Shi Nuan couldn’t help but chuckle and swatted Fu Chengyan’s hands away. “You and your cheeky mouth. Alright, it’s getting late. Since we’re not going to watch a movie, let’s head home instead.”
It was already pretty late. The two of them had been walking by the riverside for over an hour without even realizing it. The whole area was quite pretty especially in this early winter period, with people walking about and dim streetlights reflecting off the river surface.
It had been a while since Shi Nuan had experienced such peace and quiet. She had been running back and forth a lot before, being tossed around in many different places. And though she had Fu Xicheng and his support, she still felt helpless when it came to dealing with her family. But ever since she got together with Fu Chengyan, he was so powerful that she no longer felt helpless or at a loss. As long as he was with her, it was as if she would never be lost ever again.
“What are you thinking about?”
Fu Chengyan gripped Shi Nuan’s hands, having noticed that her mind had gone somewhere else.
Shi Nuan snapped out of it and noticed a young couple was walking across the bridge. The girl’s head was tilted, and she was grabbing onto the boy’s coat with one hand while staggering along. Shi Nuan giggled.
“Why’re you laughing?”
“I just think that the world is really beautiful!” said Shi Nuan. She then saw the boy squat down and put his hands behind him, getting into position. The girl’s face beamed with contentment. She backed away a few steps, raised her bulky skirt, and took a running jump onto the boy’s back.
However, the girl likely jumped too hard and nearly took the boy down with her.
Shi Nuan could hear the boy inhale sharply, but he grabbed onto the girl in time and steadied himself. She then heard the boy nagging, “You’re too rash. It’s a good thing I caught you. What would have happened if I didn’t!”
Yet, the girl just giggled and wrapped her arms around the boy’s neck, then patted him on the shoulder. “Get up! You promised to give me a piggyback!” The boy could only sigh and got back into position. “What would have happened if I hadn’t caught you?”
“I would’ve fallen. And I would’ve grabbed on to you while I fell.”
“Hey!”
“Together for better or worse, remember?”
With that, the boy piggybacking the girl walked further and further away. Shi Nuan couldn’t help but start laughing.
Fu Chengyan was standing next to Shi Nuan. When he saw Shi Nuan’s face beaming with laughter, his gaze became more intense. “Do you want to try?”
“What?” Shi Nuan looked confused. “Try? Try what?”
“Piggyback! I’ll give you a piggyback!” Fu Chengyan looked at the couple who had disappeared into the night and turned to look at Shi Nuan again. “Do you want to?”
Shi Nuan shook her head. “They’ve already done it. If you do it, you’ll be a copycat. I don’t want that.”
Shi Nuan then strutted off with her head held high. Fu Chengyan raised an eyebrow and caught up easily with his long legs. Before she realized what was going on, he had bent down and picked her up in his arms.
Shi Nuan shrieked in surprise, thinking that she was about to fall. She quickly grabbed onto Fu Chengyan and leaned into him. “What are you doing?” accused Shi Nuan.
“Well, you didn’t want a piggyback, so I’ll carry you instead!”
“Fu Chengyan, stop playing around. People are watching!” Shi Nuan took a peek around then decided it would be less embarrassing for her if she just buried herself in his arms and stayed out of sight. “It’s embarrassing!”
It was nearly ten o’clock by the time the two of them reached Wutong Residence. At that time, Fu Heng and Ning Xin were watching television in the living room. They heard the door opening and saw Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan walking in while holding hands.
Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan clearly didn’t expect the older couple to still be awake at that hour. “Uncle, Aunt, you’re still awake?”
Fu Heng smiled and looked at Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan. “Seeing as how the two of you came home so late, you must’ve gone on a date.”
Hearing that, Shi Nuan laughed sheepishly and quickly grabbed some slippers for Fu Chengyan, then bent down to slip out of her own shoes.
Fu Chengyan took a look at Shi Nuan, then answered, “It was to give the two of you some alone time. I’m guessing you two had no peace and quiet while staying at the Fu family home.”
“Why you little… as if it was just for my benefit alone.” Fu Heng laughed but was also impressed with how tactful Fu Chengyan was. “Did Nuan have a good time?”
“Yes, I did!” Shi Nuan walked over after changing her shoes. “Yan said it’s your wedding anniversary today. I’m sure the two of you had a good time together.” Shi Nuan then looked down and rummaged through her bag before fishing out a small box. “We got this as an anniversary present for Aunt and Uncle. It’s not anything expensive, but I hope you’ll like it.”
“What is it? Let me have a look!” Ning Xin quickly reached for the present once she heard that it was handpicked by Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan. She opened the box and found a blessed talisman. “This…”
“There’s a temple behind Jing University. Yan and I had some time on our hands, so we went to get it for you. Keep it on you, and it’ll keep you safe.” Shi Nuan sat down next to Ning Xin. “Even though it’s probably more of a placebo effect, there’s no harm in trying, right, Aunt?”
“Nuan sure is thoughtful.” Ning Xin was very pleased with Shi Nuan’s present, and it had more to do with Shi Nuan’s heart than the present itself. “I really like it.”
Just then, Fu Chengyan came to sit next to Fu Heng. The uncle and the nephew had things to discuss. Shi Nuan got up and went to the kitchen to make some tea when she overhead Fu Heng talking about Shengyuan’s annual meeting.
“You’ve always hosted these, so please go ahead and continue to do so this year. I won’t go and crash the party.”
Fu Heng saw Shi Nuan handing him a cup of tea. He smiled, “That’s very thoughtful of you, Nuan.”
After that, Shi Nuan handed a cup to Ning Xin, then another to Fu Chengyan. “Uncle won’t be going? But aren’t you a shareholder? Even though you don’t deal with the business side anymore, you are still a part of Shengyuan.”
Fu Heng fell silent for a second before answering, “I won’t go. Your aunt’s health isn’t too great, and I’m worried being in such a big crowd won’t do her any good.”
“Heng,” Ning Xin had something to say. “Nuan is right. You are Shengyuan’s shareholder. It doesn’t seem right if you keep missing the annual meetings. I’ll be fine. Or you can go alone, and I’ll stay at home. We have maids to look after me anyway.”
“No!” rejected Fu Heng right away. “Yan has always done a great job hosting them. And I’m getting old. Who knows, maybe the youngsters aren’t even interested in seeing me, so I’d rather stay home with you.”
“Heng, you’re making me feel like I’m a burden to you,” sighed Ning Xin. She knew everything that Fu Heng did was in her best interest, but sometimes it would make her feel a little guilty.
Fu Heng was born to be a businessman. If it hadn’t been for her, Fu Heng would’ve done amazing things at Yunsheng. And yet, he willingly resigned and was content being a silent shareholder, all because of her. For years, this had always weighed heavily on Ning Xin.
“Stop it. You’re never a burden. There’s nothing more important than you.” Fu Heng patted Ning Xing’s hand to assure her. “If you really think it’s for the best, then I’ll go. But I’ll bring you with me, and we’ll just make a quick appearance.”
“Okay!”
Ning Xin nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Fu Chengyan. “Yan, how’s the planning for the annual meeting going?
“Everything’s nearly done. It’s in five days, so Uncle and Aunt do make an appearance then!”
“Your parents…”
“They’ll most likely attend.”
Fu Chengyan wasn’t too bothered because whether he invited Song Zhenyan or not, she would still go.
He knew Song Zhenyan too well.
When she left all those years ago, it wasn’t just because of that one reason she had stated, but more importantly, it was because she was embarrassed to see the Fu family. Coming back to Jiang Cheng after so many years and returning to the Fu family, there was definitely more than meets the eye. So Song Zhenyan would definitely attend this annual meeting of Shengyuan’s.
…
Mai Qi had been running around Shengyuan’s office building since early in the morning, going to each department to confirm the list of personnel while also giving each person their own number tags.
When Mai Qi went past the project management department, she was stopped by Yuan Jia. Yuan Jia was someone who liked to be friendly with everyone. Especially since Mai Qi was a valued member from the twenty-seventh floor, everyone wanted to get close to her.
“Mai Qi, why are you giving us number tags?” Yuan Jia looked at the tag in her hand and frowned slightly. “Is there a special event for this year’s annual meeting?”
Mai Qi smiled and discreetly pointed to the tag in Yuan Jia’s hand. “Keep it safe, since there’s only one for each person. All the ladies get one with a red strap, whereas the men have a blue strap. Make sure you don’t lose it, or you might just miss out on something exciting.”
“Exciting? Are the prizes for this year better than ever? Mai Qi, can’t you just give me a little hint? I remember the grand prize from last year was a car. Will it be something even better than a car?”
“You guessed right. It’s a reward. A great reward.” Mai Qi grinned. Whoever got picked would be able to dance the opening dance with Shengyuan Group’s boss. Wouldn’t that reward be better than a car?
After that, Mai Qi patted Yuan Jia’s hand and said, “Good luck!”
“Hehe. I have my eyes set on that grand prize! Hey? Where’s Shi Nuan’s number?” Yuan Jia didn’t see a tag for Shi Nuan. “Oh, and what about Director Lin?”
“Don’t worry. Everyone gets one.”
“Gets one what?”
Lin Yu and Shi Nuan appeared right then and saw Mai Qi and Yuan Jia talking. “Ms. Mai, why are you here in our department? Is there something Mr. Fu needs?”
“It’s not Mr. Fu, it’s me.” Mai Qi handed two number tags to Lin Yu and Shi Nuan respectively. “The blue one is Director Lin’s, and the red one is for Shi Nuan.”
“What’s this?” Shi Nuan was confused by the tag. “Is this for the annual meeting?”
