Sheng Congzhi was holding her breath just as Fu Yan let go.
Then, he lifted his hand to the buttons of his shirt, one, two…before unbuttoning them all and taking it off, then moved his hand to his belt.
Sheng Congzhi quickly diverted her gaze and hurriedly sat down on the sofa, took out her phone, and began to frantically scroll.
Besides that night at the villa six months ago—when her memory was a blur, and she woke to find Fu Yan already fully dressed—
and then there was last night, with the dim light in the bedroom, and he nearly didn't undress...
So now it was her first time seeing his body so directly.
A brief glimpse.
Yet it lingered.
Fu Yan was quite tall, almost hitting the one-ninety mark. Always appearing so lax and slender, she hadn't expected him to have such a firm body, even sporting abs...
Impressive physique!
Suddenly, the ringtone of a phone disrupted the silence.
Fu Yan, still holding onto his zipper with one hand, answered the call with the other, "Yeah?"
Sheng Congzhi didn't want to eavesdrop, but the room was just too quiet, such that she could hear the charming and soft voice of a woman from the other end of the phone...
Without knowing the specifics, after listening, Fu Yan clicked his tongue against his thin lips, "Do I really have to come over?"
"..."
"Right." Fu Yan paused for a moment, "My wife is right here in the room watching me; she won't let me leave."
Sheng Congzhi: ???
She stood up directly, opened the wardrobe, grabbed some clothes at random, and went straight into the bathroom.
I'm not watching you.
Just go!
…
The bathroom door closed.
Fu Yan withdrew his gaze, "You miss your dad?"
"Fuck!" The person on the other end cursed, "You just mentioned 'wife' to trick me, didn't you?"
"Why would I trick you?"
"Fine." The disbelief was clear on the other end, "Come over now, and bring your wife to show everyone."
"A moment of springtime is worth a thousand pieces of gold," Fu Yan said lazily, "Besides, a 29-year-old man like you wouldn't understand."
After hanging up, he listened to the "shhhh" sound of water flowing from the bathroom and started to put his shirt back on.
**
Downstairs, Fu Dongting came in from the balcony and saw Fu Yan fiddling with a medicine box in front of the coffee table.
"Uncle."
He called out and was about to go upstairs, but was stopped with a command, "Stop."
The man, half-squinting his eyes, picked out some ointment in a casual tone, "Zhizhi accidentally twisted her waist."
Fu Dongting: ???
Fu Yan handed over the ointment, "Give this to your aunty, I have to step out for a bit."
Saying so, he left with long strides.
…
Sheng Congzhi came out of the shower to find that there was no one else in the room.
She picked up her phone and saw a WeChat message from Fu Yan sent twenty minutes ago: "Go to sleep first, I'm heading to the hospital."
Messing around and then off to the hospital?
Who is he trying to fool?
At that moment, the room door was knocked.
Seeing the man standing outside made her eyelids twitch.
Fu Dongting handed out the ointment, but couldn't bring himself to say "aunty."
Without accepting it, Sheng Congzhi's tone was cold, "Is there anything else?"
Fu Dongting frowned, "Don't you want it?"
"I'm already married to your uncle, so you shouldn't need me to teach you what to call me now, should you?" Sheng Congzhi enunciated each word, "Big, nephew, son!"
Fu Dongting's face turned cold instantly, tossing the ointment aside and turned to leave.
Sheng Congzhi bent down to pick it up.
My ex-fiancé knocking on my door in the middle of the night to deliver ointment?
Unsolicited kindness is suspect, the work of a con or a thief!
I should have known not to take off my scarf during dinner...
**
The Fu Family's old house was decorated in a traditional Chinese style, and even the furniture had a dark, eerie reddish hue, the bedrooms large and empty.
Sheng Congzhi was particular about her sleeping arrangements and tossing and turning in a strange environment only compounded her sleeplessness.
She hardly slept at all that night.
And Fu Yan didn't come back until she got up the next day.
Instead, she received a phone call from the Ye Family.
"Come home today, it's the weekend."
"Is something the matter?"
Her adoptive father, Ye Lianhai, spoke in a cold, hard tone, "When I say come back, you come back. Why all the unnecessary talk!"
Then the call was disconnected.
...
When she came downstairs for breakfast, Fu Yuting glanced over and deliberately asked, "Where's little uncle?"
Pei Qianyun replied with a compassionate smile, "Ah Yan went to the hospital last night, he said there was some emergency, something quite serious. He must've been busy all night, he didn't come home."
"Didn't little uncle just get back from a business trip? The hospital is pushing too hard."
"There's nothing that can be done about it, Ah Yan is the star surgeon at Yunjing, so many patients rely on him..."
The two of them put on quite the show.
Sheng Congzhi just minded her own business, sipping her millet porridge.
"Zhizhi," Pei Qianyun's tone turned affectionate, "Ah Yan has special work commitments, please don't blame him, and don't go having wild thoughts..."
"How could I?" Sheng Congzhi responded in a faint voice, "A man should prioritize his career. Big sister taught me this."
It was just that before, she had taught it to her future daughter-in-law, but now it was to her sister-in-law.
A crack appeared on Pei Qianyun's smiling face.
It was fleeting.
She called over the servant, "Are all the tonics and medicines packed?"
The servant brought two large bags.
Pei Qianyun said, "I know Zhizhi is busy with work, and you often reverse your day and night schedule because of filming. These are tonics I've prepared for you, and these are the traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions I had the old doctor concoct for you. Take them twice a day on time, and in less than half a year, your health should be in order and you'll be ready to start planning for a pregnancy..."
Mr. Fu nodded, "You really are thoughtful."
"It's what I should do. After all, Ah Yan is at the right age now, and he and Zhizhi have been married for half a year. It's about time to expand the Fu Family tree."
Sheng Congzhi didn't believe Pei Qianyun was so well-meaning, "Big sister, it's not that I don't want to get pregnant. This kind of thing isn't up to me alone."
This remark led to an array of different expressions from everyone present.
Fu Yuting, always one to speak her mind, blurted out, "What you're saying, isn't it that the little uncle isn't capable?"
Everyone else: "..."
Sheng Congzhi too: "..."
That wasn't what she had said.
But—
Despite the confusion of that night, she clearly remembered that at the critical moment, Fu Yan was able to calmly take safety measures...
It was clear he didn't want her pregnant!
**
After breakfast, Sheng Congzhi went back to her bridal chamber to catch up on sleep.
She still preferred the American retro style of Tinglan Garden, classical, warm, and with a touch of sentimentality, each decorative detail precisely hitting her preferences...
Fu Yan had a good taste in aesthetics.
It was not until late afternoon that Sheng Congzhi dawdled to start her journey.
First, she drove to an internet café opposite Yun City Fourth Middle School, donned a wide-brimmed fisherman's hat and sunglasses, and walked in.
The place was crowded on the weekend, filled with swirling smoke and a rather troubled environment.
Sheng Congzhi placed the bag containing the traditional Chinese medicine on the counter, "Give this to Li Chao."
After completing these tasks, she finally set off for the Ye family.
Yun City had just experienced a light sprinkle that afternoon, and the night-blooming jasmine in the villa's garden was bedraggled from the rain. As the breeze blew, petals fluttered elegantly, carrying a lingering and refined fragrance.
Sheng Congzhi expelled the last smoke ring from her red lips, flicked her slender wrist, and the cigarette butt landed precisely in the nearby trash can; then she turned and walked into the living room.
Almost at the same moment, the sounds of joy and laughter ceased instantly.
As though her arrival was the end of all that.
Soon, accompanied by the moist feeling on her arm, Ye Jiaorui's delicate voice rang out, "I'm sorry, Zhizhi. Let me get that for you..."