Which incident from this morning? Is this about Shen Qianan bringing her kid to work? wondered Shi Nuan. Shi Nuan raised an eyebrow and said, “Indeed. Apparently, someone brought their kid to work today.”
Hearing Shi Nuan’s tone made Fu Chengyan breathe a small sigh of relief. Knowing that she wasn’t upset, he relaxed a little. “Shall we go back to the Fu Residence?
“Okay!” she replied enthusiastically.
Ever since the Fu clan knew of Shi Nuan’s existence, she had not taken extra measures to avoid them. In fact, she was quite composed in spite of the incident at Fu Zhengyun’s birthday banquet. Shi Nuan smirked, satisfied at her performance overall.
“When are we going tonight?” she asked. Since Fu Zhengyun had already made clear his dislike of her, she reckoned that any more forbearance on her part would just worsen her status in the family.
“After work. I’ll come pick you up!”
“Very well.” Shi Nuan hung up and noticed that Yuan Jia was staring at her with a very odd expression. She reached up and gave Yuan Jia a playful shove, saying, “Alright, back to work with you!”
It was the Fu clan’s family banquet tonight. Having not disclosed the nature of their relationship before, Fu Chengyan had never brought Shi Nuan to family gatherings. Even though the family found out later, Shi Nuan was not on good terms with Fu Zhengyun, and so she did not attend. However, she refused to compromise this time.
Now that Shen Qianan If she had to tolerate any more grievances, she might be seen as a doormat to be bullied by everyone else in the family. After all, such incidents had occurred in the past.
Finally, Shi Nuan got off work and went to the underground parking lot to wait for Fu Chengyan. To her surprise, she ran into Shen Qianan instead. Shen Qianan also noticed Shi Nuan in the distance and greeted her amicably in spite of her look of astonishment.
Shi Nuan raised a finely plucked brow and coolly said, “Actually, you should address me as Mrs. Fu.”
Hearing that, Shen Qianan’s face paled slightly. “Ah, look at how forgetful I am. You did marry Yan, after all.”
“You’re quite busy with your personal affairs, and forgetting is natural after all. But of course, Ms. Shen, surely you’re familiar with the three strikes rule? Do you wish for people to gossip about your terrible memory at such a young age?”
“Why are you being so aggressive toward me, Ms. Shi? Everything between Yan and me is all in the past! What happened that day was just an accident! You guys are fine, right? If you still harbor resentment toward each other over the misunderstanding, then I have committed a grave sin indeed.” Shen Qianan hurriedly tried to explain herself. The mild expression on Shi Nuan’s face frustrated her to no end.
Flustered, Shen Qianan tried again. “Look, you’ve reconciled with Yan, haven’t you? Why else would you be waiting for him here now?”
Shi Nuan still didn’t speak. Her expression bore the same faint smile from earlier as she gazed at Shen Qianan with mild interest. Every word that fell from Shi Qianan’s lips piqued her curiosity. Shen Qianan was unable to tell what Shi Nuan was thinking. Somehow, both Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan are similar in that regard. Unpredictable and very hard to read.
Shi Nuan glanced at Shen Qianan with a smirk on her face, noting how the latter’s features seemed to be quite stiff.
“Today is the Fu clan’s family banquet. I figured Yan would go back to the mansion first, so I’m waiting for him here. Don’t mind me, Ms. Shi!” Tentatively, Shen Qianan continued, “You may not be aware that the banquet is today, Ms. Shi. Back then, they’d have a banquet once a week and all family members would have to attend, including Yan. You may have to go back on your own.”
Shi Nuan still had the smirk from earlier, but her eyes were lowered so Shen Qianan couldn’t see her expression that clearly. With an air of indifference, Shi Nuan reached into her purse for her phone and tapped on it, completely ignoring Shen Qianan.
“Ms. Shi, you’re not angry, are you? I honestly didn’t mean anything by that, I just…” Shen Qianan trailed off, embarrassed by the indifference.
Shi Nuan tapped a few keys and read the reply to her message and smirked again. She then put her phone away and turned to address Shen Qianan quite solemnly, “Angry? Goodness me, why should I be angry?”
“Well…” Shen Qianan cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly. “I honestly didn’t mean anything by what I said earlier. I’m worried you’d be angry, so—”
“You’re such a worrywart,” chuckled Shi Nuan. “Don’t worry, Ms. Shen, I’m not as sensitive or unforgiving as you perceive me to be.”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Shen Qianan’s face. She pursed her lips nervously and said, “That’s not what I mean, Ms. Shi!”
“I wasn’t implying anything either.” Shi Nuan smiled and casually walked to Fu Chengyan’s car. Leaning against the door, she said, “It’s as you said, Ms. Shen. I’m Fu Chengyan’s wife, so naturally, I’d have to attend today’s banquet. Why would I be angry with you for pointing that out? But you, Ms. Shen, you’ve attended banquets hosted by both the Fu clan and the Shen family. People who don’t know any better might think you’ve soured your relations with the Shen family!”
“Why, you! How could you say something like that?”
“Then what are you expecting me to say, Ms. Shen? I’m merely following your train of thought. If people know that there are outsiders present at the Fu clan’s banquet, what would everyone think? As of today, there are only four men in the Fu clan, and everyone is either married or has children. What do you have to say to that, Ms. Shen?”
“But… W-When I was with Yan back then, I-I used to attend their banquets too,” stammered Shen Qianan.
“That’s all in the past. It’s no longer the case today. Circumstances change all the time! I think someone as cultured as you understand how this works, right?” Having said that, Shi Nuan smirked at her once again. She then turned around to address the man who was behind Shen Qianan. “Yan!”
Fu Chengyan nodded and walked over. He held his car keys in one hand and clothes in the other. As he passed by Shen Qianan, he didn’t even spare her a glance. In one fluid motion, he handed the clothing over to Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan promptly received the item and asked, “You’re late. What kept you?”
“It was nothing too serious,” replied Fu Chengyan and opened the car door. “I’ll give you your own set of keys from now on. You shouldn’t have to stand outside and wait for me!” He reached over and put an arm around her shoulder. Shi Nuan responded with a cheerful “Okay!”
Fu Chengyan opened the door for Shi Nuan and carefully helped her inside. ”Let’s go buy some gifts first? I think going empty-handed isn’t a good look,” said Shi Nuan.
Fu Chengyan frowned. “We’re all family. I don’t think it’s a necessary gesture.” He was just about to walk over to the driver’s seat when suddenly Shen Qianan called out to him.
Fu Chengyan turned around coldly. He had been ignoring her this whole time. As their eyes met, a chill ran down Shen Qianan’s spine.
Shen Qianan was unsure of how to speak under his harsh glare.
“What is it?” Fu Chengyan’s icy voice pierced through Shen Qianan, who shuddered and bit her lip. She asked, “Since today is the family banquet, you’ll have to go, right? Can you give me a ride?”
Fu Chengyan curled his lips into a sneer, his expression distant. “Sorry. Car’s too small.”
Shen Qianan was left reeling from the response. “But…” Small? How is the car small? It’s a goddamn Maybach!
But since Fu Chengyan refused, what more could she say? She could not possibly be brazen enough to insist on riding with them as she was not that shameless.
Shen Qianan thought of her earlier conversation with Shi Nuan and clenched her fists. She couldn’t believe that they had actually reconciled.
This was not the Shi Nuan I had envisioned. She’s different.
Any other person who found that her husband had a child out there would surely be unhappy. Shen Qianan was expecting more of a fight.
But somehow, Shi Nuan was calm and collected. It was as if nothing had happened at all.
Shen Qianan face paled again, as she recalled something Shi Nuan had said. Shen Qianan’s most powerful weapon was in fact Yu, and using him was definitely the strongest trick she could pull. However, the same trick would not work twice, for this barely caused a ripple in light of the current situation.
Fu Chengyan had gone back to ignoring Shen Qianan. He brusquely walked toward the driver’s seat and took his place.
Shi Nuan gave Fu Chengyan a smile. She then rolled down the car window to look at Shen Qianan.
“Ms. Shi? Surely you wouldn’t mind me hitching a ride?” asked Shen Qianan again.
Shi Nuan smiled and said, “Of course I mind!”
Shen Qianan was taken aback. Shi Nuan continued, “Didn’t Yan already say the car is too small? See for yourself, we’re already squished! If we allow another passenger, it’ll be impossible to sit down at all!” She gave Shen Qianan a sarcastic grin. “Why don’t you make a call and ask the Fu clan to give you a lift instead? You said you’re family too!”
Shi Nuan closed the car window, and the grin she had promptly disappeared.
Fu Chengyan raised a questioning eyebrow and reached out to hold Shi Nuan’s hand. “May?”
Shi Nuan gave him a faint smirk. “I’m fine.” There wasn’t much to it, to begin with.
She admired Shen Qianan’s audacity but hadn’t expected her to take it this far. ”What on earth was she thinking? What is she trying to do?” wondered Shi Nuan aloud. She took out her phone from her bag and played their recorded conversation over the speaker.
Fu Chengyan was aghast at the revelation. “She said that?”
“Yes!” Shi Nuan chuckled. “Fortunately, I’m not stupid. But of course, if I really were dumb enough to believe that, wouldn’t I have asked for a divorce right away?” Shi Nuan paused briefly and tutted. “However, I should actually thank her.”
“Huh?” Fu Chengyan looked at Shi Nuan suspiciously. “Thank her for what?”
“Well, she helped me to distinguish my feelings for you. Ah, how clever I am. Of course, if you’re unkind to me, naturally, there will be hell to pay!” said Shi Nuan with the hint of a threat. With an arrogant look, she continued, “Do you think I went overboard? That look on her face was priceless!”
“No, you did a good job!” Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrows, and playfully pinched the tip of Shi Nuan’s nose. “You’re so good at bullying people!”
