CHAPTER 443: CHAPTER 253 TRUST

But he didn’t want others to see him like this, so he kept his head down, biting his lower lip tightly.

The usually upright boy now looked even more pitiful and adorable with his silvery-white hair limply clinging to his forehead. Even with his head down, the redness at the corners of his eyes was visible.

Shu Wan took a step forward, standing in front of Fu Yang.

Noticing her shadow on the ground, Fu Yang rebutted subconsciously, "I’m fine, you can go back."

Of course, Shu Wan didn’t listen to Fu Yang. She reached out, grabbed his chin, and forced him to look up at her.

Under the light, Fu Yang’s reddened eyes were fully exposed. His moist pupils reflected Shu Wan’s figure. He looked like a wounded little beast, as if he would start crying on his own the second Shu Wan left him.

It seemed he felt a loss of face being held like this by Shu Wan. Fu Yang tried to pull away, but Shu Wan increased her grip, preventing him from leaving.

Fu Yang furrowed his brows, "What are you doing?"

"Just cry if you want to."

Shu Wan looked down at Fu Yang, her tone light but her expression strangely tender.

"I wasn’t going to cry," Fu Yang rebutted subconsciously.

"You always have the right to cry in front of me and your dad."

Shu Wan’s childhood was only about societal norms and ethics. She only needed to become the most reputable lady in the Capital and then the best Crown Princess Consort and Empress.

Crying was a symbol of weakness, and resistance was a breach of societal norms.

Thus, Shu Wan rarely cried, and even before coming to the modern era, crying in her eyes represented failure and shame.

But that was because she herself was a product of old-era education constraints; she had grown accustomed to that mode.

However, now, finding herself in a different role, as Fu Yang’s stepmother, and looking back at her own time as a child, she suddenly felt there was no need to suppress herself so much.

Even grown-ups like them needed steadfast support, let alone a child like Fu Yang.

When Shu Wan said that Fu Yang always had the right to cry, it meant that, with her, Fu Yang could always expect unconditional support.

Fu Yang obviously hadn’t expected Shu Wan to say such a thing, and he was momentarily stunned.

After several seconds, Fu Yang came to his senses, somewhat awkwardly avoiding Shu Wan’s gaze, "I don’t like to cry."

Though he said that, his tone was thick with nasal sounds.

Emotional surges were so simple; just one phrase, "You can always cry," was enough to open up that sour valve that had been closed for over a decade.

Before Fu Yang even finished his sentence, tears fell like loose beads.

Feelings of grievance, anger, confusion mixed with touch brewed together; Fu Yang didn’t move, just leaning into Shu Wan’s palm, crying his heart out.

Shu Wan silently watched, occasionally taking a wet cloth to wipe his tears.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed when Fu Yang finally vented all his emotions and regained his composure; he embarrassingly wiped the corner of his eyes, "Your hand must have touched some pepper; it’s making me cry."

Shu Wan neither confirmed nor denied this. She looked at Fu Yang, "Do you think, your dad has been good to you?"

Fu Yang paused in wiping his tears, remaining silent for a long time.

In truth, emotionally, he really wanted to say that Fu Siyu was not good at all.

When he was most attached to Fu Siyu, Fu Siyu had gone abroad, leaving him alone in the country.

Everyone else had both parents while each phone call with Fu Siyu ended with him hiding in his room, secretly crying.

Because he missed Fu Siyu terribly and wanted Fu Siyu to come back, but Fu Siyu did not.

Later, as he grew older, he began resisting calls with Fu Siyu, each refusal actually driven by the fear of feeling increasingly hollow after the calls.

Objectively, though, he knew Fu Siyu did care about him.

There were gifts every season and guidance on every aspect of life—from childhood to adulthood; Fu Siyu was there remotely.

Moreover, he was clear in his heart that the only reason he deserved the title "Young Master" was because Fu Siyu stood behind him.

So, he hated Fu Siyu, not because Fu Siyu wasn’t good to him.

It was simply because he hated that Fu Siyu wasn’t there for him.

Although Fu Yang remained silent, Shu Wan seemed to know his answer; she continued, "Parents and children can trust each other. Since you trust your dad won’t harm you, then respect his decisions."

Fu Yang still silent, finally nodded after a long while, "I understand."

"Do you want to go skiing?" Shu Wan asked again.

Fu Yang finally looked up, his eyes brightened, "Right now?"

"Yes, just the two of us."

"Let’s go!!"

Fu Yang hadn’t been out for a long time, and with too many emotions piled up inside, he desperately needed an outlet, so he was very enthusiastic and quickly got his gear ready and followed Shu Wan out the door.

The two of them walked to the living room where Fu Siyu was sitting on the sofa drinking tea.

Shu Wan greeted Fu Siyu, "We’re going out to have some fun."

"Alright," Fu Siyu didn’t ask much, glanced at Fu Yang with a calm expression, "If you need me to pick you up, you can call me."

"Sure."

Shu Wan responded and then headed straight out.

Fu Yang silently followed behind her, but just as he was about to step out of the living room door, Fu Yang suddenly turned his head, "Aren’t you going to see us off? You’re taking being a dad too lightly."

Fu Siyu’s eyes slightly stirred, a faint smile appeared in his eyes, and he stood up, "Alright, I’ll take you guys."

Although Fu Siyu said he’d be the driver, when they reached the ski resort, he joined Shu Wan and Fu Yang’s team.

Back when Fu Siyu was still in school, he was known as the versatile gentleman in the Imperial City, and the sports Fu Yang could now play were the ones Fu Siyu had left behind.

Fu Siyu and Fu Yang taught Shu Wan together, and the three of them had a great time.

In a rental room in a suburb of the Imperial City, two people were anxiously waiting by the phone, expecting a callback from Fu Yang.

"What time is it already? This kid isn’t going to call us back, is he?"

"That’s impossible. If it were you, wouldn’t you be curious about who your biological parents are? A person like Fu Siyu, how could he possibly have fathered a child out of wedlock at 14? Just looking at him, you know there’s a backstory. Do you think his son wouldn’t suspect anything?"

"That’s true, but why hasn’t there been any response yet?"

As the two waited and waited without any callback from Fu Yang, they decided to send another drastic message, "Actually, your dad is Fu Siyu’s biological brother. Fu Siyu killed your biological father in the past to fight for the inheritance."

In order to convince Fu Yang that they were telling the truth, they attached a photo along with the message.

In the photo, Fu Siyu was holding a baby, standing in front of a tombstone, and the photo on the tombstone strikingly resembled Fu Siyu.

Nothing came back from Fu Yang for a long time after that message was sent.

Finally, as the clock neared midnight, they finally received a text message back from Fu Yang.

They eagerly opened it, only to read, "I don’t trust him, so why would I trust you? Who do you think you are?"

"......"

The two wanted to say something more, but found that Fu Yang had blocked them.

This was not how they expected things to unfold at all. Fu Siyu had been abroad for many years; how could Fu Yang have such a good relationship with him?

As the two puzzled over this, the phone rang again, and seeing the number, they became somewhat panicked, "Paying respects to the Second Young Master."

"Did you get the job done?"

"No, that Fu Yang is impenetrable, he simply doesn’t believe what we said."

"How is that possible? Change the number and continue, share some more details with him, he must be made to know that it was Fu Siyu who killed his biological father, he’s just a child after all, coax him more and he’ll believe."

"Understood."

To avoid seeming too deliberate, they took a break for a while and didn’t harass Fu Yang anymore. Fu Yang’s winter vacation was quite a peaceful one.

Compared to him, Shu Wan’s winter vacation was a total waste.

The "Fuxian" crew had already begun shooting, and as a fantasy martial arts drama, "Fuxian" involved a lot of action and outdoor scenes, almost every week, Shu Wan had to travel to another city.

A month passed, and Shu Wan finally returned to the Imperial City from the south.

She was already thin, and the exertion had made her even more so.

The crew had given her a few days off, and Fu Siyu had planned to use this time to properly help Shu Wan regain her strength.

But Shu Wan had even more important things to handle.

Because Wang Xiao was due to be discharged from the hospital.