“Huh? Hey, Nuan!” Su Shaoqing came to his senses and smiled goofily at Shi Nuan. “Don’t worry; I’m just fooling around with Chengyan a bit. As Bancheng’s gone, I should get going too.” He shot Fu Chengyan a knowing look before making a hasty departure.
Eyeing both of them suspiciously, Shi Nuan asked Fu Chengyan, “What’s the matter with Mr. Su?”
“He’s gone mad!” Fu Chengyan blurted. “Do you need help?”
“Nope. I saw Mr. Su’s cousin leaving just now, so I decided to come upstairs and check if everything’s alright.” Wearing a pleasant smile, she cast an inquisitive glance at the inside of the study. “What were you guys talking about just now? What’s the thing Mr. Su asked you to tell me?”
A hint of alarm flickered in Fu Chengyan’s eyes. His face stiffened before he sighed. “It’s nothing important. In fact…” He continued after a short pause, “There’s indeed something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” Shi Nuan raised his brows and stared at him in amusement. “This certainly sounds very mysterious to me.” Looking at the ominous expression on his face, she prompted, “Shoot.”
Fu Chengyan reached for her hand and held it as he dragged her out of the study.
He led her to their bedroom. Staring at the back of his head, Shi Nuan could feel that his breathing was growing ragged. Also, she noticed there was something unusual with the way he behaved too. “Have you been grappling with a tricky issue lately?”
Fu Chengyan let go of her hand and gazed into her eyes. After a long beat, he spoke, “Can you promise me that you will believe in me no matter what rumors people might start feeding you from now on?”
Shi Nuan’s heart lurched when she heard those words of his. Her instinct told her that she was about to face something utterly mind-blowing in the near future. On top of that, it could be something capable of undermining her relationship with Fu Chengyan too.
She tilted her head slightly and stared at him skeptically.
He must be facing some difficult situation that prompted him to say something like that to me. However, she could not make a sound guess of it without having him reveal it to her. “Yan, we’re married. You shouldn’t be held back from sharing things with me.”
“Here’s the thing – you might bump into a person tomorrow at the office.” He stretched out his hands to draw her into an embrace and sighed, “Look, this is one hell of a complicated mess, but… please believe me when I say that I’ll be able to solve it, okay?”
“Hold on!” Shi Nuan placed both hands on his chest and pushed him away gently. With her lips pursed, she scrutinized his face. “You seem nervous.”
Fu Chengyan shook his head in resignation. “Fine, let me just tell you everything. There’s a girl named Shen Qianan who’s an old friend of mine. She’s been handpicked by my family as my ideal wife!”
Color drained from Shi Nuan’s face at once. Clenching her fists tightly, she looked up at him with uneasiness in her eyes. “Is she back in the country now? So, is your family forcing you to marry her instead? Is this the reason why you couldn’t make time to go home with me that day?”
As quick-witted as Shi Nuan, she already got a rough idea of things from the small clue Fu Chengyan gave her.
Surprisingly, she flashed him a smile and formed a conclusion herself. “But then again, you did come back to me after you settled your stuff that day. Also, I’m the woman you married. Regardless of your family’s approval, all I should care about is what you think because you’re the man I married. Am I right to put it this way?”
Fu Chengyan looked up at her in slight astonishment.
At first, he assumed that Shi Nuan would more or less be pissed to hear about Shen Qianan. He thought she would even throw a tantrum at him. No matter how tough and resilient Shi Nuan was, he knew that she was just as sensitive as any other woman in the world.
Seeing how surprised he looked, Shi Nuan looked amused. “So, is that the reason why you’ve been so moody over the past two days? I guess this is the thing Mr. Su was urging you to tell me just now, am I right?” She took a deep breath before she continued, “Yan, to be honest, I’m pissed. How can I not be? I’m angry because I care about you. But, now that you’ve decided to come clean with me, I can understand the reasons behind certain decisions you made.”
She walked up to him and held his hands. “I’m sure you have got a fair share of past relationships. In fact, I do too, and I’ve told you all about it.” She dragged him to sit down at the edge of the bed as she leaned her head against his chest. “Just like all women in the world, I feel jealous and bothered by the presence of other women around you. However, whatever the two of you used to have is now a thing of the past, isn’t it? Since you’ve chosen me as your wife, it can only mean that you’ve moved on from your past. I’m the only one on your mind right now. Am I right?”
Fu Chengyan turned to stare right into her clear eyes which were not tainted with doubt. Finally, his lips trembled as he nodded his head. “Yes, you’re absolutely right!” However, she was wrong about one thing – she was the first and only woman he had ever dated.
Shi Nuan heaved out a sigh of relief upon hearing what he said. “So, now that I’ve learned everything I should know, I’ve shown my reaction to it. There’s no more reason for you to be so down anymore.” Grinning, she threw herself into his arms. Yet, something suddenly struck her at that moment, prompting her to look up at him worryingly. “By the way, what did you mean when you said that I might bump into her tomorrow?”
Fu Chengyan entwined an arm of his around her body while playing with her hair with another hand.
Pursing her lips, Shi Nuan exclaimed with a crease on her forehead, “Don’t tell me she joined our company!”
She knew her guess was right when Fu Chengyan was keeping mum. Frantically, she shoved him away and leaped to her feet. “Was it all arranged by your grandfather?”
Fu Chengyan, too, sat upright, lamenting the tricky situation he found himself in deep down inside. He knew it would not be that easy to make Shi Nuan accept Shen Qianan’s presence.
Indeed, Shi Nuan freaked out at once. “Your grandfather is outrageous! I can’t believe he arranged a job at the company for your ex though he clearly knows that we’re married! Fu Chengyan, please don’t tell me he made that woman one of your secretaries!”
Fu Chengyan kept silent.
Shi Nuan’s face contorted with bitterness and rage in response to his silence. “Seems like my guess is spot-on! Your grandfather is really…” She was at a loss for words.
I don’t think I offended him before to make him resent me this much, have I? Does he think I’m not good enough for his grandson? Yes, I admit that I am not. But, I’ve been working very hard to be better for Fu Chengyan.
People generally deemed destroying a marriage a sin. However, Shi Nuan had no idea what to make of that old man, who clearly did not mind committing such a sin over and over again.
“Did he do that so that Shen Qianan would have more chances to spend time and get closer with you? I don’t understand why he did so since you’re already mine!” Shi Nuan said with a smirk. Despite feeling troubled by the situation, she couldn’t help but feel triumphant. She reached out to stroke Fu Chengyan’s jaw to get him to support her argument. “Don’t you think so?”
There was a hint of joy in Fu Chengyan’s eyes. Before he decided to tell her about Shen Qianan, he had been anticipating all possible reactions he might get from her. However, her actual reaction totally took him by surprise.
“You aren’t angry at me? Not even one bit?”
“Of course I am!” His grandfather’s attempt to tempt her husband away was the most erratic she had ever seen. Shi Nuan had suffered a similar experience before whereby her ex-boyfriend was snatched away by her sister. Now that Fu Chengyan was her husband, she was not about to let anyone tempt him away without putting up a proper fight.
She let out a sigh in resignation. “Seriously, I can’t even describe how mad I am now!” she scowled, looking exasperated. “However, when I think of the fact that the woman was merely your fiancée who did not get to marry you in the end, I stop seeing the reason to stay mad all of a sudden. Clearly, I’m the winner here as I’m your legal wife. Unless you decide to dump me, no one can snatch you away from me!”
With that, she jumped back to the bed and landed squarely on Fu Chengyan’s lap.
The man reached out to hold her still with his eyes brimming with delight.
Meanwhile, Shi Nuan rested both hands on his shoulder and demanded, “Tell me that you are mine!”
“I’m yours!” He nodded.
Shi Nuan was pleased with his reaction. “Voilà, problem solved!” She was not going to let Fu Zhengyan’s scheme get on her nerves because Fu Chengyan was hers no matter what. Their marriage was recognized by law, and no one would be able to ruin it.
At the same time, she also had enough confidence in Fu Chengyan that he would stay loyal to her. She reached out to pinch his cheeks. “I’m not worthy as your wife if I’m such a petty person.”
This time, Fu Chengyan laughed with genuine delight. Stroking her cheeks affectionately, he said, “Indeed.”
“However, you’d better watch your behavior too. Although I don’t mind her working with you, I can’t help but feel irritated whenever I picture you spending any amount of time with her!”
“Don’t worry about that. Have you ever seen me even sparing a glance at any of my secretaries?”
“Mai Qi!” Shi Nuan blurted with her brow raised. “I’m sure you must have looked at Mai Qi before!”
Fu Chengyan shook his head resignedly. “Don’t worry; I’ve already let Mai Qi assign some tedious but unimportant tasks to Shen Qianan. For your information, Mai Qi is the only one out of my many secretaries who are allowed access to my office.”
Only then did Shi Nuan feel relieved. Tugging the end of his tie, she said, “That’s more like it! Yan, you know that I was betrayed before in my previous relationship. Please don’t be someone who does the same thing to me.”
Fu Chengyan extended his long arms and drew her into his embrace. Then, he flipped over, resting his body on top of her on the bed. In a gentle motion, he stroked her cheeks and muttered, “Darling, I think we’ve got better things to do now than discussing this.” Don’t worry; I will never betray you for as long as I’m alive.
When Shi Nuan woke up the next morning, she found Fu Chengyan standing by the bed, watching her. The man was already immaculately dressed and ready to head off to work. She blinked her eyes and let out a weary moan. Fu Chengyan reached out to her and scooped her squishy body up from the bed. “Did I wear you out last night?”
Shi Nuan’s face flushed with embarrassment at once. Meanwhile, she let herself snuggle in his arms, nuzzling her face against his chest like a little kitten. Smacking her lips, she slurred, “It’s all your fault!” After they had a heart-to-heart talk last night, Shi Nuan was suddenly in the mood to flirt with Fu Chengyan. However, she was not pleased with how differently the night ended for the two of them. While Fu Chengyan looked as energetic as ever, she felt so weak that she could barely open her eyes.
Fu Chengyan dragged her to the bathroom and let her perch on the counter. Then, he squeezed out some toothpaste on her toothbrush and placed it next to her mouth. “Open your mouth, please!”
Only then did she open her mouth as well as her eyes.
Giggling, she slung her arms around his neck and said, “Yan, your voice was so domineering just now. You sounded like my master!”
Fu Chengyan was left speechless.
Upon seeing him remain silent, Shi Nuan raised her brows and grazed her feet against his calves. “Hey there, master!”
Fu Chengyan’s eyes immediately darkened with desire. Just as he was about to speak, she reached out to press her hand against his mouth. “Do you like it when I call you that?”
Seeing the slyness in her eyes, Fu Chengyan shook his head helplessly before pushing her hand away from his mouth. “Chop-chop, we’re going to be late.”
“Oh, you’re right!” Shi Nuan nodded. “Why don’t you go out first and get ready?”
She pushed him away. The moment she jumped off the counter, she found herself landing straight into his arms. “You aren’t wearing slippers, remember? I bet you won’t want to feel the tiles in such cold weather.”
