Chapter 9 Debts of Favor

In the Ruan family study.

Ruan Ying ran her fingertips along the edge of the paper, her nails turning bluish-white from the pressure.

She reached up and rubbed her temples, her fingernails lightly tracing her brow bone, making the dark circles under her eyes even more noticeable.

The pessimistic content of the document caused a few fine wrinkles to appear at the corners of her well-maintained eyes.

Steady footsteps approached.

The man's shirt was stretched into a beautiful curve, the cuffs were casually rolled up, and the firm muscles of his forearms rippled gently with the movement of serving tea.

His well-defined fingers held a bone china tea tray, and the silver watch on his wrist gleamed under the light. He pushed the door open gently, and the bone china teacup was placed steadily on the table.

"Mr. Ruan, black tea."

"Your Majesty, the Fu family has truly been a great help. Ruan Jianming is really serious this time." Ruan Ying was in poor condition and sounded exhausted.

"Mr. Ruan, you flatter me. It's just a way of repaying your father for the help he gave my father during his lifetime," Fu Jingchen said in a cold but polite tone.

"As for Mr. Ruan Jianming, the news of the cooperation between the Fu and Ruan families has already been released, so Mr. Ruan need not be so anxious."

Ruan Ying was having some difficulty breathing, but she endured the discomfort and replied to the person in front of her, "I'm sorry to have wronged you, Xiao Chen. You're still so young. I'll arrange for things to be clarified after this is over."

After all, Ruan Ying was almost fifty years old, but the man in front of her, who looked no more than twenty-eight or twenty-nine, was just a child to her.

"It's just a business collaboration, there's no question of feeling wronged." Fu Jingchen said calmly, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"It's true that you've been given an unpleasant reputation," Ruan Ying said with a hint of apology.

But there's nothing to apologize for; the news was originally released by the Fu family.

After the Ruan and Fu families cooperated, rumors about Ruan Ying and Fu Jingchen spread like wildfire. Many people in the industry ridiculed the Fu family for going crazy and being so desperate as to let their young and promising eldest son get involved with the divorced Ruan Ying.

Wealthy families value their reputation above all else, so such a thing is quite rare. It's a bit unpleasant to talk about, and Ruan Ying wouldn't have resorted to using the favors owed to her father by the Fu family to resolve the situation if it weren't so urgent.

But how could the Fu family be without their own selfish motives? Since Chairman Fu agreed to let his eldest son make some small sacrifices, it proves that the benefits of this cooperation definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. If one can climb up to the Nguyen family's "fertile field," what does it matter if one is talked about a few times in the circle?

Moreover, the Ruan family is currently only engaged in internal strife, and the result of the strong alliance between the Fu and Ruan families will only be a sure profit.

"Ideally, it would be best if you and Xiaoyi could get along, that would be a match made in heaven, and good for both of you."

"Unfortunately, Xiaoyi is engaged, and the Shen family is completely unwilling to budge. I only have this one precious daughter, so I won't bother her anymore. I'll figure out how to handle some things myself." Feeling a bit more uncomfortable, Ruan Ying rubbed her temples.

"Xiao Yi and that guy from the Shen family, are they very close?"

Fu Jingchen's calm tone, which had remained unchanged throughout, seemed to have stirred slightly.

"If things were going well, I wouldn't have to worry. Xiaoyi has repeatedly threatened to break off the engagement, and Shen Xun, for some reason, just won't budge. Our relationship is now extremely strained."

For some reason, after saying those words, she felt that the person opposite her seemed to be in a much better mood, and the atmosphere in the room became much softer.

If Xiaoyi and Shen Xun got along well, would Fu Jingchen need to be here?

With a real marital relationship, the Shen family could naturally help her overcome the difficulties, so there was no need to rely on her father's favor.

Unfortunately, judging from Xiaoyi's current state, it seems unlikely that the marriage will take place, and she might even offend the Shen family.

Ruan Ying hopes her daughter's marriage will be happy.

She still felt guilty towards Ruan Yi because she couldn't be by her daughter's side when she was little, and she never even attended parent-teacher meetings or sports meets, but Xiao Yi was always so well-behaved.

When Ruan Yi was going through a divorce with Cheng Huaiyuan, her maturity as a child was heartbreaking.

Ruan Ying vividly remembers the time she asked Ruan Yi, "Xiao Yi, do you want Mom to forgive Dad?"

The tiny Ruan Yi hugged the doll, her round eyes brimming with tears. She first nodded slightly, then quickly shook her head.

"I don't want Mom to make do! Xiaoyi... Xiaoyi, don't see Mom sad."

The soft little baby cried and rushed into her mother's arms.

Ruan Ying's heart melted. The simple phrase "little cotton-padded jacket" was no longer enough to describe how wonderful her daughter was. Ruan Yi was simply a little angel sent to her by heaven.

Recalling the warm memories, Ruan Ying found that her physical discomfort had lessened considerably.

"By the way, I apologize to you on Xiaoyi's behalf." Ruan Ying's tone was full of doting helplessness.

"This child's little brain, you saw her attitude that day. It's probably because the fact that she's your stepfather has become a source of resentment towards you. Don't mind it."

Fu Jingchen's lips curled slightly.

"How could that be? Xiaoyi is very cute."

Little Yi is suffering right now.

"Lin Han, stop being so picky," Ruan Yi said helplessly, pulling the girl who was staring at several male models back to her side.

"Alright, alright, you can all leave now."

The girl called Lin Han lazily waved to the row of male models whose shoes had increasingly thick soles.

“One by one, taking off their shoes is like going down the stairs.” The girl who spoke had a pair of bright almond-shaped eyes with slightly upturned corners, and her straight nose was adorned with a faint pearlescent sheen. Her makeup was very exquisite.

She always had a smile on her lips, and her fluffy chestnut curly hair draped over her shoulders. She was about the same height as Ruan Yi, but her figure was more slender and delicate, and her appearance was like that of a well-behaved porcelain doll.

"You mean everyone who gets close to your brother will become gay? And you, baby, you won't fall in love with me, will you?"

"If, I mean if!"

Ruan Yi didn't reveal any more information, let alone that this world was actually a novel, otherwise Lin Han would have sent her to a psychiatric ward.

"My little Yiyi~ Have you been reading too many novels? To come up with such an assumption, your family needs to hire an expert."

Ruan Yi wanted to argue a bit more, but Lin Han pinched her cheek hard. "Ruan Yi, if you insist on making such a stupid assumption, then I can tell you that the key point is not the people around your brother, but only... one person!"

"What do you mean?" Ruan Yi was a little confused.

Lin Han whispered mysteriously in Ruan Yi's ear, "There are only two possibilities."

"Which two? Tell me quickly!" Ruan Yi blinked, hoping she could enlighten her.

"The first possibility is that your brother... is a succubus."

"You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth," Ruan Yi said angrily, slamming her

"Don't rush, we haven't mentioned the second one yet~"

Lin Han pulled Ruan Yi closer, his expression extremely serious. "This second possibility is highly likely!"

Ruan Yi trusted her one more time and pressed her ear against her lips.

"Actually, these are all..." she said mysteriously.

"You're just fantasizing like an idiot!"

Haha, Ruan Yi felt that her life was really bitter, and her only best friend, whom she could turn to for help, thought she was crazy.

Okay, Ruan Yi accepts the first possibility.

Gu Zhi is probably a succubus.