Cheng Yu was always vibrant, flamboyant, and defiant, but the person before Song Li now, with his listless, dejected, confused, and helpless expression, seemed not to be the Cheng Yu he knew. Song Li, with furrowed brows and pained eyes, watched him for a moment, then snatched the wine bottle away and placed it aside, pulling the cigarette from Cheng Yu’s mouth and extinguishing it forcefully on the table. Cheng Yu lifted his eyelids to glance at him, then grinned, “Li, guess who I saw?” His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, but his smile deepened, “Your ex-wife.” Song Li jolted slightly in surprise, “What did you say? Say it again.” Cheng Yu chuckled softly, enunciating each word, “I said, I saw her, Tang, Xiao, Fu!” Song Li turned into a statue in an instant. Cheng Yu reached for the wine bottle, took a large gulp, with the liquid spilling out, flowing freely down his chin and neck, “I know you’ve been looking for her, and so have I. Who allowed her to leave? She thinks by signing that document she’s free, hehehe, who gave her that permission? She comes and goes as she pleases? That’s too bold.” He took another sip, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Song Li, “Do you know where she’s hiding? We’ve turned T city upside down, and it never occurred to us that she’s back to her old trade, hehe, she was with Fang Junjie, even sleeping in his bedroom. Tell me, how does she manage to charm everyone? You, me, Tian Tian, and even that gay guy, all falling into her trap, it’s just too hateful, too despicable.” Song Li slowly came to his senses, looked down at Cheng Yu, then suddenly grabbed the wine bottle and hurled it against the wall with a loud “crack,” glass shards flying everywhere, soaking a large part of the carpet. Song Li, without any explanation, grabbed Cheng Yu by the hair, forcing him to look up, his voice low and clear, “Whatever you want to do, you need to sober up first. I can’t stand seeing you like this!” After a pause, he gritted his teeth with a hint of ferocity, “And one more thing, remember this, I never signed that document, so, she’s not my ex-wife, Tang Xiaofu, is still my wife!”
Chapter 49: Conflict
The next day, Fu Xiaotang told Dorothy, “I saw Cheng Yu.”
“Really?” Dorothy was startled and hurried over to scrutinize Fu Xiaotang closely, “Are you okay? Where did you bump into him?”
Fu Xiaotang smiled wearily, “In room 2008.”
Dorothy was surprised, “Isn’t that…”
“Yes, right in front of Fang Junjie.” Fu Xiaotang’s brows slightly furrowed, but a smile played on her lips: “I did it on purpose. I could have not gone out, but since we were bound to meet eventually, I decided to show off a bit.”
“What was his reaction?”
“A bit out of control, but he pretended not to know me.” Dorothy thought for a moment, “Since Cheng Yu knows, Song Li must know by now too!” Fu Xiaotang suddenly looked up, her gaze clear and resolute, “I don’t want to see them, but if they come to me, I definitely won’t hide!” Dorothy looked at her in slight shock; Fu Xiaotang’s eyes had a certain light, not the dreamy eyes of a naive girl, nor the hopeful gaze of an infatuated woman, but the firm resolve of someone who has seen through everything, ready to play the game. Dorothy was momentarily stunned.
Fang Junjie felt he was getting addicted. Two pieces of plain cake: using honey and osmanthus jam instead of sugar, rich, sweet, and not cloying; a large bowl of hot and sour soup: tofu, chicken, mushrooms, lean meat, sea cucumber, squid, salty, fresh, rich, and aromatic, in just 15 minutes Fu Xiaotang had it all set before him. Fang Junjie devoured it all, then elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin, sighed with a smile, “Eating these, my appetite is greatly satisfied. I haven’t had such a delicious meal in ages, having eaten those fancy, impractical Western dishes for so long.” Fu Xiaotang laughed, “Though the hot and sour soup is tasty, it’s mainly for sobering up and stimulating the appetite. There are many more dishes for regular meals. You don’t like sweets but prefer spicy and sour, what about other foods? Do you like noodles or rice, hard or soft texture, do you enjoy meat? Red meat or white? How about seafood? If you like noodles, there are so many dishes I can make, pancakes, noodles, dumplings, potstickers, all sorts of Chinese snacks, I guarantee you won’t have the same dish for a month.” Fang Junjie, seeing her speak so sweetly and briskly, couldn’t help but smile. Fu Xiaotang noticed his gentle yet peculiar gaze, her face slightly flushed, “Look at me, being so verbose, but really, the chefs up there are all better than me.” Fang Junjie admired her flushed cheeks, shaking his head with a laugh, “Who says that, I prefer eating what you make!” Fu Xiaotang chuckled and changed the subject, “My and Dorothy’s dream is to save enough money to open a small eatery!”
“Oh? You have such plans?” Fang Junjie was interested but kept his composure, “Then I’ll definitely be your first customer!”
“We’ll give you an 80% discount!” Fu Xiaotang enthusiastically chimed in as if it was already happening, then awkwardly self-mocked, “Well, it’s not even close to happening yet, I made it sound like it was for real.”
Fang Junjie thought for a moment, “Next month is the dance competition, isn’t there a prize of several tens of thousands for the winner? Dorothy is a hot favorite.”
Fu Xiaotang nodded, “But it’s not just about how well you dance, it’s also about popularity.” She left unsaid that Xin Peipei, backed by Guangyin Technology, already had an advantage.
Fang Junjie casually remarked, “I’ll support you both then.”
Fu Xiaotang instinctively shook her head, “That wouldn’t do, you’re our employer, we can’t have people saying you favor some over others.” Moreover, one does not receive favors without merit; when someone offers kindness for no apparent reason, there’s usually an ulterior motive. Fang Junjie thought to himself, if I wanted someone to win, it would be as easy as pie, no need for underhanded tactics, just some money would do. But he couldn’t say that out loud, chasing too eagerly would make the young girl wary. How could Fu Xiaotang fathom the complexities of the young master’s thoughts? She was lost in her own reverie, “Legend has it there was once a ‘Golden Song, Silver Dance’ sign in the heavens, I know Fan Jinxuan, the singer, but Zhang Yindi, the dancer, is truly a myth. After her, the dancers up there were all exceptional, like Dorothy and Xin Peipei, their skills are hard to differentiate. There hasn’t been a universally recognized dance leader since.”
