“Mr. Su!” Shi Nuan was slightly taken aback to see Su Bancheng present as well.
Su Bancheng nodded in acknowledgement as he looked at Shi Nuan. Indeed, she is a beauty just as Su Shaoqing described. The look in Su Bancheng’s eyes was that of pure admiration for the woman’s beauty, without any other intentions. Shi Nuan smiled faintly at him in response.
Fu Chengyan narrowed his eyes. Even though he knew that Su Bancheng did not mean anything else, just as any other men, Fu Chengyan still felt slightly jealous and pulled Shi Nuan closer toward himself. “Mr. Su!” He greeted Su Bancheng as well.
The rest of the crowd were bewildered to see that the four of them seemed to be enjoying their conversation, especially when they noticed that both Su Bancheng and Su Shaoqing were on close terms with the woman. The most shocking moment was when they heard Su Shaoqing address the woman as ‘Mrs. Fu.” When they heard Su Bancheng also addressing the woman as ‘Mrs. Fu” a moment later, everyone’s jaws dropped.
“What? Second Master Fu is already married?”
“When did Mr. Fu get married? Who is that woman?”
“Exactly! It’s such big news that Mr. Fu is married. How could it be that no one in Jiang City is aware of it?”
“Maybe they intend to announce it at a later date. Like today?”
Shi Wei’s face turned ghastly pale and she further tightened her grip on her wine glass as sounds of the crowd’s reactions traveled to her ears, which sounded just like voices from hell. “Mrs. Fu? Ha! Fu Xicheng, did you hear that? Shi Nuan is so capable. Even though she was unable to become your wife, she had become Mrs. Fu Chengyan instead. I really can’t believe it. Mom and I were so concerned about her happiness and tried introducing a few men to her but she did not even inform us that she has gotten married! Besides, her husband is the mighty Fu Chengyan!”
A look of menace appeared on Shi Wei’s face as she spoke while she fixed her stare on Shi Nuan and the few men surrounding her. Every single one of those men was able to hold their own forts and exert their influences over Jiang City. Never had Shi Wei imagined that Shi Nuan would be acquainted with them.
Not only was she acquainted with them, but she had also even married Fu Chengyan, the most powerful of them all.
Seeing how close they were, Shi Wei was sure that they did not just get to know each other. Have they known each other for a long time? How about the marriage between Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan? Did they already get married long ago?
Shi Nuan recalled the times when she racked her brains trying to get Shi Nuan to marry Yun Shen or Su Bancheng so that her sister would no longer harbor any ideas toward Fu Xicheng. Although her wish had come true, she did not feel any sense of relief as she had imagined she would.
That was because the man Shi Nuan ended up marrying was Fu Chengyan, the future head of the Fu clan which was one of the most influential and powerful families in Jiang City’s history. Fu Chengyan was such a man. After Fu Chengyan officially takes over the position as the head of his clan, won’t that make Shi Nuan the matriarch? She will become the envy of many then.
Shi Wei bit her lip as she analyzed the situation and her eyes turned bloodshot. She could not believe that Shi Nuan had gotten so lucky. The woman also did not forget that her entertainment company was a subsidiary under Fu Chengyan’s group, which meant…
Shi Wei looked toward Fu Xicheng and said, “See, that woman probably thinks you’re not good enough for her!”
“Enough!” Fu Xicheng yelled at his wife as his expression darkened as well. It was obvious that the new piece of information was a huge blow to the man.
“Enough? Not enough!” Shi Wei let out a cold snort. “Since my sister has married so well, how can I, as her elder sister, not go over and send them my blessings? That wouldn’t make sense!”
Shi Wei was about to head over when Fu Xicheng quickly grabbed her arm and asked, “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m not trying to do anything. As her family, is there anything wrong with saying ‘hi’ to my sister and brother-in-law?” Shi Wei pushed aside Fu Xicheng’s hand and continued, “If you feel that it would embarrass you, you can just stay here!”
Shi Wei looked at her husband with a frosty gaze and let out another cold snort. Then, she took a new glass of wine from the waiter and walked toward Shi Nuan.
“Nuan, I’m so surprised to see you here!”
Actually, Shi Nuan had already seen Shi Wei approaching and understood that some things could not be avoided forever. If that were the case, she would choose to face them head-on.
As such, when Shi Wei came over and said such things, Shi Nuan merely responded by smiling faintly and replied, “It’s a surprise for me to bump into you here as well.” Then, with a broader and warmer smile, she continued, “Why are you here, Wei? I don’t remember informing you about Yan and me!”
Shi Wei’s expression changed abruptly as she replied, “Hehe, I came here with your brother-in-law. Have you forgotten that he also belongs to the Fu clan? Isn’t it just normal that I’m here as well?” Shi Wei shot a glance at Fu Chengyan, who was standing before Shi Nuan.
It was undeniable that Fu Chengyan was a beautiful sight just like a work of God. Shi Wei thought that she was used to meeting big shots and had dealt with countless situations in life, but still, her heart couldn’t help but started thumping faster when faced with the man.
With a bright spark in her eye, the woman smiled alluringly and said, “Nuan, you’re too much. Getting married is such a serious matter and yet you did not even inform the family about it. Is brother-in-law… “
“Brother-in-law?” Shi Nuan chuckled. “It doesn’t seem right for you to call him that!” Shi Nuan looked at Shi Wei with an amused glint in her eye, which sent a chill down Shi Wei’s spine. The latter sputtered, “W-Why not? You’re my sister! Naturally, Fu Chengyan is my brother-in-law. Isn’t he your husband?”
Shi Nuan nodded and replied, “Well, you can say so, but didn’t you just say that Fu Xicheng is also a member of the Fu clan? If that’s the case, according to seniority, you should be addressing Yan as ‘uncle’ and I’ll be your ‘aunt’.”
Shi Wei turned as white as a sheet when she heard that. She was gripping the wine glass so tightly that her knuckles had also turned white.
Although she had already cursed Shi Nuan countless times in her heart, she still forced herself to continue smiling. “Er… I… About this… I wasn’t aware that you and Mr. Fu had gotten married. Besides, Xicheng and I got married first and you’ve addressed him as brother-in-law for so long, haven’t you?”
Looking at Shi Wei’s pitiful expression, Shi Nuan couldn’t help but feel like giving her a standing ovation. This woman is indeed an actress! What a great pretense.
“Wei, I’m afraid you’ve gotten it wrong. When I married Yan, you and Fu Xicheng were only engaged to each other and not yet married. Since that’s the case, you should go according to Xicheng’s seniority in the family and address me as ‘aunt’. But of course, it feels a little strange too. Perhaps you should check with Fu Xicheng if he and Yan share a close relationship? Otherwise, we can just skip the titles.”
“Nuan, you… “
Shi Wei did not expect Shi Nuan to be so smooth-tongued. That had put Shi Wei into a tight spot.
As compared to Shi Wei’s miserable state, Shi Nuan had an obvious upper hand with her domineering aura.
Initially, the feud between those two sisters was supposed to be a family matter. However, since Shi Wei and Shi Nuan had already put it out in the open, everyone else heard it and was then aware that the relationship between them was not too good. As such, even if they had to take sides, they would obviously take the chance to butter up to Shi Nuan and not Shi Wei. It was an important time for the rest of the guests to show which side their loyalties lay.
At that instant, Shi Wei felt utterly humiliated but could not flare up at Shi Nuan in Fu Chengyan’s presence. If they were at home, she would have already taught Shi Nuan a good lesson. “Nuan, but marriage is not just a trivial matter. Why didn’t you at least inform the family? Dad, mom and granddad… Granddad has always treated you so well!”
“I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood, Wei. Both Granddad and Grandpa were notified of our marriage and we’ve even had a meal together. The reason you’re not aware could be because you were too busy filming. It’s not surprising that you’re unaware of the latest updates given that you’re always not at home!”
Throughout the conversation, Shi Nuan had kept a smile on her face, which had rendered those skills which Shi Wei had learnt from the entertainment industry useless.
“What? Did you just say that Granddad and Grandpa already knew?”
“Yup, as you have said, marriage is a serious matter. So, of course I’d have to inform them beforehand.” With her arm linked with Fu Chengyan’s, Shi Nuan tilted her head to one side and continued, “However, we have not had a wedding banquet yet. Even though you’ve missed out on our marriage registration, we will be happy to have you at our banquet. We’ll look forward to receiving a big red packet from you.”
“S-Sure! I definitely will! After all, you’re my only sister!” Shi Wei spoke through gritted teeth, but Shi Nuan had maintained the same expression throughout.
If it were in the past, Shi Nuan could never win Shi Wei in an argument. However, after being with Fu Chengyan for so long, she had been influenced and learnt a little from him.
“Wei, your husband seems a little lonely standing alone over there. Do you want to go take a look?”
Only then did Shi Wei leave begrudgingly.
After watching a good show, Su Shaoqing and Su Bancheng looked at Shi Nuan with approval, especially Su Shaoqing. The innocuous smile on his face explained his mood at that moment. “Mrs. Fu is so cool!”
Shi Nuan smiled and replied, “Thanks for the compliment!”
“OK, since you guys are the hosts for the event tonight, we shall leave you to it.” After Su Shaoqing and Su Bancheng left, Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan exchanged glances with each other. Letting out a sigh, Shi Nuan asked, “Who was it who allowed Shi Wei and Fu Xicheng to come in?”
Fu Chengyan’s eyes glinted and soon after, Zhou Zheng came over. The assistant leaned in and whispered something besides Fu Chengyan’s ear, after which a startled expression appeared on his face. With a cold glint in his eye, Fu Chengyan asked, “Are you sure about it?”
Zhou Zheng nodded and replied, “Yes, I’ve checked carefully.”
The corners of Fu Chengyan’s lips curled up. Even though he looked like he was smiling, his expression was cold. “Take them away first. We’ll talk about it later!”
“Understood!” Shi Nuan looked at Fu Chengyan after Zhou Zheng left and asked, “What happened?”
“It’s nothing important.”
“Oh!” Shi Nuan pouted and said, “You haven’t answered me just now. Regarding Shi Wei and Fu Xicheng… Was it someone from the Fu clan who let them in?” Even if it weren’t Fu Zhengyun, it could be Song Zhenyan, or even Shen Qianan.
Shi Nuan was sure that it could not be Fu Heng nor Ning Xin. As for Fu Chengyan’s dad, she wasn’t too certain about that.
“Yup, don’t worry, they can’t do anything to you!” Fu Chengyan patted the back of Shi Nuan’s hand and said, “I’m here!”
Shi Nuan smiled faintly and replied, “I know.” She felt very safe because of him. With her husband around, she wasn’t afraid of anything. Even if she had already known that it wouldn’t be a peaceful night, at least she would have the strength to endure through it. “If I perform badly, you have to stay by my side.”
“I will!” Fu Chengyan flashed a comforting smile at Shi Nuan and said, “I’ll always be by your side!”
Not far away, there was a pair of eyes that was fixed on Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan. The woman clenched her fists tightly and bit her lip while having a pained look in her eyes.
Yan, are you really in love with her? What about me then?
