Chapter 16 Duty: "You are my lively and lovely wife"

16

The air was filled with the warm aroma of breakfast. Fang Huaixu looked intently into those sparkling eyes and felt that she was more vibrant than ever before.

He also had a joking thought, suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, and continued the topic: "I should be in the same category as you think, one of those 'damnly lucky people'."

Meng Yao froze, then gave a dry laugh: Fang Huaixu was indeed petty, remembering her previous affection for him.

Fang Huaixu was satisfied with her reaction, but quickly got back on track: "To some extent, what you said is indeed correct. I was born into the Fang family and was born with a starting point and resources that many people struggle their whole lives to achieve. In terms of material conditions, I have no way to deny it."

He paused slightly after speaking, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes: "It wasn't all smooth sailing; there were times when things didn't go so well."

Meng Yao looked up at him, and his eyes revealed a rare sense of loneliness, but he quickly recovered: "Let me first introduce my family situation. It's a bit complicated. I am the youngest. I have an older sister and two older brothers. My mother was my father's third wife. She passed away six years ago from pancreatic cancer."

Meng Yao slightly opened her eyes. It was the first time she had heard Fang Huaixu mention family, and she hadn't expected that there would be so much information in just a few words.

“The origin of my current career is also because of my mother,” Fang Huaixu said, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of his cup. “She was a more outstanding medical researcher than I am, and she devoted most of her life to the research and development of effective anti-cancer drugs. It sounds quite ironic, that someone who devoted their entire life to researching how to fight cancer ended up dying of cancer herself.”

His tone was calm, and he didn't make any unnecessary movements. He just slightly raised his finger, but Meng Yao still felt a trace of indescribable bitterness.

“I packed up all her research reports, wanting to know what these things were that she was willing to dedicate her life to. But my father was unwilling to let me go down this path. At first, I thought it was because he didn’t want me to follow in my mother’s footsteps, so he just kept assuring me that he would be careful at every step.”

Fang Huaixu twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a mocking arc: "But in the year I decided to go abroad, he suddenly rushed into my laboratory and tore up all my records. Only then did I realize that he had never acknowledged my mother from beginning to end."

Fang Huaixu sighed: "In his eyes, my mother's life's work had yielded no results and lacked commercial value. Even if it had succeeded, it wouldn't have even recouped the research expenses. His support for her back then was entirely out of indulgence and pampering, like keeping a canary in a cage. I was his most favored child, and he hoped that one day I could take over the Fang family from him. So when I was about to repeat my mother's mistakes and 'not do my proper job,' he naturally lost patience."

Meng Yao's heart was clenched as tightly as her hands, and she couldn't help but say, "This is too heartless. He doesn't treat your mother as an independent person at all."

“I also hate his arrogance,” Fang Huaixu put down his cutlery and said casually, “So I left that home to continue my mother’s unfinished research. This special drug will benefit countless people in the future, and I will prove to everyone that what she did was worthwhile.”

He finally looked at Meng Yao, his eyes calm: "So I never had any plans or expectations for marriage or relationships. I don't know if this research will also consume my entire life, so I wasn't prepared to start a relationship at all. The marriage was only because the Lin family's medical resources are beneficial to my research. Of course, I'm not a saint, and I also have normal physiological needs. You are a very charming person, which is why I didn't reject your advances last night. But I know very well that I can't give you the bright future you deserve. So it's a good thing for both of us to prevent things from getting worse."

He remained as straightforward as ever, candidly laying out all his motivations: "I'm good to you because I feel compensating. I've taken up the freest and most beautiful time of your life, so I hope to make you more comfortable in this relationship. Whether you come up with other ways to repay me or continue to have a quiet breakfast with me like this, it's enough for me. I don't care if it's equivalent or not."

Meng Yao fell silent. Fang Huaixu knew that she needed time to process this information, so he ate quietly and waited politely for her reply.

Meng Yao was indeed thinking, and after a moment she put down her spoon and looked at him with clear and direct eyes: "So all that you said, all that you did for me, was because you were empty?"

"Cough...cough cough!"

Fang Huaixu choked on his water and coughed unexpectedly, a faint blush instantly spreading across his face. Meng Yao quickly handed him a tissue, puzzled, "What's wrong? Did I ask something wrong?"

There are problems everywhere.

Fang Huaixu was completely taken aback by her sudden leap in thought, how did she end up on such a strange point? He composed himself and asked, "Why would you think that?"

Meng Yao rarely saw him in such a disheveled state, and remained sincere: "I'll say it again, if you don't want things to get worse, not interfering in my life or getting a divorce are better options. You're good to me unconditionally, yet you also have normal...physical needs from me. Isn't that just emptiness?"

Fang Huaixu felt a wave of dizziness: "I didn't think that much about it, I just simply hope you're doing better."

Meng Yao couldn't understand: "Maybe I don't understand you selfless people. I'm a bit ungrateful. I always judge by actions, not intentions. You won't get any benefit from being nice to me. My admiration is currently worthless. So, besides gaining a good reputation and feeling good about yourself, you won't get anything out of it. If you're not feeling empty and don't need me, I don't understand why you would do these thankless things."

Fang Huaixu never expected that no matter how complex the language was, Meng Yao could penetrate it with the simplest logic. He sighed helplessly, his tone carrying a tone of indulgent compromise: "If you think it would make you feel better if I were this kind of person, you can think that way. I don't mind."

"This isn't a question of whether I mind or not."

Meng Yao frowned: "We both had arranged marriages, and we both invested our time and youth. Why do you think your investment is worthless while mine is so precious? That's unreasonable. Aren't our times equally precious? Why can you so easily belittle yours? Or do you subconsciously think that because I'm a woman, a woman's best years are only these two?"

"No, I didn't think that way..."

Fang Huaixu was taken aback. He had never thought about the problem from this perspective before, but he was used to taking responsibility: "I just... feel that since I have the ability to make you more comfortable, it is necessary to take care of your feelings and make you feel at ease as well."

"So who made things easier for you?"

Meng Yao pressed on, her eyes sharp: "Emptiness isn't shameful. You've taken care of my feelings, and I'm thinking about how to take care of you too. Isn't that an equal exchange? Honestly, I could never be a great person. I'd think you're crazy for doing these unrewarding things. How can someone completely disregard their own feelings? Even if you're doing good deeds out of kindness, shouldn't you receive some kind of reward?"

Fang Huaixu was also speechless; it seemed he hadn't thought about these questions in a long time. His life had always been driven by responsibility, goals, and righteousness, and leaving his family to start his own business was the most rebellious thing he had ever done.

Whether his actions stemmed from passion or resentment, he himself couldn't figure it out.

This was the second time he had been at a loss when faced with Meng Yao's probing questions. Her words always touched on blind spots he had never touched before, revealing an emptiness within him that he himself had not been able to examine.

Seeing his silence, Meng Yao felt a little uneasy.

But since she had already said it, she didn't regret it and decided to make it clear once and for all: "Not everyone can be so kind as to be impeccable. It's perfectly normal to have desires. So, whether it's a good deed or a small one, it needs a certain degree of return in order for both parties to gain value, right? This kind of behavior of not caring about what kind of return the other party can give is itself a kind of contempt for the other party's ability."

After she finished speaking, the restaurant fell into a long silence.

The sun was still shining brightly, but the air seemed to freeze. Fang Huaixu's handsome face was expressionless, and Meng Yao's heart couldn't help but beat faster. Fang Huaixu's previous attitude was too good, and she almost forgot that he was also someone she couldn't afford to offend.

Since there was no turning back now, she decided to secretly observe, even though she had no idea whether she had gone too far in pleasing him this time.

After a long silence, Fang Huaixu sighed almost imperceptibly and slowly relaxed: "Alright, now that you understand my situation, do you have any good solutions?"

Upon hearing Fang Huaixu's words, Meng Yao's eyes instantly cleared, and the tired and competitive look on her face vanished instantly. She stood up with a bright expression and said, "Yes, I've already thought of it."

She even felt a little smug, as if she had solved some century-old problem: "You should have said so earlier. Anyway, we're husband and wife now. Even though it's a collaboration, I still got Lin Tianhai's... uh, I guess you could call it an appearance fee."

She carefully chose a beautiful word, a sly glint in her bright eyes: "So since you're lonely, playing the role of a lively and adorable wife who can help you through your troubles is part of my job, right?"

Fang Huaixu hadn't expected the topic to return to this point. Just as he was about to say something, Meng Yao quickly made a shushing gesture in front of her mouth: "It's good that things are out in the open. I know you don't accept this way. Anyway, to thank you for the generous environment you've provided for me, I will use my words and actions to warm your life and make your life less lonely and cold in the palace. But you also have to try this new life. How about it?"

never mind.

Fang Huaixu nodded, then watched her run off to the kitchen with a beaming smile, and couldn't help but smile back.

Meng Yao's seemingly intimidating speech gave him a brief moment to think, but of course it did not shake his logic.

His moment of silence was just reflection. He realized that he didn't need to spend so much effort refuting her. He should have just agreed to a way that she could accept, so that she could live a more relaxed and comfortable life here.

As for what kind of image he had in her heart, that wasn't important.

At least now she doesn't look like a hedgehog that's always on guard anymore.

Fang Huaixu chuckled as he tidied the table, watching her cheerful figure. Unbeknownst to himself, a strange sense of anticipation crept into his heart.

Author's Note: Oh well, I can't resist updating anyway! There will be a little later update tomorrow, around 11 PM~