Volume One, Chapter 10: On His Side?

Back in the dressing room, she finished changing her clothes. As she stepped out, a man blocked her path.

“Miss Shu.”

She had just seen this man—he was Fu Jinyan’s assistant. She could almost read his intentions but pretended to be clueless.

“It’s me. Is there something you need?”

Assistant Zhang Fan handed her a slip of paper. “This is from Master Fu.”

Then he left.

Shu Ya unfolded the note. The handwriting was bold and sharp, like silver cutting through iron. It was an address—No. 8 Nancheng Road.

She knew this place well; it was the most prestigious wealthy district in the city, where villas sold for hundreds of millions.

A man giving a woman his home address—his intentions were unmistakable.

Shu Ya tucked the note into her pocket, her expression unreadable—neither joy nor anger, just that usual gentle and ordinary demeanor. She clicked away on her heels and left.

Five minutes later.

“Master Fu, Miss Shu accepted it,” Zhang Fan reported.

Fu Jinyan lounged in his chair, his posture lazy, his handsome face framed by long legs. His voice remained cold and indifferent, “How did she react?”

Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment.

“Miss Shu... she didn’t really react.”

Fu Jinyan’s eyes flickered. “Oh?”

Interesting.

***

That night.

In the room.

Shu Ya gently stroked Nan Nan’s head.

“Baby, can you sleep by yourself tonight? Mommy has something to take care of and will come back tomorrow.”

Her eyes were full of worry.

Nan Nan wasn’t even four years old yet, but she had to stay home alone for the entire night.

What if something happened...

Shu Ya dared not imagine it.

Nan Nan reached out her small hand to hold hers, her voice soft and sweet.

“It’s okay, Mommy. Nan Nan is already a big girl. I can be alone. You go handle your things. Nan Nan won’t hold you back!”

“Did you remember what Mommy just said?”

“Of course! I’ll lock the door from inside and make sure no one can come in. If anything happens, I’ll call you on my watch.”

She had indeed memorized everything.

Shu Ya felt a bit more at ease.

She walked to the door.

Before leaving, she glanced back.

The soft yellow glow of the night light fell on Nan Nan’s face. Nan Nan lay quietly under the covers, smiling at her like a blossoming flower in spring.

Shu Ya wished Nan Nan would always have such a radiant smile.

She wished Nan Nan would always live.

Tonight, she had to go.

The door closed behind her.

Darkness enveloped the room.

Nan Nan’s smile slowly faded.

She watched the place where her mother had left.

Though afraid of the dark, she could manage on her own. She would be good and not cause trouble because she loved her mother.

Very much.

More than she loved herself.

***

No. 8 Nancheng Road.

Shu Ya stood at the entrance.

Before her rose a five-story villa, each floor containing countless rooms, all brightly lit. The dazzling lights looked like a painting. The electricity bill each night was an astronomical sum beyond ordinary people’s imagination.

“Miss Shu, you’re here.”

Zhang Fan awaited her at the door.

Shu Ya smiled faintly. “Yes.”

The heavy iron gate swung open.

“Please, Miss Shu,” Zhang Fan gestured.

The full grandeur of the villa revealed itself, more magnificent from the inside than from the outside. A small lawn, European castle-style ornate beams and columns, all beautiful—but to Shu Ya’s eyes, it resembled a dormant beast.

She took a deep breath.

Resolutely, she stepped inside.

Zhang Fan watched her retreating figure. Dressed in a white coat, she looked slender and solitary in the darkness.

Miss Shu was beautiful.

Her beauty was not the kind that stunned at first glance, nor the fragile kind that evoked pity like a delicate flower. She was like warm spring water—gentle, embracing, stirring a comforting warmth deep within anyone who touched her.

Yet Zhang Fan could not understand why the CEO was so taken by Miss Shu.

The CEO had access to any woman he wanted.

If he liked gentle women, countless gentle, elegant girls would throw themselves at him without hesitation. There was no need for him to choose Miss Shu, a woman who had been married and had a child.

The only explanation was...

Zhang Fan’s pupils constricted twice.

His boss had a peculiar taste—he liked married women.

He even challenged social ethics.

Though the Fu Yichen family had split off years ago, genealogically he was still the CEO’s nephew, and Miss Shu was technically his nephew’s wife.

This...

This really was the CEO’s unique preference!

Zhang Fan sealed his lips tightly, determined to take this secret to his grave without a single leak.

All the villa’s servants had been withdrawn.

Only Zhang Fan and an elderly female servant remained.

***

The elderly servant was a woman in her seventies, her hair nearly white. She led Shu Ya to the elevator and took her up to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors opened, she led Shu Ya to the second room.

The room was spacious—at least fifty or sixty square meters.

Luxuriously decorated.

Shu Ya glanced around briefly and quickly looked away.

“Where is Master Fu?”

The elderly woman’s face was kind, her smile sincere.

“Master Fu is busy. Miss Shu, please rest here for a while and take a shower. I have already prepared your pajamas. If you need anything, just tell me.”

The old lady was older than her grandmother.

How could Shu Ya give orders to such a venerable woman?

She replied politely, “No need, please rest. I’ll wait for Master Fu.”

“Alright, Miss Shu.”

The old woman left and closed the door behind her.

Once the door shut, the eighty-square-meter room felt vast and empty. Shu Ya looked at everything familiar, feeling as if her past life and this life were intertwined and merged into one.

***

Downstairs.

Fu Jinyan returned, chilled to the bone.

Entering the foyer, he took off his suit jacket and hung it on the rack.

Just as he stepped into the grand living room, he saw the elderly servant placing freshly washed fruit on the tea table.

Fu Jinyan frowned.

“Grandma, you don’t have to do this.”

She had cared for him in his childhood for seven years. After he returned to the country, he brought her to live nearby, hoping she could enjoy a peaceful retirement without overexerting herself.

Grandma Zhang smiled kindly when she saw him. “It’s nothing, I’m just doing some light work. When you get old, not moving your joints can make you sick. By the way, Jinyan, who is that girl who came today?”

That girl’s arrival made Jinyan dismiss all the other servants.

He didn’t want anyone else to see her.

Such a unique attitude!

Fu Jinyan didn’t know how to introduce her on the spot, so he told her vaguely, “A friend. Grandma, please rest. I’m going to see her.”

The house had an elevator.

Fu Jinyan stepped into it and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

As the elevator doors were closing, he heard Grandma muttering,

“How could she be a friend? What friend would come home at this hour? This is the first time Jinyan has brought a girl home. By the look in her eyes, she’s gentle and kind. Well, well, this personality suits Jinyan.”

The elevator doors shut just then.

Fu Jinyan frowned.

Forget it.

Let the misunderstanding be a misunderstanding.

He knew what he wanted.