Chapter 54 She Shines Brightly! Dazzlingly!

Fu Yanshen's gaze pierced through the crowd, looking towards Xia Mian in the distance.

The girl had a bright smile and an elegant demeanor.

Deep within, in the darkest corners of my heart, something is stirring, like a lurking beast about to burst through the gate.

He wanted her to smile only at him, and for her eyes to reflect only his image!

He selfishly wanted to hide her away so that no one could find her!

He forcefully suppressed the burgeoning thought, took a deep breath, and looked away.

No, I can't...

He can't do that.

Xia Mian's curved eyes inadvertently lifted, and she saw Fu Yanshen standing in the banquet hall.

The man in the crisp military uniform was exceptionally handsome. Just by standing there, everything around him seemed to pale in comparison, bleak and colorless.

The man's gaze was deep and unfathomable, falling on her face as if it were tangible.

She paused for a moment, then gave him a polite smile—a smile devoid of emotion, purely out of politeness.

Looking at that emotionless smile, Fu Yanshen gritted his teeth.

She smiled broadly at Zhao Baoqi, and she smiled gently at those unfamiliar ladies of high society!

Everyone also noticed Fu Yanshen; they didn't get to see this very busy Chief Fu very often.

Normally, Fu Yubai and his wife are the ones who socialize with each other.

So the crowd surged toward him, greeting him with either respect or flattery.

"Commander Fu, you must be exhausted from dealing with the floods these past few days, right?"

"Disaster relief still depends on Chief Fu!"

"Commander Fu, it's been a long time."

...

Fu Yanshen nodded to everyone, his expression indifferent, aloof and dignified.

Xia Mian helped Madam Fu walk towards him. Madam Fu looked at this grandson who made her so proud and said, "You will give the speech at the banquet."

Fu Yanshen did not refuse.

He strolled to the stage in the center of the banquet, took the microphone, and said a few official words, explaining the purpose of the banquet: fundraising!

As soon as he finished speaking, the donation box was placed on the stage.

Many guests went up to put their donations into the donation box.

The calligraphy association teacher persisted, pestering Xia Mian, "Miss Xia, you are really great. Please join our association."

"Sorry, I'm not very interested." This was Xia Mian's third rejection.

Her focus is not on calligraphy.

Yang Bilian and Madam Fu got along very well, and Master Yang praised Xia Mian in front of Madam Fu more than once.

Just as the two were having a pleasant conversation, the lights in the banquet hall suddenly went out.

Suddenly, a single spotlight shines on the stage.

"This girl said she has a surprise, I wonder what it is." Old Madam Fu patted Yang Bilian's arm. "This child is really good!"

A tall, slender young man suddenly appeared on stage dressed in a theatrical costume.

He did a clean backflip and then ran around the stage quickly before anyone could react!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he produced a wooden stick with a whoosh!

He actually breathed fire directly at the wooden stick, and the torch burned fiercely.

After burning for a while, the boy's expression changed again, changing very quickly, from laughing and joking to angry and furious!

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

"Interesting, quite interesting."

"That was fantastic! I didn't expect there to be a performance!"

Madam Fu thought this was some kind of artist invited by Xia Mian.

As a result, when the lights were turned back on, the living room was ablaze with light.

The boy removed his mask, and everyone gasped, "It's actually..."

"This looks like one of the twins?"

"I wonder if it's the second young master or the third young master..."

"Is this the second young master? Isn't the third young master autistic?"

Everyone guessed it was the second young master, Fu Yanhao!

Only Old Madam Fu stood up with trembling hands, slowly walked to Fu Yanchen, grasped the young man's hand, and said excitedly, "Chen'er...you, you are so brave!"

Fu Yanshen also raised an eyebrow in surprise. He stood next to Xia Mian, his voice revealing a strange sense of suppression, as well as a hint of jealousy that he himself could not perceive.

She was jealous that Xia Mian focused her energy on her younger brother. Couldn't she have lingered her attention on him a little longer?

How did you convince him?

"I just asked... about his hobbies and interests, and he said he was interested in face-changing..." Xia Mian tilted her head and looked at him, ever since she found out that he wasn't the one who changed her clothes.

She became bolder again, at least daring to make brief eye contact with him.

"So I asked him if he wanted to perform something."

Fu Yanshen's expression darkened. "So he agreed?"

For someone with autism, actively stepping out of their own world is incredibly difficult.

And Fu Yanchen actually dared to perform a show in front of so many people?

This was something the whole family would never have dared to dream of before.

Xia Mian knew what Fu Yanchen was thinking. His eldest brother was fighting on the front line, his second brother was also on the front line, and he was staying at home to recover from his foot injury. He was unwilling to accept this.

He wanted to do something too; none of the men in the Fu family were cowards!

When she said the performance was for fundraising, Fu Yanchen agreed, even though he had hesitated before.

"Thank you." Fu Yanshen suppressed the bitterness in his heart, while also being happy for his younger brother.

He gazed at her with restraint, his sexy Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

Xia Mian couldn't understand his expression, but she always felt that he was very restrained... She didn't know where this restraint came from.

"Although there's a banquet tonight, we still have to eat medicinal cuisine." The man's voice was pleasant, but his words were extremely unpleasant.

Xia Mian's small face instantly scrunched up, "Why... I want to eat some small cake..."

"You're anemic." The man's tone was domineering, brooking no argument. "You can't eat too many sweets, or they'll rot your teeth."

Xia Mian: "..."

Is she a three-year-old? And she has bad teeth...

Next, Zhao Baoqi sang a song called "Tomorrow Will Be Better." She has a very good voice, ethereal and melodious.

The entrance exam for art programs at Mingcheng University is not easy to pass.

But Zhao Baoqi is the best among them!

It's easy to imagine how exceptional her voice is.

Someone teased, "Miss Xia, haven't you planned any activities?"

Xia Mian was taken aback; she really hadn't planned any activities for herself. "I..."

Before she could even speak, Madam Fu said with a beaming smile, "Mianmian, come here and write a piece of calligraphy on the spot!"

“Well… alright then.” Xia Mian then looked at the butler beside her, “Uncle, please prepare some writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.”

She originally wanted to mention the Four Treasures of the Study, but it would probably sound pretentious if she said it, so she was more direct.

"You also know calligraphy?" The wealthy lady who had asked for the calligraphy copybook earlier had her eyes sparkling. "Wow! Miss Xia, you're amazing!"

Xia Mianzhen didn't think that writing calligraphy was anything special or impressive...

A desk was quickly moved over, on which thick sheets of Xuan paper and ground ink were laid out.

Xia Mian walked over in high heels, lightly dipped her brush in ink, and said, "It's been a long time since I've held a brush, so I'm a bit rusty. If my writing isn't good, I hope you won't laugh at me."

Fu Yanshen's gaze was fixed on Xia Mian, watching the girl's slender figure, her back straight, and her hand holding the wolf-hair brush slowly begin to write...

Not only him, but almost everyone present turned their gaze to Xia Mian.

Some even secretly scoffed, "It's just writing calligraphy, isn't it? I practiced it when I was a kid."