Chapter 513 Relations With The Yun family
Fu Chengyan nodded, giving his consent silently. However, Shi Nuan noticed the subtly unwilling expression on his face. Her eyes rounded as she asked, “The Yun family? Which one do you mean?”
Fu Chengyan’s dark gaze fell on her. He raised his eyebrow, and she instantly understood what he meant. “You mean Yun Shen?”
He then nodded while responding flatly, “Who else would it be? There’s only one Yun family in all of Jiang City.”
“I thought the Fu clan was not close to the Yun family!” Shi Nuan said as she clicked her tongue. That was because she rarely heard about the Yun family from Fu Chengyan even though she had been with him for a long time. If not for Jiang Yu, who had her eyes on Yun Shen all the time because she wanted to matchmake Shi Nuan and Yun Shen, Shi Nuan would have no impression of the Yun family at all.
Upon listening to all that, Ning Xin smiled. “It’s only understandable that you don’t know. After all, we aren’t that close with the Yun family. It’s just that it has something to do with the last generations of the two families, so we somehow share the same bloodline. Regardless, you don’t have to be too concerned about it.”
Shi Nuan nodded. It looks like both families don’t have a really close relationship. Nonetheless, since it’s Old Mrs. Yun’s birthday, as the younger generation, it’s only right that we visit out of respect.
She went upstairs, she hesitated for a while before eventually asking Fu Chengyan, “Why have you never talked about the Yun family with me?”
“Do you want to know about them?” questioned Fu Chengyan in return.
“When have you become so interested in gossip?” He removed his jacket and looked at Shi Nuan. Despite teasing her, he still gave a brief explanation about what happened between the last generations of the two families. “Although we don’t interact much with the Yun family, we’re more or less related to Old Mrs. Yun.”
“What does that mean?” Shi Nuan felt suspicious.
“Old Mrs. Yun was once a member of the Fu clan.”
That shocked Shi Nuan, who quickly asked, “A member of the Fu clan? Do you mean Old Mrs. Yun was once a member of our family?”
Fu Chengyan shook his head at her question. “Not at all!”
“Then, why did you say she’s a member of the Fu clan just now? What does that mean?” Shi Nuan became even more perplexed.
“Old Mrs. Yun’s name is Jiang Jingyun. She married my granduncle when she was younger, but my granduncle passed away at a young age. The Fu clan’s elders did not wish for her to be a widow, so they allowed her to look for another suitable man and get married again.”
It was then that realization dawned on Shi Nuan. “She married Yun Shen’s grandfather!”
“That’s right.” Fu Chengyan nodded.
He continued, “Although she got remarried, she was still in contact with the Fu clan. As you know, my grandpa used to visit the Yun family a lot before. My dad and Uncle Heng did the same. However, as time went by, the two families grew apart. Not to mention, Old Mr. Yun passed a few years ago, making the two families more distant.”
Shi Nuan finally understood the entire situation. When Old Master Yun was still alive, there was a reason for the two families to keep in contact. However, after he departed this world, the families no longer felt inclined to maintain ties with each other.
“Still, we should attend Old Mrs. Yun’s upcoming birthday,” said Fu Chengyan.
Shi Nuan frowned. Even though what he said was right, she felt slightly reluctant to attend Old Mrs. Yun’s birthday banquet.
Fu Chengyan could tell that Shi Nuan was upset from her bitter expression.
“All we have to do is show up for a while. I know you don’t like banquets, but please,” Fu Chengyan consoled, knowing that the latter did not want to see Yun Shen, but he did not say it outrightly.
Knowing that the decision had gotten made, Shi Nuan did not argue anymore. She relented, “All right.”
The day of Old Mrs. Yun’s birthday soon arrived. Shi Nuan did not have to worry about it too much as the birthday presents were all prepared by Ning Xin. After all, the latter was thoughtful and would unquestionably prepare decently thought out gifts.
The birthday banquet took place in a massive residence owned by the Yun family. Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan were not the hosts, so they did not have to go there early. Guests crowded the mansion in swarms by the time the couple arrived. Nonetheless, the lively atmosphere froze as soon as Fu Chengyan and Shi Nuan arrived.
Everyone recognized Fu Chengyan at once. The guests were all businessmen, and Old Mrs. Yun’s birthday only served as a gimmick. The most important part of the banquet was to foster ties with other affluent figures who would help their business. When they saw Fu Chengyan, they approached him to try to gain his favor. However, once they caught sight of the woman beside him, they became stunned.
It was rare to meet Fu Chengyan face-to-face. Thus, today’s banquet was considered a lucky encounter to have seen him, even if it was at one glance. He rarely attended such public events, and it was shocking to see a woman by his side.
While everyone tried guessing where Shi Nuan’s background was, some of the guests noticed that she only wore a pair of flats and had simple make-up. She did not dress very extravagantly. She was a stunning woman. Yet, her presence seemed less presentable and noticeable than the other wealthy women in the banquet, who got wholly dressed up with intention.
None of them knew who the woman next to Fu Chengyan was. Moreover, he was an outstanding man who was always the center of attention in the crowd. Now that he had a woman that seemed so ordinary as his companion, everyone felt perplexed.
Shi Nuan could feel the guests scrutinizing her. She maintained a faint smile on her face, her arm holding onto Fu Chengyan’s as she refrained from doing anything reckless.
“Are you nervous?” Fu Chengyan asked while lowering his gaze onto Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan lifted her head. Beaming, she winked at Fu Chengyan with eyes that glinted cunningly. “Not at all! We’re not the main characters today. Why should I be nervous?”
Fu Chengyan smiled at her words. “Good. We’ll only stay for a short while and leave right after meeting Old Mrs. Yun.”
“Okay!” replied an eager Shi Nuan.
After all, she never liked attending such elaborate banquets. She was sick of the fake smiles that people wore here. Moreover, some guests stared closely at Shi Nuan, making her feel uncomfortable.
The more daring ones among the guests came to Fu Chengyan and tried to engage with him. “Mr. Fu, I didn’t think I’d see you here!”
Fu Chengyan only nodded coldly at them.
“Mr. Fu, I’m Zhang Zhi from Pengcheng Group. This man is Zhuo Jing,” Zhang Zhi introduced himself and his friend. Then, his eyes shifted to Shi Nuan, who stood beside Fu Chengyan. He flashed a polite smile. “Mr. Fu, won’t you introduce this lady here to us? Is she your secretary?”
“She’s my wife!” Fu Chengyan cut him off abruptly. Zhang Zhi was so shocked that he desperately wished to take back the words that blurted out of his mouth. He widened his eyes at Shi Nuan in disbelief and astonishment. “U-Um, Mr. Fu, did you say that she’s your wife?” Zhang Zhi thought he might have misheard.
Fu Chengyan’s face darkened. “Does she not look like my wife?”
“O-Of course not! Mr. Fu, your wife is so pretty and gorgeous. At one glance, I can tell that she lives a great life at home!” Zhang Zhi replied hastily. However, just as he finished his words, Fu Chengyan’s face turned grim at once. It was as if the air froze at once.
Shi Nuan’s lips curled upwards. Looking at Fu Chengyan’s expression, she knew that he felt irritated by Zhang Zhi’s bold assumptions.
“Step aside! You’re so stupid! I think Mrs. Fu is absolutely fetching. The more I look at her, the prettier she seems. Her beauty only grows on others.” Zhang Zhi’s wife knocked him hard and looked at Shi Nuan. She explained, “Mrs. Fu, my husband is not a good talker. Please don’t put his words at your heart.”
“It’s okay.” Shi Nuan gave a polite chuckle.
Zhang Zhi’s wife then stared at Shi Nuan’s stomach. “By the way, Mrs. Fu, are you pregnant?”
Shi Nuan nodded with a faint smile. “Yes. Mrs. Zhang, you’re really observant.”
She did not wish to put the couple in a difficult situation. On top of that, she was not the host of the banquet. If she made a fuss there, the conflict would become rather hard to deal with later. Shi Nuan tugged silently at Fu Chengyan’s sleeve. The latter turned his gaze away from the curious couple to glance at her meaningfully. Then, he smiled. “Good eye, Mrs. Zhang. I see your husband is lucky to have a sharp-witted wife like you.”
“I-I-Indeed…” Zhang Zhi stuttered continuously with an awkward expression on his face.
He knew that he had misspoken earlier. Nonetheless, he could tell Shi Nuan was not an easy woman from how she suppressed Fu Chengyan’s anger with only a few words.
The curious couple’s questions were only a slight distraction from the event. At that point, Shi Nuan felt bored, so she held Fu Chengyan’s hand and walked toward the dessert section.
Before they came to the banquet, Shi Nuan had eaten some food to ease her hunger. Nonetheless, ever since getting pregnant, her appetite grew. Apart from the period of morning sickness Shi Nuan experienced earlier on, she felt happy with anything she ate and was not picky with food at all.
She had previously asked Yu Qing about her sudden changes in appetite. According to Yu Qing, those were normal. It only showed that Shi Nuan had a healthy body, or maybe Shi Nuan was lucky because the twin babies in her womb were obediently eating and not resisting food.
Within a short while, Shi Nuan finished two plates of desserts. When she wanted to continue eating, Fu Chengyan stopped her. He looked at Shi Nuan’s belly resignedly and shook his head. “Are you really going to eat more?”
It was then that Shi Nuan burped all of a sudden. She covered her mouth inelegantly and chuckled. “Oh no, I’ve over-eaten without realizing it.”
Mocking giggles came from a corner of the banquet. Shi Nuan was stunned for a while. Then, she turned to see Yun Shen leaning against a wall in the corner not far away. Her gaze unexpectedly met his dark eyes that stared at her with curiosity.
That stunned Shi Nuan again as she could not help letting out a series of burps.
Fu Chengyan frowned. He quickly picked up a glass of juice beside him and passed it to Shi Nuan. As he tapped her back lightly, he glared sideways. His sharp vision caught Yun Shen’s gaze, which looked playful and devilish.
Fu Chengyan’s furious look did not faze Yun Shen, whose lips curled up into a mischievous smirk.
That only made the former’s eyes darken. Yun Shen grinned as his gaze fell onto Shi Nuan again. After a while, he finally looked away.
Shi Nuan came back to her senses too. She took a deep breath fiercely and snapped, “What a bad omen! Has Yun Shen lost his marbles?”
Her voice was low, but Yun Shen had a keen hearing. Standing afar, the latter heard her dissatisfied tone as she complained about him.
He raised his eyebrow. Oh? Things are getting more interesting. With both hands in his pockets, he winked at Shi Nuan, sparking a look of disgust from her. “What a playboy!”
Fu Chengyan shifted his gaze away from Yun Shen. Surprisingly, he smiled while commenting, “It looks like you hate him, huh?”
Shi Nuan pouted. “I don’t hate him. I merely dislike the guy.”
Upon listening to her answer, Fu Chengyan’s grin only widened. “Nonetheless, among all the members of the Yun family, he’s the only one worth befriending.”
