FIO CH52

Chapter 52: I’ll Chase You Again

The alpha’s expression was quite a sight, his eyes blinking frantically like a little fan. He looked astonished, as if he couldn’t believe it, and stretched out his nearly crippled hand to grab the phone, wanting to see the text message more clearly.

Lu Fangchi wasn’t about to give him that chance. With a quick swipe of the screen, he deleted the message.

The light in Zhou Zheng’s eyes was instantly extinguished. He pursed his lips, looking upset as he gazed at Lu Fangchi. His handsome face, stripped of its cold and mocking demeanor, once again became innocent and cheerful, making it hard for anyone to stay indifferent.

He had turned back into Puppy Zhou. No, Lu Fangchi corrected himself in his mind after just a second; he was just “pretending” again.

Lu Fangchi had always strictly adhered to the so-called dignity of an adult, knowing when to stop in what he said and did, maintaining a fragile surface peace that could be shattered at any moment. He had done this with Xie Xing and with Zhou Zheng as well.

A disagreement and playing hide-and-seek + his attitude after regaining his memory = breakup. The answer was more important than everything else; there was no need to delve into the details. Lu Fangchi didn’t want to make a fuss and wasn’t fixated on the specific reasons for the breakup. He believed that in many cases, it was enough for everyone to know what was going on.

But Zhou Zheng wouldn’t give Lu Fangchi that chance. It was he who had wanted the breakup first, then caused trouble and made a scene, and now he was trying to turn the tables as if it were Lu Fangchi’s fault.

What about the times Lu Fangchi woke up in the middle of the night, instinctively reaching out to touch the other side of the bed, or started to dislike having eggs for breakfast, or zoned out at work—behaviors that were very uncharacteristic of him? What did all these mean?

He came and went as he pleased. On what grounds?

Lu Fangchi’s chest heaved continuously, his breathing rapid. He told himself to stay calm and dignified; emotions wouldn’t solve anything.

The next second, he thought, to hell with it. Let the world burn.

Lu Fangchi pursed his lips, his usually gentle and indifferent eyes now sharp as he looked at Zhou Zheng. “You remembered a long time ago, didn’t you?”

It was a statement, not a question.

Zhou Zheng was a bit intimidated by Lu Fangchi’s gaze. He couldn’t help but sit up straight, placing his hands neatly on his knees. He didn’t dare to tell the truth, but he also felt he couldn’t get away with lying. He licked his lips, “Yes, but…”

“When?” Lu Fangchi asked. “When did you remember?”

Zhou Zheng’s mouth moved, but he didn’t dare to speak.

Lu Fangchi didn’t seem to expect an answer from him. He narrowed his eyes and answered for him, “During the susceptible period, when you asked me, ‘Do you like the old me or the current me?'”

It was terrifying, word for word. Zhou Zheng bit his lip.

“You remembered then,” Lu Fangchi’s face darkened, as if the black and white impermanence from the underworld had sentenced the alpha to death.

“I…” Zhou Zheng began.

Lu Fangchi raised his hand to stop him, not giving him a chance to explain. “Was it fun?” he asked, clenching his teeth.

Zhou Zheng’s feet felt cold, and his knees trembled uncontrollably. He shook his head frantically like a frightened quail. He didn’t dare to, he couldn’t.

“Look at me,” Lu Fangchi pointed to himself, then to Zhou Zheng, and poked his shoulder fiercely. “For you, I was completely infatuated.”

“Very proud?” Lu Fangchi actually smiled, his face full of sarcasm.

Lu Fangchi poked very hard, and Zhou Zheng’s shoulder ached. Looking at the beautiful, restrained face in front of him, and the fluctuating emotions with a cold smile, it was truly captivating. But the words were like knives, stabbing Zhou Zheng’s heart full of holes.

“After you regained your memory and remembered the time we spent together, you felt disgusted, so you wanted me to feel the same way.”

“So you tried to cause trouble to make me miss my flight, to make my business trip miserable. As long as I was unhappy, you were happy.”

“Finally, you got tired of playing and stopped pretending.”

“Seeing that I didn’t react much, you, as the victor, didn’t feel satisfied enough, so you kept bothering me.” Lu Fangchi nodded, showing a very strange expression.

Calm yet mad, seeming to laugh but also crying. He seemed to have been drained of all his energy, wearily looking up at the alpha. Lu Fangchi said, “I admit that I like you and wanted to marry you. You saw today how I cried miserably because of the breakup.”

“Are you satisfied?”

“Then leave me alone, okay?” By the end, he was almost whispering.

Zhou Zheng’s eyes turned red, and he moved his mouth, weakly explaining, “I’m not what you think…” How could you think so badly of me?

At this moment, Zhou Zheng realized that Lu Fangchi might really be done with him. He felt both sad and panicked, and blurted out, “I, I like you.”

Lu Fangchi didn’t believe it at all. He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and ignored Zhou Zheng’s ramblings.

With no response from Lu Fangchi, Zhou Zheng became even more frightened. It felt as if his heart was being dragged to hell by an invisible hand. He had to say or do something to turn the situation around.

“I,” Zhou Zheng thought for a long time, and finally managed to say, “I’ll chase you again.”

This sentence, however, seemed to touch Lu Fangchi’s sore spot. He stopped pinching his nose, suddenly opened his eyes, and said, “The same old trick again? Aren’t you tired of it?”

At first, Zhou Zheng had been careful, saying he wanted to chase. How dare he? How could he still dare?

Lu Fangchi thought he had already run out of energy, but he found himself reignited, with a blazing fire burning in his chest. He cursed, “Get out.”

“Leave my house,” Lu Fangchi pointed to the door, “now, immediately, right away.”

Zhou Zheng didn’t move, so Lu Fangchi stood up and dragged him. The veins on his temples bulged, and he almost choked Zhou Zheng by pulling on his collar.

Lu Fangchi’s actions were rough, leaving a red mark on the alpha’s collar, and Zhou Zheng felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to ask Lu Fangchi to be gentle, but he was speechless when he looked into his face.

Lu Fangchi’s actions were fierce, but he looked like he was about to cry, with red corners of his eyes and a very red nose tip.

Zhou Zheng had almost lost all his means and let himself be thrown out of the door by Lu Fangchi, who slammed it shut with a “bang.”

Zhou Zheng stood dazed at the door, reached into his pocket, and realized he had forgotten his phone. He also looked down at his feet, clad in gray socks, and realized he hadn’t even put on his shoes.
Thirty seconds later, the door suddenly swung open. A pair of shoes flew out, followed by a phone that was thrust into his arms. Before Zhou Zheng could react, or even catch a glimpse of the expression on Lu Fangchi’s face, the door slammed shut again with a “bang,” leaving him with a nose full of dust.

Having completely driven Zhou Zheng away, Lu Fangchi stormed into the kitchen and yanked open the refrigerator door. His hand, on its way to grab a bottle of mineral water, made a detour to the can of beer on the side. With his thumb and index finger on the pull tab, Lu Fangchi was thinking that drinking at this hour would probably mean skipping work the next day. It wasn’t appropriate for a man nearing thirty to let emotional issues affect his job. The proper way to handle this would be to put down the beer, drink a bottle of ice water to clear his mind, then quickly take a shower and go to bed.

…By the time Lu Fangchi came to his senses, his Adam’s apple was rolling with the sound of “glug glug glug” as the slightly spicy and stimulating liquid flowed down his throat, and the bottle of beer was empty. Squeezing the now-empty can, Lu Fangchi thought to himself that he should stop here, one indulgence was enough. But his hand reached uncontrollably for a second can.

The third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth can… Lu Fangchi tilted his head back and finished another can, twirling the empty can in his fingers before crushing it with a final squeeze, producing a “pop” as it flattened.

He was about to continue when he reached for another can and found nothing. Lu Fangchi squinted, looking at the now-empty fridge and the pile of empty cans in front of him. Well, that’s that.

The beer, mixed with the special cocktails from the bar, made the world around Lu Fangchi blurry. He felt lightheaded and unsteady on his feet as he staggered to the bathroom to take a shower. By the time he lay down on the bed, his eyes were almost too heavy to keep open.

He thought he would fall asleep the moment he sank into the soft mattress, but a few minutes later, Lu Fangchi’s head was pounding as he forced his eyes open, a surge of irritation rising from within.

It was stuffy and annoying. Lu Fangchi frowned, kicked off the blanket with his leg, and lay flat on the bed in a starfish position.

He tossed and turned, left side, right side, but nothing felt right. It was as if there were bugs crawling up his spine along his waistline.

Lu Fangchi swallowed his dry throat, got out of bed with a hint of annoyance, and pushed open the window to let the outdoor air circulate inside. A gust of wind brushed against his face, blowing away the irritation in his heart and clearing his mind for a moment.

Lu Fangchi took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he lay back down on the bed. At first, the cool breeze felt refreshing, but soon he began to shiver, his teeth chattering, feeling cold again.

Strange, Lu Fangchi closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. He kicked off the blanket and wrapped himself in it tightly.

No good, still cold.

He resignedly opened his eyes, got out of bed, closed the window, and then went to the storage cabinet to fetch two more blankets, piling them all on the bed and wrapping himself up.

No, that’s not it, not good. He got up again, his feet on the ground, instinctively walking outwards, stopping in the corner of the gym, facing a pile of cardboard boxes.

Yes, it was Zhou Zheng’s pile. He had run off and never came back to get them.

Lu Fangchi couldn’t really throw them away, so he left them in the corner of the gym to gather dust, out of sight and out of mind.

By memory, Lu Fangchi found the box with clothes and eagerly tried to tear it open by hand. The tape was too sticky, and he struggled with it for a long time without success. He had to get up and go to the living room to find a pair of scissors, opened the drawer of the coffee table, took out the scissors, and ran back to the gym. In a few quick motions, he cut open the tape on the box.

A full box of clothes. Lu Fangchi restrained himself a bit, rummaged through it, and took out a T-shirt. Normally, he wouldn’t have felt much, but now his senses were particularly sensitive. He brought it close to his nose, and a whiff of green tea scent filled his nostrils, instantly soothing the anxiety in his heart. Yes, that’s it.

Lu Fangchi picked up the T-shirt and was about to leave when a white shirt caught his attention. After a moment of hesitation, he took it as well.

He returned to the bedroom, put the T-shirt over the pillow, wrapped himself in the blanket, and buried his face in it. Mmm…

For a moment, there was peace. But soon, the green tea pheromone scent that had enveloped him began to fade, and he felt it wasn’t enough.