Chapter 25
1469 Words
Xu Mei stood frozen, staring at Fu Shuyang. Her mind couldn’t process what she was seeing.
Did he… really kill someone and was now cleaning up the body?
Fu Shuyang didn’t expect Xu Mei to barge into this bathroom in the middle of the night—her own room had a perfectly functional en suite.
He was squatting by the toilet, and when he looked up slightly, he saw her standing there... wearing his oversized white T-shirt.
The shirt reached all the way to her knees, making her legs look even fairer and slimmer. She hadn’t even put on shoes and was standing barefoot among sharp porcelain shards.
Fu Shuyang abruptly stood up.
That motion snapped Xu Mei back to reality. She instinctively tried to step back—
“Don’t move.” His voice was low, not loud, but left no room for refusal.
Like she was under a spell, Xu Mei obediently placed her foot back down, not daring to twitch.
Fu Shuyang stepped over, pulled a bath towel from the rack, and shook it open.
Xu Mei blinked.
He wrapped her in the towel without a word, then lifted her up with one arm and carried her out of the broken mess like it was nothing.
Suspended in the air, her mind went blank except for one thought:
How many times has Fu Shuyang carried me now?
Four, maybe.
The first two times, she had no memory.
The third time, she was too stunned to notice.
This time… she could only think: Fu Shuyang is strong.
He looked slim, but his strength was deceptive. No wonder he ate an entire plate of beef earlier.
Fu Shuyang gently placed her down by the living room entrance, took back the towel, and turned on the lights.
The sudden brightness made her squint. When she opened her eyes again, he was already gathering tools: a trash bin, broom, dustpan…
Finally, her brain caught up. She felt embarrassed. “Sorry, I just came out to get some water. I didn’t know you were in there. I thought maybe…”
She trailed off. She couldn’t say “I thought it was a ghost.”
“Don’t follow me,” Fu Shuyang cut her off, not unkindly but firmly.
Left with no choice, Xu Mei watched as he picked up every piece of porcelain, swept the floor, and even switched the vacuum head to clean the corners.
Maybe… he really did have OCD?
So he hadn’t been hiding a murder. He was unclogging a toilet… due to cleanliness?
Or maybe… it was some kind of strange fetish?
Then she suddenly remembered something from the original novel: Fu Shuyang had a hobby—he liked burning money.
Literal, actual money. Not spending it—burning it with fire.
It was said he always kept at least a million yuan in cash at home just to burn when he felt emotional.
Of course, burning money is illegal.
But Fu Shuyang had committed so many crimes that no one even bothered to report him for it. In fact, people were jealous.
By the time the authorities were ready to deal with him, his charges filled pages—and burning money was just one.
But he died before the law could catch him.
Still, the book never mentioned anything about a toilet-cleaning obsession.
Maybe because now he was broke and had no money to burn?
To be fair, scrubbing toilets was still better than burning cash. At least it wasn’t a crime.
Xu Mei sighed in relief.
As expected of the male lead villain, the kind of man who could stir an entire world into chaos—his hobbies were truly one-of-a-kind.
“You’re not going to sleep?” His voice cut through her thoughts.
She looked up—he was standing two meters away, having finished cleaning.
“Oh… I’m going,” she mumbled. “Sorry about your vase. I’ll pay for it.”
“No need.” He paused. “The toilet was clogged. I figured I’d clean while I was at it.”
“Ohh…” She exhaled. “Thanks for the hard work, then. I’ll go to bed.”
“Mm.”
She saw him remove his apron with a look of disgust, toss it in the trash, and begin to lift his shirt.
But he only pulled it halfway before glancing at her.
Xu Mei’s face flushed. She fled to her room.
He really hated the bathroom smell—so it was just him being neat, not murderous.
Her imagination really did run wild.
Sitting on the bed, she suddenly recalled the glimpse of his waistline.
How could a man’s waist be prettier than a woman’s?
Then again, his face was prettier than most women’s too.
After all the chaos, it was already late. Xu Mei thought she’d struggle to sleep, but the second her head hit the pillow, she passed out.
She woke up the next day with the sun already high in the sky.
Rushing out, she found Fu Shuyang had returned with breakfast.
“Come eat,” he called.
“Thanks, senior.” She sat down.
He wasn’t talkative. If she didn’t say anything, the room stayed silent, filled only with the sound of chewing.
She snuck a glance. Took a bite. Glanced again.
“Speak your mind,” Fu Shuyang finally said.
Her eyes brightened. “Senior, I’m going back to school today.”
“Mm.”
“…Do you want to come with me?”
He looked up. She had classic phoenix eyes that curled when she smiled. Bright, sparkling, full of hope.
“No.” He bit into a bun.
She pouted. “It’s just for fun… Brother Chu and Brother Meng miss you.”
He paused. “I’ll go cancel the withdrawal after term starts.”
“Then you’ll come find me?” she blurted out.
He glanced at her.
It was a bit forward, but she didn’t care. She waited stubbornly for his reply.
“…Mm.”
Satisfied, she grinned and stuffed another soup dumpling in her mouth.
After breakfast, Fu Shuyang handed her a card.
“...What’s this?”
“Bus card. How else were you going to get to school?”
Right—she’d forgotten her wallet.
This area didn’t even support mobile payment on buses—it was either coins or an old-school transit card.
“I’ll pay you back next time,” she said, taking the card. “I’m borrowing it.”
“Mm.” He walked out with her.
“You going somewhere?” she asked nervously, afraid he’d go drinking again. But then saw his phone and relaxed.
He noticed her stare and said, “Buying a new vase.”
She winced. “It’s all my fault. How much was it? I’ll send the money—”
“I’ll let you know.”
She didn’t push it. She had no idea how much vases even cost.
They exited the neighborhood. The security guard greeted them warmly, eyes darting between them like searchlights.
“Do I look weird?” Xu Mei asked, creeped out.
“No.” Fu Shuyang knew the guard misunderstood but didn’t explain. He just gave a cold glance, and the guard quickly looked away.
“Which way are you going?” she asked at the gate.
He pointed.
“Oh! I’m heading that way too. We can go together.”
The bus stop was nearly a ten-minute walk. They strolled side-by-side.
“No vase shop around here,” she noted, scanning the street.
“Still ahead.”
Even after reaching the stop, no vase shop.
“I’ll go now,” she waved. “See you at school!”
After she got on the bus, Fu Shuyang kept walking.
Ten minutes later, the bus looped around the block… and passed the opposite side of their neighborhood.
She glanced out the window—and spotted him!
“Senior!” she called out.
He looked up, surprised.
“Why are you here? Didn’t find the vase?”
“No.”
The light turned green, and she had to go.
She opened her phone and searched for vases online. Picked a few she liked and sent them to him.
Xu Mei:
Senior, there are tons of pretty vases online. It’s hot out—just order one, okay?
Fu Shuyang:
I want the same one.
Xu Mei blinked.
Why insist on the same empty vase?
Then it hit her.
And she laughed—out loud. So much so that others on the bus scooted away, thinking she was nuts.
But she didn’t care. She was happy.
Fu Shuyang wanted to return the same vase to Jin Mu.
He didn’t want to keep the villa.
He was waiting—waiting for the day the truth could be revealed to the world.
- Writer
