Shen Xi lifted her chin to find the young man, like an enraged trapped beast, charging towards her with a hurricane of rage.
As the young man rushed to Shen Xi as if on a warpath, Guan Yue froze for a moment before attempting to pull Shen Xi away. By then, the young man had already wrapped his arms tightly around Shen Xi.
Since he was very tall, the girl was enveloped into his embrace like a little ball.
With a trembling body, the young man let out heart-wrenching gasps.
Before Shen Xi realized what was going on, Fu Qingxuan had pinned her face against his chest. She tried to push him away as she was feeling suffocated, but he locked her in a death clasp that could break her bones.
His breathing was all over the place.
His heart was racing.
She could hear his frantic heartbeat sounding the drums against her ear. Caught in the moment, her heart sank with the somber mood.
“Fu Qingxuan,” Shen Xi said in a muffled voice due to the shortness of breath from being hugged too tight. “What’s wrong?”
Fu Qingxuan remained silent as his body grew stiff, having realized that he was being overdramatic. He pushed her away and looked at her with his narrow eyes, “I’m sorry.”
Finally freed, Shen Xi gazed into the young man’s bloodshot eyes and asked him, “What happened to you? Did something happen?”
He shook his head with a hint of self-deprecation in his eyes. He tried to snap out of it but could not stop the shaking in his raspy voice. “Everything’s fine.”
It was all in his head.
He was an idiot.
Fu Qingxuan thought something had happened to her and like an idiot, he traced his steps back to only be told that she never left the Huo residence. She had no idea what transpired, nor did she know how freaked out he was the moment he could not find her. Rather than being afraid of Qingye’s yelling, Fu Qingxuan was in fact worried about Shen Xi.
Guan Yue had no clue what was going on between them, but the young man appeared rather anxious about Xixi.
The young man was good-looking and about the same age as Xixi. Guan Yue was sure he was the person whom Shen Xi mentioned was picking her up.
Perhaps the young man was her boyfriend.
With kids nowadays maturing at an early age, it was not strange to be in a relationship while still in school.
Moreover, Xixi was talented, beautiful, nice, and sensible. There must be a long queue of boys who were interested in her.
Shen Xi did not know what had gotten into Fu Qingxuan. Thinking something might have happened, she questioned him, but he held his tongue and he became mean to her when she was asking too many questions.
Fu Qingxuan did not drive here.
Guan Yue drove them home and only found out as they arrived at the residence that the young man was a member of the Fu family. Having recalled that Shen Xi mentioned his name was Fu Qingxuan, she figured that he was the youngest master of the Fu family and the medical genius, Fu Qingxuan.
Xixi was a stylist to Fu Qingye. Guan Yue heard from Ms. Jiang Yin that Mr. Fu the Movie Star admired and adored her, so it explained why Xixi was close to the Fu family.
They got down from the car.
Fu Qingxuan thanked Guan Yue before striding towards the house.
Instead of seeing Guan Yue off, Shen Xi went after him. “Young Master, wait for me.”
Fu Qingxuan quickened his pace and ignored her. Building ice walls around him, he seemed to isolate himself from the outside world.
He was angry.
Furious.
He was boiling!
He could not distinguish whether he was angry with himself or her.
There was a raging flame burning inside him and it took a lot in him to prevail over his crankiness and not take it out on her.
He had no right to lose his temper at her.
She had nothing to do with anything and everything. It was all in his head and all in his imagination. She knew nothing.
Shen Xi bolted over to catch up to him and pulled him back, “Young Master, who pissed you off?”
Fu Qingxuan violently shook her off and shouted grumpily, “Don’t touch me.”
Caught off guard, Shen Xi stumbled and almost fell. She found her balance and said behind his back, “Someone has a chip on his shoulder.”
She could not catch a break from the young master’s mood swings.
Shen Xi was tempted to teach him a lesson had it not been for Qingye.
From the corner of his eye, Fu Qingxuan had been watching her anxiously and heaved a sigh of relief when she saved herself from the fall. He was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, unable to find the words to describe as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Shen Xi had no idea what had gotten into him. Fu Qingxuan locked himself in the study after entering the house.
She went to knock on the door once but was met by his angry and agitated reply to get lost. Since then, she stopped putting herself through that.
The next morning.
Shen Xi was walking past the living room to head out when she turned back to take a look. The vacant living room appeared massive and quiet, likened to leaving an empty hole in the heart.
She took a deep breath and shook her head. Habits were a terrifying thing. It had only been two days, yet the absence of the young master was enough to give her a sense of loss.
Shen Xi arrived at the gates of the Huo residence.
The Huo family’s butler welcomed her and said with a smile, “The old master had returned to the country. The driver had just driven him to the airport. He said that he will see you when you get back.”
Shen Xi asked, “Did Grandpa Huo go to find my mom?”
That was very nice of him. Mom should be the one visiting him, instead of the other way round; he was an old man after all.
“The old master is not fussy about formalities,” the butler read her mind. He paused before inquiring, “Did you see your older brother yesterday?”
Furrowing her brows at the thought of Fu Qingxuan, Shen Xi corrected him. “He’s a younger brother of mine.”
The butler shook his head with a smile. Since finding out Shen Xi was a child of the Su family, the butler figured the young man was not her biological brother. He told her, “He seemed worried as he ran all the way here. I bumped into him on my way back. He was running and shouting your name, saying that you were missing. He looked like he was about to cry.”
Shen Xi was taken aback, “Why did he come looking for me? When did I go missing?”
The butler blamed himself. “It’s my fault. He must have heard me telling Su Yi that you went through the backdoor and thought you left. I guess he was really worried when he didn’t see you at home.”
Shen Xi could feel her eyes tearing up. Feeling conflicted, she turned to run off but immediately turned back. “Could you let Ms. Shu know that I’ll return a little later?”
The young master was sulking over her.
Was he acting this way because he could not find her yesterday?
What did she do to deserve what he had done for her?