Chapter 22: He Appeared Like an Angel

Chapter 22: He Appeared Like an Angel

Fu Chenzhan didn't stay the night and left the Chi residence.

In the car, Chi Xingcun's words kept replaying in his head, over and over.

"I'm not the best candidate for you here."

"I want to end our relationship first—it'll make things easier for me."

Candidate?

Easier?

Easier for what? Easier for him to find another husband?

Hah.

Fu Chenzhan knew full well that Chi Xingcun was just putting up a brave front.

He liked him, but his feelings were hurt, and he wouldn't admit it.

Hurt...

Couldn't he be won back?

He'd originally planned to have Qin Liyi cheer him up, but Qin Liyi had already switched sides.

Always getting his hopes up, getting angry, and getting hurt all on his own—that was his wife.

......

Dinner time came and went, and it was now ten at night.

Xie Yean still hadn't replied, so Chi Xingcun decided to go find him.

By then, both his parents had gone to their rooms. Chi Xingcun slipped out without a word.

He hailed a cab, and the GPS showed Xie Yean's place was twenty kilometers away.

Xie Yean had mentioned roughly where his house was before.

Xie Yean really didn't want to talk about his home—deep down, he probably didn't even consider it his home anymore. He'd given the location of his rental at first, but only after being called out did he reveal his actual family home.

A few minutes into the drive, Xie Yean finally replied. Chi Xingcun excitedly tapped the message:

"Sorry, something came up tonight. I can't make it to your place."

Chi Xingcun sighed in disappointment.

"Alright then, don't be late tomorrow."

Xie Yean didn't reply right away this time either.

Chi Xingcun had no choice but to tell the driver to turn around and head back.

Thinking about how anxious he'd been all day over Xie Yean not replying, Chi Xingcun hesitated, wondering if he should ask what was going on.

But he typed and deleted the message—asking would feel weird, like he already knew something.

Whatever.

In the car, Chi Xingcun idly scrolled through the Ke University forum and was surprised to find the latest post was about Xie Yean.

The post had gone up at noon, and it already had over ten thousand comments.

His eyes slowly widened as he tapped on it.

The post contained a video—at an accessory store in a nearby mall, a middle-aged woman was clutching Xie Yean's hand, tears streaming down her face: "Son, how can you be successful and abandon your own parents? We raised you!"

In the video, Xie Yean stared coldly at the woman.

A moment later, another middle-aged man came over and tugged at Xie Yean: "Son, we were wrong. We didn't give you enough money. We'll give you more from now on. Come home with us, okay? You're our only son."

The middle-aged couple was plainly dressed, while Xie Yean wore designer clothes—a recipe for misunderstanding. People started sympathizing with the couple, and a crowd gradually gathered to watch the spectacle. Some even pointed at Xie Yean and accused him:

"What an ungrateful brat. Raising him was the worst mistake."

"If I were that couple, I'd kill myself."

"If it weren't for your parents, would you be where you are now? Kids these days have no gratitude."

At the end of the video, the middle-aged parents even knelt down in front of Xie Yean. He seemed unable to take it anymore, pulled them up, and walked out of the mall.

Chi Xingcun stopped breathing.

His hands were shaking uncontrollably.

He immediately said to the driver, "Hey, turn around. Go back to that place."

The driver: "Kid, you keep changing the address—this is hard for me to drive."

Chi Xingcun: "I'll throw in two hundred."

The driver: "You got it! Hold on tight!"

An hour later, Chi Xingcun arrived at the village.

It was already midnight. The village entrance was pitch black, though a few faint lights could still be seen scattered inside.

According to the book, Xie Yean had to walk twenty minutes to the main road, then another half hour to reach elementary school.

So the Xie family home should be pretty far in.

Chi Xingcun turned on his phone's flashlight and walked forward, lighting the way.

Xie Yean couldn't shake his parents, and since he didn't want them finding out where he rented, he'd had no choice but to come back here with them in the end.

Chi Xingcun searched for a long time, almost ready to give up, until he finally spotted a figure slumped on the ground in a narrow alley.

He froze for a moment, then hurried over, calling out happily:

"Xie Yean."

......

Xie Yean had been forced to go home with his parents. Sitting on the bus, he was completely exhausted, because he knew exactly what was coming.

He hadn't expected to be so unlucky either—he'd wanted to buy a gift for Chi Xingcun's parents, only to run into those animals...

They clung to him relentlessly. If they found out where he rented, they'd move right in and treat him like a dog, and he'd never have peace again. So he had no choice but to come back here.

Those two knew his bank card password—he'd been forced to give it up the time he was nearly beaten to death.

Then, he watched helplessly as they transferred all his money to his own phone.

Xie Yean gritted his teeth, determined to at least get his phone back, but the man in front of him deliberately messed with him and refused to give it back.

He stood up, panting heavily, grabbed a vase off the table, and smashed it over the man's head. While the man howled in pain, he snatched his phone back.

But the guy was tough as nails and didn't get knocked out by the blow. Enraged, he shoved Xie Yean down and started beating him.

With blood-stained hands, Xie Yean tucked the phone into his shirt. After the man got tired of beating him, he dragged himself out of the house.

Xie Zitao usually only went after his body when he beat him, but this time, pissed off by Xie Yean fighting back, he beat his face until it was bruised and swollen.

Leaning against the filthy alley wall, Xie Yean turned on his phone and saw that Chi Xingcun had sent him many messages and made several calls.

He took a breath to ease the pain in his body and typed back: "Sorry, something came up tonight. Can't make it over."

The screen was smeared with blood from his fingertips.

Chi Xingcun replied fast: "Alright, then you better show up on time tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

Xie Yean definitely wanted to go, but with his face and body all banged up, how could he model for him?

The screen's glow lit up his battered face. He bit his fingers uncontrollably, thinking, what was the point of someone like him even living? He might as well just die.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die...

Just then, he vaguely heard someone calling his name. He snapped back to reality—it sounded like the young master's voice...

He followed the sound and looked up with a cold expression—

Chi Xingcun stood before him.

Under the moonlight, Chi Xingcun looked like an angel descending upon the mortal world, pure and exquisite to the point of being unreal.