Back then, Shiyue and Qin Nianwan were close as sisters, and she was fully aware of the agreement Su Mu and Fu Shinian had made. Over the past two years, she had never shown a kind face to Su Mu, repeatedly calling her "the other woman" to constantly remind her by what means she had broken up Fu Shinian and Qin Nianwan.
Helplessly, Su Mu looked at her:
"Shiyue, can't we get along normally?"
"I would never be friends with a bitch!"
"Even if you dislike me, I am now Shinian's wife, your elder sister-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Shiyue sneered disdainfully:
"Did I hear wrong? Sister-in-law? How you came into that position, do I need to remind you? Don't think that just because Grandma likes you, you can rest easy. Wait until Nianwan sister comes back. I want to see how long you can remain proud and see the look on your face when my brother kicks you out."
Su Mu was silent for a few seconds, then repeated:
"Qin Nianwan is coming back?" She had often appeared on screen these past two years but had never returned to the country.
"What? Scared now? Good, at least it proves you are guilty."
When Fu Shinian arrived at the golf course, Qiao Yu and Ji Nanfeng had already finished a round and were comfortably drinking under an umbrella. Seeing him get off the golf cart, they immediately called him over:
"What took you so long?"
Sitting down, Fu Shinian casually picked up a bottle of beer and took a sip:
"I was at the old house, keeping Grandma company."
"How is Grandma's health?"
"Mm, not bad." She even had the energy to ask him about having kids.
Qiao Yu looked at Fu Shinian:
"I heard Su Mu was discharged from the hospital. How is her recovery?"
Fu Shinian gave him a cool look:
"Have you been a bit too concerned about her lately? Planning to take over?"
"Fuck off!"
Ji Nanfeng smiled and said, "Even if Qiao Yu wouldn't ask, I would. I heard Su Mu lost the child, and it was your doing. Could I interview you about how you feel?"
"Have none of your many women ever accidentally gotten pregnant? Next time don't just throw a check at the hospital; go straight for an abortion. Maybe then I'll feel like sharing some tips with you."
Ji Nanfeng: "..."
Qiao Yu chuckled:
"Let it be. He's just lost a child and is in a bad mood; let's be understanding."
By the time the bottle was empty, Fu Shinian's phone beeped with a new message alert. He slid to open it but stared at the message for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. Qiao Yu noticed something was off, kicked him under the table:
"What are you so absorbed in?"
Returning to reality, Fu Shinian thought for a moment, then threw the phone on the table, clearly letting them read it for themselves.
Qiao Yu, not as nosy as Ji Nanfeng, almost immediately grabbed the phone as it hit the table. His initially excited demeanor paused for a moment after reading the message, then he asked Fu Shinian:
"What does this mean? She's coming back?"
After a glance, Qiao Yu understood:
"Back then, Qin Nianwan chose to go abroad because she didn't want to stay in Shen City, a place of heartache, watching you get married. Now it's been two years; has she healed from her heartbreak?"
Throwing down the phone, Ji Nanfeng eagerly looked at Fu Shinian:
"I don't think so, otherwise why wouldn't she contact anyone else and only tell Ah Nian that she's returning? I think rather than healing from heartbreak, she's coming back formidable, ready to snatch someone."
"Snatch someone? Ah Nian? What was she doing two years ago? Now that a lot of things have happened—an accident aside, there should have been a child—what use is her return now?"
Glancing at Fu Shinian, Ji Nanfeng turned to Qiao Yu:
"Whether it's useful doesn't depend on Qin Nianwan, but on the person being snatched. We all know how Su Mu married Ah Nian by what means. The breakup back then was so sudden and clean; no one could accept it, and maybe she's realized over these two years she can't live without Fu Shinian."
Fu Shinian frowned and glanced at them:
"Are you guys done yet?"
"We can end things at any time, but what about you? Just because we don't talk about the problem, does it cease to exist? What are you really thinking? Grandmother is very healthy now, and Su Mu's father has passed away. Su Mu doesn't know about the agreement; you could simply act as if it doesn't exist. Even if we were to divorce, there would be nothing to say," Shinian said.
It seemed Shinian was reluctant to talk more on this topic. He rose to his feet, picked up a golf club from a caddy nearby, and walked away. Ji Nanfeng and Qiao Yu exchanged glances and, feeling helpless, shrugged and spread their hands.
Su Mu had planned to wait at the old house for Shinian's return, but she received a sudden call from her boss in the afternoon asking her to return to the office. With no choice, she bid her grandmother goodbye and on her way back to the office, she still decided to send a message to Shinian letting him know she was no longer at the old house.
However, she hadn't received any reply to her message even by the time she had to accompany her leaders to dinner with the tourism bureau inspectors.
Su Mu worked as a manager in the Housekeeping Department at the four-star Junyue Hotel in Shen City. Half a month ago, the hotel had applied to the city's tourism bureau for a five-star rating. Now, the provincial tourism bureau inspectors had arrived in Shen City, and as the manager of the housekeeping department, Su Mu was responsible for hosting them.
The dinner was set in a private kitchen in Shen City, which was well-known yet not accessible to just anyone. The taste, environment, and service there were all excellent, which justified the staggering prices. Shen City never lacked for wealthy people, so the place was still bustling, constantly busy with elite personalities unlike other restaurants.
The atmosphere at the dinner was congenial at first, but after a couple of rounds of beer and liquor, it started to become frivolous, particularly since Su Mu was the only female host, making her the subject of their discussion:
"Manager Su seems really unwilling to give face today; everyone has had a couple of rounds, while you've only been drinking plain water?"
Before the dinner had even started, Su Mu had already explained her situation to her boss, Li Cong. Although he found it awkward, he understood Su Mu, so he promised her that she wouldn't have to drink tonight. He had also explained this to the provincial officials at the beginning, and everyone seemed to understand, but only when they were sober.
Li Cong glanced at Su Mu, smiled apologetically, and explained:
"Director Sun, you must have forgotten, my brother. I explained earlier that Manager Su just had surgery today and was just discharged from the hospital. She really can't drink."
"Oh—" Director Sun drew out the word, "Now I remember. It was my oversight."
Su Mu also graciously stood up to apologize:
"Director Sun, today is my fault. I will substitute tea for liquor and offer my apologies. The next time you visit Shen City, I promise to drink with you until we're both completely drunk."
Just as Su Mu was about to drink her water, Director Sun stopped her:
"Manager Su, I understand your physical condition. I'm a considerate man myself and wouldn't press you to drink, but it's always possible to feed someone drinks, right?"
People around Director Sun started to chime in:
"Right, not drinking is fine, but you should show some other form of sincerity."
"That's right. Otherwise, I always feel that Manager Su looks down on us."
"It's my first time meeting Manager Su, and while your beauty has won me over, I always thought you'd be straightforward. It's just feeding drinks, surely Manager Su wouldn't refuse this small favor, right? You should understand that most deals in this society are made over drinking sessions."
"..."
At the dinner party, Su Mu was fully aware of the dark undercurrents. Now, more than ever, she felt trapped. Even though Li Cong wanted to help her, by this stage, he felt powerless. He looked at Su Mu, hesitating to speak. Su Mu just gave a faint smile and left her seat to walk towards Director Sun opposite her.
"Director Sun, what are you saying? Being able to have close contact with you is an honor you bestow upon me."
Fu Shinian, along with Ji Nanfeng and Qiao Yu, had just finished their meal and were about to leave the restaurant, accompanied by the owner, when they approached the private room where Su Mu was. Just as a waiter entered the room to serve more dishes, Qiao Yu, sharp-eyed, glanced inside:
"Su Mu is also dining here?"
Fu Shinian paused and looked over, just in time to see Su Mu warmly offering a drink to the man beside her. Such flirtatiousness was something Fu Shinian had never seen from her before.
Ji Nanfeng and Qiao Yu both saw it too, but they certainly wouldn't take Su Mu's side or make light of Fu Shinian's predicament. They just stood silently by, indifferent.
When Fu Shinian was about to leave, it was Director Sun from inside the room who noticed him, immediately changing his expression and hastened to meet him:
"Mr. Fu, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Fu Shinian ignored the hand stretched towards him and merely smiled faintly, "Director Sun, long time no see."
Upon seeing Fu Shinian, Su Mu froze, unsure of how to react. He must have seen that earlier scene, but how could she explain it? As she grew anxious, Li Cong also got up to greet him, but she dared not meet Fu Shinian's eyes. She returned to her seat and sat down. Soon, Director Sun and Li Cong had returned and taken their seats, and Fu Shinian had already left.
As she sat there dazed, Director Sun spoke again:
"Manager Su, why didn't you say earlier? Then that misunderstanding would not have occurred. I was shortsighted before. Here, I owe you a drink, and I hope you can forgive my foolishness and not take it to heart."
Before Su Mu could react to the swiftly changing situation, Li Cong whispered to her:
"Mr. Ji just said outside the door that you and he are friends, and that you are on good terms. How come I didn't know about this background of yours?"
It turned out to be Ji Nanfeng. She thought it was… she was naive. How could it be Fu Shinian? Apart from his attitude towards her, the scene he had just witnessed was not something he would ever speak up about.
Thanks to Ji Nanfeng's words, the dinner ended rather quickly. Afterwards, all she needed to do was ensure that nothing went wrong with the hotel during their evaluation period. The star rating seemed almost guaranteed. On the way back, Su Mu pondered over how to explain the events of the evening to Fu Shinian. She edited her message several times, only to delete it each time. By the time she got home, she had given up on explaining, only to be informed by Auntie Lin that Fu Shinian was at home.
When Su Mu entered the master bedroom, she didn't see Fu Shinian; the scattered clothes on the couch and the sound of water coming from the bathroom indicated he was taking a shower. Su Mu went over to pick up the clothes, preparing to put them in the laundry basket, when suddenly a phone beside them began to ring. It was Fu Shinian's phone, alerting him to a new message.
She had never intended to pry into Fu Shinian's privacy, nor had she ever done so, but this time, uncharacteristically, she picked up his phone. The screen displayed a calm message from Qin Nianwan:
Ah Nian, I am on the flight back to Shen City on the 30th. I hope you can come to pick me up.