Chapter 318 Subtle
"This is a small token of my appreciation for your kindness, Uncle and Aunt."
"It's good that you're here, why did you bring anything?" Shang Wu took the gift and gestured for him to sit down. "Your Uncle Lu is in the study, he'll be out soon. Xiao Wu, stop looking around, Yan Yan is here, why don't you entertain her?"
Lu Yuwu slowly put down the magazine and gave an extremely unnatural smile: "Hi."
Fu Yan looked at her with deep eyes and responded with a faint "Mm".
The atmosphere instantly became somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Lu Rang came out of the study at this moment, and when he saw Fu Yan, a smile appeared on his face.
"Fu Yan is here. Have a seat. Have you been busy with your studies lately?"
"It's alright, Uncle Lu," Fu Yan replied, standing up respectfully.
With Lu Rang present, the atmosphere eased considerably.
The group chatted about trivial topics related to their studies and current events.
Lu Yuwu remained a background figure throughout, her head down, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of the sofa.
The servants prepared a very lavish lunch.
During the meal, Shang Wu and Lu Rang tacitly led the conversation, never mentioning anything about the two children, but only showing concern for Fu Yan's recent situation.
The conversation about the health of Fu's parents was fairly harmonious.
Lu Yuwu ate without tasting the food.
She could feel the gaze from the other side occasionally falling on her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
After the meal, Shang Wu was clearing away the dishes when she suddenly said to Lu Yuwu, "Xiaowu, your father and I have an appointment this afternoon to discuss some things, so we have to go out for a bit. Why don't you sit with Yanyan for a while, watch TV, or chat?"
Lu Rang stood up and picked up his coat, saying, "Yeah, we'll probably be back before dinner."
Lu Yuwu's eyes widened. Before she could say anything, her parents had already quickly changed their shoes and gave her a look before leaving.
With a soft bang, the door closed.
Suddenly, only she and Fu Yan remained in the large living room.
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
Lu Yuwu felt like she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, and her heartbeat was amplified infinitely in the silent space.
She didn't dare look at Fu Yan, her eyes darting around aimlessly before finally settling on the TV remote.
"Um, do you want to watch TV?" she asked dryly, trying to break the suffocating silence.
Fu Yan leaned back on the sofa, seemingly relaxed, but his gaze remained fixed on her. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Whatever you say."
Lu Yuwu felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly picked up the remote control and pressed the power button.
Her mind was blank; she had no idea what to watch and her fingers were randomly pressing the channel buttons.
The screen flickered, the image froze, and a pale, bloodied ghost face suddenly filled the entire screen, accompanied by a shrill, piercing sound effect!
"ah!"
Lu Yuwu was so frightened that she screamed and threw away the remote control without thinking. Like a startled rabbit, she instinctively rushed into Fu Yan's arms.
She gripped his sweater tightly with both hands, buried her face in it, and her body was still trembling slightly.
Fu Yan was slightly stiffened by her sudden embrace.
Immediately, a familiar, soft scent with a faint fragrance filled his senses.
He lowered his eyes, looking at the fluffy head in his arms and the slightly trembling shoulders. His once cold and hard heart felt as if something had violently smashed open a crack in it.
Fu Yan instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her even closer into his embrace.
The terrifying sound effects continued, but Lu Yuwu was no longer afraid.
All her attention was focused on Fu Yan's embrace.
The familiar scent instantly gave her a long-lost sense of security.
Several seconds passed before Lu Yuwu suddenly realized what she had done.
Good heavens, she actually threw herself into Fu Yan's arms!
Lu Yuwu's cheeks instantly turned bright red, and even her ears and neck turned pink.
She frantically tried to break free from his embrace, her voice stammering with embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
However, Fu Yan tightened his grip on her arm even more, showing no intention of letting go.
"Don't move." His voice came from above, carrying a hint of suppressed emotion.
Lu Yuwu froze in his arms, unable to move, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.
On the television, the background music of the horror movie turned eerie, but the atmosphere between the two became even more ambiguous.
Fu Yan lowered his head, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe. His voice was deep, like a whisper, carrying an undeniable persistence:
"Lu Yuwu, tell me, do you... still like me now?"
Lu Yuwu trembled, instinctively wanting to deny it, to push him away, and to use sharp words to protect her pitiful self-esteem.
She didn't want to admit it, couldn't show weakness in front of him, and didn't want him to think that she couldn't live without him.
However, the thought of being held tightly in his arms, with his unique, cool scent lingering around her nose, was silently eroding her defenses.
Lu Yuwu opened her mouth, but the words she didn't mean were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them no matter what.
She could only bury her face deeper like an ostrich, and replied with a hint of defiance, "I don't want to answer."
To Fu Yan, this sounded no different from coquetry.
At this moment, he finally relaxed, and emotions welled up in his heart, causing him to unconsciously tighten the grip on his arms a little more.
He didn't press further, but simply savored the genuine warmth and softness in his arms.
The horror movie on TV continued, but the two people embracing each other seemed to be in another quiet world.
Some answers may not need to be spoken aloud.
The physical closeness and the resonance of heartbeats had already revealed the truest secrets in their hearts.
In the living room, only the flickering light from the television screen remained.
The tight embrace lasted only a few seconds, as they were still reeling from the shock.
Lu Yuwu could feel the warmth from Fu Yan's chest and the undeniable strength of his arms encircling her.
The intense blush on her face was a reminder of her embarrassment, and her heart was still pounding wildly.
But after the initial ambiguity, reason quickly returned.
All those unresolved misunderstandings, Jin Ting's existence, and many moments of Fu Yan's cold indifference towards her all rushed into my mind.
Lu Yuwu immediately tried to break free from his embrace in a flustered manner, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.
"Let me go first!"
Fu Yan sensed her resistance, his arm stiffened slightly, and the softness in his eyes disappeared.
He released his arm as instructed, letting her dart away like a startled rabbit to the other corner of the sofa, creating distance between them.
His embrace suddenly vanished, along with the warmth of her faint, sweet fragrance.
Fu Yan's heart sank.
He watched her curled up in the corner, her lips tightly pressed together.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Lu Yuwu tidied her slightly disheveled hair, her tone becoming distant again, trying to use calmness to mask the turmoil in her heart, "I was just frightened."
Seeing her prickly expression, Fu Yan swallowed back the explanation and questions that were on the tip of her tongue.
His eyes darkened, but he only gave a faint "hmm" and turned his gaze back to the television screen, which was still playing a horror movie.
The atmosphere froze, becoming even more subtle than before.
At this moment, outside the villa.
Shang Wu was carefully pressing her ear against the crack in the door, listening intently to the sounds coming from inside.
Lu Rang stood a few steps behind her, watching her slightly childish behavior with a indulgent smile on his lips.
"What did you hear?"
Shang Wu shook his head.
She heard a brief silence inside, followed by her daughter's panicked voice and some noises, and then silence again.
Shang Wu was anxious, afraid that they would start arguing, so she couldn't help but open the door a little wider so she could see more clearly.
Just then, Fu Yan, who was sitting on the sofa, turned his head and keenly caught the slight noise outside the crack in the door.
His gaze narrowed slightly, and a barely perceptible ripple appeared on his tense expression.
He immediately understood why Aunt Shang and Uncle Lu suddenly had something to do.
Lu Yuwu was still immersed in embarrassment and self-reproach, unaware of the strangeness at the door.
Fu Yan composed himself and turned his gaze back to the television screen, seemingly oblivious to everything. However, the corners of his tightly pursed lips seemed to loosen imperceptibly, revealing a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
This meal didn't seem to be a simple affair.
Your uncle and aunt must know something.
Outside the door, Shang Wu met Fu Yan's brief, knowing glance and was startled.
Knowing she had been discovered, she quickly turned back, gently closed the door, and gave Lu Rang a helpless expression.
She whispered, "Let's go, let's really go. The rest is up to fate."
Lu Rang chuckled, put his arm around Shang Wu's shoulder, and truly left home.
Shang Wu leaned against the passenger seat, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were pondering some difficult problem.
Lu Rang drove and asked gently, "What's wrong? Still thinking about the two children?"
Shang Wu turned around to face him, her eyes filled with undisguised confusion: "You mean Xiao Wu and Fu Yan, when exactly did they start dating?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Rang chuckled slightly: "Why are you still thinking about this?"
"That's what I'm wondering!"
Shang Wu moved closer to him and lowered her voice, "Look, Xiao Wu has only just started university. She's only been an adult for a short time. During her three years of high school, her studies were so demanding, and we kept a close eye on her. She spent most of her time at home or in the art studio."
"Although Fu Yan often comes to our house, he is always well-behaved. At most, they bicker a bit. How could they have the time and opportunity to secretly date?"
She carefully recalled every detail of her daughter's high school years, trying to find some clues, but found that apart from the two of them not getting along since childhood and the occasional interaction, there was really no sign of puppy love.
Looking at her earnestly pondering, Lu Rang found it rather cute and couldn't help but reach out and gently pinch her cheek, his tone teasing.
"How come I never knew Mrs. Lu had such a gossipy side?"
Shang Wu slapped his hand away and glared at him reproachfully.
"I'm just concerned about my daughter! Don't you find it strange? The two of them really kept it a secret."
"Isn't it normal for young people to have their own world and secrets?"
Lu Rang seemed quite open-minded, looking straight ahead and speaking calmly, "Perhaps it was in a moment we didn't notice that the relationship changed, or maybe it was during the summer after the college entrance exam that we were all busy with our own things and overlooked the changes between them."
He paused for a moment: "The important thing is that we know now, and we can see that Fu Yan is serious about Xiao Wu, and that's enough."
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