Chapter 28: Neither Fish Nor Fowl
The carved gates slowly closed. Fu Jingchen placed the briefcase he carried onto the console table in the entryway.
The complicated, ornate multi-layered crystal chandelier in the room refracted blinding light. A gold arowana swam in an exaggeratedly massive aquarium, complementing the replica of the Old Summer Palace animal head displayed in the corner.
The living room’s decor screamed “nouveau riche” in every detail, yet the owner’s taste was, to put it mildly, somewhat unflattering.
Zhou Wan leaned obliquely on the luxurious sofa. The modified collar of her rose-red silk qipao was wide open, and the gold thread embroidery on the skirt dazzled the eyes with her movements.
“How rare, Little Chen is back.”
The woman speaking had a sharp, thin voice. Her flaming red lips almost spilled over her lip line as she stirred the flower tea in her porcelain cup with a silver spoon.
“Our whole family has been thinking of you.”
It wasn’t hard to hear the ambiguity in her words; in her mouth, Fu Jingchen was not a part of this family.
“Thank you for your concern.” Fu Jingchen loosened his tie slightly, his expression indifferent.
If his father hadn’t emphasized repeatedly that he return for a visit, he certainly wouldn’t have appeared here.
“Little Wang, come down. Your brother is here.”
Zhou Wan looked up and shouted toward the second floor. When calling her son’s name, her tone was entirely different, full of doting affection.
What came into view was fluffy blond hair glowing with a blinding white light against the backlight. The man leaned against the gilded stair railing.
The irregular stud in his ear cartilage was particularly conspicuous. As he walked down with a nonchalant nod, the obsidian necklace around his neck swayed gently against his chest.
His loose shirt was half-open, revealing a broad neckline, and a dark tattoo was faintly visible on his collarbone.
He lowered his eyes to sweep over Fu Jingchen’s upright figure. The corners of his eyes instantly narrowed into a sharp arc, and the curve of his lips looked like a smile, yet it carried unconcealed arrogance and provocation.
“Welcome home, Brother.”
Fu Jingchen stood still, his gaze sweeping over the glaring blond hair and the winding black tattoo lines on the collarbone.
“Mn.” Only cold contempt remained behind his lenses.
Neither fish nor fowl—a nondescript thing. This was already the highest evaluation he could give Fu Wang.
Fu Wang saw the disdain in the other’s eyes. His brow bone pressed down, and violent furrows appeared on his forehead.
“How does Brother have time to come back? Did you not serve that old woman from the Ruan family well enough?”
The words were full of sharp malice, but they didn’t arouse any anger in him. The gaze behind Fu Jingchen’s lenses remained like a deep pool, not even a ripple appearing.
Trash like this couldn’t provoke his emotions at all.
Fu Jingchen looked at him, the corner of his lips still holding a just-right arc, his voice steady and calm. “The Fu Corporation and Ruan Corporation are cooperating. President Ruan and I are merely in a working relationship.”
Seeing Fu Jingchen looking completely unaffected, the anger in Fu Wang’s heart grew even stronger, and his fists clenched tight at his sides.
He wanted to say something more, but he heard an angry rebuke erupt before he could speak.
“Bastard! You better only have a working relationship. Don’t work your way into her bed!”
Fu Jingchen’s lips slowly pulled into a cold, hard arc, his tone mocking.
“Father, not everyone is like you, taking secretaries and employees to bed. The one who came to the company to make a scene this month was already the second one.”
Master Fu’s wrinkled face turned the color of pig liver, and the corners of his mouth twitched violently.
“What nonsense are you spouting! You’re rebelling against heaven!”
Listening to the conversation between father and son, the corners of Zhou Wan’s mouth began to skew uncontrollably. Her exquisite features squeezed into a twisted expression. Her fingertips dug into her palms, her flashy nails almost piercing the skin.
She knew it. This old immortal had another new woman. She didn’t even know which number this one was.
“My contact with President Ruan is limited to the cooperation process. Those rumors—weren’t they your handiwork, Father?”
It was supposed to be a marriage rumor intentionally created to benefit both parties, but it had deliberately evolved into such obscene and shameless gossip.
Fu Jingchen’s words had no warmth or emotion, and his face held no expression, as if moving any extra muscle was a waste.
“You flow with the Fu family’s blood, so you must sacrifice for the family!”
Every sentence was wrapped in the poison thorns of moral kidnapping, packaging shamelessness as the natural authority of the head of the household.
Seeing Fu Jingchen being suppressed, Fu Wang instantly felt satisfied, a mocking sneer squeezing out of his throat.
“Father, I’m leaving first.”
Fu Jingchen parted his thin lips lightly, his tone carrying a formulaic alienation, his eyes cold without a shred of attachment.
This was not his home. It was a human-shaped iron coffin tightly closed with steel needles inside, a painful torture device attempting to squeeze every drop of his blood dry.
Clearly standing in the sunlight, yet he only felt cold.
Suddenly, he felt the notebook in the inner pocket of his suit poking him slightly. It was Ruan Yi’s little notebook.
His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the smooth texture of the cover, recalling the girl’s warm softness.
The scorching temperature she possessed was enough to burn through the bone-chilling ice that had attached to him for many years.
A future home with her would not be like this.
After Fu Jingchen left, Master Fu had nowhere to release his bellyful of anger, so he shouted and vented at Zhou Wan.
Evil thoughts bred in his heart like maggots in rotting flesh.
He thought that after the cooperation with the Ruan Corporation ended, he would sell his eldest son to an old rich woman with nasty fetishes to fix him up properly.
See if he dared to be so arrogant then.
Fu Wang chuckled lightly as he watched Fu Jingchen’s retreating back.
Fu Jingchen was excellent, but so what? Working hard for half a lifetime, he was nothing more than a stepping stone for him.
The Fu Corporation would only belong to him, Fu Wang.
Ruan Yi sneezed, her ears burning incredibly hot.
Who on earth was thinking about her?
Ruan Yi looked at Lin Han, who was chugging alcohol by the ton, with a resentful gaze.
Lin Han was probably an NPC in this novel world who randomly spawned in places of debauchery.
She lived much more happily than the vicious female supporting character.
“How to make Shen Xun agree to dissolve the engagement… that is a good question!”
Ruan Yi’s expression was embarrassed. She had discussed this matter with her mother many times, but as long as Shen Xun didn’t relent, the matter couldn’t be resolved.
So she came eagerly to find this best friend with exceptionally strange brain circuits.
“How about you pretend to meet your true love? Find someone to act out a play with you? Insist on marrying him, how about that?”
“However, doing this while having a fiancé might have some impact on your reputation.”
Ruan Yi actually didn’t care much about reputation anymore.
After all, she didn’t dare to hope for marriage now. In a situation where she, as the vicious female supporting character, didn’t even know if she could survive until the grand finale, she couldn’t give a marriage promise.
The precedent of her mother and father wasn’t beautiful either.
Sincerity changes in an instant. She didn’t want to gamble, nor did she dare to.
“It is a method… but Mom won’t agree to me damaging my own reputation.”
And where could she find a man who could pretend to be true love? The ones around her were either her brother, a homosexual old pervert, or a psychotic fiancé with a mysterious sexual orientation and a missing screw in his head.
Why did she have to be the vicious female supporting character? It would be better to be a passerby A!
Ruan Yi’s eye rims turned a bit red. She hurriedly used her hand to wipe them. Unable to explain the truth behind her bad mood, she was afraid Lin Han would think she was being melodramatic if she shed tears in this situation.
The girl beside her froze, frowning slightly.
“Ruan Yi, let’s drink. You need to release your emotions. There must be a way to solve the problem. Let’s relax, okay?”
Ruan Yi bit her lower lip and looked at Lin Han with teary eyes.
“Wah!” The girl threw herself into her best friend’s arms and cried loudly.
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