FIO CH34

Chapter 34: Do You Like the Old Me or the Current Me?

Lu Fangchi’s eyes lit up, and he strode quickly to stand in front of Zhou Zheng. He noticed that the alpha’s entire face was flushed with an unnatural red hue, and he was exhaling hot, steaming breath. Despite the cold weather, Zhou Zheng was only wearing a thin fleece sweatshirt, and his hands, resting on his thighs, were ice-cold.

Seeing this, Lu Fangchi immediately took off his overcoat and wrapped it around Zhou Zheng, pulling the collar tighter. He reached out to feel the temperature on Zhou Zheng’s forehead, and the scorching heat that transferred to his palm indicated that Zhou Zheng was still running a fever.

Lu Fangchi took Zhou Zheng’s cold hands, which were resting on his legs, and rubbed them gently in his own hands, blowing warm breath on them before asking, “Why did you come out wearing so little?”

Zhou Zheng’s gaze was deep, and he remained silent.

Realizing that Zhou Zheng had likely witnessed the previous scene, Lu Fangchi understood that from a third-person perspective, it could easily be misconstrued. The alpha’s intense look demanded an explanation.

Lu Fangchi licked his lips and said, “The person you just saw was Xie Xing. You remember him, right?”

Zhou Zheng nodded.

“Let’s talk while we walk; it’s windy here,” Lu Fangchi said, leading Zhou Zheng towards the parking lot. “He saw our street interview. Maybe he couldn’t get over it, so he came to find me.”

Lu Fangchi’s brow furrowed slightly as he realized that explaining the situation would be complicated. He needed to recount the entire story from beginning to end, carefully choosing his words to ensure that Zhou Zheng would accept the explanation. After all, no one likes to hear about their partner’s ex.

“My breakup with him wasn’t peaceful; we didn’t part on good terms. Today was a way to settle things and move on without interfering with each other in the future,” Lu Fangchi explained as they reached the car. He pressed the unlock button, and they got in one after the other.

Lu Fangchi operated the dashboard, and warm air began to circulate from the vents. He paused for a moment before continuing, “As for that hug… it was a bit sudden.”

Lu Fangchi pursed his lips, suddenly at a loss for words. Any explanation seemed inadequate and weak. Even with all his reasons, Zhou Zheng had the right to not accept them.

“It was just an emotional farewell hug,” Lu Fangchi said quickly, knowing that even saying it out loud sounded unconvincing. He closed his eyes for a moment, then admitted, “I was wrong. I should have kept my distance from him.”

Since the encounter, Zhou Zheng hadn’t spoken a word. Lu Fangchi couldn’t tell if it was because of his illness or anger, but he guessed it was probably the latter.

Acknowledging his mistake, Lu Fangchi reached for Zhou Zheng’s hand again. Fortunately, Zhou Zheng didn’t pull away. With a sincere attitude, Lu Fangchi apologized, “Baby, I was wrong. I didn’t consider your feelings today. But please believe me, there’s nothing between us. We won’t meet again. If there’s any special situation where we have to meet, you’ll be there. Is that okay?”

Zhou Zheng’s deep gaze finally softened, and he condescendingly nodded his chin. “Then block and delete him.”

Lu Fangchi frowned, hesitated for two seconds, then took out his phone and placed it in Zhou Zheng’s palm. “You do it.”

Zhou Zheng took the phone, opened WeChat, scrolled down the contact list to the letter “X,” found “Xie Xing,” and clicked to open the chat. The conversation stopped in June of last year. Except for the top message, which was a green box saying “Okay,” the rest were white boxes.

Xie Xing: [Smile]

Xie Xing: [Picture]

The image was dim, with dark blue and red colors intermingled. A row of small glasses held transparent liquid. The sending time was one in the morning, and the implication of late-night drinking was clear.

“Xie Xing” withdrew a message.

Xie Xing: Sent to the wrong person.

Xie Xing: [Empty message]

It was almost a one-man show by Xie Xing. Lu Fangchi hadn’t replied once.

Zhou Zheng’s fingers couldn’t stop sliding up to see what they had talked about before.

Noticing the alpha’s action, Lu Fangchi quickly reached out and pressed his hand over the phone screen first. “There’s nothing to see. Let’s delete it.”

Lu Fangchi’s palm was firm and strong over the screen, and Zhou Zheng had no choice but to give up. He clicked on the three dots in the upper right corner and added the user to the blacklist.

He then went to the user permissions to bring up the contact blacklist and clicked delete to ensure they would never cross paths again.

This way, the other party couldn’t send a friend request, and Lu Fangchi couldn’t add them back either.

Zhou Zheng handed the phone back to Lu Fangchi, who looked at the contact blacklist again and again, his eyes darkening. He curled his lips and let out a cold snort: “Can’t bear to part with him?”

There was actually such a move, interesting. Lu Fangchi was taken aback by the sudden remark and didn’t understand its meaning at first. He looked up questioningly and said, “Huh?”

“Nothing,” Zhou Zheng moved his lips and turned his face towards the window.

Lu Fangchi didn’t think much of it, leaned over to fasten the seatbelt for the alpha, started the car, and pressed the gas pedal. The car moved towards the exit of the underground garage.

The sedan drove in the middle of the road, and the neon-lit night scenery passed by behind them. In a moment of distraction, Lu Fangchi had a sudden realization about the implied meaning behind Zhou Zheng’s “can’t bear to part with him.”

You didn’t want to delete him yourself, so you made me do it.

“3, 2, 1” The green light turned yellow, then red. Lu Fangchi stepped on the brake, the car stopped, and he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He turned his face towards Zhou Zheng in the passenger seat.

The alpha lowered his eyelashes, looking listless. His flushed cheeks and drooping lips gave him an inexplicable vulnerability.

The left side mirror kept flashing. Lu Fangchi snapped back to reality, looked up, and saw that it was a green light. He quickly stepped on the gas and drove forward.

He must have been overthinking it; Zhou Zheng wouldn’t say something so sharp.

He turned the wheel, reversed into the garage, straightened the car, and stopped. He stepped on the brake and shifted to park.

The two of them got out of the car one after the other. Lu Fangchi took the initiative to reach for Zhou Zheng’s hand. The alpha was probably still upset, with a cold expression and not very enthusiastic.

But he didn’t pull away either. With a cold face, he let Lu Fangchi hold his hand.

All the way to the bed, he reached out and turned off the nightlight, plunging them into darkness. Lu Fangchi closed his eyes, preparing to sleep, when he heard a faint rustling from behind. Then he was enveloped by a heat source.

Zhou Zheng leaned over and hugged Lu Fangchi, lowering his head and burying it in the young man’s neck, rubbing it a bit, then reluctantly took a light bite.

Lu Fangchi knew he was in the wrong and let the alpha vent his dissatisfaction. He raised his arm and pinched Zhou Zheng’s earlobe to soothe him.

The warm, moist breath caused an itch, and Lu Fangchi unconsciously shrank his neck. He heard Zhou Zheng ask, “Do you like the old me or the current me?”

Huh? The topic shifted too quickly. Lu Fangchi’s mind stalled for two seconds and he didn’t answer directly: “What’s the matter?”

“Just asking,” Zhou Zheng grumbled, “You tell me.”

“Aren’t you the same person?” Lu Fangchi didn’t want to express too much opinion on this topic.

“It’s not the same. You choose,” Zhou Zheng began to press.

Lu Fangchi felt that Zhou Zheng was acting a bit unusually tonight, and his intuition told him that this question was a trap. He tried to be impartial: “I like both, I like both.”

“You’re lying,” Zhou Zheng flipped over and sat up, staring down at Lu Fangchi, “You clearly said before that we had a bad relationship.”

After almost a sleepless night last night and a high-intensity meeting for half a day today, Lu Fangchi was now sinking into the bed and starting to feel sleepy. He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids and replied, “Be good, I’m sleepy.”

“Answer my question before you sleep,” Zhou Zheng insisted on getting a real answer and pushed Lu Fangchi.

Drowsiness enveloped Lu Fangchi, and he dodged the push and began to speak nonsense: “I think the current you is a little cuter…”