In the grand hall of the South City villa.
As Fu Jingshen drew nearer, Gu Nian caught the faint scent of alcohol on the man.
Three years ago, the man clearly didn't drink.
Gu Nian pursed her lips, struggling to suppress the trembling of her heart, as a radiant smile spread across her face.
"Mr. Fu, you've returned from your business trip."
Gu Nian tightened her grip on her small hands. Fu Jingshen was back… If she wanted children, now was the best time.
But ever since the incident three years ago, she had despised being close to any man, even if it was Fu Jingshen… At this moment, Gu Nian was also anxious.
"Hmm."
"You've been drinking."
Without a second thought, Gu Nian blurted out.
"Hmm, business socializing."
Fu Jingshen responded indifferently, his dark eyes resting on Gu Nian before him, who seemed thinner and looked somewhat weary.
Fu Jingshen suppressed the odd feeling in the bottom of his heart. When Gu Nian betrayed him and left three years ago, he had vowed to never forgive her for as long as he lived.
Yet, there's always that one person you hate over and over again.
But in the end, even if he was deeply wronged, he couldn't bring himself to blame her in the slightest.
Three years later, he offered the financing of the Fu Family to the Gu Family, which was like a bottomless pit. If poorly managed, it could ruin much of the Fu Family's efforts, meaning his toil of nearly three years could be wasted, yet he spared no expense.
She had proposed marriage, and he knew it was a forced marriage, a calculation, and even… including that time a month ago.
However, some things, whether done or not, he was clear about.
He had also gone with the flow… to fulfill her wish.
And… to satisfy his little scheming.
Marrying this woman was the wish of his lifetime.
...
The man's gaze was profound, weighted with complex emotions; the atmosphere in the living room was somewhat awkward. Gu Nian managed to squeeze out a hint of a smile.
"Then, Mr. Fu, I'll take a shower first."
"Alright."
...
The bedroom came with a private bathroom and restroom.
After taking a shower and changing into pajamas, Gu Nian saw Fu Jingshen standing tall on the balcony, a cigarette held between the long fingers of his right hand.
Gu Nian: "..."
Even the act of smoking was performed with utmost elegance by Fu Jingshen. As he exhaled plumes of smoke, the mist shrouded him, adding a touch of nobility and wicked charm.
Three years ago, Fu Jingshen didn't smoke.
In three years, so much had really changed.
Time had carved the man into someone more reckless, aloof, and profound.
But it also took away the man's youthful naivety.
Gu Nian pressed her lips together; she actually didn't want the man to smoke.
With this thought, Gu Nian walked over and knocked on the balcony's sliding door.
At the sound of the knock, Fu Jingshen turned around and saw Gu Nian with her damp hair draped over her shoulders, barefoot on the floor, frowning with her brows knitted, her phoenix eyes moist and glossy as she looked at him, wearing a light pink nightgown that accentuated her fair skin and charm.
Fu Jingshen couldn't bear to see Gu Nian frown, so he tossed the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray, cleared the smoke from his body, and entered the bedroom.
"Is there something you need?"
Fu Jingshen's voice was cold, devoid of any warmth, and after a moment's thought, Gu Nian spoke.
"From now on, don't smoke anymore; children can't inhale secondhand smoke."
Actually, I don't want you to smoke either because smoking is bad for your health.
However, Gu Nian didn't voice this part, merely using the child as an excuse for the moment.
Fu Jingshen's dark eyes flickered with surprise upon hearing Gu Nian's words, and then he said, "Alright."
...
Just now, one person had been in the bedroom and the other on the balcony, which wasn't so awkward, but now that both were in the bedroom, it seemed awkward.
Gu Nian clenched her small hands, striving to overcome the fear in her heart, and said, "I'm going to sleep first."
"Hmm."
Gu Nian quickly got into bed, pretending to close her eyes and rest, and soon she felt the other side of the princess bed sink.
Gu Nian's breath tightened, and she silently cheered herself on, telling herself that the person next to her was Fu Jingshen... It was Fu Jingshen.
It was Fu Jingshen.
Gu Nian's long, narrow eyelashes trembled, as memories, insecurity, and panic rushed over her, making her feel like a drowning child trapped in the depths of a flood.
The child!
If Fu Jingshen discovered the fake pregnancy, the consequences would be unimaginable.
With this thought, Gu Nian steeled her resolve, but in the next instant, the man's large hand swept over and she was pulled into his embrace.
Gu Nian: "..."
As the man's warm breath washed over her face, Gu Nian's heart clenched.
"Don't... be careful of the child..."
Instinct always reacts faster than reason; without thinking, even though she had prepared herself and was resolute, when the man drew near, the nightmare-like memories still made it difficult for her to breathe.
Fu Jingshen: "..."
Fu Jingshen gazed deeply at the woman before him, his thin lips pursing slightly.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Whether there was a child or not, Fu Jingshen knew better than Gu Nian.
Gu Nian: "..."
Hearing the man's words, which did not leave room for dispute, Gu Nian subconsciously raised her hand to push against the man's chest.
"Gu Nian, you're married to me now, this is your duty as a wife."
"I..."
"Or are you saying, you dislike my touch?"
Gu Nian: "..."
Fu Jingshen's words left Gu Nian somewhat at a loss for words. He observed her dodging and resisting, and his dark eyes turned icy.
Three years ago, the woman seemed to love snuggling in his embrace like a kitten.
Three years later, she was resisting his closeness.
Indeed, just as she said three years ago, she didn't love him anymore, so... she could not accept being intimate with someone she didn't love.
That's why a week ago, she chose to drug herself.
She could come out of this unscathed.
Fu Jingshen felt the blood in his body turn to ice even more, and the air around seemed to become sharply cold as well.
...
Gu Nian saw the man's tightly clenched handsome face barely concealing his fury and internally cried out, but in the next instant, the man's hold on her tightened even more.
Gu Nian still wanted to push him away, but a woman's strength was no match for a man's; she couldn't resist and could only endure it.
"Fu Jingshen, you're holding me too tightly; I can't breathe," she said.