursts were hard to detect by outsiders.

He had noticed this strange feeling, and it made him vaguely uneasy. He suppressed his emotions and locked them behind three or four doors, trying to continue living that way.

Many of his pains were buried deep and lingering. They were isolated behind these doors until they couldn’t be contained any longer. And then he thought they would pass.

But Fu Jing’s words were like a heavy hammer that came out of nowhere, knocking down all three or four layers of doors at once.

“Don’t you need to take responsibility for him? Aren’t you afraid of hurting him?” These questions hit him hard.

On the day he was packing Fu Xiaoyu’s belongings, he remembered countless moments—how he looked when he worked, how he looked when he played ball, how he looked while eating crab. But he couldn’t bring himself to think of how Fu Xiaoyu looked when they broke up.

His memories seemed to have a self-preservation mechanism. Every time he recalled those moments, he shamefully omitted that day.

But at this moment, he was forced to unearth that memory, over and over again.

No, he realized, it was different. Underneath Fu Xiaoyu’s anger on that day was a profound sadness. Xu Jiale, you coward, you pretended not to know he was hurting because you were afraid of him being hurt.

It was too low. But this time, when he looked at Fu Xiaoyu, he couldn’t even say a simple “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry” felt too inadequate, too much like shirking responsibility.

The emotional floodgates, which had been sealed behind three or four doors for days, surged like a tsunami and engulfed Xu Jiale’s entire being. Pain surged from his heart to his limbs and to each fingernail.

He felt like a tree with rotten roots, stuck in the night wind.

Fu Xiaoyu, who was driving Fu Jing back home, felt a moment of unease. He knew that he would never say something like “You should take responsibility for me” no matter how hurt he was. It felt too weak, too Omega. He couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Yet, he couldn’t avoid the discomfort. He had been angry with Fu Jing for most of the day, and the chance meeting with Xu Jiale had disrupted his composure. But, simultaneously, he had a lingering sense of sadness that he couldn’t ignore.

Once they arrived home, he didn’t say a word. He helped Fu Jing into the guest room, where he examined Fu Jing’s wrist once more. Finally, he whispered, “I’ll go get you a glass of water.”

“Xiaoyu,” Fu Jing held onto him with his other hand.

Fu Xiaoyu turned away without a word.

Both of them fell into an awkward silence for a few seconds, and in the end, Fu Jing spoke softly, “Today, I was impulsive.”

This statement surprised Fu Xiaoyu. He knew his father well, and Fu Jing wasn’t the type to admit his faults easily. But today, he was different.

Fu Jing was genuinely feeling guilty for his actions. The anger and frustration that had led him to confront Xu Jiale had backfired, causing an embarrassing situation and leaving Fu Xiaoyu feeling humiliated.

In the past, Fu Jing might not have easily admitted his mistakes. However, after the end of their relationship, he had become less confident about his son, which was something he had to come to terms with.

“It’s okay.”

Fu Jing has always had a timeless appearance, but perhaps because the two of them were now so close, the few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes have become more pronounced.

His father has aged, and the desire to protect him while feeling powerless makes him unable to help but feel sorry for him.

“Dad, don’t worry about this,” he said softly. In that moment when he spoke, his thoughts suddenly became remarkably clear, and his emotions calmed down.

This was the first time in these past few days that he felt so composed.

He placed his hand on Fu Jing’s back, and he couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he had touched him like this. The feeling in that moment was somewhat unfamiliar, yet bittersweet.

He quickly patted it a couple of times and then withdrew his hand.

“Yeah, his family seems to be pretty well-off,” Fu Jing said seriously. “But there’s nothing to worry about. If you still feel frustrated and want to curse at him, just send him a message on WeChat. You can curse for as long as you want. I promise it’s okay; don’t keep it in your heart.”

As he said these words, he even had a hint of a desire to smile.

This was probably the closest thing to a joke he had spoken in the past few days.

However, there’s a hint of seriousness in it as well.

On one hand, Fu Xiaoyu truly understood that Fu Jing’s concerns were unnecessary, but compared to Xu Jiale’s situation, he now cared more about not letting Fu Jing feel oppressed and heartbroken.

“Dad, don’t worry about him anymore, and don’t be too hard on yourself. I won’t let him hurt me again.”

The tone and expression with which he said this carried a subtle sense of calmness.

Unlike before, where he felt fragile and desolate, as if he were adrift in a vast sea with no support.

Now, it was different. Even though the bond between them was imperfect and not ideal, his father’s presence still provided him with a fragile yet crucial source of support.

He still carried responsibilities, he still cared about people, he still had his life.

With this sliver of belief holding him up, he would never crumble.

Fu Jing looked at Fu Xiaoyu, feeling a strange sense of closeness, as if he had, for the first time, found a sense of security in his son.

His throat felt dry, and he gently touched Fu Xiaoyu’s face, saying softly, “Xiaoyu…”

“Get some rest,” Fu Xiaoyu, who was not quite accustomed to too much warmth, stood up again and said softly, “I have to go to the office tomorrow. I’ll take a shower and go to bed early.”

………………………

Before going to sleep, he noticed several messages on his WeChat, some from Wen Huaixuan, discussing a bit about their work plan.

Wen Huaixuan had also returned from Vietnam and wanted to meet him to finalize the details of the collaboration between LIAM and the Love app.

Fu Xiaoyu: I’m free for the next few days. You can make the arrangements. I’m preparing the documents here.

Wen Huaixuan: Great. By the way, if you don’t mind me being nosy, I noticed you’ve been deleting your friends’ moments and changing your profile picture on WeChat. Did you break up?

Fu Xiaoyu looked at his phone in silence for a moment. Perhaps his “typing” status had lasted too long, causing some unease on the other end. Wen Huaixuan added another message.

Wen Huaixuan: I’m sorry, that was a bit intrusive. Pretend I didn’t ask.

Fu Xiaoyu: Yes, we broke up.

His heart remained surprisingly calm. After replying, he placed the phone aside and closed his eyes with serenity.

For the first time after the breakup, insomnia didn’t torment him as it had before.

…………………

While Fu Xiaoyu peacefully passed a night without insomnia, Xu Jiale, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep the entire night.

He tossed and turned until even his cat Xia’an couldn’t stand his restlessness and jumped into her cat bed with a “meow.”

By the time he couldn’t endure any longer and the clock struck three, Xu Jiale went out and found an all-night squash court, locked himself in a small room, and repeatedly and mechanically hit the ball against the wall. This time, with each hit, there was no response from another person, only him battling the expressionless wall.

He hit until his arm was almost powerless and then fell to the icy floor with a thud, letting out a low growl of agony.

His protective mechanisms had failed, and time was no longer giving him any respite.