Chapter 116 The difficulties are mainly your fault...
Zhilan paused slightly, somewhat surprised: "What kind of request?"
Fu Yun looked up and glanced around the courtyard. Most of the people Ye Lan had left behind were guarding the well, which was clearly not a suitable place for chatting.
He glanced at a less crowded spot in the courtyard and gestured slightly with his hand: "It's too crowded here to talk. Let's go over there and discuss this in detail."
Zhilan had no objection and went with Fu Jun to the quieter courtyard wall.
Fu Jun considered his words carefully before speaking: "When we were in the alley, you asked me to enter the palace. I have thought about it carefully. Based on the idea that lovers should be honest with each other, I feel it is necessary to communicate with you my true thoughts."
Zhilan's originally raised eyebrows slowly lowered, and her expression became calm: "Go on, I'm listening."
Fu Yun frankly said, "To be honest, there's no doubt that I like you, but I'm not ready to enter the palace yet. I think you could give me some time to transition. Also, I want to tell you that my greatest passion is business, and it's hard for me to give up everything I have to live in the palace. For me, my career is the eternal driving force that keeps me moving forward. It can ignite my fighting spirit and allow me to maintain a positive attitude and unwavering determination to move towards my goals at any time."
Zhilan frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Do you do business to have more money to spare?"
Before Fu Yun could respond, she asked again, puzzled, "If you become my Phoenix Lord, you will naturally have inexhaustible gold and silver treasures. Are you afraid that I can't afford to support you?"
She still couldn't quite understand why he had such a strong obsession with doing business. He could have lived a life of luxury and comfort simply by finding a good marriage and marrying a wife who would love and protect him. Why did he have to work so hard, braving wind and rain for a few taels of silver?
“This…” Fu Yun rubbed his temples, unsure how to explain to Zhi Lan that doing business meant more than just making money.
He looked up at the clear white clouds on the horizon, feeling the coolness of the sun evaporating the moisture from his clothes. His mood gradually calmed down, and he said gently, "Making money is indeed interesting and challenging, but that's not the only reason I love doing business. In my heart, making my beloved business bigger and stronger is a very meaningful and enjoyable thing. It is not only a symbol of ability and wealth, but also a manifestation of realizing my own life value, and it is a journey that I am willing to strive for."
When he said these words, his eyes shone with a firm and fervent light, full of sincerity.
"Perhaps you can't understand how I feel right now, but most people feel the same way when it comes to things they love and are passionate about. We all have our own ideals and goals to pursue. The satisfaction and sense of accomplishment we feel after overcoming all difficulties and achieving the desired results is indescribable. It's exhilarating and incredibly satisfying. I enjoy this boundless joy and pride."
He looked directly into Zhilan's eyes, his tone filled with determination: "So, I want to tell you that I can't give up either my career or my relationship. I hope you can give me time to fulfill my life's ideals. No matter what I achieve in the end, at least I will have fought for it and tried my best. Even if the result is far from what I expected, I will not regret it."
Seeing that Zhilan was staring at him without looking away, Fu Jun looked away with slight embarrassment and continued, "Of course, during this time when I am working hard to build my career, it will not affect our relationship. It's not that I don't want to be with you, but that I will not enter the palace for the time being. We can each do what we want to do."
“Living in the palace with you, we can be together day and night, going in and out together, which is certainly good. However, it would be inconvenient to travel, making it difficult to utilize my strengths and restricting my actions. Therefore, I hope that I can travel freely, so that I can achieve my goal sooner and enter the palace to be by your side. What do you think?”
[Tsk~ Mr. Fu's eloquence is top-notch, he speaks so logically and persuasively that it's quite moving. But in my opinion, where you live is secondary; the main thing is that you're afraid the Empress will make you have children after you enter the palace, right?]
Fu Yun: "..." If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute.
After listening to Fu Yun's long speech, Zhi Lan remained silent for a long time. It would be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed, but it was truly remarkable that he had mustered the courage to speak so frankly. If she disagreed, he would probably be sad. After he had risked his life for her time and time again, how could she bear to refuse him?
Today, she experienced firsthand the complex emotions of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and the joy of regaining what she had lost.
Only he could bring her a completely new feeling, different from any of her past life experiences.
The moment she thought he was in trouble, she thought that as long as he was alive and could appear before her, she would do everything she could to fulfill his wishes, no matter what.
Thinking of this, Zhilan sighed softly: "If this is what you want, then so be it. I will have someone prepare a house for you to live in outside the palace, so that it will be more convenient for us to meet."
Fu Jun's face lit up with joy upon hearing this: "You agree?"
He thought he would have to use a lot of persuasion to get Zhilan to reluctantly agree, but to his surprise, Zhilan not only didn't make things difficult for him, but also prepared accommodation for him directly.
Although his male pride wouldn't allow him to be a kept man, if he directly rejected Zhilan, wouldn't she overthink it? Would she misunderstand and think that he didn't want what she offered or wanted a deeper relationship with her?
To prevent her from overthinking, accept her gift first, then work hard to earn more wealth for her, which can be considered as offsetting the loss from this money.
[President Fu, it's not shameful to live off the Empress. You've done a good job, so it's perfectly normal for her to reward you.]
Fu Yun: "That's what I said, but I still feel a little uneasy."
【Mr. Fu, this is just your male chauvinism acting up. Let me tell you, the domineering CEO is a thing of the past. Now, the popular type is the loyal little wolf dog or the scheming little sweetheart, and the stronger the tea, the better.】
Fu Yun: "?" What kind of heavenly book are you talking about?
I have no idea where Xiao Ba went to collect these strange adjectives again.
When Zhilan saw that Fu Yun's expression brightened considerably when he mentioned not having to enter the palace, she felt a mix of emotions. She glanced at him and asked, "If I don't agree, will you compromise?"
Fu Jun smiled slightly: "Probably not. I'll try to persuade you until you agree."
"Heh~" Zhilan twitched the corners of her mouth and said irritably, "If that's the case, then why waste your breath?"
Fu Yun touched his nose, trying to make amends: "Actually, not living in the palace isn't entirely without its advantages. After all, we grew up in different environments, so our thoughts and values are often different. Our lifestyles and habits are also quite different, so there will inevitably be some friction. I'm also worried that I might not have done something right and offend the people in the palace, but I won't know where I went wrong. At that point, you can't punish me, and you can't not punish me either. It'll be difficult for both sides. It's better for me to stay outside the palace for now. This way, we can give each other more time to get to know each other better, which will help deepen our relationship."
Zhilan shook her head gently, feeling both helpless and amused: "Alright, I'm not blaming you, you don't need to be so careful."
She really couldn't handle this guy anymore. She couldn't bear to punish him, but if she didn't, he might take advantage of her kindness one day.
Fu Yun was speechless for a moment, so she simply changed the subject: "By the way, I was originally going to the martial arts arena, but I came here halfway because of the entrance issue. Now that things have come to an end, I won't stay any longer. I'll go back to the shop first, change into some clean clothes, and then go to the martial arts arena."
Upon hearing this, Zhilan glanced at Fu Yun. It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned it, but now that she had, she couldn't help but focus her attention on him. Su Fu Yun looked thin, but he was tall and well-proportioned. Just by standing there quietly, he gave people a sense of refined elegance, like a piece of fine jade that didn't need to be polished to be pleasing to the eye.
His posture was like a pine tree, his upright back and well-proportioned chest peeking out from under his damp clothes, exuding a strange attraction and a kind of unknown charm, making him very visually striking.
Zhilan silently admired the scene for a long while until Fu Jun vaguely noticed her gaze and looked over with some confusion. Only then did she quietly shift her gaze and say something that left no room for argument: "I'll send someone to get your clothes. You're still soaking wet, so don't wander around."
Fu Yun thought about it and felt that Zhi Lan was right. He was indeed not presentable walking around in the street all wet, which would not have a good impression in ancient times.
“Alright, then I’ll trouble you to have someone go to my shop and ask Lu Zhisheng for a change of clothes. I asked him to prepare a few sets of clothes for me so that I could stay at the shop occasionally when I had something to do.”
Zhilan nodded, indicating that she understood, and then softly called out, "Someone come here."
As she finished speaking, Guard Fang appeared from the corner of the courtyard.
Fu Yun asked in surprise, "She's been here the whole time?"
Since leaving the shop with Zhilan, Fu Yun had stopped noticing the subtle stares from Guard Fang and Guard Zhang.
I thought they were busy with something else for the time being, but I didn't expect they had been hiding in the shadows all along.
Zhilan said calmly, "The two of them are responsible for protecting you, so naturally they will be wherever you are."
Fu Jun looked slightly embarrassed and felt a bit complicated. It was bad enough that he, a grown man, was being treated like a panda and specially protected, but to have two people specially assigned to guard him was a bit of a waste of manpower.
While Fu Yun was lost in thought, Zhi Lan had already instructed Guard Fang: "Go to Young Master Su's shop and ask Young Master Lu for a change of clothes."
"Wait a minute~" Fu Yun added, "Take two sets!"
Zhilan looked over with a puzzled expression. Fu Jun pointed to her sleeve and said, "Your clothes are wet too. Bring me another set so you can wear them for now. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if you get cold."
Guard Fang's gaze followed Zhi Zhilan, clearly waiting for her instructions.
After a moment's thought, Zhilan agreed: "Do as he says."
"Yes." After receiving the order, Guard Fang glanced at Fu Yun, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected the Empress to dote on him so much, basically agreeing with whatever he said and never rejecting his suggestions.
Sure enough, he overcame every obstacle, except for the handsome man.
She dared not linger any longer, fearing that the Empress would think she was coveting the handsome young master of the Su family, so she quickly and deliberately disappeared, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Fu Yun couldn't help but wonder where Guard Zhang was hiding.
They quietly scanned the area but couldn't find Zhang the guard anywhere.
"There's no need to look. The secret guards come and go without a trace. If you don't want to discover her whereabouts, you'll never find her."
Fu Yun remained silent. The reason he could see Guard Fang and Guard Zhang the previous times was not because he had good eyesight, but because they wanted to reassure him and not worry about his safety.
"Oh, right." Zhilan seemed to have thought of something, and her expression became serious: "I came to see you today not only to see you, but also to tell you something. The mineral veins that were excavated last time have been cleared, and your portion will be delivered to you in a couple of days."
The surprise came a bit suddenly, and Fu Yun was immediately in a great mood: "That was fast! I thought I'd have to wait a while for the settlement!"
This dividend came at a very opportune time. In addition to the fitness training camp, Fu Yun also wants to put other business plans on the agenda.
For example, there are parent-child leisure parks and early childhood education and care classes, all of which are designed to give fitness training camp participants more time to exercise.
Although there have been no reports of wars between the matriarchal kingdom and other countries, the fact that so many spies have disguised themselves and infiltrated the capital of the matriarchal kingdom suggests that they are secretly plotting something, perhaps even more unexpected than war.
It's time to make plans early, so that when a crisis comes, we still have the ability to retaliate.
Just as Fu Yun was about to talk to Zhi Lan about this, the figure of Guard Fang appeared in the courtyard.
She respectfully handed the clothes to Zhilan, and after she took them, she quickly said, "This subordinate takes her leave."
After Zhilan silently agreed, Guard Fang did not look at Fu Yun again, nor did he say a word to him. He turned around and went back to the shadows to disappear.
Fu Yun silently complained in his heart: "The guards are really clean and efficient in front of Zhilan, not saying a single unnecessary word."
Fu Yun took clean clothes and went to a separate room with Zhi Lan to change.
When he came out, Zhilan had already changed.
Seeing Zhilan wearing the clothes he often wore, he felt a secret shyness and a sense of fulfillment. It was as if only at this moment did he truly feel the intimacy between them, as if they were no longer indistinguishable.
Zhilan still has matters to attend to regarding the secret passage, so it's not appropriate for him to stay here.
So Fu Yun took the initiative to resign, and Zhi Lan did not try to keep him. She just told him before he left that someone would be sent to deliver the land deed for the new house the next day, and he could move in at any time.
Fu Yun was not very grateful and waved goodbye to Zhilan.
After leaving the residential area, Fu Yun returned to the main street and headed towards the martial arts arena.
Just as they arrived at the entrance of the martial arts arena, before they could even go in, they saw Cheng Jincheng and Xing Fei rushing out of the arena, as if they had encountered something.
I didn't see Qian Qingling; she must have gone to continue investigating the spy.
Fu Jun asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Cheng Jincheng was taken aback when he saw Fu Yun and asked in surprise, "Boss, what brings you here?"
Fu Yun said, "I heard that Xing Fei summoned you, so I came to see what was going on."
Before Cheng Jincheng could answer, he pressed on, "What's wrong? You two don't look quite right."
Xing Fei pursed her lips and remained silent, while Cheng Jincheng hung his head and said, "The outdoor fitness equipment we prepared is gone."
Fu Yun frowned: "Gone? Was it stolen?"
Cheng Jincheng shook his head: "I don't know either. Logically speaking, only you and I know how to use those fitness gadgets. No one else knows how to operate them. What would they do with these things?"
Fu Yun scoffed and said coldly, "It's not necessarily that they stole it for their own use, but rather that someone can't stand to see us doing well."
Cheng Jincheng suddenly realized: "You mean someone is deliberately sabotaging us so that we can't open for business?"
Fu Yun nodded: "I offended quite a few people recently, and they probably want to make things difficult for me."
Cheng Jincheng said dejectedly, "What do we do now? We're opening the day after tomorrow, and it's definitely too late to prepare those training aids now. Should we postpone our opening?"
Fu Jun replied without hesitation, "Of course not. If we compromise this time, there will only be more and more unexpected situations in the future."
Cheng Jincheng said, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
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