Fu Chengyan grinned and looked at the bright red Shi Nuan in his lap. He held onto her waist and lifted her up, then plopped her on his seat while he himself moved to the one next to it, completely ignoring everyone’s looks.
Shi Nuan felt really self-conscious and couldn’t help but wonder what on earth had possessed Fu Chengyan. She lifted her head and looked at everyone. Chuckling sheepishly, she tried to divert their attention, “Everyone’s here! What are we doing?”
Everyone looked at Shi Nuan as if she had lost it.
Shi Nuan could only shrink back in silence.
“Shi Nuan, just be yourself!” Li Heng spoke up to ease the awkwardness. “The two of you still remember me?”
“Yes, yes, of course, Mr. Li!”
“Just call me Li Heng!” Li Heng answered. “Su Shaoqing, you were the one who gathered us today. So where are we going now?”
“Let’s go eat! I’ve promised Mrs. Fu’s friends that I’d bring them for lunch.” Su Shaoqing stood up and continued, “I’ve already had Zhou Zheng make a reservation.”
“You sure enjoy giving my people orders,” snorted Fu Chengyan, though he wasn’t truly displeased.
Su Shaoqing raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you enjoy giving me orders too? Alright, let’s go. We’re off to Yun Shui Jian.” Su Shaoqing was the first to head out the door, before turning back. “Will Mrs. Fu’s friends be following me or Li Heng?”
Su Rongrong and Su Yian looked to each other and decided unanimously, “We’ll follow you, Mr. Su.” After all, they already rode in his car earlier.
Song Rongrong and Su Yian knew how to read the room. Li Heng appeared to be approachable but wasn’t actually so, while Pei Jingxiu was on a whole other level.
Amongst the Jiang City’s Big Four, other than Fu Chengyan, whom they had a sliver of connection too, Su Shaoqing was the easiest to get along with. He was actually pretty normal as long as he wasn’t in a temper.
Su Shaoqing smirked at Li Heng. “See, Li Heng. I told you weren’t as appealing as me.”
Li Heng snorted but chose to ignore Su Shaoqing’s smugness. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door.
Ning Xi naturally followed Pei Jingxiu, whereas Song Rongrong and Su Yian sat in Su Shaoqing’s car. Li Heng was alone in his.
Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan were the last to leave. Fu Chengyan took Shi Nuan’s hand in his. “What happened with you and Shi Wei earlier?”
“It’s nothing, really.” If she had a choice, she naturally wouldn’t want to meet Shi Wei during the New Year. But Shi Nuan knew Shi Wei was the type of person who liked to create trouble, especially when it came to Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan wasn’t an easy person to deal with either. Previously, she had wanted to keep their relationship civil, so she usually just turned a blind eye towards Shi Wei and her actions, choosing to just endure them in silence. But now, it was as if a part of Shi Nuan had been unleashed, and she didn’t want to endure any longer, especially after she found out she wasn’t really a part of the Shi family. She also realized, albeit belatedly, that tolerating them wouldn’t change how they treated her, so she might as well put herself first.
“You know how Shi Wei is, always finding fault with me and thinking I’m going to snatch her things away from her.”
Fu Chengyan grinned, “You do look rather threatening.”
Shi Nuan raised her eyebrow then chuckled. “Why the gathering today? Doesn’t Pei Jingxiu need to go back to Sheen City?”
Shi Nuan thought about Pei Jingxiu’s relationship with the Ning family and Ning Xi. At first, she had thought the reason for Pei Jingxiu’s return was to bring Ning Xi back to the Ning family, but it appeared she was mistaken.
“He has his plans.”
Shi Nuan nodded and didn’t push further. “Oh right! Did you have bodyguards follow me around?”
Fu Chengyan nodded. “Why? You don’t like it?”
Shi Nuan shook her head. “That’s not it. Why haven’t I seen them before?”
“They’re always hiding in the shadows. If you don’t like having them around, then I’ll dismiss them in time. But not now, I’m worried about your safety.”
Shi Nuan smiled as she grasped Fu Chengyan’s hand. The two exited Prosperous Dynasty and got into their car. “I know you’re doing this for my own good. It’s fine to have them around. You’ll worry less that way.”
“Good!”
The group eventually arrived at Yun Shui Jian, where Su Shaoqing had reserved the biggest private room. The manager immediately appeared when they arrived. It was rare for so many prominent people to gather at Yun Shui Jian. The manager was worried about not providing them with the best service, so he came to take care of them himself.
Zhou Zheng had already ordered beforehand, so when they arrived, the food was ready to be served. Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan were the last to arrive.
Su Shaoqing couldn’t help but tease them. “I say, Fu Chengyan. Is it that unbearable if you don’t show off how in love you are every second?”
Fu Chengyan smirked, “Yes!”
Su Shaoqing was once again too astounded to reply.
“Oh, Mrs. Fu. Your two friends are pretty capable!” Su Shaoqing was referring to what had happened at the mall earlier.
Su Shaoqing told the story animatedly, drawing laughter from all around. If Shi Nuan didn’t know what Su Shaoqing did for a living, she would’ve guessed he was a professional storyteller.
Su Shaoqing continued, “Ms. Song is so quick-witted and great with words! You should be a lawyer!”
Song Rongrong, who was busy eating, lifted her head when she heard her name. “Why should I be a lawyer? I don’t know anything about law! Why don’t you say that I’m on the track team? I’m great at both sprints and marathons. Ask Nuan if you don’t believe me!”
Right at that moment, Shi Nuan was busy eating the prawns that Fu Chengyan was deshelling and feeding to her. Upon Song Rongrong’s mention of Shi Nuan, everyone’s eyes turned to her, which made her freeze on the spot again. She blushed, “That’s right. Rongrong is great at track. Once, a guy confessed to her and she just took off and ran. The guy never caught up to her.”
Su Shaoqing burst into laughter, as did everyone else. He teased, “So the reason you’re still single now is because you run too fast and no one can catch you?”
Song Rongrong glared at Shi Nuan then took a napkin to wipe her mouth. “Mr. Su. Why’re you talking like you aren’t single yourself? We’re all the same. There’s no need for the pot to call the kettle black.”
Su Shaoqing remained silent.
Li Heng laughed after seeing Su Shaoqing have one of his rare speechless moments. Su Shaoqing glared at him, then smiled innocently, “Li Heng, aren’t you single too? Why’re you laughing?”
With all the back and forth, the atmosphere was getting pretty lively. Song Rongrong and Su Yian finally breathe a sigh of relief for not ruining the gathering or embarrassing Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan herself grinned happily when she saw that everyone was getting along well. Just then another prawn was stuffed into her mouth.
Shi Nuan looked at Fu Chengyan with puppy eyes and told him, “I’m full.”
Fu Chengyan nodded nonchalantly and replied, “Alright. One more. The last one!”
Everyone eventually realized the whole plate of prawns had been practically polished by Shi Nuan alone, while the plate in front of Fu Chengyan was stacked with a mountain of prawn shells.
Fu Chengyan really knew how to rub his relationship in the singleton’s faces.
While everyone was eating, the manager knocked on the door, entered, and walked up to Fu Chengyan. He politely said, “Mr. Fu, someone asked for you.”
Fu Chengyan narrowed his eyes, “Who?”
“They said their surname is Song, and that you would know who they are,” replied the manager carefully.
Fu Chengyan calmly finished peeling the last prawn and fed it to Shi Nuan. “Eat.”
Shi Nuan took the prawn and ate it, and watched Fu Chengyan wiping his hands leisurely and steadily.
“Alright. Bring them over to the Sunset room. I’ll head over soon.”
“Yes, sir!”
When the manager left, Su Shaoqing asked, “Your uncle?”
The only ‘Song’ who would relentlessly track Fu Chengyan down was Song Huaiyan.
Fu Chengyan nodded, his eyes flashing. “I’ll be back in a while.” He got up and looked at Shi Nuan. “Eat more!”
Shi Nuan felt her lips twitch and wondered what had gotten into Fu Chengyan today. But because there were so many people watching them, she only gave him a quick nod in response.
He patted her head and left the room.
Song Huaiyan had been taken to the Sunset room by the manager. He had been waiting for around ten minutes before Fu Chengyan made his appearance.
The manager respectfully opened the door for Fu Chengyan, “Sir.”
Fu Chengyan nodded and asked for a pot of tea.
“Yes, sir.”
Fu Chengyan sauntered in and saw Song Huaiyan looking at him in a displeased manner. “Yan, it seems like you’re getting too big for your britches lately.”
It had been three days since the incident, but he could see neither Song Jingyu nor Song Zhenyan at the hospital. He couldn’t get anywhere with the Fu family either, and finding Fu Chengyan was an arduous task. If he hadn’t gotten someone to follow Fu Chengyan today, meeting him would be virtually impossible.
He was Fu Chengyan’s elder, and yet he was being led around by him. This attitude of his greatly displeased him. “I’m your uncle!”
Fu Chengyan smiled, pulled out a seat, and sat across from Song Huaiyan. “Don’t be mad, uncle. It’s not good for your health.” Fu Chengyan’s tone was cold.
He draped his coat on the back of his chair. Just then, the waiter brought in the tea set. “Mr. Fu, would you like for us to prepare the tea or would you like to do it yourself?”
Fu Chengyan waved his hand, “Leave us.”
He waited until the waiter left before he started fiddling with the tea set. After a while, he lifted his head and looked at Song Huaiyan. “With all due respect, why aren’t you spending New Year’s with your family in the capital? Is there something urgent in Jiang city?”
Song Huaiyan’s anger flared up with Fu Chengyan’s words.
Fu Chengyan was clearly feigning ignorance. How can he not know why I am here?
But Fu Chengyan maintained a nonchalant demeanor throughout, as if he truly didn’t know. For the first time in his life, Song Huaiyan felt like he had lost to someone younger than him.
He broke out into a cold sweat with this realization. This was something he dreaded to see.
“I heard your mother got injured a few days ago, so I came over to check up on her, but I couldn’t find her. That’s why I’m paying you a visit. Is your mother with you?”
“Oh?” Fu Chengyan paused. “My mother is hurt? How did she get hurt?”
Song Huaiyan was only throwing words out there to hint at his true intentions. He never expected Fu Chengyan to play along without giving away any information.
“Seeing that you came all the way over here, it seems like my mother really did get injured. But since no one informed me, I doubt it’s anything too serious. You shouldn’t worry too much, uncle.”
“You…”
“You have a strong sibling bond with my mother, so I do understand your plight. But if you personally came here for such a small matter, others might misunderstand and think that we, the Fu family, are abusing her again.”
