Volume One, Chapter 39: He Lost Yu Mo

At that moment, Lin Hua was shopping. She handed her card to the sales assistant, a newly purchased designer dress dangling from her arm. The displeasure in Fu Yanting’s voice over the phone was unmistakable as she gripped her mobile tightly.
“What’s wrong, Yanting?” she asked.

Xinyue Mansion.
Fu Yanting’s residence.
When Lin Hua arrived, she didn’t see Fu Yanting.
She waited for a while before he finally returned, his demeanor weary and defeated.

She hurried over to steady him.
“Yanting, where have you been? Didn’t you ask me to come home because you had something to say?”
Fu Yanting looked exhausted, as if he’d just finished a day’s hard work. Supported by Lin Hua, he sank onto the sofa and placed a file on the coffee table.
A long silence passed before he finally spoke in a subdued tone.
“Lin Hua, you claimed this was your first relationship, that I was your first man—was any of that true?”

Lin Hua was momentarily stunned by the question, but seeing no anger on Fu Yanting’s face, she responded calmly, her voice as gentle as ever.
“Yes, Yanting, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
She sat beside him, wrapping her arms around him, trying to overwhelm him with her accustomed softness.

Fu Yanting had always been easy to sway—if she showed even the slightest vulnerability, he would obediently come back to her, his anger melting away.
“Yanting, you’re my first love, the first man I’ve ever truly cared for, and my first in every way.”
Her words were firm. She lowered her eyes, caressing her stomach.
“This is my first child as well—our child.”

She looked blissful and content, but in Fu Yanting’s eyes, her happiness was like a blade, stabbing straight into his heart.

A cold laugh escaped him.
“Indeed, it is my first child.”
Lin Hua’s expression changed abruptly. She reached out to touch his face, but he avoided her.
Her heart trembled, but she quickly composed herself.
“Yanting, did you hear some malicious rumors about me?”
“Oh yes, you certainly had plenty of boyfriends back in school. Which number am I, exactly?” Fu Yanting’s voice was icy.

Lin Hua was taken aback, but swiftly found her retort.
“Those were all just rumors. You’re the only one I’ve ever truly been with.”
“Really? Then explain this—what are these?”
In a fit of hysteria, Fu Yanting flung the document folder from the coffee table at Lin Hua’s chest.

She panicked; she had never seen him so furious before.
Picking up the folder, she glanced inside.
Her pupils widened in shock.
Slowly, she raised her face to meet Fu Yanting’s frosty gaze. Her words stuttered.
“How… how did you get… these?”

Fu Yanting sneered.
“I still have my ways when I want to investigate something.”
He suddenly stood, a smile on his lips, but in that smile Lin Hua saw only chilling dread.
Abruptly, Fu Yanting burst out laughing, tears glinting in the corners of his eyes.
“Lin Hua, you deceived me so cruelly. You’re just a woman obsessed with vanity, a master of disguise. The so-called heiress of the Chu family, yet you grew up in the slums—how could you be so innocent and harmless? I was blind to believe a single word you ever said! Nearly ten abortions, and you can still carry my child—should I call you lucky, or myself utterly cursed? I don’t even know if this child is mine—do I look like a fool to you? Get out. Don’t ever appear before me again, or I won’t show you any mercy.”

Lin Hua clutched the stack of abortion records in her hand.
She had anticipated everything, except that Fu Yanting would investigate her medical history at the hospital.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, she saw no reason to keep up the pretense.
She stood, the fragile persona she’d used before Fu Yanting vanishing, replaced by another face entirely.
Her voice was low, almost ethereal.
“Since you know everything, I won’t bother lying anymore. I admit I’ve done many things wrong in the past, but my feelings for you are genuine, Fu Yanting. From the moment I first met you, I liked you—even when you were still Yu Mo’s boyfriend. I orchestrated every accidental meeting just to win your heart. Blame me for being ruthless, for stealing you from Yu Mo, but don’t doubt my love for you. I truly want to have this child, for the three of us to build a life together. Can’t we, Yanting?”

As she spoke, one hand rested on her belly, the other reaching out for his hand.
Fu Yanting looked at her with utter disdain, recoiling as if from something filthy, his eyes brimming with loathing.
“Lin Hua, save your silver tongue. I won’t believe a word you say. Get out. I don’t want to see you again.”

Seeing his resolve, Lin Hua made no further pleas.
She was, after all, the eldest miss of the Chu family. Even if she couldn’t marry Fu Yanting, she could still find a suitable match elsewhere.
There was no need to cling to this tree forever.

She turned and went upstairs, swiftly packed her things, and left with her suitcase.
Fu Yanting was no longer in the living room.

He had already driven off to Yu Mo’s apartment.
On the road, he pressed the accelerator to the floor, venting all the agony of the past six months through speed.

Memories of how coldly he’d treated Yu Mo replayed in his mind like scenes from a film.
Yu Mo had been so good to him—sending him warm clothes when it got cold, caring for him when he was ill, staying by his bedside through the night.
She’d brewed his medicine herself, watching him drink every drop, then rewarding him with a honey date.
Whenever his stomach ached, a single call would bring her over in the middle of the night to cook soothing soups for him.

He must have been out of his mind—utterly foolish—to ever think Lin Hua was better than Yu Mo.

The car stopped in front of Yu Mo’s apartment.
Fu Yanting got out and headed straight for her floor.
At the password door, he entered his own birthday.
“Beep beep beep! Incorrect password. Please try again.”
The mechanical voice was cold and unfeeling.
He pressed his finger to the scanner.
“Beep beep beep! Fingerprint error.”

Fu Yanting was at a loss—Yu Mo had always used his birthday as her password, whether for her phone or her computer, and had always registered his fingerprint.

Now it had changed.
No—she must have changed it some time ago.
Yu Mo had long since severed ties with him; he was simply too arrogant to see it, too confident she would never leave, that she would always stand behind him, waiting for him to turn around.

He had lost her.

Was it still possible now to win her back?

A cold wave crashed over Fu Yanting, sobering him completely—for the first time in six years.
He finally realized how much Yu Mo meant to him, how much he could not live without her.

“What are you doing here?”
A woman’s voice sounded behind him.
Fu Yanting spun around sharply.