Chapter 67: CH 67

Chapter 67 – Courting Wen Ruan

After the banquet ended.

An Xuyin was in the bedroom with the door closed but she could vaguely hear her biological father speaking outside in a raised voice that was filled with anger.

“Totally useless!  I spent so much effort organizing this birthday party for her but in the end, everyone viewed it as a joke!”

“Speaking of this Second Young Master Fu who hasn’t been back to Tong City for several years……. she finally had a chance but she made a fool of herself in front of everyone!”

Many people were envious of this birthday party organized by the An Family.  They secretly felt that this An Family must pity their biological daughter very much, so An Mengqing was sent away and they put in a lot of effort to create such great fanfare.

But An Xuyin knew that her father did not do this for her but for the family’s face.

The daughter that the An Family raised for more than 20 years is not their biological daughter.  If she is allowed to remain in the family and is not driven away, Father An is afraid that those prominent families will criticize him.  They will think that the An Family will become unstable and that outsiders might get a share of the profits in the future which in turn will affect their marriage or cooperation.

That was the reason why An Mengqing was quickly sent away and An Xuyin quickly trained up to become the Young Miss of the wealthy family.

An Xuyin was originally introverted and weak.  After being forced like this, not only did she fail to learn anything, but she became even more uptight.

At this moment, she was biting her lip until it was about to bleed as she listened to Father An purposely ranting outside so she could hear.

“Like mud that can’t stay on the wall*!  That Wen Family’s little girl is a lot smarter than her.  As expected from someone raised in a small place and is not even presentable!”

(Mud that can’t stay on the wall means a useless person who is unable to achieve anything in life even with help.)

That little girl from the Wen Family.

An Xuyin lowered her head and clasped her hands together.

Indeed, Wen Ruan is a very captivating person.  Both of them are completely different people and the difference between them is like heaven and earth.

An Xuyin is afraid that she will never be herself again in this life.  She will always be humiliated by others and live forever like this, suffocating under overwhelming prejudice.

While Wen Ruan is loved by her parents and…….

An Xuyin thought of Fu Zhihuan……

A girl’s mind is very sensitive.  She could see the smile in the man’s eyes whenever he looks at Wen Ruan.

He is obviously a very cold person but can be so gentle towards another person like this……

She buried her head in her knees.

She felt envious of Wen Ruan.

And perhaps……..a little jealous as well.

***☆☆☆***

In a flash, nearly a week had passed.

This time, the hospital especially gave Fu Zhihuan a two-week-long medical leave to let him recuperate since he was injured in the car accident as well as during the arrest of Peng Mengyin.  In addition, his work performance has always been excellent and in the past few years, he had not taken any leave to rest.

Wen Ruan also thought over it and decided to return to Jiang City in two days if nothing urgent crops up.

That being the case, of course, she must seize the last few days of happiness and leisure and enjoy the happy life of eating and sleeping at home.

However, Wen Ruan soon realized that such a life is not happy.

Because a clingy spirit suddenly appeared out of the sky…….Fu Zhihuan.

On the first day…….

Wen Ruan slept until eleven in the morning and with a head of messy hair and rubbing her stomach, she made her way downstairs to look for food.

As a result, when she turned around after taking out a small cake from the refrigerator and with a fork stuck in her mouth, she saw the uninvited guest sitting on the sofa.

Fu Zhihuan.

Fu Zhihuan and her mother, Ms. Xie Ai, were sitting side by side on the sofa.

In front of them was a table full of flower arrangement materials.

While holding up her gold-rimmed glasses, Ms. Xie Ai was teaching Fu Zhihuan how to arrange flowers.

Fu Zhihuan has always given Wen Ruan an image of ‘exuding coldness and arrogance like a lone wolf in the forest’ but at this moment, he was actually listening carefully to her mother while sitting in front of a pile of colorful flowers.

Ms. Xie Ai was quite moved.

“Ah Lu is such a good child.  Usually, not many people will listen to me when I talk about these things, let alone be interested in them.  I can rest assured to hand Ruan Ruan over to you.”

He laughed.  “Auntie had overpraised me.”

Wen Ruan showed a serious expression while biting the fork.  “….? ?….”

I haven’t agreed to be with him yet!

Next, Ms. Xie Ai who was successfully plotted against started the following actions.

~ Invited Fu Zhihuan for lunch.

~ Invited Fu Zhihuan for dinner.

~ Matchmade Wen Ruan and Fu Zhihuan.

~ Arranged for them to take a walk in the garden.

~ After sending away Fu Zhihuan, she started to brainwash Wen Ruan and praised Fu Zhihuan.

And then the next day……..

Wen Ruan got up especially early and anxiously instructed the servants not to open the door to that particularly scheming clingy spirit.

After making the arrangements, she went upstairs proudly but as soon as she turned her head, she heard a murmur coming from the study.

And that voice was very familiar……..

Wen Ruan quietly opened the door to sneak a look…….

Fu Zhihuan and Mr. Wen Fengchen were sitting opposite each other with a chessboard in front of them.  At this moment, they were playing ‘Go’ very seriously.

A while later, Fu Zhihuan said.  “Mr. Wen, I’ve lost again.”

Wen Fengchen laughed.

“I just managed to win.  Playing chess with you is much more interesting than playing chess with those lousy chess players.  For so many years, I have never met many opponents like you.”

Fu Zhihuan chuckled and said modestly.

“Compared to Mr. Wen, my experience is far from enough.  However, I have a request, I wonder if Mr. Wen would mind?”

Wen Fengchen seemed very interested.  “Speak.”

Fu Zhihuan:  “I would like to play a few more rounds with Mr. Wen.  I wonder whether I can have this honor?”

Wen Fengchen rubbed his palms together, laughed aloud, and seemed to be very satisfied.

“Of course!  I rarely meet people with good chess skills who are also willing to play with an old man like me.  Come, come, let’s continue.”

Wen Ruan who was peeking from the side felt that something was wrong.

She had heard of Fu Zhihuan’s chess skills.  It was strange that her father’s lousy skills could not beat him.  Others did not want to play with him mostly because they despise him, however, they were too embarrassed to mention it because he is rich.

Fu Zhihuan was clearly putting on an act and purposely lost to him!

Sinister intentions!

But it was useless for Wen Ruan to see through him because Mr. Wen Fengchen was coaxed by him into a happy mood.

So the following actions were repeated.

~ Invited him for lunch.

~ Invited him for dinner.

~ Matchmade them.

~ Told them to take a walk in the garden.

~ After sending away Fu Zhihuan, he was full of praise for Fu Zhihuan.

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Finally on the third day after Fu Zhihuan and Wen Ruan’s parents finished watching the eight o’clock television melodrama and started a discussion on whether the heroine should break up, Wen Ruan could not stand it anymore.

When Fu Zhihuan and Wen Ruan were taking a walk in the garden for the third consecutive day, she was seething with anger.

“You are a prosecutor!  And you even gossiped with my parents all night long!  Should the heroine run with the ball*?!”

(Run with the ball here means that the female lead is pregnant but leaves the male lead with the unborn child.  The ball refers to her big belly.)

Fu Zhihuan corrected her.

“I was not gossiping but using dialectical thinking to give a rational analysis.”

“……”

Wen Ruan was speechless and turned around dully.  After walking a circle around the garden, she asked.

“Don’t you feel bored?”

It was a rare opportunity for Fu Zhihuan to go on leave.

He had spent his time around the two elders who lead extremely boring daily lives and accompanied them for three days without showing any perfunctory behavior at all.

Wen Ruan had to admit that even as their biological daughter, she could not practice such patience.

Fu Zhihuang laughed then leaned down and kept his eyes on the same level as hers.

“The reason I came here is to see you……..so the process doesn’t matter.”

The moon looked very beautiful.

The cold moonlight fell on Fu Zhihuan’s shoulder and it made his angular face look even colder but there was a smile on his face and in his eyes, there was only gentleness with a trace of seriousness as he looked at her.

Wen Ruan could feel it very clearly…….as if there was a feather tickling her heart.

How can this man be so efficient?

She snorted lightly, turned her head, and walked forward with her hands behind her back.  Then she suddenly stopped and after hesitating for a long time, she took a deep breath and asked.

“Then are you still coming over tomorrow?”

Fu Zhihuan said with a soft laugh.  “Of course.’

The corner of her lips curled up.

Although she had said to Qin Sushan that ‘if she forgives Fu Zhihuan easily, she will bark like a dog’, she still feels soft-hearted.

So be it……even if she has to bark like a dog!

When Fu Zhihuan comes tomorrow, she will tell him that she has forgiven him.

***☆☆☆***

Early the next morning.

Fu Zhihuan did not come early in the morning like he used to.

But Xie Yanchi came back.

Early yesterday morning, Xie Yanchi flew back from Jiang City and arrived home.  It was heard that before he could enter the door, his father gave him a scolding and locked him outside the house.  It was only this morning that he was allowed to enter.

When Wen Ruan heard the news, she jumped out of bed and ran over in her pajamas and slippers to her uncle’s villa situated next door to take a look.

*Pa*

The precept ruler* slammed heavily on Xie Yanchi’s thigh.

(Precept ruler is a special ruler used in ancient times by teachers to punish students.  The ruler is made of wood about 25cm long, 2cm thick and the width is about 4cm.  This kind of ruler is no longer encouraged to be used on students as it is quite heavy and will cause injuries if too much force is exerted.) 

Xie Yanchi hissed in pain and then in a tone that carried a bit of condescending smile, he said.

“Dad, don’t hit anymore.  You can’t hit any higher as that place can’t be touched.”

Father Xie was so angry that his seven orifices were smoking.

“Are you still answering back?!  You ruined such a good marriage arrangement!”

Xie Yanchi leaned against the wall lazily and raised his hand to rub his arm.

“Oh, that’s truly a pity!  However, a man with a character like mine shouldn’t run around causing harm to the daughters of other families, right?”

“Still answering back?!”  Father Xie hit him on the arm again.  “Today I will let you know the meaning of family rules!”

*Crack*

At this moment, a very loud crisp sound floated over.

The two people who were still arguing a moment ago turned their heads simultaneously…….

Wen Ruan, who was still in her bunny ear pajamas and clutching a bag of potato chips in her hand, was leaning against the door of the study watching this grand scene excitedly.

Then she took another slice out of the bag, put it in her mouth, and munched on it very loudly.

When she saw the two of them looking at her, she let out a cough then smiled and hid the bag of potato chips behind her back and called out sweetly.

“Hello, Uncle!  Uncle looks so young!”

“……”

Father Xie was silent when he saw her smiling face and was instantly unable to vent his temper.

He has always wanted a daughter so he treated Wen Ruan like his biological daughter.  At this moment, he really could not bear to beat up someone in front of her.

So he coughed and glared at Xie Yanchi.

“I’ll settle this with you later!”

After he finished speaking, he placed his hands behind his back and turned away angrily.

Xie Yanchi lifted his eyes to look at Wen Ruan and then raised his chin towards her.

“You’re really unkind.   Give me the chips, I haven’t eaten for a long while.”

She held up the chips in front of him.

“You can’t eat the chips for free.  What is the progress of the matter I asked you to do earlier on?”

Xie Yanchi glanced at her and smiled.

“You don’t have a conscience.  I just got beaten up by your uncle and you’re now asking me about that matter?”

Wen Ruan:  “I’ve already given you the money.”

Xie Yanchi:  “We’re related.  Do we still need to talk about money?”

Wen Ruan:  “I paid you.”

Xie Yanchi glanced at her and chuckled softly.  Then he turned around to fetch a box that was tightly wrapped on the desk in the study and handed it to Wen Ruan.

“Here, take it.”

Wen Ruan took it from him and opened the box.

……..A Tao Xun.

It was exactly the same as the one that was shattered in Fu Zhihuan’s house.

She was very satisfied.  “Thanks.”

“Ai.”

Xie Yanchi suddenly stopped her.  He leaned against the wall and said slowly.

“Fu Zhihuan probably won’t be coming today.”

She was slightly startled.

He raised his eyes and said lightly.

“The An Family sent an invitation to the Fu Family yesterday and it’s the third time this week.  This time, no matter what, I guess the Fu Family will have to give them face.”

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