The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife-Chapter 552: Episode 2 9. Fu Chenxuan Drunk (First Update)
Lin Jing ultimately did not finish what she had left unsaid.
On the way back, Lin Jing spent the entire ride looking at the scenery outside, but her gaze was unfocused. Fu Chenxuan, thinking back to the figure he had just seen, was in no mood for small talk either. Thus, the two of them rode in silence.
As they neared Lin Jing’s house, Lin Jing suddenly spoke softly, "Chenxuan, do you have someone you like?" As she spoke, her hand gripping the seat belt tightened noticeably, her nervousness evident.
Fu Chenxuan was driving and her question caught him off guard, "What?"
"During the game of truth or dare last time, you said you had someone you liked. Was that true?" Lin Jing’s palms were sweaty.
Fu Chenxuan let out a chuckle, wondering why everyone was so concerned about this, "It was just a game."
Lin Jing’s heart suddenly settled, and she smiled faintly, "I thought so."
The car stopped, and Lin Jing thanked Fu Chenxuan before walking a few steps. Then she turned back and said, "Chenxuan, if you have time, let’s go watch a movie together this weekend."
Her lips curved upwards, her eyes shining brightly.
Fu Chenxuan’s gaze flickered slightly, and he responded with a light smile, "I have plans this weekend, I’m afraid I can’t make it."
Lin Jing felt a twinge of disappointment, "Then let’s make plans another time. I’m going up now; drive safely."
Fu Chenxuan nodded and drove off. From the rearview mirror, he could see Lin Jing still standing in the same spot, watching as he left.
Fu Chenxuan did not go home but instead drove to Charming Color. He sat at the bar drinking alone, exuding an air that kept others at bay.
Before long, he had nearly emptied a bottle of liquor. He shook his glass and said to the bartender, "Another bottle."
The bartender wore a troubled expression, "Young Master Fu, you’ve had quite a bit tonight."
Fu Chenxuan’s face was impassive, "Another bottle." His tone had cooled.
The bartender had no choice but to fetch him another bottle and, while Fu Chenxuan wasn’t looking, he discreetly called the manager.
Manager Wu was new to the bar but recognized Fu Chenxuan, the young owner of the establishment.
Receiving the call from the bartender, Manager Wu hurried down from his office. By the time he arrived, Fu Chenxuan had already finished a third of the second bottle, but his eyes were still clear; he was obviously not drunk.
"Young Master Fu," Manager Wu greeted with a slight bow.
Fu Chenxuan frowned, "Why are you here? There’s nothing wrong; go back to what you were doing."
Manager Wu’s eyes swept over the bottle of liquor in front of him, offering a small smile, "Young Master Fu, drinking is harmful to your health."
Fu Chenxuan waved his hand dismissively, "I know, this much won’t get me drunk."
Seeing that he was coherent and speaking logically, not appearing to be drunk, Manager Wu was somewhat reassured, "Young Master Fu, I’ll be around all evening; call me if you need anything."
Fu Chenxuan gestured for him to leave.
Manager Wu looked at him uneasily one last time, but Fu Chenxuan didn’t return his gaze. After a moment’s thought, he did not continue to persuade. After all, Fu Chenxuan was an adult and didn’t need to be reminded over and over.
Fu Chenxuan’s gaze scanned over the men and women in the bar, his eyes listless.
—Fu Chenxuan, let’s join a regiment together once we graduate from the military academy. If possible, I want to become a special forces soldier with you.
—Alright.
— What if I can’t become an excellent soldier?
— I’ll be with you, even if you don’t become a soldier, I’ll still be with you.
— Fu Chenxuan, I’ve fallen in love with you, will you be my boyfriend? — Gu Qingzhu, I’ve been waiting for those words for a long time.
— Fu Chenxuan, since you’ve taken my hand, you have to love me for a lifetime. If you dare to like someone else, I’ll... 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
— What will you do?
— I’ll cry for you to see.
Gu Qingzhu, if you don’t come back, I’ll stop liking you. When I fall for someone else, go find a place to cry because I definitely won’t be soft-hearted.
Fu Chenxuan’s lips curved slightly, his gaze icy. Gu Qingzhu, who gave you the right to come and go in my world as you please?
"Handsome guy, want to have a drink together?" A glass of alcohol suddenly appeared before him. Fu Chenxuan turned slightly and saw a heavily made-up woman appear at his side, her face wearing an ambiguous smile, the scent of her perfume detectable even from a distance.
Fu Chenxuan’s eyebrows knitted lightly, "Please leave."
The woman laughed softly, "Handsome guy, meeting is fate. It’s boring to drink alone. How about together?"
"I said, please leave." Fu Chenxuan’s face darkened, his eyes cold.
Undeterred, the woman placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning half her body towards him, "I never would have guessed handsome guy is innocent. You must not have tasted the flavor of a woman." She breathed softly on Fu Chenxuan’s neck, bringing a ticklish sensation, her soft chest intentionally or unintentionally rubbing against his arm.
Fu Chenxuan’s face turned instantly frosty. With a rough gesture, he brushed the woman’s hand away, "Get lost."
The woman was startled by Fu Chenxuan’s action, not expecting her usually infallible tricks to fail with this man. Meeting Fu Chenxuan’s icy gaze, she paused, then ultimately said nothing and stood up to leave.
With the annoying presence gone from his ear, Fu Chenxuan picked up the glass on the table and downed it in one go, the fiery taste of the alcohol burning his throat. Perhaps finding drinking from the glass insufficiently satisfying, he directly grabbed the bottle and began to chug, causing the watching bartender to be incredibly nervous, fearing that Fu Chenxuan might drink himself into alcohol poisoning, casting glances his way from time to time.
Shen Qinglan received a call from the bar manager when she was getting ready for bed. Hearing that her son was dead drunk, she got out of bed and dressed again.
Fu Hengyi, seeing this, asked, "What’s wrong?"
"I have to step out for a bit. You go ahead and sleep. I’ll be back later," Shen Qinglan didn’t mention that her son was drunk and made up an excuse.
Fu Hengyi glanced at the time—it was already 11 pm—"What are you going out for so late? Do you want me to accompany you?"
"No need. Just keep sleeping. It’s a small matter, I’ll return as soon as I deal with it."
"Can’t the small matter wait till tomorrow?" Fu Hengyi was uneasy about her going out alone in the middle of the night and got up to join her.
Shen Qinglan stopped him, "You should sleep. I’ll be back soon. If you came it would just cause a fuss, and besides, if you go out, you would have to bring guards with you. It wouldn’t be convenient for me."
Fu Hengyi’s expression shifted slightly, assuming that the trouble involved Eden and his group, "Is there a danger?"
Shen Qinglan laughed lightly, "You’re overthinking it. There’s no danger." After saying that, she left the room.
Fu Hengyi did want to accompany her, but as Shen Qinglan said, he would have guards with him whenever he went out now. It wouldn’t be convenient for Shen Qinglan to do what she needed to, and since she said there was no danger, it probably really was nothing serious. So, he waited for her at home with peace of mind.
When Shen Qinglan arrived at the bar, it was still bustling. Fu Chenxuan was leaning on the bar, apparently asleep.
Manager Wu stood not far behind him, preventing anyone from bothering him. Seeing Shen Qinglan, he looked like he had seen a savior, "Boss, you’re here. Young Master Fu, he..."
Shen Qinglan glanced at her son and waved her hand, "How much did he drink?"
Manager Wu held up three fingers, "Three bottles."
Shen Qinglan glanced at the empty wine bottles on the table, her gaze slightly hardened as she moved forward to help her son up.
"Be careful, boss," Manager Wu called out anxiously.
At the same time, Shen Qinglan’s hand was already on her son’s shoulder. Fu Chenxuan grasped her wrist to exert force but was quickly subdued by Shen Qinglan’s countermove.
Fu Chenxuan tried to lash out again, but in his dazed state, he saw his mother’s face appear before him. Fu Chenxuan paused, "Mom."
Shen Qinglan frowned at him, "You’re awake?"
Fu Chenxuan shook his head, trying hard to focus on the person in front of him. Indeed, it was his mother and his muddled consciousness cleared up a bit, "Mom, why are you here?"
Now that he was awake, Shen Qinglan let go of him, "Since you’re awake, come home with me." Her voice was cool.
Fu Chenxuan obediently stood up and followed her.
Shen Qinglan directly took him to the apartment downtown. As soon as Fu Chenxuan entered the room, he lay down on the bed, his head throbbing, the world spinning around him.
Shen Qinglan gave him two sobering pills, which she had just bought at the drugstore downstairs.
"Fu Chenxuan, take the medicine."
Fu Chenxuan obediently sat up and opened his mouth. Shen Qinglan stuffed the pills into his mouth and then fed him some water.
"Mom, I feel terrible," Fu Chenxuan suddenly hugged Shen Qinglan’s waist and spoke in a low voice.
This Fu Chenxuan was just like when he was a child; whenever he was sick, he would cling to her and say with a soft, childish voice, "Mommy, I feel terrible."
Shen Qinglan’s heart softened instantly, and she reached out to touch his hair, which was similar to Fu Hengyi’s, coarse and somewhat prickly.
"What happened?" Shen Qinglan asked gently.
With a look of grievance, Fu Chenxuan said, "Mom, she doesn’t want me anymore, she left."
Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered, her voice even gentler, "Who?"
"Gu Qingzhu."
Gu Qingzhu? It was the first time Shen Qinglan heard this name from her son’s mouth, but it seemed familiar.
"Anan, do you like Gu Qingzhu?"
Fu Chenxuan shook his head, "I don’t like her, she left without a word, why should I like her? Mom, I can’t find her."
Shen Qinglan felt the dampness on her clothes and let out a deep sigh.
She had never imagined that her son, who was capable of handling everything, would one day be troubled by love.
"Mom, I’ve searched every place I could think of, and I haven’t found her. Mom, I miss her so much."
Shen Qinglan stroked her son’s head, "Anan, don’t be sad, Mom will help you look." Since Fu Chenxuan turned ten, Shen Qinglan and Fu Hengyi had adopted a laissez-faire policy towards their son. He usually made his own decisions. She would offer advice but wouldn’t decide for him or interfere in his matters. But now, seeing her son like this, Shen Qinglan’s heart softened.
"Mom, do you think she’s still alive?"
"She must be alive."
Shen Qinglan didn’t leave the apartment until Fu Chenxuan had fallen asleep. She wasn’t worried that he would have an episode of drunken frenzy in the middle of the night; Fu Chenxuan had a good tolerance for alcohol, and even when drunk, he just slept with his eyes closed.
When Qinglan got home, Hengyi hadn’t slept yet; he was leaning against the headboard watching TV, clearly waiting for her to return.
"What’s with the smell of alcohol?" Hengyi frowned.
"It’s from someone else, didn’t I tell you to go to sleep first? Why aren’t you asleep?" Qinglan changed the subject.
"How can I sleep peacefully without you here?"
Qinglan chuckled, "I’ll wash up and then go to bed."
The next morning, after getting up, Qinglan, as usual, went for a morning run with Hengyi. On their way back, she casually broached a subject, "How has Qingzhu been recently?"
"Qingzhu? Who?" Hengyi looked at her puzzled.
Qinglan turned her head and met Hengyi’s confused gaze. Her heart skipped a beat; had she remembered wrong?
She shook her head, "It’s nothing."
Hengyi didn’t press further, changed his clothes after breakfast, and went to the military base.
Qinglan asked the housekeeper to cook some congee and took it to Chenxuan.
Chenxuan seemed to have just woken up when she arrived, wearing pajamas and with his hair all tousled. Seeing it was her, he seemed somewhat surprised, "Mom, what brings you here?"
"Did you forget about last night?" Qinglan raised an eyebrow.
Furrowing his brow, Chenxuan thought hard for a while. Vague fragments in his mind told him what he had done. His demeanor turned slightly awkward as he ruffled his hair, "Mom, I’m sorry." He had indeed drunk too much the previous night.
Qinglan walked in and set down the congee, "Hurry up and wash, then come and have some congee."
Chenxuan nodded and went back to his room. By the time he came out with fresh clothes on, Qinglan had already poured the congee into a bowl. She didn’t bring up the incident from the night before, and Chenxuan remained silent as well, quietly eating his congee.
"Chenxuan, remember to come home for dinner tonight," Qinglan mentioned as he finished his congee, starting to tidy up to leave.
Chenxuan nodded and walked her to the door, hesitating before asking, "Mom, I didn’t say anything last night, did I?" He could only recall bits and pieces, many details were unclear.
Qinglan raised an eyebrow, "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
Chenxuan shook his head, "No, I just fear I might have blabbered while drunk."
"You went straight to bed after you got home last night," Qinglan stated flatly, seeing him unconsciously furrow his brow, she advised, "If you still feel unwell, rest at home for the day; there’s no need to push yourself so hard."
Chenxuan nodded, "Thanks, Mom, I’m going to rest soon."
Qinglan hummed in response, not saying anything else. She had already made up her mind. There were things she could let go and allow her son to decide for himself, but she needed to understand what had happened.
After Qinglan left, Chenxuan didn’t go to rest. Instead, he scrolled through his phone’s contact list and dialed a number, "It’s me, Fu Chenxuan... I want to know where Qingzhu is right now... I suspect she’s already returned... You need to check, no matter how difficult it is to find her, money is no issue... I don’t want to wait too long, one week, at most one week, I must know the outcome."
After hanging up, Chenxuan stood on the balcony, staring into the distance for a long time.
—Chenxuan, you will stay with me for a lifetime, never leave me, right?
—Yes, as long as you don’t leave me, I will never leave you.
—What if one day I disappeared?
—Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find you.
