Chapter 61: The Ex Is a Scapegoat

Chapter 61: The Ex is Just a Pawn

As Wu Yang supported Tim past Fan Xiaoxiao, she happened to be gently wiping the traces of blood from Wang Guocheng’s lips. Tim was about to leave, but when he saw this scene, his unwillingness and jealousy overwhelmed his reason.

“Fan Xiaoxiao, you truly are heartless. We’re both injured, yet you only care about him and not me. You spoke of loving me, but in the blink of an eye, you’ve shifted your affections elsewhere. How shallow your love is.”

Seeing Tim walk right up to be humiliated, Wang Guocheng shielded Fan Xiaoxiao behind him and reprimanded Tim.

“You seem rather childish. Asking Xiaoxiao that is only inviting yourself pain. The answer is obvious. I am her legitimate fiancé, while you are nothing but her ex. There’s an old saying—I wonder if you’ve ever heard it.”

Wang Guocheng grasped Fan Xiaoxiao’s hand in his, reassuring her with a gentle squeeze.

Tim’s face grew darker, his expression gloomy and menacing. He spoke in a low voice to Wang Guocheng, “If you have something to say, say it outright. No need to be cryptic.”

Wang Guocheng’s dark eyes glimmered with meaning as he looked at Tim. “The ex is just a pawn.”

Tim was so infuriated by Wang Guocheng that his face turned ashen. He retorted sarcastically, “The ex? Wang Guocheng, do you really think you’ll actually marry Fan Xiaoxiao? For all you know, you’ll end up as her ex too—just another pawn.”

Tim hadn’t meant much by these words, but they left Fan Xiaoxiao feeling embarrassed.

Her phoenix eyes flashed with anger as she looked at Tim. “Tim, I wonder what you meant by those words. Are you implying that I am fickle and unfaithful?”

Realizing his slip had upset her, Tim was riddled with regret. He couldn’t understand why everything he said or did tonight seemed to backfire. He had intended to salvage his relationship with Fan Xiaoxiao, yet the words he spoke only brought her pain.

Tim hesitated, now afraid to say more for fear of making things worse, so he chose silence.

Seeing his silence, Fan Xiaoxiao arched a brow, mocking him, “You had the courage to say it, but not to admit it now? I can’t believe I once liked you, starved myself, even tried to end my life for you… Who would have thought I meant so little in your eyes?”

With that, she took Wang Guocheng’s hand, brushed past Tim and Wu Yang, and strode toward the terrace, heading for the western restaurant.

Whether they met or not, she missed him. Whether she loved or not, it weighed on her heart.

The person she had longed for, dreamed of for so many years, could still wound her in an instant.

Tears shimmered in Fan Xiaoxiao’s eyes; she looked so pitiful that Wang Guocheng’s heart ached for her. Suddenly, he turned back, marched to the terrace, and dealt another beating to the dazed Tim.

Wu Yang, seeing Wang Guocheng laying into Tim, hurried to intervene, “Mr. Wang, please, show some mercy!”

Wang Guocheng grabbed Tim by the collar and berated him furiously. “You really are a fool. Do you know that Fan Xiaoxiao has always cared for you? And what did you do? You pushed her away yourself. I looked into what happened when you left all those years ago. Do you even know how she got through those days? She had to endure gossip, the questioning of her elders, all for your sake. Do you know how she licked her wounds and tried to comfort herself every day? You idiot—muscle-bound and empty-headed. Do you know what matters most to Xiaoxiao? She wants a love that is whole and lasting, a marriage she can depend on. If you can’t give her those, then don’t ever speak of your so-called love to her again. She doesn’t need it!”

Fan Xiaoxiao watched Wang Guocheng, anger still burning in his eyes as he returned. Her heart fluttered uneasily. She still didn’t want Tim to be hurt, but as she listened to Wang Guocheng scold him, she realized the balance in her heart had shifted without her noticing.

She had thought that seeing Tim hurt would make her anxious for him, but she was surprised to find that now, her concern—her gaze—held only Wang Guocheng.

She went to pull Wang Guocheng aside, softly sobbing, unwilling to have anything more to do with Tim.

“Guocheng, let’s go.”

Tim’s eyes were filled with despair as he looked at Fan Xiaoxiao. He struggled to his feet, battered and defeated. “Xiaoxiao, I’m sorry.”

Fan Xiaoxiao turned away, gazing at the dazzling nightscape in the distance, taking a deep breath.

“What good are apologies now? You and I were never meant to be. You have your wife; I have my fiancé. Please, don’t entangle yourself with me anymore.”

Fan Xiaoxiao knew the truth could not be changed. No matter how much Tim claimed to love her, reality was cruel: the woman by Tim’s side would never be her.

Wang Guocheng held Fan Xiaoxiao tightly in his arms, breathing in the scent of her hair, kissing the tears at the corner of her eyes with infinite tenderness.

After soothing Fan Xiaoxiao, Wang Guocheng turned back to Tim, his face cold and hard. “My fiancée has made herself very clear. I suggest you move on with your life.”

“Who is it you’ll meet at love’s turning, will there be beauty in love? At the street after love’s corner, will you let me walk it with you? Who will you meet at love’s turning, will you keep her from tears? Perhaps in coming to know the stranger, let me be the one for you. I will not let love shed tears, will not let you shed tears. Now and forever, you are mine. You are my joy.”

Tim, lost in his loneliness, ignored their words. He softly sang a song that had once been Fan Xiaoxiao’s favorite. But his singing no longer made her look back. Watching her walk away, his heart twisted in agony.

Tim cried out to the night, “Why, why? I only want to love one person simply—why must I bear so much?”

Meanwhile, in Wang Guocheng’s embrace, every step Fan Xiaoxiao took away from the terrace felt agonizing. She felt as though something inside her was being torn apart.

To love yet be unable to be together—what a cruel fate.

For Tim, Wang Guocheng felt only a trace of sympathetic understanding; nothing more.

Seeing Tim’s wretched state, Wang Guocheng silently made a vow: no matter what, he would cherish Fan Xiaoxiao with all his heart, heal her wounds with his warmth and devotion, and give her all the love and care she deserved.

When Wang Guocheng returned to the restaurant hall, holding the tearful Fan Xiaoxiao in his arms, the crowd from earlier was still present, though no one dared linger to watch. Everyone had witnessed the scene on the terrace.

A waiter hurried over, nervously asking, “Sir, are you leaving? About the dishes you ordered earlier today…”

Wang Guocheng glanced at the waiter and replied succinctly, “As planned.”