“You really aren’t fat!” Fu Chengyan sighed to make himself sound more convincing. “You’re pregnant, remember? Your tummy is going to slowly get bigger. It’s only natural that your body weight is going to increase. You mustn’t starve yourself, okay?”
“Okay, okay! I was joking!” Of course, Shi Nuan knew better than to do something that reckless.
The thought of Fu Chengyan caring that much about her made her really happy, but she refused to admit it. “That’s easy for you to say! You’re not the one who’s getting fat!”
“May!” Fu Chengyan frowned. “Listen, the doctor said you’re too thin and weak, so the baby isn’t getting enough nutrients. Being malnourished will make it difficult for you to give birth later on, which is bad for both you and the baby. So, be a good girl and eat well, okay?”
“All right!” Shi Nuan agreed with puckered lips.
“If you’re afraid of being fat, I can get fat with you!” Fu Chengyan pinched her on the nose. “Apart from the stuff exclusively for women, I’ll have the chef at home prepare an extra set of whatever you’re eating. What do you say?”
“Really?” Shi Nuan didn’t expect him to go that far for her. She felt touched and pinched his cheeks as she said, “You don’t have to do that, you know? I was just being a little melodramatic, that’s all!”
“No, I’m a man of my word. Starting tonight, I’ll be eating whatever you eat!”
Fu Chengyan then dialed the number to the Fu Residence and requested that the chef prepare an extra set of Shi Nuan’s meals for him.
Ning Xin was the one who answered the call, and she had a confused look on her face after hearing that. “But Nuan’s meals are specially catered for pregnant women! Are you sure you want to eat that?”
“Yeah, I can’t let May be the only one getting fat! She doesn’t like that!”
“Okay, then…” Ning Xin sighed and burst into laughter. “Honestly, you two never fail to surprise me!”
Fu Chengyan hung up the phone, and Shi Nuan kissed him on the cheek. “I love you so much, Yan!”
“Really?”
“Mhmm!” Shi Nuan nodded. “I love you more and more each day! What should I do?”
What Fu Chengyan did was more than enough for Shi Nuan. Most pregnant women would worry about their husbands cheating during pregnancy, but Shi Nuan didn’t have to worry about that at all.
“Then love me even more.”
Fu Chengyan smiled and pinched her on the cheek. “Hey, May.”
“Hmm?”
“I love you!”
“I love you too!”
Shu Qing had been staying in the hospital for a week, completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world.
Actually, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be… There are so many things that are beyond my control, after all. Besides, Su Shaoqing would update me on stuff every now and then. I gotta say, he is just as cunning and dangerous as Su Huaibei… He certainly lives up to the Su family’s reputation for being cold-blooded monsters!
Shu Qing pretended to be asleep when she saw Su Shaoqing coming in, but he had a way to make her respond to him every time.
“Ms. Shu, aren’t you interested in the reason I came here today?”
Shu Qing had her back towards him, so she thought there was nothing he could do if he couldn’t see her face.
However, she was naive to underestimate Su Shaoqing’s persistence.
“Tsk tsk… What a shame… I thought you’d be interested in what I found out about Shen Qianan today.”
“What have you done to her? Did Su Huaibei tell you to do this? I’m warning you, don’t hurt her! You tell Su Huaibei that if he so much as touches her, I’ll make sure he regrets it for the rest of his life!” Shu Qing lost her cool when she heard him mention Shen Qianan.
“Oh? Su Shaoqing raised an eyebrow. “What, you think Uncle Huaibei is the only one who can hurt her? Why are you so afraid of him? Or rather, what did you do to cross him?”
“I did no such thing!” Shu Qing glared at him fiercely. “Don’t bother trying to talk me out of this. I will never forgive him, no matter what he does!”
Su Shaoqing was amused by her behavior. “Heh, I don’t even know where Uncle Huaibei is. You’re my only source of information on him right now! Do tell, why do you look so nervous?”
Shu Qing pursed her lips. “What have you guys done to Shen Qianan?”
“Are you and Shen Feng really her parents?”
Shu Qing kept quiet.
“What about Shi Nuan, then? Is it also the same for her?”
“No, she is unworthy!” Shu Qing sprung up immediately when she heard that. She gritted her teeth and stared at Su Shaoqing angrily. “Stop wasting your time! You’ll never find out who Shi Nuan’s parents are! Hahaha!”
“You…”
“What’s it to you anyway? Is she your mistress or something?”
Su Shaoqing reached out and grabbed her chin. “How could you say such a nasty thing about your daughter?”
“No, she’s not! She’s just a bastard child! She shouldn’t even exist! I should’ve strangled her to death when I had the chance! The world would be a better place without her!” Shu Qing’s eyes reddened with hatred.
Su Shaoqing shoved her away. “What did you say? I dare you to say that again!”
“I could say it a million times, and it still wouldn’t change a thing! She’s a bastard child destined to be degraded for life! Su Huaibei tells me she got married to Fu Chengyan. Who the hell is she to marry someone like him, huh? He belongs to An!”
“You’re crazy!” Su Shaoqing had gotten the answers he wanted, and so he decided to leave her alone. “I think you’re all better now, Ms. Shu. We’ll have you discharged tomorrow!”
Su Shaoqing then returned to his office, and Jiang Hu went inside after him. “Mr. Su!”
“What’s the status of that task I assigned you?”
“It’s been taken care of! Why’d you have my men stand guard at Emerald Garden, though? There’s no one there at all!” Jiang Hu asked.
“Really?” Su Shaoqing smirked. “Have your men keep a close eye on Shu Qing. I want to know where she goes tomorrow.”
“Yes, Sir!”
When Su Shaoqing noticed Jiang Hu still standing there, he asked, “Is there something else you want to tell me?”
Jiang Hu nodded. “It’s about Qin Xiaoxiao. She’s confirmed to be dead, but she did go somewhere before she left Jiang City.”
“Where did she go?”
“A clinic in Bin City, but she was only there for a short while. She left the country after that, and then she encountered Ms. Fu.”
Su Shaoqing nodded. All of this tallies with what Fu Ling said. ”What about her child?”
“Qin Xiaoxiao died shortly after giving birth, so Ms. Fu adopted the child.” Jiang Hu noticed the grim look on Su Shaoqing’s face. “Mr. Su?”
“Who has Qin Xiaoxiao been in close contact with before leaving Jiang City?”
“Uh…”
“You didn’t find that out?” Both Su Shaoqing’s tone and his gaze were ice-cold as he glared at Jiang Hu. “I’m sorry, Mr. Su! Conducting investigations like these isn’t my specialty, to begin with! I think Liang Lin or Zhou Zheng would be able to do a better job at it!”
Jiang Hu pleaded apologetically.
Su Shaoqing rolled his eyes and waved him off. “Fine, you’re dismissed!”
He waited until Jiang Hu had left before whipping out a box of cigarettes. Though Su Shaoqing had quit smoking for many years, he would still smoke whenever he felt stressed out.
This time, he was stressed because of Fu Ling and Shi Nuan.
I never had any great ambitions in life… I was content with being able to do the things I like. Sure, I may have been a bit of a jerk during my younger days and caused a lot of trouble alongside Fu Chengyan and the others, but my methods weren’t as nasty as theirs. Man… Right when I thought there was nothing more to my life, Fu Ling came along and changed everything. She used to annoy and frustrate me a lot, but now… She’s left me plagued with guilt and self-blame… As for Shi Nuan… Well, I certainly didn’t expect us to have such a connection. I didn’t think something I said in the spur of the moment would end up becoming reality! She’s most likely the child of Shu Qing and Su Huaibei! I bet Shu Qing’s strong reaction earlier must have something to do with Su Huaibei. If that’s the case, it would make sense as to why Shu Qing had Shen Qianan stay with the Shen family and left Shi Nuan with Jiang Shizheng, who then handed her over to Jiang Yu.
Su Shaoqing put out his cigarette and took a deep breath before calling Fu Chengyan. “I think Shi Nuan is Uncle Huaibei’s daughter.”
“I see.”
“What do you plan on doing?”
“For now, I’m going to keep it a secret from May.”
The whole thing was too complicated, and he was worried that it would be too much for Shi Nuan to handle in her current condition.
Fu Chengyan wasn’t going to let anything nor anyone stress Shi Nuan out.
“But Shu Qing is in Jiang City right now, and I doubt Shen Qianan will leave her alone. You’d better be prepared because this is most likely going to blow up soon!”
Fu Chengyan lowered his gaze. “Where is Su Huaibei right now?”
“I don’t know yet. I had some guys keep an eye on Emerald Garden, but a week has passed with no sign of him at all.”
