Volume 1, Chapter 9: The Man You Married Is Me, Fu Yanchen

Mu Li looked up at the sound, and to her shock, it was Fu Yanchen. She thought she was hallucinating. Back at the training grounds, she had wondered how someone so young could be the subject of such rumors—it seemed the gossip wasn't entirely true.

Seeing his gaze fixed on Gu Li, who was resting on her lap, Mu Li sighed. Frustrated and heartbroken, she said, "It's Li's younger sister. It seems she found out about you..."

She glanced at Fu Yanchen, and seeing his dark, somber expression, she continued, "She learned that you might have made things difficult for them because of Gu Li, so Gu Mo came to settle the score. Although Gu Li won the fight, she was badly hurt—her scalp was torn, her face was scratched by nails, and she started running a fever shortly after."

Fu Yanchen’s eyes turned icy, a flicker of chilling malice passing through them. He hadn't expected Lu Zhaobei to manipulate Gu Mo into taking revenge on Gu Li.

Seeing him standing motionless, Mu Li felt uncomfortable under his cold stare. After a long moment, she requested, "Mr. Fu, I have things to attend to. Could I trouble you to watch over Li?"

Fu Yanchen nodded.

Mu Li had always heard that Fu Yanchen was ruthless, cold-blooded, and had gone through eight wives with a mistress on the side. Yet, looking at him now, why did it seem like he felt something different for Gu Li?

Fu Yanchen sat in the chair, lifting her head to rest on his lap. He frowned as he looked at her pale, bloodless face.

"How did you manage to get yourself into such a sorry state in just a few hours?"

His voice was extremely low. His slender, fair fingers brushed over the scratches on her face, his expression unreadable. Thinking of her determined face earlier that afternoon when she insisted on a divorce, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

She was like a wounded little wildcat—claws out toward him, yet out in the world, she ended up battered, forced to lick her own wounds on his lap.

When Gu Li woke, she saw a magnified face before her. Recognizing him, she gasped and tried to jump up, but she moved too abruptly and nearly tumbled to the floor.

"Ah!"

Before she could hit the hard ground, she was caught and pulled into a warm embrace. She looked back to see Fu Yanchen’s black eyes staring at her unblinkingly.

Gu Li immediately pushed him away, steadying herself against the wall. "Why are you here? Where is Mu Li?"

"She had things to do and asked me to look after you," he replied, watching her face cycle between shades of green and white.

Gu Li silently cursed Mu Li for selling her out like this. She nodded, clenched her hands, and turned to leave. She didn't want any further entanglement; she had already sent him the divorce papers.

If he didn't sign them, she would pester him again once she recovered.

As she turned, her wrist was grabbed from behind. She looked at her wrist, then up at Fu Yanchen, confused.

Seeing through her, Fu Yanchen said brazenly, "Leaving without saying thank you, hmm?"

Gu Li’s mouth twitched. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on tight. She gritted her teeth. "Thank you, Mr. Fu. May I go now?"

She was angry, and Fu Yanchen knew it, though he didn't understand why her attitude had shifted so suddenly. He was not a man who liked to explain himself. He had too much to do and disliked wasting time on sentimentality, especially since he didn't even like Gu Li to begin with.

Their marriage was a matter of mutual need—she wanted her so-called freedom, and he needed it for his grandfather and his own health. He didn't like to coddle people, and he detested being burdened by emotions.

Love was the most useless and dragging thing in the world.

This was the first time in his life a woman had repeatedly given him the cold shoulder. He felt wronged, and his expression darkened. "Do you hate me?"

Gu Li finally looked up at him, struck by the unreadable intensity in his gaze. She didn't know how to answer. After a long silence, she muttered, "I... I just want to divorce you. After all, you have so many wives and so many people you love. I’m just a nobody; I just want a free life."

He was still staring at her. Gu Li didn't know what he was thinking, but she felt a pang of pity. After all, he wasn't even fully recovered from his illness. She reached out to tug at his sleeve. "You..."

"So that’s it!"

With a nod, he turned away with an icy expression, leaving even Gu Li stunned.

He just left like that? Was he angry?

Gu Li stood there, watching his receding figure, feeling a wave of guilt. Did she say the wrong thing?

"Gu Li, is that you?"

A familiar voice suddenly broke her train of thought. Gu Li turned to see a handsome, gentle-looking man standing before her. She smiled in pleasant surprise. "Senior Brother Jinghong? Why are you here? Are you sick?"

Pei Jinghong was the person who had helped her the most during her university years. She was deeply grateful to him; he had gone abroad for his studies during her junior year, and she hadn't seen him in five years. She never expected to see him here.

Pei Jinghong looked at Gu Li and patted her forehead. How could he not feel his heart stir again for the woman he had loved so long ago?

He smiled. "I was invited by the dean as an orthopedic consultant. Mu Li told me you were a traditional medicine physician, but why are you on an IV drip now?"

His smile vanished as he frowned in concern at the needle marks on the back of her hand, which were still stained with blood from her struggle earlier.

Gu Li smiled dismissively. "It’s just a cold and a fever, it's nothing. Senior Brother, you haven't changed at all. Let's sit and talk."

"When did you get back?"

Pei Jinghong caught her warmth. "Just yesterday."

They sat in the chairs, two old friends chatting happily, their laughter bright.

Meanwhile, from a corner in the hallway, a pair of cold, sharp eyes took it all in.

The unique, high-end fountain pen in his hand snapped as his fingers tightened. He sneered, watching her every expression, watching the man’s familiarity with her, watching her accept his touch—a bright, radiant smile he had never received from her.

He branded every detail into his memory.

So, it was because an old flame had returned that she wanted a divorce? Was it because of this old flame that she hated him? Was it because of this man that she had concocted those lies to deceive him?

How pathetic!

He turned away, shutting out the sound of their joyous reunion.

But, Gu Li, don't forget—the man you married is me, Fu Yanchen.