Chapter 17 Gift: "Want to Kiss Me?"
As Song Luoyun stepped into the hall, she felt several sharp gazes fixed upon her, but she couldn't find their source.
She kept the purpose of her trip in mind: after meeting Fu Zeming's father and discussing the funding for her studies abroad, she would leave and definitely not stay there for too long.
There was no holding hands or other intimate contact; they quickly met Fu Sheng and got straight to the point.
Fu Sheng didn't care much about Fu Zeming's affairs, and besides, the matter of sponsorship wasn't under his jurisdiction. He only said, "You two hurry up and get married. After you enter the Fu family, you won't need to apply for these hundreds of thousands or millions of yuan anymore."
Song Luoyun was taken aback, feeling that his words were not spoken on a whim, but rather with a purpose.
She didn't understand, but Fu Zeming knew very well that having him marry before his elder brother and have a boy with Fu family blood would help his elder brother compete for the position of family head.
If he could, he would like to do so.
But all he could say was, "Luo Yun and I both want to focus on our studies first, and we'll talk about marriage later."
Fu Sheng: "You're not young anymore, you can start preparing for these things. I don't mind, but if you want more, go and discuss it with Huaizhi and Father."
That's what they said, but the funds approved by Fu Sheng were enough for them to live abroad for two years. Fu Zeming didn't want to explain things to his older brother, and neither did she.
Song Luoyun glanced at Fu Zeming and sighed at how easily this had been accomplished.
After Fu Sheng left, she immediately said, "Thank you. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
"Why don't you..." Fu Zeming was about to start thinking.
Someone was already calling him from the other side, and he reached out his hand, forced to greet them first.
Suddenly, Song Luo's shoulder was affectionately put on, which startled her. She then saw Fu Qiaoying appear out of nowhere.
"Why did you come here? You didn't come to hear me get scolded, did you?" Fu Qiaoying was in much better condition than the last time I saw her, probably because she had been eating and sleeping well lately.
There was another girl with her, who looked very much like her; she must be her older sister. Song Luoyun nodded politely in greeting, and replied, "No, I came with Zemin."
"I bet he doesn't want to be apart from you for even a second," Fu Qiaoying said with a mischievous grin.
Song Luoyun gave a forced smile: "What about you? Why didn't you bring your new lover with you?"
Fu Qiaoying shook her head, her fingers even expressing her protest: "Everyone I brought here represents someone who will marry him in the future. I never intended to be tied to him like this."
Song Luoyun's smile froze slightly when she thought about why she was there.
Fu Qiaoying pulled her aside, passed by her mother, gave her a brief greeting, and went upstairs.
She didn't explicitly state the reason, but Song Luoyun quickly understood after looking around at all the women in the room.
In the Fu family, men always held a higher status than women, and most of them were not qualified to stay in the main hall; they had their own places to go.
Entering the dressing room, there was no one there, a rare sight on this day.
Fu Qiaoying sat down and began to look in the mirror. She had to make sure her makeup was flawless, even though there was no one she cared about here.
While touching up her makeup and chatting, Song Luoyun learned about the entire Fu family from her.
The Fu family has a long history, and even its collateral branches are prominent figures in the capital. They enjoy countless riches and honors, but their family rules are somewhat distorted and conservative.
The current head of the Fu family is the fourth person in charge of the entire Fu family. He has been in power since he was 40 years old and has been dedicated to cultivating the next head of the family. At first, he favored his fourth son, but unfortunately, the son was disappointing and went insane one day after reaching adulthood. His plans changed, and he could only set his sights on his grandchildren.
"Actually, his fourth son was driven insane by himself." Speaking ill of his master on someone else's turf, Fu Qiaoying only dared to whisper in his ear, "His parenting methods were particularly cruel. I remember when he was selecting our generation, he tortured and killed the dog he had raised for five years in front of all the children."
“Torture! It was torture! He loved that dog so much before that, but he just killed it like that.” Fu Qiaoying still feels lingering fear when she talks about it. “I was only 5 years old at the time. I closed my eyes and covered my ears the whole time, but I still heard the dog’s cries for help. I had nightmares for a month after it was over.”
"Only two people who neither cried nor pleaded were chosen to be groomed as heirs that day, and one of them was Fu Huaizhi."
"So think about it, with such a brutal selection method, how could the selected people not be madmen?"
Fu Huaizhi's father, Fu Sheng, was the eldest son of the family head and already controlled most of the Fu family's shares. Thanks to his son, he became the most influential person in the entire Fu family besides the family head. It wasn't until the two prospective heirs came of age that his status was lowered to theirs.
However, this makes the two heirs irreconcilable enemies. The rest of the Fu family can only try to build good relations with them before they take over, otherwise, once either of them takes the position, the rest of the family will be kicked out.
“My family will be the first to be swept,” Fu Qiaoying said. “My family is the weakest and we don’t have a good relationship with them, so we’ll be removed from the family tree.”
Song Luoyun said, "It's better to leave; the environment here is too suffocating."
“That’s true, but I have no status.” Fu Qiaoying shrugged. “Right now, everyone still remembers my identity as the eldest daughter of the Fu family and pays attention to my every move. They’ll definitely laugh loudly when the time comes.”
Nevertheless, they have the life that ordinary people yearn for most.
After chatting for a while, there was a knock on the door of the dressing room. The older sister I had just met stood there and said softly, "Xiao Ying, the banquet is about to begin. Your parents are calling you downstairs."
"Oh." Fu Qiaoying slowly stood up.
Song Luoyun then stood up. She was wearing a pair of high heels that didn't fit well today, and her heels were bleeding from the friction, making it painful to walk.
“You guys go ahead, I’m going back,” she said.
"Go back? Now?" The older sister was a little surprised. "You have to go through the hall to get here. Everyone is there now. It would be difficult to explain if you suddenly went out. Why don't you stay here?"
“Then come down with us. You’re the only one on the second floor,” Fu Qiaoying said.
But her older sister stopped her, saying, "Her feet are already bleeding, it will be painful for her to walk any longer, let her stay here."
Fu Qiaoying noticed Song Luoyun's discomfort and exclaimed, "Oh my god, how much pain must that be? I'll go find you some band-aids."
"No need, you guys go ahead, I'll just rest here, it's fine," Song Luoyun said with a smile.
Fu Qiaoying wanted to stay and keep her company, but her sister pulled her away, restoring silence to the second floor.
In this place, the absence of the restless atmosphere always adds to the sense of dread. She can't hear any sounds from downstairs, as if she's the only person in the entire area.
Song Luoyun was lying on the table playing on her phone.
Counting the time, it's eight o'clock now. It will last for at most an hour, so she can leave at nine o'clock and get a good night's sleep when she gets home.
After a while, hearing footsteps behind me, I assumed it was Fu Qiaoying and subconsciously said, "Didn't I say I didn't need a band-aid? Why did you bring it over..."
Turn around.
But it turned out to be a man.
His figure stood tall, his steps slow—it was Fu Huaizhi.
Her smile gradually froze, and she stood up warily, looking at him.
"Don't we have to go to work today?" Fu Huaizhi approached her, his tone neither gentle nor angry.
"I made a last-minute change of plans for the holiday." Song Luoyun quickly came up with an excuse.
"Really? Then why didn't you tell me?" He had already come to her side and gently took her hands in his, which were resting on the table.
He was wearing a dark brown linen shirt today, and the fabric of the cuffs brushed against her legs, which weren't covered by her short skirt, making her shrink back.
“I don’t know how to contact you,” Song Luoyun said, going along with his words.
She probably has a way of dealing with him. First, she can say some nice things to appease him. As long as he doesn't get angry, everything is negotiable.
He was indeed satisfied; his brows relaxed slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"So, you're standing next to Zemin just to see me?" he said, glancing at her with interest.
Song Luoyun: "...Hmm."
That's ridiculous.
Fu Huaizhi chuckled softly. How could he not know she was lying? Yet, he was still pleased.
"So, did you miss me?"
"think."
Do you want to kiss me?
"No."
Even if she were to lie, she couldn't make that sound, so she stepped back a little and leaned against the table.
She was quickly lifted and sat on the table again, his hands still around her waist, and his lips pressed against hers.
"But I really want to."
Song Luoyun did not resist and let him kiss her. Her lipstick smeared on his lips and also stained her own makeup.
After they'd kissed enough, he finally said, "So, you didn't break up with him?"
"We can't split it." Song Luoyun told the truth this time, but she still couldn't help but observe him.
"He told me that he could send me abroad to study."
"You want to go abroad?" Fu Huaizhi was not surprised.
Song Luoyun knew she couldn't hide it from him: "Yes, but I don't have any money."
“I have it. Be mine, and I’ll give you whatever you want.” Fu Huaizhi looked at his lips, which were covered in a mess of kisses, each red mark a testament to their intimate encounter.
"Actually, I don't want anything," Song Luoyun said.
Fu Huaizhi didn't mind her occasional mood swings; on the contrary, he found her more vibrant and captivating than before.
"He needs my permission to ask for money, so why don't you just come to me directly? I can give you countless amounts of money and find out everything you're curious about."
Song Luoyun searched her mind for every language, but couldn't find a way to refuse him.
He remained patient, took out one hand, took out a small square box, and placed it in her palm.
"Don't believe me? Then let me give you a gift first, okay?" He kissed the tip of her nose.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, her fingertips finally opened the lid of the gift box.
There was only one page inside; when unfolded, it contained a photograph.
When she finally saw the image above, she was stunned for a long time, her breathing becoming very slow.
Fu Huaizhi helped her by pointing to the person on the paper.
He raised an eyebrow, watching the scene unfold, and lit a fire.
"Are you curious why your boyfriend is with your mother who always belittles you?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: I had other commitments on three separate occasions, so this chapter is a bit short.
We'll know the truth soon!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
