Each of them went back to their respective homes after the discussion. Fu Chengyan touched his pockets as he looked in Pei Jingxiu’s direction. “I cannot thank you enough!”
Pei Jingxiu laughed. “I thought you would blame me for frightening her.” He remembered how Shi Nuan looked at him at the scene. “Luckily, it was me that she saw and not you.” He added, “Nevertheless, she is a brave one. She didn’t scream at all, and neither did she faint!”
Any ordinary person would have panicked in the same situation. However, Shi Nuan didn’t. No doubt she was a little traumatized, but that was all. Pei Jingxiu squinted and recalled the look on Ning Xi’s face the first time he met her.
Fu Chengyan knitted his eyebrows slightly and said, “No matter what, I would still like to thank you again for today!”
“That’s enough already. It’s late now, time to get some rest!”
After Fu Chengyan went upstairs, Pei Jingxiu took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. He proceeded to pick one out and placed it between his fingers while staring blankly out of the window.
That night, Zhou Zheng, Jiang Hu, and Liang Lin got rid of all the ambushers around Wutong Residence. There wasn’t a lot of them, but they were all professional killers. If Fu Chengyan had gone home that night, he wouldn’t have stood a chance no matter how good he was at fighting. He would be outnumbered.
“Mr. Fu, we have taken out all of the enemies there. What else do you need?”
“Good job. You guys should take the day off!” Fu Chengyan ended his call and turned to look at Shi Nuan, who was sound asleep. He smiled as he put the blanket which she had kicked away back on her. Just as he was about to leave, Shi Nuan grabbed his hand. She muttered in her sleep, “Yan, don’t go.”
“Alright, I won’t go.” Fu Chengyan held her hand as he sat by the bed. He held a newspaper in one hand while she held onto the other.
When Shi Nuan finally woke up, it was already past ten. She managed to sleep well last night. It was likely because she felt secure with Fu Chengyan beside her, on top of what they had been through yesterday.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Fu Chengyan leaning against the bed while reading a newspaper. The sun shone into the room from an angle. It brought with it a sense of warmth in the middle of winter.
Shi Nuan blinked her eyes. Fu Chengyan felt it instantly, even though it was just a minute movement. He put down his papers and looked at her. “Awake already?”
Shi Nuan nodded with a smile. When she saw that she was still holding onto Fu Chengyan’s hand, she felt embarrassed and let go. “W-Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.” Fu Chengyan picked some of Shi Nuan’s hair and tucked them behind her ear. “How do you feel? Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I slept well. Why did you wake up so early?” Shi Nuan asked as she flicked the sheets aside and got out of bed.
Shi Nuan felt a little awkward when she took a look around. She then remembered that she wasn’t at Wutong Residence but Pei Jingxiu’s house instead. “By the way, yesterday…”
“Since you’re already awake, you should go wash up. Breakfast is ready downstairs.”
“Okay.”
Shi Nuan patted the messy hair on her own head before heading to the bathroom quickly. The towels and toiletries were all new. She thought about last night’s events as she brushed her teeth. When she walked out of the bathroom, she blushed at the sight of Fu Chengyan changing.
He squinted his eyes and smiled. “You’ve seen everything. What’s there to be embarrassed about!”
“Stop it!” Shi Nuan went back to the bathroom and prepped herself before coming out again. There were clean clothes on the bed, and they looked new too. Shi Nuan picked them up and noticed that the price tags hadn’t been cut off. “Oh, did you go out in the morning to buy these clothes?”
“It wasn’t me, Ning Xi was the one who bought them.” Fu Chengyan replied. “Quick, see if they fit.”
“Alright!”
Fu Chengyan held Shi Nuan’s hand as he led her downstairs. A lot of people had gathered there. It wasn’t just Pei Jingxiu and Ning Xi, even Li Heng and Su Shaoqing were there. On top of that, Zhou Zheng, Liang Lin and Jiang Hu had also joined them.
When all of them saw Fu Chengyan leading Shi Nuan down the steps, their mouths couldn’t help but twitch, especially when they saw how chivalrous Fu Chengyan was.
It was Su Shaoqing who was the quickest to react. He put on a broad smile and approached them. “Mrs. Fu, how do you feel? It was already late yesterday, and you were asleep. So Chengyan didn’t allow us to see you.”
Su Shaoqing shifted all the blame onto Fu Chengyan. “Don’t you know? We were all worried sick about you yesterday.”
At that moment, Fu Chengyan shot an angry glance towards Su Shaoqing, who quickly stopped. “As long as you’re safe. Everything is good!”
Shi Nuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Su, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern!”
“Ignore him!” Fu Chengyan led Shi Nuan to join the group. “Why is everyone here?”
“Can’t we just visit for the sake of it? I remember that I have a place here too,” Li Heng said. “Don’t forget, I was the one who gave you the house as a present!”
“Now, how should I be thanking you?” Fu Chengyan replied with a sarcastic smile. He then turned towards Zhou Zheng. “Were you here early?”
“Yes, Jiang Hu and I were worried about both of you.” Zhou Zheng said as he stood upright. “The company has declared these two days as holidays. Jiang Hu and I don’t plan to rest, so here we are.”
Fu Chengyan snorted. “Alright, we do have something big on our hands.” Fu Chengyan looked towards Shi Nuan. “Are you hungry?”
Shi Nuan felt embarrassed when he called her suddenly. She looked around and quickly let go of Fu Chengyan’s hand when she noticed that everyone’s attention was focused on both of them. “I’m fine! Please continue chatting!”
“Nuan, I haven’t had anything yet too. Let’s have some breakfast!” Ning Xi stood up and approached Shi Nuan. “Mr. Fu, let me borrow Nuan for a while!”
Fu Chengyan nodded and patted Shi Nuan on her hand. “Go and get something to eat. I have something to discuss with Pei Jingxiu and the others!”
Shi Nuan nodded and went to the dining room with Ning Xi. She took a few more glances at Fu Chengyan as she was reluctant to leave him. She had the niggling feeling that there was more to the incident than meets the eye. It was just that Fu Chengyan refused to tell her anything.
“Nuan, don’t worry. Pei and the others will know what to do.”
Ning Xi took out the bowls and chopsticks. “I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I just randomly bought some food in the morning.”
“Thanks, actually I’m not a picky eater.” Shi Nuan suddenly remembered something. “By the way, thanks for going out and buying me these clothes in the morning. They fit nicely, and I like them a lot.”
“That’s great!”
Fu Chengyan glanced at the dining room before sitting down. He took the cigarette that Pei Jingxiu had passed over and kept it in his hand. “Are you planning to have them follow us the whole day?”
“Since we don’t have any idea of what their motive is, we might not make it in time if this happens again. You’re no longer alone. You have her now.” Pei Jingxiu tapped his cigarette as he looked in Shi Nuan’s direction. “I can see that she’s a good wife. Since you have made your decision, you will have to step up and be responsible for the two of you.”
Fu Chengyan remained silent in thought. “But if they follow me around, the secret will be out. Besides, when the Fu clan realizes that security around me has increased significantly, they would be worried too.” Fu Chengyan didn’t want his family to know what had happened.
“But if we aren’t around you, you will always be in danger. Last night’s incident could happen again anytime!” Li Heng protested. “Even if you survive, what about Shi Nuan?” Li Heng looked in Shi Nuan’s direction. “She doesn’t know anything at all. How can you guarantee that they won’t attack her even if they don’t choose to attack you?”
“Fine. You can keep an eye on us but do it discreetly. Don’t follow too closely. I don’t need that many people around me. You should have more following May instead!” Fu Chengyan didn’t want history to repeat. He could not afford to put Shi Nuan in another dangerous situation.
“Jiang Hu, arranged six men to follow Mrs. Fu.”
“At once, Mr. Fu!” Jiang Hu nodded immediately. “How about you?”
“Two is enough.”
“No, Mr. Fu. That’s too little. I’ll get four for you!”
“Two!” Fu Chengyan insisted. “I’m either at the office or at home. I’ll go home together with her anyway. If there’s too many of you, it will just attract unnecessary attention,” Fu Chengyan explained as he looked at his other three friends. “Are you satisfied with the plan?”
Pei Jingxiu nodded. “We’ll go with what you said.” He then turned to the others and said, “Now that it’s settled, you can all leave now!”
“Hey, Pei, you can’t do that. We’re all good friends here,” Su Shaoqing protested while Li Heng stood up. “That’s perfect. I have something to attend to at work, so I can’t stay.”
After Li Heng left with Liang Lin, Su Shaoqing had no choice but to leave too. Only Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan were left inside. Both of them proceeded to leave once Shi Nuan had eaten her fill.
Shi Nuan was constantly feeling on edge after the incident last night. Fu Chengyan took Shi Nuan to Su Shaoqing’s hospital when he realized that Shi Nuan was still traumatized.
Su Shaoqing was visibly annoyed given that they had just met earlier, and here they were again. “Chengyan, why are you here when you’re doing fine? Or were you injured last night?” Su Shaoqing examined Fu Chengyan closely and didn’t see anything wrong with him. “So what brings you here?”
“Do you have a psychiatrist here?” Fu Chengyan asked. Shi Nuan, who was beside him, was stunned. “Yan, why do you need to see a psychiatrist? Are you alright?”
Su Shaoqing was puzzled too. “That’s right. Is there something wrong with you mentally? You look totally normal to me. Stop pulling my leg!” Then his expression became serious as he looked at Fu Chengyan. “Don’t tell me you were shocked by yesterday’s events?”
Fu Chengyan pursed his lips and glared at Su Shaoqing.
When Shi Nuan heard Su Shaoqing say the words ‘were you shocked yesterday,’ she immediately understood why they were there. “Yan, do you think that there’s something wrong with me?”
