Li Qianqian counted the zeros on the check, her expression complex. She never expected that the mother-in-law in the book would treat the original owner this well—it was practically the devotion of a real mother. She would have to cherish this relationship.
In her real life, she had been an artist manager; for her, this was just going back to her old trade. To be given a company along with famous artists—a windfall like this was something she was naturally willing to accept.
However...
In the original book, the original owner’s husband was not dead at all. It was simply that Old Madam Fu had proposed that marrying the original owner would allow him to secure a larger share of the Fu Group. Fu Yunli, wanting both the shares and still harboring feelings for his "white moonlight" sweetheart, had pretended to pursue the original owner. After marrying her, he staged a fake death to run off and live with his sweetheart. He never imagined that Old Madam Fu would hand over all the assets to the original owner, so he lived outside without a care.
He even had his three brothers help him; as long as they could find a scandal that would ruin the original owner's reputation, he would return and divorce her on logical grounds. The original owner, meanwhile, had no interest in managing her wealth and was obsessed with finding a new protector, constantly flirting with these men. She was essentially handing them the ammunition they needed to destroy her and giving the scumbag husband the perfect excuse to kick her to the curb.
Li Qianqian pondered for a moment, then raised her eyes and asked sincerely, "What if Fu Yunli isn't dead?"
Old Madam Fu let out a long sigh. "I know you are a loyal and kind child who cannot let go of Yunli, but the dead cannot return. You must move on soon."
Li Qianqian remained silent for a moment. She wasn't actually that attached. "I just want to know, if he comes back alive, do I have to return the assets?"
Old Madam Fu was silent.
"Since these assets have been transferred to your name, they are naturally yours. There is no question of returning them. When I look at you, I see my own daughter. Even if you and Yunli were to divorce, I would only have let Yunli walk away with nothing, do you understand?"
"Qianqian, don't torture yourself anymore. Yunli's spirit in heaven would certainly not want to see you like this." Old Madam Fu comforted her earnestly and patted her shoulder. Thinking of her own daughter, she couldn't help but let her eyes grow moist; the pain of a parent burying their child was truly unbearable.
Touched by the old woman’s words, and recalling that the original book mentioned the old woman had lost both a daughter and a son, Li Qianqian parted her lips. "If he is alive, I want to see him; if he is dead, I want to see his body. Perhaps Fu Yunli is somewhere in a corner of the world..."
"Then let's just pretend he is living in that corner. If he doesn't come home, it is because he has somewhere he prefers to be. Qianqian, it is our Fu family that has let you down." Old Madam Fu’s eyes flickered; she picked up her tea as if to mask something and took a small sip.
"I understand." Li Qianqian nodded. She caught the subtext: Old Madam Fu knew Fu Yunli was still alive. She was merely honoring his wishes by pretending he was dead, and these assets were her way of making amends.
"These are the profiles of all the male artists at Rose Entertainment. Some of the younger ones look quite good. If you see someone you like, you can take your pick. As long as both parties are willing, there is no harm in dating. If you find someone you really like and he is willing to marry into the family, I can accept that as well." Old Madam Fu pulled another stack of documents from under the desk and pushed them toward her.
Li Qianqian: "?" *Holy crap.* Her husband had been "dead" for only two months, and her mother-in-law was already finding the next husband for her? This was incredibly open-minded.
"Cough, cough. Mom, I don't have the heart for these things right now. I want to focus on doing a good job first."
"You are a courageous and capable child. Whatever you do, Mom supports you." Old Madam Fu’s eyes were filled with doting laughter. She sighed inwardly; if she had known what a deadbeat Yunli would turn out to be, she would have been better off playing matchmaker between Huaishan and Qianqian.
***
No sooner had Li Qianqian stepped out of Old Madam Fu’s study than she was blocked by Steward Ji.
"Second Young Mistress, Master Fu would like to see you in his study." Ji Wanyun’s tone was extremely displeased. Just thinking about how her two months of wages and annual bonus had been docked made her go mad. Even Huaishan had refused to search Li Qianqian’s room, saying that she should stick to her own duties and not meddle in things that weren't her business. In the six years of companionship since college, did she truly have no standing in his heart?
"Mm." Li Qianqian’s brain worked at top speed. She knew without even thinking that nothing good would come of this. She shuffled toward Fu Huaishan’s study; no matter how slowly she walked, she would eventually have to face the storm.
Fu Huaishan was already fully dressed, looking sharp and dapper in his suit. He sat in an armchair, the flush on his face having faded, and his entire demeanor was haughty and imposing. The top two buttons of the white shirt under his suit were undone, revealing his strong, defined collarbones. He held a pen between his long, clear fingers. When he saw her enter, his expression became complex—likely due to the morning’s misunderstanding, and even the fact that he’d had a physical reaction to her, which now stirred strange feelings within him.
"Brother, did you want something with me?" Li Qianqian asked, acting like an obedient child, her hands clasped together, looking innocent.
Fu Huaishan’s bottomless, pitch-black eyes landed on her small face, not missing a single expression. His tone was calm. "About this morning—I misunderstood you."
"It's alright. As long as Brother can trust me more in the future, that’s enough. I was just missing Yunli so much, and you have a similar look in your eyes, so I wanted to show you some concern." Li Qianqian was preemptively protecting herself against this older brother, even attributing her previous irrational behavior to missing her late husband. She was a genius.
Fu Huaishan’s typically icy expression softened. After all, he had witnessed the passionate period of her relationship with Yunli. Now that he was gone, it was only natural for her to be unable to let go. He even found it difficult to say what he needed to say next, but keeping the item in his possession wasn't an option.
He reached under the desk, face impassive, and lifted a bag, passing it to her.
"Zechuan asked me to return this to you."
Li Qianqian was almost blinded by the glaringly obvious advertisement on the bag: *Soft lace, skin-friendly and breathable, leveling up your sexiness.*
"..."
Qi Zechuan was one of Fu Yunli’s brothers. Even though the original owner *had* stuffed personal items into men's hands, he had definitely asked the older brother to return it on purpose!
Li Qianqian feigned shame and anger. "He is Yunli’s childhood friend! How could he send me something like this!"
"He said to return it." Fu Huaishan covered his mouth and gave a light cough.
"This isn't mine!" Li Qianqian had worked so hard to salvage her image in the older brother's eyes; she couldn't admit to this. She looked at Fu Huaishan with imploring eyes. "Brother, do you not believe me again?"
Fu Huaishan’s heart softened as he looked into those moist, shimmering eyes. He had misunderstood her just that morning; the word *distrust* felt stuck in his throat.
The room remained silent for a long time until Li Qianqian finally broke the quiet. She realized it would be hard to make him trust her immediately, and besides, the item *did* actually belong to the original owner, so she stopped arguing and lowered her gaze.
"Then let's just say it is mine. From now on, I won't do anything that could be misunderstood. I will stay away from you, and I will stay away from Yunli’s friends."
With that, she turned and walked away decisively.
Fu Huaishan narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the table as his thoughtful gaze lingered on her retreating figure. His look was one of scrutiny; he felt as though she were a completely different person from a few days ago. But it wasn't impossible that she had just been scared by nearly being exposed this morning, and this was simply a new tactic of feigning retreat to advance.