novelraw Chapter 132: Rift
Chapter 132: Rift
"Who told you that?"
"Hasn’t everyone in your circle been talking about it?" Su Lingzhi countered him, "Is it because she abandoned you before that you rejected her? Flirting with me in front of her, are you doing it on purpose to piss her off? Do you still have feelings for her and you’re just playing with me?"
Fu Yinli was caught between laughter and tears by her words, for a moment he couldn’t find words to justify himself.
"If you think I’m just playing with you, then let’s go get the marriage certificate now."
One sentence scared Su Lingzhi so much that she let go of his hand.
Seeing her instinctive reaction, dissatisfaction flashed in Fu Yinli’s eyes, "Zhizhi, I’m not joking with you."
Su Lingzhi hurriedly explained, "I just graduated, my career is not stable yet, I don’t want to settle down so quickly."
"Does someone else’s random words so easily make you suspicious of me? Am I really that bad in your eyes?"
Su Lingzhi shook her head.
Fu Yinli took a deep breath, "Yes, she was my ex. It’s true that when I lost power and left the capital, we lost contact. There’s no such thing as her abandoning me. I had no feelings for her, there’s no need to use anyone to provoke her. I rejected her because..."
Fu Yinli glanced at her, "I’ve shown my affection to you countless times, how many times have I refused to let go since I met you?"
Su Lingzi suddenly felt guilty, holding his hand, "I’m sorry, Lili."
"What other rumors have you heard?"
"I..." Su Lingzhi was overwhelmed with emotions, "If I tell you, can you promise not to get angry?"
"Alright."
"They say you’re ruthless to climb the ranks, disregarding even family ties."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yinli’s face instantly darkened.
Originally, he didn’t care about these rumors at all because people’s mouths are never shut. But he never expected them to reach her ears.
His sharp gaze swept over Su Lingzhi, instantly understanding the reason for her drunkenness last night, "You believed it?"
"I..." Seeing his face change suddenly, Su Lingzhi panicked, "I..."
Fu Yinli pushed her hand away, not saying a word, turned and left.
"Lili!" Su Lingzhi hurriedly called after him, but she still couldn’t explain, couldn’t justify why she felt so awful last night and got drunk.
Fu Yinli’s steps halted at the door, paused for two seconds, and without looking back, he opened the door handle and left.
He closed the door decisively, and she had never seen him leave so resolutely before.
Su Lingzhi’s eyes were slightly red, an unspeakable pain surged from her heart and stuck in her throat.
He had clearly said he wouldn’t get angry.
But she didn’t expect him to pick up on another layer of meaning and care so much.
How could he not care? If it were her, she would be angry too. She underestimated his temper.
It was her fault, she shouldn’t have doubted him upon hearing rumors.
Su Lingzhi ran out, rushed down the stairs but couldn’t catch him, he was nowhere to be seen.
She stood bewildered downstairs, the thin sunlight falling on her, a chill seemed to seep through her body from head to toe.
...
Not knowing where he might have gone, Su Lingzhi took a car to Jing Garden.
Housekeeper Zhao was surprised to see her return, "Miss, why are you back?"
Su Lingzhi urgently asked, "Has Lili returned?"
Housekeeper Zhao shook his head, "What happened?"
"I lost him." A thin mist clouded Su Lingzhi’s eyes.
Housekeeper Zhao, not understanding, brought her back home first, comforting her to calm down.
Once he understood the situation, Housekeeper Zhao furrowed his brows, sighed, and said, "Sir has never been unkind to you, always yielding in everything. How could you be so muddleheaded?"
Su Lingzhi was too ashamed to lift her head.
Housekeeper Zhao informed, "Sir never committed any act of fratricide, he was framed by his second uncle. He’s carried this false accusation for twenty years, with no one believing in his innocence until recently. He only discovered the truth when you two had a falling out the last time. Fu Kuangzheng’s death had nothing to do with him either."
Framed, the last conflict...
Su Lingzhi suddenly understood.
So during that time, he was suppressing his emotions, smoking so heavily because he learned of being framed.
Su Lingzhi’s face turned pale, her voice weak, "Lili was only nine..."
At nine years old, bearing such a stigma, how must his situation have been in the Fu Family all these years...
"What about Lili’s parents? Didn’t they believe him either?"
Housekeeper Zhao sighed and shook his head.
Su Lingzhi felt a faint pain in her heart.
No wonder Lili had such a big reaction to hearing ’disregarding family ties’, because he lost family connections from a young age, even his biological parents did not stand by him, how could others believe him?
He was so young; she couldn’t imagine how he grew up in such a scheming family or how much bitterness he endured.
She always declared her love for him, saying she had to have him, but in the end, she didn’t believe him either, falling for the rumors.
No wonder he was so disheartened with her.
She had so failed the one who wanted to marry her despite the family’s opposition.
Housekeeper Zhao continued, "The only one who cared about Sir was the old madam, who passed away shortly after protecting him."
Su Lingzhi anxiously asked, "Uncle Zhao, do you know where I can find Lili? I called him, but he didn’t answer. I don’t know where he would go."
"This..." Housekeeper Zhao thought for a moment, unsure where he would go either, "I’ll give Sir a call."
"Okay, thank you."
Housekeeper Zhao moved to the backyard with his phone, having thought of his words, he dialed.
The line connected.
A cold voice came through, "What is it?"
"Sir, Miss Su has come to Jing Garden, the situation doesn’t seem too good."
As soon as the words dropped, the other side fell dead silent.
Just as Housekeeper Zhao was about to speak again, he heard the cold voice, "What happened to her?"
"You should come back and see for yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the call was cut off.
Housekeeper Zhao stared at the disconnected phone, a bit at a loss.
Does this mean he will come back or not?
After pondering for a while, when he called again, there was no response.
Back in the living room facing Su Lingzhi, he shook his head helplessly, "Sir didn’t explicitly say whether he would return, but he already knows you’re at Jing Garden."
"Then I’ll wait for him here."
Housekeeper Zhao sighed deeply, couldn’t help but say to her, "Sir has had many difficulties over the years, he treats you like a treasure, you know how he treats you, whether fighting or arguing, just don’t lose him."
"Okay, I understand, Uncle Zhao, thank you for telling me all of this."
"What I just told you, don’t tell Sir it was me who informed you, and don’t bring it up with him."
"Hmm." Su Lingzhi nodded to assure.
Yet, an entire day passed without seeing a trace of him.