Chapter Seventy-Six

Yi Xiaoyu and You Yige spent the night at Shen Yunduan’s estate, not going to bed until after three in the morning. Boss You clung to his wife for a long time but still didn’t manage to have his way with her.

They’d barely closed their eyes for two hours when Xiao Zhou began furiously banging on Yi Xiaoyu’s door, pacing outside and calling out incessantly, “Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao, where’s Xiao You? Where is he? You said you’d tell me this morning.”

Yi Xiaoyu, roused from sleep and deeply irritable, kicked the plump figure beside him and grumbled, “Go out and deal with him, he’s making a racket.”

Boss You planted a kiss on his wife’s cheek, climbed out of bed, and opened the door. “What the hell are you yelling about?” He glowered at Xiao Zhou, who was clearly coming off another sleepless night, and barked, “You’re disturbing your sister-in-law’s rest, you know that?”

Xiao Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot with exhaustion as he pleaded, “Boss, please tell me, I’m really losing my mind.”

You Yige sighed, finally giving Xiao Zhou the location where Chu You was staying. Before letting him go, he added, “It’s two hours’ drive from here. In your state, you’d better take a driver. And since you’re going, bring him back with you—no need to make the kid catch a cab.”

Xiao Zhou nodded eagerly, “Alright, I’ll bring him back, I promise.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” You Yige warned, “bringing him back isn’t so you two can be together—your Brother Xiao is taking him back to V City.”

“Brother Xiao… he wouldn’t have his eye on Xiao You, would he?”

You Yige smacked Xiao Zhou hard on the head. “Don’t talk nonsense! This is all your fault—driving him to run all over the place. Xiaoyu’s just helping out because he couldn’t stand to watch anymore.”

Following the address You Yige gave him, Xiao Zhou found Xiao You two hours later.

Xiao You was up early, packing his things in the small rented room. He had to hurry back to the city and return with the man from the night before.

At the sound of knocking, Xiao Zhou turned to answer the door. It was his driver calling, with Xiao Zhou standing silently beside him. He knew that if Xiao You realized it was him, he wouldn’t even open the door.

Once the door opened, Xiao You immediately spotted Xiao Zhou behind the driver. Panic flickered across his eyes, and he instinctively tried to slam the door shut, but Xiao Zhou was faster, pressing his hand against the door and choking out, “I just wanted to see you. I won’t do anything, I just want to see you and know you’re alright. That’s enough for me.”

Xiao You lowered his hand, ceasing his attempts to close the door, and stared coldly at Xiao Zhou, whose face was streaked with tears—his expression nothing but indifference, resentment, and a trace of fear.

Xiao You turned and went back inside. Xiao Zhou told the driver to wait in the car, wiped his tears, and followed him in.

With his back to Xiao Zhou, Xiao You continued to pack while Xiao Zhou stood behind him in a daze, silently watching for a while before murmuring, “These days, I missed you so much… I really missed you. I thought you were dead, that I’d never see you again. Every day I wondered when I’d finally get to join you.”

Everything was packed into the suitcase. Only then did Chu You turn to look at Xiao Zhou. “Then why didn’t you just die?”

Xiao Zhou’s heart twisted, pain searing through him. He stared at the floor, then suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud. “I’m sorry. I was an asshole before—I didn’t treasure you. I swear I’ll be good to you from now on. I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want. Whatever you say, I’ll listen…”

Chu You didn’t respond, but let out a cold laugh, as if hearing a joke. He turned, grabbed his suitcase, and headed for the door.

Xiao Zhou stumbled to his feet, hurrying after Chu You to help with his luggage. “Let me do it. I drove here, you can ride with me. It’s a long way, and if we’re late, we’ll miss Brother Xiao’s flight this afternoon.”

Chu You slapped away his outstretched hand with such force that the back of Xiao Zhou’s hand reddened.

“It’s still early. I’ll make it,” Chu You glared at him. “If I didn’t want to see you, I’d have left with Mr. Yi last night.”

The hatred in Chu You’s eyes pierced Xiao Zhou to his core.