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The villa of the old master was a twenty-minute drive from the apartment.
The last time Fu Jichen had visited was two weeks ago.
The old master had just finished practicing Tai Chi, wearing his training attire and looking spirited. He was standing on a ladder, trimming the lush trees in the yard.
This was unusual for today.
On ordinary days, the old master only trimmed flowers, grass, and shrubs, leaving the trees to grow freely.
Once the car was parked, Fu Jichen stepped out.
“Grandpa, what’s gotten into you today?”
Snip went the pruning shears.
A branch fell.
“It’s been over a decade since I last trimmed these. Just look at how unruly they’ve become.”
Fu Jichen understood that his grandfather was using this as a metaphor: after more than a decade of neglect, he had allowed Fu Jichen to act recklessly, which ultimately affected the overall harmony.
The old master closed the pruning shears and handed them to the butler as he climbed down the ladder. “I heard you abandoned the bidding for one of the plots.”
“Yes. Yu Qing reminded me.”
Since his grandfather had summoned him, there must be something important to discuss.
There was no point hiding Yu Qing’s matters from the old master, so Fu Jichen didn’t bother concealing anything.
The old master spoke bluntly, “That girl from the Yu family isn’t someone who spends money lightly. Her highest daily spending reached thirty-four million yuan—she bought two sports cars, four watches, eight bags, and countless bottles of perfume—I don’t remember the exact number.”
Fu Jichen continued, “She spends like that only occasionally.” After a pause, he added, “I earn enough to cover her expenses.”
“Heh.”
The old master removed his gloves and strolled to the tea tray, picking up a small cup of hot tea.
“I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re already defending her.”
The old master sipped his tea. “You and Qin Moling—you think you’re playing around, but you’ve encountered a super player.”
Fu Jichen: “….”
The old master gestured for Fu Jichen to look at the entire yard. That afternoon, he had brought several workers to trim every corner of the garden, including the flowers, shrubs, and trees.
“Doesn’t it look much neater now?”
“Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.”
Fu Jichen didn’t respond.
With his hands in his pockets, he followed his grandfather’s finger, glancing over everything.
The twilight deepened layer by layer. The lights in the yard flickered on.
The old master set down his teacup. “Let’s go inside.”
________________________________________
When Fu Jichen returned home, the light in the study was on.
Yu Qing was lying sideways on the desk, eyes closed, motionless.
He thought she was playing with him again.
Walking over, he bent down and kissed her earlobe.
Yu Qing jolted awake, startled, and abruptly raised her head.
A dull thud.
Fu Jichen covered his nose, which had been hit, with one hand while rubbing her forehead with the other.
Yu Qing was momentarily dazed before realizing where she was. “You just got back?”
“Yes. Why did you fall asleep in the study?”
“I was thinking about things, then got bored and fell asleep.”
Yu Qing was still somewhat confused. At this moment, both her mind and heart were at a low point.
She leaned against Fu Jichen, taking a moment to compose herself.
After that phone call with her father, she had thought about many things and many people. She thought of her grandmother and her mother, whom she hadn’t contacted in a long time.
She tried to recall when she had last seen her mother.
No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t remember.
But the words and images from her childhood, when her mother, resenting her father, disliked her too, were deeply etched in her memory.
Even though that night, her grandmother had held her hand and comforted her, saying those were just angry words from her mother, she couldn’t forget.
She also thought of the Yu family. In reality, it was just a place that gave her a surname—it wasn’t a home.
“Do you get cranky after a nap?” Fu Jichen looked down at her. Her forehead rested against his abdomen, and she looked like she hadn’t fully woken up.
Yu Qing snapped out of it. “For me, whenever I close my eyes and open them again, I get cranky.”
She sat up, yawned, and walked out.
“Going to sleep?”
“No, don’t touch my computer. I still have work to do.”
Yu Qing went to the bathroom to wash her face with cold water, clearing her mind for a moment before returning to the study.
Fu Jichen leaned against the desk, his gaze meeting hers as she entered and sat down. After washing her face, she immediately perked up, a faint smile curving her lips.
“Something making you happy?”
“I’m always this happy.” Yu Qing moved the mouse, waking up the sleeping computer screen. “Aside from work hours, my life alternates between self-indulgence and trolling mode.”
Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled. “Right now, I’m in self-indulgence mode.”
Fu Jichen: “Never unhappy?”
Yu Qing paused, shook her head. “I’ve never set that mode.”
Fu Jichen leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. “True, you fish have no hearts. Your memory lasts less than seven seconds, so you don’t need an unhappy mode.”
They were so close that their breaths intertwined.
Yu Qing countered, “Do you know why the sea is salty?”
She answered herself, “It’s all the tears of the fish.”
Fu Jichen kissed her lips again.
Yu Qing hugged him, “Sweet?”
“All I taste is fishiness.”
Yu Qing: “… Don’t cats love stealing fish?”
“Yes.” Fu Jichen cupped her cheek. “I only eat the fish from my own pond.”
The kiss deepened.
Later, Fu Jichen carried her to the bedroom, their lips never parting, their bodies entwined.
Yu Qing loved being held by Fu Jichen, feeling his strength and power.
Their bodies pressed together as closely as possible.
After a shower, Yu Qing felt refreshed.
She took off her towel and grabbed her robe, putting one sleeve on but not the other. As Fu Jichen came out of the bathroom, he glanced at her. “Why are you wearing a robe?”
“To work overtime. To slave away for our President Fu.”
Yu Qing loosely tied the robe’s sash around her waist, leaving it loose and revealing.
Her graceful figure was partially hidden, partially exposed.
Still, it was more conservative than her backless nightgown.
“It’s almost midnight. Time to sleep. You can deal with work tomorrow morning.” Fu Jichen didn’t let her return to the study and casually turned off the bedroom light.
Yu Qing used her phone to illuminate the room. “I’m not sleepy.”
“I am.”
“Then you sleep.”
Fu Jichen pulled her back. “If you keep moving around, it’ll disturb me.”
Yu Qing took off her robe to look for her pajamas but was immediately pulled into Fu Jichen’s arms. He tucked her in under the blanket. “What’s so urgent that you need to work overtime?” he asked.
Yu Qing briefly explained, “I passed it on to Zhou Yunli, but I also want to write one myself. I don’t trust legal opinions written by others.”
She frowned, puzzled. “Why isn’t New Tech among your target companies?”
New Tech had a strong team and had weathered the storms of the capital markets, emerging unscathed.
“I personally have high hopes for New Tech.”
Fu Jichen asked her, “Do you know who owns New Tech?”
“Qiao Weiming.”
Yu Qing suddenly realized, “Is he related to Qiao Yang’s family?”
“Qiao Yang’s second uncle, my tennis coach. He doesn’t understand technology, but he’s skilled in management and operations.”
Yu Qing understood. “Are you avoiding conflicts of interest? Are you worried that if you invest in New Tech, other shareholders might suspect you of favoritism?”
She thought it unnecessary. “In fact, your relationship doesn’t really fall under the category of needing to avoid conflicts. If you follow that logic, in the financial circle, everyone knows each other. If we all avoided conflicts, how could we invest?”
“Different. The real boss behind New Tech is me—I’m the largest shareholder.”
“A hidden shareholder?”
“Yes.”
Yu Qing suddenly became interested, moving closer and resting her head on his arm.
She would never rest her head on his arm unless absolutely necessary—it was all muscle, hard as a rock, nowhere near as comfortable as a soft pillow.
Fu Jichen lay on his side, half-pressing her beneath him. “Do you have to be so pragmatic? Now that you know my net worth has increased, you’re immediately cozying up to me.”
Rarely, Yu Qing didn’t retort but instead spoke seriously. “Does Fu Group’s upper management know that New Tech belongs to you?”
“No. Only a few people know.”
Seeing her keen interest, Fu Jichen elaborated further. “When I first started my business, Teacher Qiao unconditionally gave me angel investment. Later, when New Tech faced difficulties and Teacher Qiao was considering bankruptcy, I poured in money to revive it. I invested heavily afterward, which led to the New Tech you see today.”
He didn’t hide anything from her. “The reason I chose to remain anonymous was to prevent Qin Moling from knowing I had invested in New Tech and targeting it with a hostile takeover.”
Qin Moling also owned tech companies, with many overlapping businesses with New Tech.
Yu Qing guessed, “Did you decide to invest so heavily in New Tech to restrain Qin Moling’s company?”
Fu Jichen countered, “What else? Do you think I’m running a charity?”
Yu Qing’s intuition kicked in. “You didn’t sign an anonymous investment contract with New Tech, did you? Otherwise, Qin Moling wouldn’t have failed to find out that you’re the major shareholder.”
Fu Jichen hummed in acknowledgment.
Driven by her professional instincts, she advised him, “You should figure out a way to retroactively create an investment contract. Otherwise, if New Tech ever gets out of control, you’ll lose your grip on it.”
She had seen too many cases where founders initially borrowed money from friends or relatives, promising shares and dividends once the company turned a profit. But when the company eventually made big money, greed took over. The founder denied the money was for shares, claiming it was merely a loan. Without evidence of anonymous shareholding, it would be treated as a loan—principal and interest returned—and the friends or relatives would have no claim to the company’s future earnings.
Fu Jichen: “I know what I’m doing. A third of New Tech’s management team are my people.”
He patted her. “Let’s sleep.”
Yu Qing was also tired. She turned around, intending to crawl over to her own pillow, but the next moment, Fu Jichen pulled her back into his arms, her back pressed against his chest.
________________________________________
On Friday, the sky was overcast.
The weather forecast predicted snow.
The wind had been howling all morning without stopping.
Standing by the high-rise window, it felt as though the window might be blown away by the fierce gale at any moment.
Yu Qing had been busy all morning and finally found time to drink some water.
Since that night, her father hadn’t called again to pressure her into returning home.
And Qin Moling hadn’t appeared either.
A sense of unease quietly grew within her.
It was like the eerie calm before a storm outside the window.
By lunchtime, Yu Qing went to look for Fu Jichen.
She hadn’t seen him at noon these past few days—he’d been out for business meals.
In the private dining room, Fu Jichen had arrived earlier than her. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning back in his chair, on the phone.
Yu Qing closed the door and couldn’t help but frown.
He had changed clothes—he wasn’t wearing the shirt he had on this morning.
Now he wore a black shirt, the cuffs casually rolled up, not fastened with cufflinks. Despite his seemingly casual appearance, his expression was serious.
She walked over and touched his hair—it wasn’t completely dry.
He had showered before coming.
“He says he wants to settle, just like that? Duo Xin has spent both energy and money on this. Lemeng must pay full compensation—one cent less won’t do.”
After a few seconds…
Fu Jichen smirked faintly. “Who said I don’t need money? Before, one person eating well meant no worries for the whole family. Not anymore.”
“Hmm. Hang up.”
Yu Qing glanced at his pants—they were different too.
Fu Jichen placed his phone on the table and explained, “I spilled a bottle of lemon tea on myself before coming.”
Yu Qing didn’t ask further. He probably got distracted while drinking the lemon tea and accidentally spilled it.
Fu Jichen voluntarily brought up the call. “Lemeng is suing Duo Xin for infringement, but they want to settle now.” He looked at her. “Let them settle. I won’t stoop to Qin Moling’s level.”
Just as Yu Qing was about to respond, her phone vibrated—a strange number.
It turned out to be a courier. A package required her personal signature, and he was waiting in the lobby of Fu Group’s building.
Yu Qing thought for a moment. She was certain she hadn’t made any online purchases recently. She moved her phone aside and whispered to Fu Jichen, “Did you buy me another bag?”
“No.” As he spoke, Fu Jichen called the security office, asking a guard to accompany the courier upstairs and deliver the package directly to his private dining room.
After hanging up, Yu Qing smiled at Fu Jichen. “Which bag did you choose for me this time?” Even if it wasn’t from him, she’d insist on crediting it to him.
Fu Jichen smiled silently, watching her intently.
Yu Qing leaned over and kissed his lips several times. “This shirt looks good on you.”
Fu Jichen: “….”
He had no energy left to argue.
Soon, the courier arrived at the private room.
Yu Qing signed for the package. It was a large cardboard box, giving no clue as to what kind of bag it contained.
Opening it now felt less like unwrapping a surprise and more like defusing a bomb.
Layer by layer, it was like unraveling silk threads.
Inside the dust bag, the mysterious bag was finally revealed.
It was the same bag she had sold to Feng Mai for over a million yuan—it had now returned to her hands.
Yu Qing quickly set the hot potato aside and hugged Fu Jichen tightly. “Thank you.”
Fu Jichen tried to push her away but couldn’t budge her. He clarified again, “…It really wasn’t me. I can’t take credit for something I didn’t do.”
“No need to explain further. Only you treat me this well. I understand—you didn’t want me to feel burdened if you admitted it was from you.”
Fu Jichen: “….”
Guilty until proven innocent.
She could turn black into white now.
With no other choice, Fu Jichen accepted the gift as his own. He glanced at the bag again—no need to guess; it was from Qin Moling.
Qin Moling had begun openly competing with him for her.
His gaze returned to Yu Qing’s face. “Since I gave you this bag, you owe me dinner tonight.”
Yu Qing readily agreed. “No problem.”
After lunch, Yu Qing placed the bag in Fu Jichen’s trunk.
She called Qin Moling, and he answered quickly.
“Did you receive it?” Qin Moling’s magnetic voice came through. “I wanted to call you, but I figured you might not be available to answer.”
Yu Qing paused slightly. Since when had he become so considerate? “Qin Moling, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Nothing much. That bag of yours—I had Feng Mai buy it for me. You treasure bags like your life. Now it’s back in your hands. When you’re not short on cash someday, transfer the money to me.”
Yu Qing thanked him. “I’ll include the appreciation value as well.”
“Sure. Consider it a short-term investment.”
“Mr. Qin, stay busy.”
“One more thing—I need to explain something to you.” Qin Moling extinguished his cigarette. “That day, when I stood you up and had my secretary call you back—it wasn’t out of disrespect. At the time, I wasn’t ready to get married, so I took the blame for canceling the meeting. At least you wouldn’t have to deal with nagging from your family. Stay busy.”
Yu Qing struggled to process the sudden reversal.
On the other end, Qin Moling had already hung up.
________________________________________
The overcast sky darkened early.
By the time they finished work, it was pitch black.
For the first time, Yu Qing invited Fu Jichen to dinner, leaving work on time.
The restaurant was chosen by Fu Jichen—a private kitchen with light flavors.
The private kitchen was located in a secluded area, occupying its own courtyard.
The house seemed old, with towering trees in the yard, lush and green.
The three-story house was nestled among the deep greenery.
If visited during the day, the scenery would have been beautiful.
“Does the owner of this restaurant have a special background too?”
“What makes you say that?”
Yu Qing took the opportunity to flatter him. “Even you come here to eat.”
“You’re getting better at brown-nosing.”
“President Fu, you flatter me. Isn’t it said that proximity to greatness rubs off?”
Fu Jichen cast a lingering glance at her.
Yu Qing pretended nothing was amiss and admired the view in the yard.
Fu Jichen mentioned the restaurant’s owner. “The Ji family opened this place on a whim—it’s like their private dining hall.”
Yu Qing held her breath. “Which Ji family?”
“Ji Qingyuan. Have you heard of him? His wife, like you, is particular about food.”
So it was her brother-in-law’s private kitchen…
Yu Qing instinctively wrapped her coat tighter.
The wind was strong today. She needed to keep her vest warm.
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