"Tomorrow you need to be there to take minutes. Bring your laptop."
"Understood."
Before parting ways, Fu You'an indicated she understood. Only after the driver retrieved her suitcase from the trunk did she wave to Shang Fuyan. "Goodbye, Chairman."
Shang Fuyan raised a hand as usual. "Goodbye, go on in."
Not until she passed through the gates did the black car start up, vanish into the street, and merge with the endless stream of traffic.
Fu You'an dragged her suitcase into the courtyard of the Fu Family residence.
"Miss, you're back."
A domestic worker stepped forward to take her luggage. Seeing that the ends of the young lady's hair were damp, she immediately reminded her, "Miss, you should go change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a chill."
"No rush, Auntie. We have a guest visiting this afternoon. Make sure you prepare tea and wait for them."
"A guest?"
——"Yes, my boyfriend, Baichuan—"
The worker instantly caught on. Seeing the tender, affectionate smile on the young lady's face, she realized she had gotten a boyfriend! This matter couldn't be kept quiet; she had to tell Mr. Fu right away to keep their innocent young lady from being scammed!
Before long, Mr. Fu learned of this over the phone. He had spent a great deal of effort on his daughter's upbringing; who was this punk from out of town, daring to covet her?
Chen Baichuan—a name never heard of in their circles.
The Chen Family had no such person either.
"Dad."
Summoned to the living room by Fu Zhennan, Fu You'an padded over in slippers and flopped onto the sofa. "What did you call me for?"
Fu Zhennan put down his newspaper and leisurely sipped his coffee. "I hear you've found a boyfriend?"
"Yes. Actually, we've known each other for ten years. We were classmates for a long time."
Hearing this, Fu Zhennan set down his coffee cup and looked directly at her. "They're not our social equals. Right now, he's just an assistant to the president of a Shangding subsidiary—he can't possibly give you the life you want."
"Dating is fine, but if you're talking about marriage, absolutely not."
He had only one precious daughter who would inherit the family business in the future; he valued the background of any potential son-in-law above all else and had to be on guard.
Fu You'an's expression dimmed.
Fu Zhennan: "I hear he's coming over as a guest today, so let's just lay everything out in the open. It'll be better for both of you."
Before leaving, Fu Zhennan patted his daughter's shoulder. "An'er, you must understand that your marriage is the most important matter in our family. When it comes to choosing a husband, you cannot afford to be willful. Understand?"
Fu You_an covered her face in distress. "Dad, can't I be willful just this once—"
"No."
Today's dream was tormenting.
At first, he hadn't been able to find her, following the faint sounds of weeping all the way to the wardrobe.
The wardrobe had sliding doors. With a gentle push from him, the moonlight slipped inside, illuminating her gorgeous face, stained with tears. She was curled up deep within the wardrobe, trying to hide herself away.
Back in reality, Secretary Fu was still wearing her familiar camisole nightgown, her snow-white arms wrapped around her knees.
"Let me see which An'an is crying."
Instead of making her come out, he stepped into the cramped space, kneeling beside her in an enveloping posture as he reached out to wipe away her tears.
Her crying gradually subsided. Shyly, she reached out and pushed him. "You're too close."
"When An'an cries, it hurts my heart too."
He leaned down close to her, pressing against her soft, tender cheek. "What are you crying about? Can you tell me?"
"It's all your fault—" She bit her rosy, tender lip. "You're the one who wanted to break up with me! You're the one who took my dad's call and said we wouldn't see each other anymore!"
Shang Fuyan paused. Why did everything this Chen Baichuan fellow do align so perfectly with his own innermost wishes?
No matter what, he had done the right thing!
If only it were like this in reality, too. Shang Fuyan didn't overthink it; he just wanted to coax Secretary Fu: "Is that so? Then I must be a terrible person. An'an mustn't forgive me—"
Speechless, she cast a sidelong glance at him.
Listen to the nonsense he was spouting. Shang Fuyan chuckled inwardly. "An'an, dreams are the opposite. Perhaps the person in front of you isn't Chen Baichuan at all?"
He had no intention of wearing Chen Baichuan's label forever.
"How could it not be?"
"Whether it is or isn't, An'an can check for herself."
"Check?"
His large hand captured her soft one, guiding it to touch the line of his lips and gently stroke them.
"Does An'an feel like it's very different?"
Fu You'an stopped crying, utterly unable to tell the difference. "I can't feel any difference."
"Well, there's one little trick."
"An'an, look up."
The conversation inside the wardrobe ceased. Through the moonlight, one could only see the tall man kneeling within the wardrobe, enclosing the beauty in the shadows, her fair, delicate calves hanging down beneath the fabric.
"Mmph, my legs are going numb. Let me go."
"I can't do that."
...
He woke up and habitually went to take a shower.
The sound of splashing water went on for a long time. Sometimes Shang Fuyan wished he could flip day and night and just sleep straight through, because every time the two of them were about to take things a step further, he would wake up for some bizarre reason or another.
His body was aching for her.
Though he could trick her in dreams, how could reality quench his thirst? Besides, he couldn't fool her forever.
"Sir, Secretary Fu has arrived."
He hurriedly pulled on a bathrobe and sat on the sofa. The scheduled teahouse was close to the Shang Residence, so Secretary Fu would arrive at the living room by appointment to wait for him before they set out.
"Got it."
On the surveillance monitor, Secretary Fu was sitting properly in the living room's soft seating, holding her briefcase. Bored, she placed the briefcase flat across her knees, her eyes staring blankly at the teacup on the table.
So beautiful. I want to kiss her.
He stood up, put on a suit and shirt in front of the mirror, and touched the white jade pendant hanging around his neck.
Fu You'an was still in a daze, only snapping back to reality when Shang Fuyan reminded her.
Her dark circles were a bit pronounced today; it seemed she hadn't slept well. Still, she forced herself to put on a smile. "Good morning, Chairman."
"Good morning."
In the car, she fought off her exhaustion and kept her eyes fixed on her shoes.
Not until the Chairman beside her crossed his arms and closed his eyes to rest did Fu You'an allow herself to close her eyes for a moment too, thinking she would just doze off for a little while—just a quick nap, and she'd wake right up.
That quick nap lasted half an hour.
Shang Fuyan sat beside her, waiting as he gazed at her sleeping face while his watch ticked away.
Meanwhile, over at the teahouse, Xu Shengsheng was pacing back and forth impatiently. Ten minutes had already passed past the agreed-upon time, and she asked Assistant Li, "Why aren't they here yet?"
Checking a text message, Assistant Li replied, "There's a traffic jam this morning. Mr. Shang says it will take another half hour."
"Then what about the time he wasted for me? Pay me!"
Half an hour later—
"Why aren't they here yet?!"
Checking his phone, Assistant Li said, "Mr. Shang says he'll pay you twenty thousand for the delay. Do you want it or not?"
"Of course I want it!"
Waste not, want not. Having taken the money, Xu Shengsheng instantly changed her tune. "If I'd known a half hour was worth twenty thousand in delay fees, I wouldn't have rushed you. Tell your boss to take his time—take another half hour if he wants."
Assistant Li: ......