Chapter 8 — When the Ex Returns

The agonized expression on Lin Shi Xia’s face, her desperate pleas outside the operating room, and the questions she had rasped out until her voice failed all flooded into his mind. Remorse surged through him like a violent, crushing tide, drowning his very soul. Fu Tu Shen covered his face in agony, his mind consumed by a single, desperate thought: no matter the cost, he had to find Lin Shi Xia and bring her back.

After reviewing every shred of evidence, Fu Tu Shen found himself unable to calm his roiling emotions. He stared at the photograph of himself and Gu Xiao on his desk, and for the first time, he found her smile to be jarring and repulsive. Shortly after, he pushed open the door to Lin Shi Xia’s room, only to find it entirely empty. Gazing at the cramped, sparse quarters, he remembered the sight of Lin Shi Xia’s back as she walked away when Gu Xiao had insisted on moving in. Thinking about it now, that moment felt like a thorn lodged deep in his heart, impossible to extract and impossible to sever. Since he had been given a second chance at life, he had been entirely blinded by the joy of "recovering" Gu Xiao. To keep her happy, he had indulged her fickle temper time and time again, and in doing so, he had repeatedly wounded Lin Shi Xia. She had clearly insisted many times that she only viewed him as a brother, yet he had exploited the love she held for him in their previous life to humiliate her at will. What had he done? Fu Tu Shen was so enraged with himself that he struck his own face twice, hard, hoping the pain would clear his senses. He sat motionless in Lin Shi Xia’s room for the entire night. When dawn finally broke, he emerged, his figure looking utterly broken and defeated. As he rounded the corner, he encountered his mother. His gaze darkened, and he voiced the realization that had taken root in his heart.

"Mother, I think I have made a terrible mistake."

His mother stood frozen for a few seconds before grasping the implication behind his words; her expression shifted through a whirlwind of emotions. Finally, she patted his shoulder with a sense of weary helplessness, a flash of pain crossing her eyes.

"Tu Shen, if Shi Xia has already left, can you please let her go—and in doing so, let yourself go as well?"

Even while sitting in his office at the military district, Fu Tu Shen could not stop dwelling on that question. He understood his own erratic behavior during this period better than anyone else. Before, he could have used the excuse that Lin Shi Xia was in the wrong to hypnotize himself, but faced with the cold, hard evidence, all his justifications had vanished. The most pressing thing he needed to do now was to have a final confrontation with Gu Xiao. At that moment, a guard knocked respectfully at his door to report on Gu Xiao’s whereabouts.

"Regimental Commander, I have finished the investigation. Gu Xiao did not stay at the art troupe last night. She is currently at a remote guesthouse."

Fu Tu Shen immediately started his car and drove toward the address provided by the guard. Half an hour later, the Jeep came to a halt in front of a three-story building. Fu Tu Shen pulled the brim of his cap low and marched straight toward Room 213. His hand gripped the evidence the guard had handed him the night before. He strode down the hall, eventually stopping before the door at the very end of the corridor. From the gap in the slightly ajar door, the sounds of an intimate conversation drifted out.

"Xiao Xiao, why did you come to see me last night? I heard you are the Regimental Commander’s fiancee now. Aren't you afraid he might find out?"

Gu Xiao, who always acted so demure and understanding in front of Fu Tu Shen, let out a mocking laugh.

"I don't know what kind of madness has possessed Fu Tu Shen lately. Just because that wretch Lin Shi Xia ran away, he has not only been cold to me, but he hasn't even brought me the latest fashions or cosmetics. It was all a waste of the effort I spent acting and framing Lin Shi Xia!"

The man chuckled softly. "You are still as cunning as ever, Xiao Xiao. I actually thought you really wanted to cut ties with me..."

"Who says? Fu Tu Shen is young but already holds a high rank. Years ago, when he was critically injured, I made sure to get him to the hospital while Lin Shi Xia was out calling for help. My whole purpose was to steal her credit so I could become the commander's wife. Even after I marry him, you can still come to see me."

Standing outside the door, Fu Tu Shen listened as the two continued their vile conversation, the veins on the back of his hands bulging with fury. Before coming here, he had only intended to break off the engagement and banish her from the city. But Gu Xiao was bold enough to steal the credit for saving his life from Shi Xia, treating him like a complete fool all the while. Consumed by rage, Fu Tu Shen kicked the door open, his eyes locking onto the man and woman huddled together on the bed. Amidst Gu Xiao’s piercing scream, Fu Tu Shen shoved the man to the floor and began to beat him senseless. After a dozen blows, he handed the man over to his guards before turning to seize Gu Xiao by the throat.

"Who gave you the audacity to steal the credit for saving me from Shi Xia? Gu Xiao, behind my back, what other monstrous things have you done!"

Gu Xiao’s face turned deathly pale as his grip tightened around her neck. She struggled to force a few words through her constricted throat: "Tu Shen, what are you talking about? I don’t understand..."

With a look of pure disgust, Fu Tu Shen cast her aside and hurled the stack of evidence into her face. "You don't understand? Then take a long, hard look at what these are!"

Outside the city train station, Lin Shi Xia gazed at the young man who shared her face, her eyes rimmed with red.