Chapter 12, Awkward
Luo Xincheng walked straight to her car. The driver, who had been informed in advance, spotted her approaching while looking around and immediately got out to open the back door for her.
"Take Mr. Fu to his company first," she instructed. "It's at Wanzhe Building."
"OK."
After she fastened her seatbelt, the driver gestured to her, "Your milk tea is already on the cup holder."
"Thanks."
Luo Xincheng tore open the straw, poked the milk tea, and took a few big sips, leaving Fu Zhiheng, who was standing next to her, both amused and exasperated.
"Isn't it said that people with tea polyphenol intolerance will have trouble sleeping if they drink it at this time?"
"At worst, I won't sleep; I don't have to get up early."
Luo Xincheng continued drinking her milk tea nonchalantly, only belatedly remembering the proper way to treat guests after the car drove onto the road.
"Would you like something to drink?" She opened the refrigerator behind her and glanced inside. "We have mineral water, lemon sparkling water, coconut water, and... vodka?"
How did the last one manage to sneak in?
He waved his hand, "I'm not thirsty now, thank you."
Luo Xincheng gave a vague reply, reached into the refrigerator and rummaged around, and sure enough, there was a bottle of Macallan covered at the bottom.
...The case is solved. It must have been the previous driver who put it in. The new driver doesn't know her that well.
Although he was more seriously injured in that car accident, so much time has passed, he should be almost fully recovered by now, right? I'll ask Mom to give him an extra bonus later.
With extremely complicated feelings, Luo Xincheng closed the refrigerator door.
As she turned around, her eyes met Fu Zhiheng's gaze, which he had quietly cast at her.
But in the blink of an eye, the other person lowered their eyes.
When Luo Xincheng turned her attention to him again, she saw him with his head down, his hands on his thighs, sitting in an unusually proper posture that was not in line with his age, revealing a hint of unease.
His undried hair was damp, and water droplets seeped down, leaving irregular, dark stains on his suit trousers.
Luo Xincheng looked away, gazing at the scenery outside the window, and focused on sipping her milk tea.
Sure enough, it's really awkward to be in the same carriage...
While she pretended to admire the street scene outside the window, Fu Zhiheng subtly shifted his eyes, silently observing her in what he considered a discreet manner.
Perhaps because her only activity today was visiting an elder in the hospital and there was no need for social interaction, she dressed very casually.
She wore a khaki trench coat with a built-in scarf decoration, shorter in the front and longer in the back, paired with black wide-leg pants with a good drape, and finished the look with thin-soled high heels in the same color family.
Her hair was styled loosely with lazy curls, flowing naturally and smoothly. Her ears and wrists were bare, except for a rather eye-catching leopard cat ring on her left index finger, which was lively and wild. The marquise emerald set in her eye socket shone with a captivating light in the shimmering light.
She wore no other jewelry besides that, and was nothing like the glittering bejeweled woman she was last night.
Her makeup was very light. Even in the same small space as her, at such a close distance, he couldn't find any powder on her face. If he hadn't noticed the lipstick on her milk tea straw, he would have thought she was wearing no makeup at all.
Unfortunately, even though her clothes and appearance were very relaxed, she was still tense and guarded towards him.
For example, right now, she appears to be staring out the window with great interest, occasionally glancing down at her phone, as if she isn't paying any attention to him at all. However, the slight movement of her body turning slightly towards the car door betrays her wariness.
If the circumstances allowed, Fu Zhiheng thought she might have chosen to turn her back on him directly.
Lost in thought, her thumb, which had been hovering over the phone screen, stopped sliding and instead rested on the edge of the phone case.
The extended nails tapped out a dull, thumping sound, as if sending a signal of impatience.
Fu Zhiheng didn't know how long she could endure it, nor did he intend to test her patience. So when she knocked for the third time, he wisely looked away and then made a very obvious head-turning motion, looking out the window.
The air, which had been subtly stagnant, began to flow again.
Inside the carriage, three different breathing sounds rose and fell, never overlapping, but without exception, they were all very soft.
In the tacit silence maintained by everyone, Fu Zhiheng's ears twitched slightly, catching the faint rustling sound of fabric rubbing against each other.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he quickly turned his head to look and found that Luo Xincheng had already put the milk tea into the cup holder and was leaning against the car door scrolling through her phone.
Although his expression remained unchanged as he stared at his phone screen, his demeanor was noticeably more relaxed.
Fu Zhiheng didn't dare to look any longer and quickly looked away, while also feeling a sense of relief.
He knew he was being too hasty, launching his offensive on the second day after their reunion, but his methods were so clumsy that they easily aroused her suspicion.
But what could he do?
She said she had amnesia and didn't remember him at all. If he didn't seize every opportunity to meet her and spend more time with her, how could he leave any impression on her?
Beijing is such a large city, and her activities have covered such a wide area that they are not limited to just this one city.
She encounters so many people every day, and there are always men with ulterior motives deliberately approaching her. If he continues to be reserved, she might forget him completely in a couple of days.
He didn't want to be forgotten by her again.
But he didn't want her to hate him either.
So aside from his initial clumsy spying, he didn't try to be clever and start any other conversations.
The street scene outside the window kept receding. As he watched, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and couldn't help but yawn.
So sleepy.
I'm so sleepy.
Meeting Luo Xincheng at the Ning family's dinner party last night was not what he expected. After returning to the old house, he had been thinking about it. Even when it was time to sleep, he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. He was in a strange state of anxiety and excitement, unable to get sleepy.
But in order to attend the meeting the next day in good spirits, he did not let himself continue to wallow in the whirlpool of emotions. After a moment's thought, he got up and took a melatonin pill.
But before the medication could even take effect, the butler rushed in, banging on the door to say that the old man had suddenly fallen ill...
Upon hearing the devastating news, Fu Zhiheng felt an urge to pluck the melatonin he had just swallowed back out of his throat.
Little did they know that the steward was secretly suffering in his heart at that time.
It's true that five of the deceased family's children who were living elsewhere have been found, but the eldest son and the second daughter have no intention of returning to the Fu family. The third son is unrestrained and loves freedom. He likes racing cars and going to bars and often comes home drunk in the middle of the night. Because he doesn't like being nagged by the old man, he moved out last year.
The fifth young master is more obedient and hasn't shown any bad habits yet, but he's young and hot-tempered and easily angered. He especially doesn't get along with the third young master, and they always end up glaring at each other whenever they meet. The butler gets a headache every time he sees the two of them together.
Moreover, he hadn't graduated from university yet, and to make it easier to go to school, he usually lived in an apartment near the school. When the old man fell ill, he wasn't at the old house at all.
Compared to the previous young masters and ladies, Fu Zhiheng, the calm and reserved fourth young master, is so worry-free. Even though when he first learned about his background, he was prickly and spoke coldly and unpleasantly to his grandfather whom he had never met, he behaved normally in every aspect and his emotions were calm and stable, unlike the other two, whose emotions fluctuated like they were on a roller coaster every day.
The youngest one only loves to enjoy himself but is unwilling to take responsibility. He dumps all the work on the professional manager under the pretext of lack of experience, and even calls it "professionals doing professional things" and "it's all for the better development of the company".
The one in the very middle, as always, is cautious and prudent, subtly winning over capable people. He also occasionally shows some outstanding performance in decision-making, allowing the company to develop in a direction that satisfies him while operating steadily. The old steward observes coldly that only this fourth young master is truly capable of getting things done.
He even chose to settle in the old house so that he could consult the old man on business matters at any time! The butler couldn't help but marvel at how extraordinary this young man's character truly was!
It should be noted that after losing his beloved children and grandchildren one after another, Old Master Fu's mental state was already far beyond that of ordinary people. Even his old housekeeper, who had been with him for more than 20 years, sometimes couldn't stand his unpredictable moods.
But Fu Zhiheng could stand it. Not only could he stand it, but when the old man was so angry with his business rivals that he was throwing things around, he could leisurely make himself tea and drink it. His emotions were frighteningly stable.
The old butler believed that there was nothing the fourth young master could not do, and that he could endure what ordinary people could not. So when the old master suddenly fell ill, he immediately went to knock on the fourth young master's door.
In case—and he meant in case—the old man was unfortunate enough not to be saved, leaving a will for the fourth young master would be more useful than leaving one for the other two, right?
As it turned out, his choice was indeed correct.
Even when faced with such a life-or-death situation in the middle of the night, Fu Zhiheng only showed a hint of panic in the first few minutes after receiving the news. For the rest of the time, he remained quite calm. From the old house to the hospital, during the various mediations and negotiations, he remained expressionless and did not reveal the slightest bit of vulnerability.
The old butler saw everything and felt that if the Fu family could be handed over to such a calm and composed person who could remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, he would no longer have to worry about his old age.
Little did people know that Fu Zhiheng's expressionless face throughout was simply because he wasn't close to Old Master Fu, so he completely positioned himself as an observer. Those who remain uninvolved are often more able to stay calm, analyze the situation more objectively, and adapt to changing circumstances than those directly involved.
If he knew about the old butler's rich inner thoughts, he might burst out laughing on the spot—a laugh of utter speechlessness.
But I'm really... so sleepy.
Fu Zhiheng yawned again, and even a simple action like blinking became extremely difficult. If he was a few seconds slow in opening his eyes, his eyelids seemed to be glued on and it was hard to separate them.
So sleepy... If he falls asleep in her car, will she wake him up when they arrive at their destination? How will she wake him up? Will she raise her voice to wake him, or will she gently shake him?
Thinking of the latter possibility, Fu Zhiheng's lips curled into a slight smile, but he quickly suppressed it and felt ashamed of his wishful thinking.
but……
He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. What if...?
The scene before me gradually became increasingly blurry due to drowsiness, like a watercolor painting just pulled from the water, with flowing and blurred color blocks that were interspersed within each other, their boundaries indistinct, hazy and ethereal, swaying and distorting.
Finally, Fu Zhiheng took off his glasses, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
A note from the author:
I'm not used to the redesigned comments section...
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