Shi Nuan was stunned for a second, and not a single word was spat out. She thought that Fu Chengyuan was mad, but after thinking it through, she burst out in laughter. “Ah! Then isn’t Lin Yu cooler than you?” she jokingly said as she turned around.
Fu Chengyan frowned and put the documents aside. “So proud of yourself now, huh?”
Shi Nuan pursed her lips as she tried not to laugh. She shrugged and shook her head, “Umm, no?”
Fu Chengyan squinted; his eyes narrowed in the dim-lighted car. Suddenly, Shi Nuan’s felt her chest tighten as she swallowed her saliva. She was nervous and accidentally kicked the door, hurting her feet and cried out in pain.
“What happened?” Fu Chengyan asked as she heard the tense cries. He frowned and looked in Shi Nuan’s direction, “What’s wrong?”
They were in the car park. He immediately opened the door and went to the driver’s seat. Shi Nuan was massaging her feet in pain. He then lifted her feet to check on her; he was surprised when he saw Shi Nuan’s ankle swollen like a tennis ball. Her feet were worn out as well, which made Fu Chengyuan frown.
He massaged gently on her ankle, “Is it painful?”
“Not at all!” she shook her head. Although she was, she did not want Fu Chengyan to worry about her. “It’s okay. I’m alright now,” she said. “I bumped into something, and it was a small incident. No big deal.”
“Are you sure?” Fu Chengyan sensed something wrong as he raised his eyebrows. Again, he reached out to massage Shi Nuan’s ankle, but this time, he was rather rough. Shi Nuan took another deep breath and tried to retract her legs; she was unable to move as Fu Chengyan held them firmly.
“It doesn’t hurt?” Fu Chengyuan glared at her. “Why are you wearing high heels to work?” Even though his voice was cold and emotionless, Shi Nuan knew that Chengyuan was worried about her.
Fu Chengyan lectured her; she was aggrieved and looked down. She dare not say a single word. With an icy cold expression, Fu Chengyan said, “Don’t assume that staying silent would solve the problem. Why didn’t you change before you went out with Lin Yu? And he didn’t care about it when you got hurt?”
“This has nothing to do with him. It’s my fault!” Shi Nuan felt bad if Lin Yu were to be involved in such a trivial matter. “It’s my first day at work. I had no idea that he would bring me to West City. If I had known, I wouldn’t wear this pair of heels!” she explained, tears rolling down her cheek.
Her pinky finger wandered about flirtatiously. Toying with his fingers, she then poked the back of Fu Chengyan’s hands in a cheeky manner. She bit her lips and said, “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I promise I’ll take good care of myself next time.”
“Next time?” Fu Chengyan raised his voice. “You just don’t care at all!”
“That’s not true!” Shi Nuan protested in dissatisfaction. “As I said, today’s an exception. You know, we girls just want to look pretty all the time – it’s natural for us to wear high heels. Also, it’s not like I’ll go to West City every day, right? Usually, we just stay in the office and it bores me.” Shi Nuan mumbled softly, sounded like a chanting monk.
Fu Chengyan pinched the space between his brows and shook his head; he was frustrated as he looked at how helpless Shi Nuan was. He pinched Shi Nuan’s ankle again, “Still hurts?”
“A little. I’ll just put on some meds when we get home later. It’s not that serious, after all. Yan, you’re too worried,” Shi Nuan said. Fu Chengyan looked up and glanced at her; she knew Fu Chengyan was still mad so she shut up immediately.
Fu Chengyan stood up and raised his tone even more, “Just once!” His arms wrapped around Shi Nuan and he carried her out of the car. “Yan, what are you doing?” she asked as she was taken aback.
“You’re hurt, aren’t you? How are you going to drive then? Sit at the side,” he said. Shi Nuan knew she had done something wrong. She obediently nodded and allowed Fu Chengyan to carry her in his arms like a little kitten who was hurt. She was pleased and smiled broadly.
Fu Chengyan looked at her, “And you still laughing?”
“Yan, you’re so annoying at times. More annoying than my grandpa, and just like an old man that nags the whole day,” she giggled.
“Huh?” Fu Chengyan scowled – it was a warning. Shi Nuan grinned joyously and clung to his arms. “You’re mine, you old soul!” she teased while reaching out and put her hands on Chengyan’s forehead. “Yan, don’t frown. Otherwise, you’ll really become an old man,” Shi Nuan soothed his forehead like an old woman with a sincere heart. “If you become an old man, how are you worthy of me?”
“Shi Nuan!” Fu Chengyan gritted his teeth and almost let go of her. Shi Nuan clasped onto Fu Chengyan’s neck, “Yan! Stop trembling! I’ll fall!”
Fu Chengyan lost his temper till he could hardly feel anything. After she put Shi Nuan down on the front passenger’s seat, he asked, “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Hmm… Ah! Can we have hotpot tonight?” Shi Nuan was clouded with thoughts. “Beef! Beef hot pot!”
“Sure. Then we’ll have to buy some ingredients,” he agreed and started the car engine. He then looked at Shi Nuan, “How’s the first day at work?”
“Not bad!” Shi Nuan paused for a while. “I think Mr. Lin treated me very well. He is very strict, but a leader was once a follower too!”
Fu Chengyan looked disturbed and frowned again; his eyes darkened, “Don’t mention other men in front of me regardless of whether or not you’re close to him. Wait… No… Stop calling his name!”
“Haha! Yan! You’re so childish. Isn’t that cute?” Shi Nuan burst out in laughter. “Hehe! Are you jealous?”
“No means no!” Fu Chengyan reaffirmed.
As Shi Nuan was about to rush towards Fu Chengyan, he nagged, “Slowly! Your feet aren’t fully recovered yet!”
Shi Nuan slowed down her steps, walked steadily towards Fu Chengyan. She hooked onto Fu Chengyan’s arm, “Yan! It smells so good!”
“Hungry now, huh?” Fu Chengyan looked at Shi Nuan’s coquettish expression. He smiled and patted on Shi Nuan’s head, “Go and wash your hand first. Dinner is almost ready.”
“Okay!” Shi Nuan replied in excitement.
Shi Nuan obediently washed her hands. As she was at the dining table, Fu Chengyan acted like a gentleman and pulled the chair for her. Shi Nuan was embarrassed as she scratched her head. “Why didn’t you wake me up? And did you go to the supermarket again?” Shi Nuan looked at the dining table; the mouth-watery beef hotpot was ready, and the table was filled with side dishes. “There’s so much food! I don’t think we can finish all of these!”
Fu Chengyan paused for a moment and said, “It was Zhou Zheng who prepared this. Well, it seems like it’s really a little too much.”
Shi Nuan nodded. A little too much? It was obviously too much for two.
“Well, let’s eat.” Fu Chengyan passed the bowl and chopstick to Shi Nuan. As they were about to take the first bite, the door rang. “Who’s that at this hour?” Shi Nuan asked as they were not expecting anyone.
Fu Chengyan’s eye glimmered, and a streak of light sparkled in his eyes. Curling his lips, he stood up and patted Shi Nuan’s shoulder. “Eat first if you’re hungry. I’ll check it out.”
Fu Chengyan walked steadily towards the door. As he opened the door, Su Shaoqing jumped at him, “Surprise!”
Fu Chengyan squinted and stared at Su Shaoqing. A bark could be heard, and Fu Chengyan’s expression darkened. He asked, “What are you doing?”
“Tsk tsk… Chengyan, listen to how emotionless you sound. I am your buddy, remember?” Su Shaoqing said as Arnold barked cooperatively again, scurrying towards Fu Chengyan and licking his thigh. Fu Chengyan’s heartstrings were tugged at as its innocent-looking eyes locked with his.
Arnold sniffed something that piqued his interest and went into the dining room. Woof! Woof!
“Arnold! Stop!”
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