Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, Fu Chengyan wanted to leave, but Shi Nuan grabbed his arm to stop him. He looked at her helplessly as she fussed, “Yan!”
“Alright!” Fu Chengyan lifted the blanket and laid beside Shi Nuan. Then, like a koala, she lifted her leg and hugged him. He wanted to pry away from her, but she held onto him tightly, so without a choice, he stayed in the same position.
When Shi Nuan woke up from her sleep again, Fu Chengyan was gone.
She did not know how long she had slept, but she felt refreshed. As the lounge was connected to Fu Chengyan’s office, she could hear everything that was going on outside.
When the lounge’s windows and doors were closed, no one can see the inside of it from the office. In contrast, Shi Nuan could see the office from the lounge.
As she was about to open the door, she heard a voice. With her hand already on the doorknob, she paused immediately.
“Yan, don’t you have anything to say to me?”
It’s a woman’s voice, and I can’t tell who it is. Is this Shen Qianan’s voice?
Isn’t she at Shen Shixiu’s place? He told us that he would be leaving Jiang City with her. If she’s here, is she hoping that Fu Chengyan would stop her from leaving?
Shi Nuan frowned and loosened her grip on the doorknob. She pressed her ear against the door and heard Shen Qianan continue. “Yan, do you still have feelings for me? Shixiu told me some things, but I refused to believe his words. You met me first, so your love to me probably was projected on Shi Nuan instead…”
“Are you done?” Fu Chengyan stopped her midsentence as he raised his head to look at her coldly. With no trace of emotions in his eyes, he glared at Shen Qianan like she was a stranger to him.
“If you are done, I want you to scram,” he ordered.
Upset, Shen Qianan whined, “Yan, how can you do this to me? I know you were angry with me for betraying you then. However, you need to understand that I did not do it willingly. Those people kidnapped me because of you. Have you forgotten everything we’ve been through together?”
“Are you talking about how you saved me?” Fu Chengyan spat. “If that’s the matter you are referring to, you should also remember that I have fulfilled the promise I’ve made to you in the same year. Don’t you recall it?”
With one hand on the table, he stood up and glared at Shen Qianan, with lasers shooting out of his eyes.
Shaken by Fu Chengyan’s words, Shen Qianan stammered, “I…” Her face turned pale as she tried to continue, “Yan, that year…”
“Did you come here today to test me and to find out if my relationship with May is destructible? Or, are you just not willing to let it go? Perhaps, you don’t even want to go back to the capital, and you are only using me as a cover,” Fu Chengyuan firmly stated.
Taken aback, Shen Qianan took two steps back and looked at Fu Chengyan in shock. “How can you treat me like this?”
“Is this not the way I deserve to respond?” Fu Chengyuan scoffed.
Shen Qianan stood tall and spat back, “You have never loved me. The only reason why you were nice to me then was because I resembled Shi Nuan. Haha, does she know that you took me as her replacement?” Shen Qianan gritted her teeth and reasoned. “Fu Chengyan, you are such a hypocrite. If I did not run into that situation, and you did not meet Shi Nuan coincidentally, we would have gotten married. If so, your love for Shi Nuan now isn’t genuine at all, you…”
Glaring at Shen Qianan, Fu Chengyan interrupted her, “Who do you think you are? Those are merely conclusions you recklessly jumped into.”
Shen Qianan bit her lips in disbelief. “I don’t believe you.”
“What is there to believe? When I met May, I did not even know where you were.” Fu Chengyan stated with a smile on his face. “I was nice to you because you saved me once. Yes, you happened to look like May, but I never had any indecent thoughts about you.”
“That’s impossible! I don’t believe it. Given so, why did you not deny your feelings in front of the Fu clan? Why bother doing all those things to make others misunderstand?” Shen Qianan insisted.
“Maybe you are right. I am a hypocrite.” Fu Chengyan did not bother about his reputation. He stuck his hands in his pocket and looked unbothered. “Well, you were useful to me. At such a young age, you were so good at scheming, and every woman that approached me were no match for you.”
“Were you using me as a shield?” Shen Qianan broke down after knowing the truth. “Fu Chengyan, how can you do that to me? You knew that I loved you, yet you were so heartless to treat me like that.”
Fu Chengyan narrowed his eyes at her. “Do I have to like you just because you like me?” He mocked her. As his lips curled into a smile, he commented, “It was a win-win situation for both of us then. I helped you escape from the Shen family while you helped take care of my problems. Isn’t that how it worked? I thought you were smart enough to see through it.”
“Fu Chengyan, does Shi Nuan know that this is the real you?” Shen Qianan felt wronged and was disgusted by him.
I have never expected that I’d be someone like that to him. It’s so unfair that he never thought of me as his fiancée while all these years I…
Shen Qianan expression darkened. “Are you not afraid of retribution?”
“Retribution? Even if there is such a thing, I have already done many bad things. Thus, one-time retribution would be bearable. However, I have always been lucky and have yet to experience it. Well, you might not even live to see me suffering from it,” Fu Chengyan replied arrogantly. Utterly disappointed, Shen Qianan looked at him blankly.
I always knew that he was ruthless. After all, I have seen so many of his schemes over the past few years. However, I have never been his target. Unlike today…
Shen Qianan’s expression turned ugly. I came all the way here today just to be humiliated.
She laughed bitterly, “Well, that’s good to know.”
Fu Chengyuan eyes narrowed as he studied Shen Qianan’s expression. He pursed his lips and whispered after a long time, “Aren’t you a hypocrite too?”
Confused, Shen Qianan looked into his eyes. Fu Chengyan snorted, “You are willing to do anything to get what you want.”
“What do you mean?” Shen Qianan asked as her expression changed. “I don’t know what you are talking about!’
“Who was that man, Huang Daocang, from three years ago? Do you really not know who he is?” Fu Chengyuan walked and stopped in front of her. He gave her a condescending look and muttered, “That man…is Yu’s biological father, right?”
“I don’t know what you are saying! Yu is your son!” Shen Qianan fervently denied.
“I have never even touched you, so how is that even possible?” Fu Chengyan scanned Shen Qianan from head to toe and continued, “The evidence you made me destroy must be related to that man. However, you did not expect that man to dump you after I erased the evidence, right?”
Shen Qianan looked at him in horror.
Gritting her teeth, she kept quiet. Despite that, the way she trembled revealed her emotions.
Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrows and questioned, “Yu is part of the Fu clan. Therefore, that man must be from the Fu clan too, am I right?”
“I don’t know. You are spouting nonsense!” Shen Qianan suddenly yelled.
Then, she pushed Fu Chengyan roughly and shook her head repeatedly in denial. “I don’t know what you are saying!”
“You probably don’t want to leave Jiang City because of him, not me. Is he in Jiang City then? Or, is he coming here?” Fu Chengyuan speculated.
Shen Qianan fell to the ground, still repeating the words, “I don’t know.”
Looking at Shen Qianan’s reaction, Fu Chengyan knew he was right, so he stepped back.
Then, he squatted down to look at Shen Qianan. “Actually, you probably still have a way out if you did not come to see me today.”
Shen Qianan bit her lips while Fu Chengyan looked away and stood up. He turned his back to her and continued, “That man is after the Fu clan, so he kidnapped you three years ago. However, he did not expect me to send you away nor for you to develop feelings for him.”
Shen Qianan choked, “No, I don’t love him. You don’t know what you are saying. You don’t even know what I’ve been through in those three months. Every time I fell into despair, you are the first person that comes to mind. In contrast, am I the first person that comes to your mind? It turns out that you were only using me all this while. He thought that I was someone you cared most for, so he kidnapped me and humiliated me. When all these were happening, what were you doing? After you knew someone kidnapped me, you were still with the Song family in the capital. Fu Chengyan, you have never loved me. Since you never did, why did you make use of me? You are despicable! A person like you should go to hell. How can your conscience be clear?”
Fu Chengyan chuckled in response. “Well, I remember telling you that I don’t love you. Don’t you remember?
Shen Qianan tightened her fists as Fu Chengyan looked at her calmly. “I don’t believe anyone but myself. Neither do I bother about religions and superstitions. Since I have already made it clear to you, whatever you do next has nothing to do with me.”
Then he scoffed, “What’s wrong? Are you upset with my reply?”
Shen Qianan trembled. Her body felt cold, as though she was stuck in a cold room.
How can he do this to me?
Why?
Is it simply because I look like Shi Nuan? Therefore, I deserved it? ”If Shi Nuan realizes who you really are, she will think that you are a devil too,” Shen Qianan spat.
Fu Chengyan smirked and responded, “Perhaps she will.”
“Fu Chengyan!”
Fu Chengyan stated, “Spit it out. What is your true purpose for coming here today? If you want an answer, Shen Shixiu probably has told you. This time, I’m telling you this for free. If you are still not satisfied…”
“Enough! Fu Chengyan, you are too much. You are just like Shen Shixiu, a devil!” Shen Qianan cursed.
“A devil!” She reemphasized.
Deciding that he had said enough, Fu Chengyan offered, “Since you saved me before, and I have already repaid you for it, I can still grant you another wish.”
Raising her head, Shen Qianan boldly insisted, “I want you to marry me.”
