Chapter 54: Heartless

“Say that again. What right do you have to speak? I’ve accompanied Xia Xia for so many years, you’re the one who’s the most shameful!”

Rong Xiu’s contemptuous and smug smile cruelly tormented Wen Lan Sheng’s face: “You can’t bear it already? Serves you right to be despised by Fan Xia. Yes, you’ve indeed accompanied Fan Xia for many years, but now she’s bored of you. You should exit the stage.”

Wen Lan Sheng’s eyes were about to burst, a fire shooting directly from them. He grabbed Rong Xiu’s tie, viciously choking his neck.

Rong Xiu smiled smugly, even as the tie left a distinct mark on his neck. He seemed to smile even more happily.

“Wen Lan Sheng, stop!” Fan Xia came out of the car, yanking his hand away and tightly protecting Rong Xiu. Her eyes were concerned: “Are you alright?”

Rong Xiu shook his head. The previously arrogant expression was gone, replaced by a pitiful, weak, and haggard look: “I just didn’t expect Lan Sheng to have such a violent temper. I merely said one sentence, asking him to advise his aunt not to speculate in stocks anymore, and he suddenly attacked me.”

Wen Lan Sheng was at a loss for words: “No, it’s not like that.”

“You don’t need to explain.” Fan Xia looked at him coldly: “I only believe what I see. I never thought you’d become like this, no different from a shrew. Rong Xiu, let’s go.”

Fan Xia protectively held his shoulder, considerately helping him into the car. The car door slammed heavily, as if slapping Wen Lan Sheng’s face loudly.

As the car drove away, the unpleasant, pungent exhaust fumes choked him, bringing bitter tears to his eyes. He tilted his head back, standing at the hospital entrance where patients came and went, amid the furtive gazes like flies, looking at the sky. Why had things turned out this way?

His beautiful life seemed to have crumbled without him realizing it.

Why? Wen Lan Sheng lowered his head, thinking over and over again. When did it start?

Like a walking corpse, he returned to the hospital room, leaning dejectedly against the doorway, listening to Xie Cen’s irritating chatter inside and Wen Jing’s impatient tone.

A faint light seemed to appear in his bewildered eyes.

Right, it seemed to have started when Wen Jing was arrested for assaulting someone. Others forced them to pay, and his parents had no choice but to sell their house and move into his and Fan Xia’s cozy little home.

No, why did Wen Jing assault someone? Because she was expelled from school and had nowhere to go.

No, no, before that, his parents were already living in their home. Right, it was because mom had fallen and injured herself, so they moved in for convenience. Yes, it started from that time.

From then on, everything began to spiral out of control. Fan Xia’s parents had passed away early; she wasn’t used to living with other elderly people. It was because he had compromised.

That’s why she was unwilling to come home, preferring to work overtime outside rather than return. That’s why it gave Rong Xiu an opportunity. Initially, Fan Xia had kept her distance from Rong Xiu.

It was all his fault, all his fault. Wen Lan Sheng painfully clutched his hair. It was all because he hadn’t protected their home, bringing his parents over, making her unable to return home, which led to things developing step by step into an irretrievable situation.

Even Rong Xiu knew that Fan Xia didn’t like the environment at home. Only he himself didn’t know.

If he drove them away, would Fan Xia forgive her?

Wen Lan Sheng’s eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, his expression somewhat manic.

Bang! With a loud noise, Wen Lan Sheng kicked open the door.

Wen Jing clutched her chest in fright. Seeing it was Wen Lan Sheng, she immediately angrily said: “Wen Lan Sheng, are you sick? What are you going crazy for!”

Wen Jing’s tone immediately increased Wen Lan Sheng’s anger by a large margin. It was all because of his soft-heartedness that he had taken in such a dog, causing Fan Xia to be so angry she wouldn’t return home.

Since Wen Jing showed no sibling affection towards him, instead acting as if he owed her something, why should he continue to swallow his anger?

“Get out!” Wen Lan Sheng spat out a few words through gritted teeth: “Go back now! Pack your things immediately, get out right now!”

Wen Jing was clearly stunned for a moment, not expecting Wen Lan Sheng to come back like this. She hurriedly looked towards Xie Cen.

Xie Cen rushed forward, protecting Wen Jing tightly like guarding a cub, glaring angrily: “Wen Lan Sheng, what are you saying! Jing Jing is your sister, how can you drive her away? Where will she live if you drive her out!”

“She can live wherever she wants! What does it have to do with me!” Wen Lan Sheng said.

“She’s your own sister! You can’t be so heartless, driving your own sister out. I’d like to see how you’ll face people in the future.” Xie Cen was both panicked and angry.

“Even if she’s my sister, she can’t live in my and Fan Xia’s home!” Wen Lan Sheng’s eyes were full of bloodshot veins, as if possessed. It seemed like a thick layer of dark red mist covered his vision, blocking out the light. In the black mist, he saw Fan Xia and Rong Xiu pressed tightly together, her hand reaching into his shirt. Rong Xiu let out a coquettish and enchanting moan, casting a seductive and smug glance in his direction.

Wen Lan Sheng felt like his head was about to explode. He clutched his head, glaring fiercely at Wen Jing who was shrinking behind Xie Cen: “Wen Jing, I’m giving you one hour. Go back and pack your things, otherwise I’ll throw all your stuff out!”

“You dare!” Xie Cen was so angry he almost jumped up. His legs trembling, he crawled to the window, opened it, and shouted: “If you dare to drive your sister away, I’ll, I’ll jump down from here right now. I’ll die for you to see!”

Xie Cen’s shrill voice echoed in the hospital room.

But Wen Lan Sheng couldn’t hear it anymore. All he could hear was Fan Xia’s tired voice.

“Lan Sheng, I’m really tired.”

“For me, staying at the company is more comfortable than being at home.”

“Lan Sheng, let’s calm down for a bit.”

Suddenly, the voice changed. Rong Xiu’s contemptuous laughter echoed repeatedly in his ear: “A mistress still has a chance to become the official wife, but with a family like yours, it’s impossible in this lifetime.”

“Fine.” Wen Lan Sheng spat out two words, his manic eyes showing an eerie calmness.

Xie Cen, clutching the window frame, was stunned for a moment: “What did you say?”

Wen Lan Sheng raised his head, his distorted eyes pathologically bloodshot: “Go ahead and die. Dad, go ahead and die.”

At Cloud Water Bay, Fan Xia sat on the sofa, holding a coquettish Yi Mei in her arms, absently stroking its soft fur.

“What did Wen Lan Sheng just say to you?” she asked.

Sometimes Rong Xiu’s words were like a precise needle, striking right at the core, causing Wen Lan Sheng to lose control of his emotions on the spot.

“Nothing much, just cursing with those same old insults,” Rong Xiu sat beside her, undoing the tie that Wen Lan Sheng had pulled. His slender fingertips caressed his slightly protruding Adam’s apple, which bobbed up and down as he swallowed. His fair neck showed some unnatural red marks, traces left by Wen Lan Sheng’s recent pulling.

Fan Xia’s eyes darkened slightly: “Only you have the ability to provoke Wen Lan Sheng like that.”

Rong Xiu waved the tie, its end lightly brushing her fingertips. His gaze was like soft silk sliding over every inch of her skin: “Perhaps it’s because he can truly sense that I’m the mistress you’re keeping outside. A man’s sixth sense is very keen; it’s not surprising that he would lose control.”

“You’re the mistress I’m keeping?” Fan Xia seemed to find an inexplicable humor in this, her fingertips entwining with the striped tie he had removed.

“Don’t you admit it?” Yi Mei, who had been comfortably nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, was suddenly picked up and tossed onto the carpet.

Rong Xiu rolled over, pressing against her chest, his narrow eyes swaying with seductive watery light: “You kissed me, and now you want to deny it?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Fan Xia shook her head with a smile, her hands unconsciously supporting his legs as he straddled her. The thin material of his suit pants wrapped around his taut, sinewy muscles, the sexy lines traced out in her palms.

Her palms grew hot, and she explained: “I just found it funny. I’m just your assistant, even my salary is paid by you. How could it be considered that I’m keeping you?”

Rong Xiu bit his lip, the thin lips turning a faint, burning red: “Isn’t that better? Usually, when women keep mistresses, they have to provide money and housing. I’m actually paying to be slept with by you.”

Fan Xia’s smile rippled at the corners of her lips as she gently kissed between his brows: “When you put it that way, it seems I indeed have the advantage. Thank you for your generosity, CEO.”

Rong Xiu felt his cheeks burning hot.

“CEO, your face is so red,” Fan Xia’s words carried a soft, smiling tone.

Rong Xiu felt both ashamed and heated. It had been a long time since Fan Xia had called him CEO in private. Before, he only felt that the title of CEO was cold and distant, but now coming from Fan Xia’s mouth, it was like injecting fire into his blood, burning through his entire body as it flowed with his blood.

A cool touch caressed his face as Fan Xia’s fingertips traced from his brow bone to his nose bridge, circling around his gold-rimmed glasses, down to his lips, and finally stopping at his chin.

Then, a gentle but firm force tilted his chin up. His hazy gaze saw his own reflection in Fan Xia’s eyes. Her gaze rippled with gentle waves as she gradually moved closer to him.

Rong Xiu felt himself enveloped in wet warmth. Her hair fell around his sides, extremely entangled.

He couldn’t remember how they got to the bedroom, or when the sky had completely darkened. Just thinking about it made Rong Xiu’s face and neck flush crimson all over.

He managed to put on a robe and got out of bed.

Fan Xia had already dressed and was bringing some dishes from the kitchen to the dining table. Because of that passionate encounter, her clothes were somewhat wrinkled, but they still looked graceful on her.

Rong Xiu held onto the stair railing, the blush on his cheeks not yet faded, his voice hoarse from shouting at some point: “Didn’t I say not to let you cook? I could have done it.”

Fan Xia smiled as she brought out the soup: “When I came down, the servants had already prepared the meal, cleaned up, and left. I guess they heard some sounds they shouldn’t have and didn’t want to disturb us.”

Rong Xiu tensed up, thoroughly drenched in embarrassment.