Find someone randomly...
Fu Ying thought as she walked out of the school.
Fu Yan was already waiting impatiently at the high school entrance.
Upon seeing her, he frowned, "What took you so long? I've been waiting for ages."
"Brother, I..." Fu Ying was about to say that she had been called to a parent meeting.
But before she could speak, someone came over, smiled at her, and said, "Fu Yan, so this is your little drama queen sister, huh? Looks pretty obedient, like a little Lolita."
Fu Yan ignored the person, stuffed his jacket into her hands, and said, "Wait here for Dad, I'm not going back first."
"Where are you going then?"
Fu Yan raised an eyebrow, his tone extremely irritable, "None of your business, worry about your own pretty boy issues."
"..."
With Fu Yan's jacket in her hands, she had no choice but to sit alone at the bus stop by the road and wait.
She took out paper and a pen from her backpack, trying hard to remember what that firefighter uncle looked like.
She was dazed that day and didn't get a clear look.
In the end, she wrote down the words "Hero" next to the drawing.
After a while, Fu Mingchuan arrived.
Fu Ying packed away the paper and pen into her backpack, got up ready to walk over, but bumped into someone as she turned around.
Shen Liguang bit down on his cigarette, his head lowered, giving a sideways glance at the little girl in front of him.
Fu Ying was stunned.
Looking up at him.
He was so tall.
If he were in the Imperial Palace, he would definitely be a General!
Having waited a while without an apology, Shen Liguang pinched the cigarette in his hand, and smilingly said, "Little girl, you should apologize when you bump into someone."
Only then did Fu Ying realize, and while pinching the edge of her school uniform, she inclined her body towards Shen Liguang, "Young master..."
"Hm?" Shen Liguang raised his intonation, smiling.
Young master?
What a unique way to address someone.
She must be a quirky one.
"Ah no, I mean, brother, sorry, I didn't see you behind me."
Fu Ying hurriedly corrected herself. The moment she got nervous, she had forgotten that's not how people are addressed here.
Shen Liguang glanced at the No. 7 bus that had stopped, put out his cigarette, and told Fu Ying, "Be more careful next time."
And then he boarded the bus.
After the bus left, Fu Mingchuan parked his car in front of her.
Seeing Fu Ying alone, Fu Mingchuan frowned and asked, "Where's your brother?"
Fu Ying thought of how Fu Yan had been fierce to her, blinked her black eyes looking particularly harmless, "Dad, he asked me to tell you to mind your own business about pretty boys."
Sure enough, Fu Mingchuan got angry.
"That rascal, not causing anything but trouble all day. Your eldest brother will be home tonight, and he's still out running wild. Let's see how I deal with him when he comes back tonight."
After Fu Mingchuan vented, Fu Ying hesitated whether to tell him about being called to see the headteacher or not.
Fu Ying hung her head, her slender fingers tightly clutching at her clothes.
Suddenly, Fu Mingchuan asked her, "How was the first day of school? Didn't cause trouble for dad, did you?"
"No, no trouble, it went well."
Fu Mingchuan felt relieved, "That's good, Daddy will reward you when we get home. Lately, I've noticed you watching lots of lute videos on your phone, so Daddy bought one for you."
Hearing Fu Mingchuan say this, Fu Ying was even more unsure of how to tell him.
This dad, he's even better to her than Father Emperor.
...
When it was almost time for dinner, Nanny Wu called Fu Ying downstairs, and only then did she notice that her eldest brother Fu Yi had come back.
She had been here for a month, and only saw Fu Yi once when he visited the hospital, and he never came back after that.
He and Fu Yan were the same; neither liked her much.
Fu Ying's thoughts wandered as she sat down at the dinner table, her knee bumping against the table, causing the tableware to shake.
Suddenly a hand reached out to stabilize the hot soup that was about to spill.
Fu Ying raised her little head and met a pair of smiling eyes.
She recognized him...
Yes, it was the brother from the bus station.
Fu Yi looked up and asked Shen Liguang, "You didn't get scalded, did you?"
Only then did Fu Ying realize that the whole bowl of hot soup had spilled over his hand.
His hand was scalded red, yet his face bore no expression, as if it didn't hurt at all; he took out a tissue and wiped it off.
"It's okay."
So, he was acquainted with his brother.
Fu Mingchuan, looking at Shen Liguang with immense gratitude, said, "Li Guang, thanks to you for what happened to Yingying last time. I've always wanted to thank you in person, but you never had the time. Today I finally managed to invite you over. Yingying, hurry and thank your Brother Li Guang."
Blinking, Fu Ying suddenly realized that the man beside her was her lifesaver.
She stood up, not knowing how to express her gratitude for being saved, so she politely bowed to Shen Liguang, "Thank you for saving my life."
Shen Liguang's eyes curved, "You're welcome."
Fu Mingchuan said with a smile, "Li Guang, don't be shy with your first meal at our home, make yourself at home."
Shen Liguang nodded politely, "Thank you, Uncle Fu."
Fu Mingchuan was in a good mood, laughing, "Let's eat, don't be shy."
...
When Fu Ying was at the Imperial Palace, the Empress taught her to eat quietly.
She lowered her head and ate her food as quietly as a cat without making any noise.
They chatted at the dinner table while she listened silently.
From the conversation, she learned that this brother's name was Shen Liguang, and like her elder brother, he was a firefighter.
He and her elder brother had been friends for years, with a very solid relationship.
Her silence at the table, however, drew Shen Liguang's attention.
He watched her fluffy little head buried in the bowl and couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Aren't you the one who said your sister was too lively? She seems pretty quiet to me."
Fu Yi glanced up and took a brief look at Fu Ying, "Who knows? Perhaps she's pretending?"
Fu Ying: "..."
Fu Mingchuan, not pleased, defended his treasured daughter, "Nonsense, your sister has always been a lady!"
Fu Ying listened to the faint laughter beside her, her little face blushed.
She, she was always like this…
Not pretending…
Please, say no more…
.
Fu Ying didn't tell Fu Mingchuan about her teacher's request to see her parents.
It wasn't that she didn't dare; it was because there were outsiders present…
After dinner, Shen Liguang followed Fu Yi to his room, while Fu Mingchuan returned with a delicate box secretively.
"Yingying, this is a gift from Dad."
Fu Mingchuan opened a beautifully decorated box, revealing a lovely lute inside.
Fu Mingchuan felt that his daughter had changed; she never used to be interested in such ladylike things.
This change started a month ago when he kept Fu Ying under house arrest.
The little girl took a liking to Hanfu for some reason, joining her friends for Hanfu enthusiast meetings.
A fire broke out that night, and when she was rescued, she was already not breathing.
Thankfully, after being resuscitated, the child was saved.
Now, thinking back, Fu Mingchuan still felt a chill, wondering how he would face his wife at her grave if something had truly happened to their daughter.
The child had also recovered well.
Even her personality changed.
"That, Dad, my teacher wants me to invite you…" Fu Ying, holding the lute, attempted to bring up the parent-teacher meeting.
Fu Mingchuan's phone rang...
"Dad has to take a call, we'll talk later if there's anything."
Fu Ying nodded, obediently and quietly waiting for Fu Mingchuan to finish his call.
But as soon as he hung up, he hastily said to her, "I have to step out for a bit, I'll ask Nanny Wu to stay with you at home."
"..."
The parent meeting was left unsaid.
Fu Ying turned around with the lute to go back to her room when she saw the brother leaning on the window sill at the end of the corridor.
He was wearing black silk pajamas, tall and lean, with the moonlight outside casting upon his face.
The tips of his brows raised slightly, like a bandit king atop a mountain.