The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife-Chapter 476 - 478. First Encounter Two Years Later
Shen Qinglan watched the two about to argue with amusement, "Tell me, you two, aren’t you acting like children? One is about to become a mother, why are you still so childish?"
Yu Xiaoxuan sighed, "It’s only in front of you all that I can be like this. Outside, who has such enjoyable company? I’m afraid to say something wrong and offend someone. These past few years have made me deeply realize how unpredictable people can be."
Seeing her speak so feelingly, Shen Qinglan’s beautiful eyes twinkled softly, "What happened?"
Yu Xiaoxuan had never much hidden from Shen Qinglan. Hearing her ask, she replied, "Do you guys still remember that girl named Gu Jiajia?"
Gu Jiajia? Shen Qinglan thought for a moment, vaguely recalling, "Is she the newcomer from your company whom Sister Linda and you promoted?"
Yu Xiaoxuan nodded, "That’s her. Recently, she’s been causing a fuss about terminating her contract with the company. She claims the resource allocation is unfair, believes my acting is not as good as hers, yet I get more resources, all thanks to Han Yi. She thinks it’s unfair and wants to leave the company."
"These kinds of things are common in your circle, what’s there to be sentimental about?" Fang Tong spoke up, "I’ve seen a bit of that girl’s work; honestly, her acting is passable, but it’s just that—passable. It can’t really be considered good."
Indeed, these past few years, Yu Xiaoxuan had decent resources due to Han Yi’s support, and naturally, others would offer her courtesies too. But all of this also depended on Yu Xiaoxuan’s own efforts. Although she didn’t have a professional background, whenever she had time, she would ask Han Yi to hire professional teachers for guidance. She would practice an expression or a movement over and over for tens of hours, often memorizing lines late into the night. This persistence wasn’t something everyone was capable of. Some people only saw her glory but did not witness the hard work behind it.
"Maybe some other company is trying to poach her," Shen Qinglan suggested indifferently, she seldom paid attention to the entertainment industry, only occasionally checking Yu Xiaoxuan’s news. She rarely updated even her own Weibo account, leaving Xu Xiangqian with no choice but to post about Shen Qinglan’s activities under the name of her studio. Most of these posts did not even include photos of Shen Qinglan herself, at most one or two blurry side shots. She had truly faded from public view, but even so, Shen Qinglan’s popularity did not diminish, for her paintings were valuable. With her very limited existing works, each one a masterpiece, it naturally drew more attention.
Yu Xiaoxuan snapped her fingers, "Qinglan, you actually guessed right. After she requested the contract termination, Sister Linda suspected as much and had her investigated. Sure enough, they found her in contact with a rival entertainment company. But you’ll never guess who is behind it?"
"Who?" Shen Qinglan cooperatively asked.
Yu Xiaoxuan snorted, "Su Lingling. The year she seduced Han Yi she was put on ice by the company, and somehow she found herself a sugar daddy willing to pay a hefty sum to break her contract and leave the company. These past few years, she’s made a small name for herself."
People in the circle knew that Yu Xiaoxuan and Su Lingling did not get along, and the feud was public. Of course, while the cause remained unknown, Su Lingling had no face to mention it, and Yu Xiaoxuan was reluctant to speak of it. Everyone guessed it was probably a rift from when they both debuted.
Shen Qinglan and Fang Tong had no recollection of Su Lingling at all, but Shen Qinglan still reminded her, "Xiaoxuan, try not to offend people in the industry. As the saying goes, ’A visible gun is easy to dodge, but an arrow in the dark is not.’ If they use some trickery, you won’t be able to avoid it."
Yu Xiaoxuan’s nature was too forthright, and she didn’t much concern herself with keeping up appearances. Though there was some improvement over the years, she still lagged behind those who had been through the industry’s muddy waters.
"Qinglan, I know what you’re worried about, I’ve adapted to this circle now, and I’ve become much more restrained. Wearing a mask, playing the part—I understand. I rarely offend anyone, except for Tang Mina and Su Lingling."
However, Tang Mina had long disappeared from the public eye, and Yu Xiaoxuan didn’t take her seriously at all. What annoyed her was that after dealing with one Tang Mina, another named Su Lingling had now surfaced.
"As long as you know, that’s good. As a public figure, you have to be even more cautious about your image and your actions," Shen Qinglan advised.
Yu Xiaoxuan nodded repeatedly, showing no trace of impatience. Her gaze suddenly paused, pointing to the figure of Jin Enxi in the distance, "Hey, who’s that woman?" Jin Enxi was indeed eye-catching in her bright red gown that evening.
Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered lightly, "That’s my friend, Lola."
Just then, Jin Enxi turned her head and glanced in Shen Qinglan’s direction. Yu Xiaoxuan’s eyes lit up, "Qinglan, your friend is quite beautiful. Is she someone you’ve met recently? I haven’t seen her before."
"I met her when I was abroad, but we don’t contact often. She just happened to be visiting Beijing these few days, so I invited her to join us."
"Oh, no wonder she looks unfamiliar to me. But speaking of which, Qinglan, how is it that there are always beauties surrounding you?"
Fang Tong laughed, "Xiao Xuan, you never forget to compliment yourself when praising others."
"What I’m saying is the truth, being realistic. I’m pretty good-looking myself." Yu Xiaoxuan spoke without a hint of humility.
Shen Qinglan smiled faintly. Her phone in her bag vibrated, and she took a look – it was a call from Fu Hengyi. She shook her mobile, signaling Fang Tong and Yu Xiaoxuan to step outside to take the call, and walked out of the banquet hall.
"Fu Hengyi."
"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?" Fu Hengyi sounded a bit surprised.
"Today my brother’s company is hosting a celebration party, and I came to have some fun. It was a bit noisy inside just now." Shen Qinglan explained and, listening closely to Fu Hengyi’s end and noticing quietness, asked, "Have you returned to the dorm?"
"No, I’m home."
Shen Qinglan was somewhat surprised, "Are you on holiday?" Fu Hengyi hadn’t mentioned that he would be coming back, otherwise, she wouldn’t have attended this party.
"I wanted to give you a surprise." Fu Hengyi spoke indifferently. Shen Qinglan’s birthday was in just a couple of days. He hadn’t been able to make it back to celebrate with her for the past two years due to commitments, and this year he did not want to miss it for anything.
Shen Qinglan hadn’t thought about the birthday aspect, assuming that Fu Hengyi was just normally on leave. Since it was the end of the month, it seemed normal for him to be on a break. However, since Fu Hengyi had returned for Anan’s birthday not so long ago, she figured he wouldn’t come back again this month.
"Then I’ll head home right now." Shen Qinglan immediately said.
"No need, since you’re there, just enjoy yourself. Once it’s over, I’ll come to get you. Did you drive?"
"Yep, I did."
"Then, go have fun. Call me when it’s almost over."
Shen Qinglan thought about Jin Enxi still in the banquet hall and decided not to leave right away. After hanging up the phone, she intended to return to the banquet hall. She was at a corner right now, but before she even made it around, she heard the sound of a man and a woman arguing.
"Do you really want to treat me like this?" A woman’s voice.
"I’ve told you before, I have a wife, and I love my wife very much. There’s no possibility between you and me. You’ve been entangling with me for so long, don’t you want to give up?" It was a man’s voice. As soon as he began speaking, Shen Qinglan froze because the man was none other than Fang Tong’s husband Li Bomming. Initially intending to leave, Shen Qinglan suddenly stopped in her tracks and listened quietly to the two’s conversation.
"Then how do you explain that night? Aren’t you supposed to take responsibility for me?" The woman sounded heartbroken.
Li Bomming snorted coldly, "What really happened that night, I think you know better than I do."
"Li Bomming, do you know I’m pregnant?" the woman roared. "This is your child."
Li Bomming’s eyes flickered, but his expression remained cold, "Tong Yushi, you’ve had enough. This child is not mine at all. Do you really think I would believe you?"
Tong Yushi looked at Li Bomming in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? Do you think I just slept with any man and pinned the child on you? The person with me that night was you, I remember it clearly."
"I’ll say it one last time, I did show up at that hotel that night and stayed there for the night, but I slept alone. I don’t know why you would say that the person with you was me."
"Li Bomming, you bastard, do you believe I will tell your wife all about this? I’ll say you were screwing around with other women while she was pregnant."
Tong Yushi was enraged by Li Bomming’s icy demeanor; she thought he was a responsible man and fully believed that as long as she slept with Li Bomming, he would divorce Fang Tong and be with her. She did not expect that this man would deny knowing her after the deed was done and now that she was pregnant, he was denying the child was his.
Li Bomming’s eyes were cold as ice. "You wouldn’t dare."
"You’ll see if I dare. You were bold enough to do it, so you should be bold enough to admit it. You didn’t think about the consequences when you slept with me. Yes, I liked you, and I willingly slept with you, but Li Bomming, if you don’t let me off easy, I won’t let your family live happily ever after."
"Tong Yushi, try it. If you dare say a word to Tongtong, your father’s little company will disappear in an instant. I mean what I say," Li Bomming said fiercely.
Tong Yushi had never seen Li Bomming so ruthless. She was momentarily frightened, standing there dazed. It took her a long while to snap out of it before turning and running away. Li Bomming stood there, his gaze flickering.
Feeling somewhat restless, Li Bomming wanted a cigarette but then remembered because Fang Tong was pregnant, he didn’t carry any cigarettes. Annoyedly running a hand through his hair, Li Bomming was about to return to the banquet hall when, just as he rounded a corner, he saw Shen Qinglan standing there. Shen Qinglan was looking at him enigmatically. Li Bomming’s eyes changed slightly, "Qing... Qinglan, what are you doing here?"
"That’s exactly what I’d like to ask you. What were you and that woman doing here, and what did she mean by what she said?" Shen Qinglan’s eyes held a frosty calm, her expression serene, but it was this very serenity that made Li Bomming’s heart shiver.
"This matter is a misunderstanding; I beg you not to tell Fang Tong. She is pregnant and can’t take this stress," Li Bomming earnestly requested.
"A misunderstanding? I think not. If it were just a misunderstanding, would she come looking for you? She’s pregnant now. If it’s not your child, I don’t think she would have sought you out, right?" What’s more important was that the woman’s reaction just now didn’t seem fake. Could it be the case that Li Bomming really did something behind Fang Tong’s back that he shouldn’t have?
According to Shen Qinglan’s understanding of Li Bomming, she didn’t believe he would do such a thing. But there’s always a what-if, like being framed.
"If it’s convenient, I’d still like you to tell me the truth. Otherwise, I can’t help you." Not only will she not help, but if she finds out that Li Bomming really did wrong Fang Tong, she might have to do something behind the scenes.
Li Bomming, recalling the incident that took place a month ago, darkened his eyes and frustration and shame flashed across his face, "Fine, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me, you must never tell Tongtong."
"You go first," Shen Qinglan did not readily agree.
The incident occurred a month ago. Because Fang Tong’s morning sickness was so severe, Li Bomming was beside himself with worry, not resting well at all and thus lacking energy at work. Coincidentally, there was a social engagement that night that he had to attend personally. After a full meal and drinks, the client suggested singing together. Li Bomming originally wanted the vice president to go on his behalf, but the client refused, leaving him with no choice but to go.
That night, he had drunk a bit too much. When he came out of the private room, he ran into Tong Yushi, who also happened to be there partying. Tong Yushi had been making advances on Li Bomming on and off for two years. Clearly unrelenting in her pursuit, seeing such an opportunity, she naturally did not let it slip by and took a drunken Li Bomming to the nearest hotel.
Only that night, Li Bomming was indeed too drunk, and Tong Yushi herself was sloshed. Recognizing Li Bomming and getting him to a hotel was impressive enough.
The two entered the room, and what should have happened next seemed obvious. However, for some reason, Tong Yushi left the room midway and never returned. The next morning when Li Bomming sobered up, he left the hotel without any recollection of meeting Tong Yushi, even wondering how he ended up at the hotel in the first place.
He had long since pushed the incident to the back of his mind, not taking it seriously—it was, after all, not the first time he’d stayed at a hotel after drinking too much during social engagements. But it wasn’t long before Tong Yushi came knocking, with ambiguous words. Initially, Li Bo Ming didn’t understand what was going on, and when he finally did, he was so angry that he confronted her on the spot.
Not to mention he had been so drunk that night he’d forgotten even who he was, lying there limp as a pile of mud, with no energy left for anything else. Besides, he had slept alone that night. His hotel room was neat and tidy, and the cleaning staff who came to clean after he checked out could testify to that.
But Tong Yushi insisted they had spent the night together and even claimed they had been intimate. Because of this, she harassed him for a whole month. He was incredibly vexed but didn’t dare to let Fang Tong know. He was worried it would stress her and negatively affect the baby’s development.
"So, you’re being falsely accused now?" Shen Qinglan asked indifferently.
Li Bo Ming’s face was etched with defeat. "Yes."
Shen Qinglan actually believed Li Bo Ming’s account. It was possible to tell if someone was lying or not. Moreover, based on Li Bo Ming’s description, even if he had spent the evening with Tong Yushi, it was impossible for anything to have happened between them. The most likely scenario was that Tong Yushi had entered the wrong room and mistook someone else for Li Bo Ming, leading to her pregnancy claim.
"I really am being framed," Li Bo Ming declared.
"I believe you."
Li Bo Ming looked at Shen Qinglan, his expression one of disbelief. He had thought that Shen Qinglan would not trust him—anyone else in her position would assume he was the one responsible for the incident but was now trying to shirk responsibility.
"I trust your character. Have you explained this to Tong Yushi? Does she have no recollection of the person she was with at all?"
Li Bo Ming shook his head, his gaze dark. "She’s convinced it was me and has threatened multiple times to tell Fang Tong. I’m being wrongly accused, and if Fang Tong finds out, regardless of the truth or whether she believes me, just the shock alone is what I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle."
"So, what do you plan to do? You can’t let Tong Yushi go on like this. If she creates a big scene, Fang Tong will eventually find out, and then you really won’t be able to clear your name."
"I don’t know," he admitted. "That hotel only has surveillance in the lobby and elevators, not in the hallways, and the footage shows that Tong Yushi and I did indeed enter the hotel together." That was the tricky part, or he would have explained things to Tong Yushi by now.
But now the woman was acting irrationally, not listening to any explanations, which made clarifying things irrelevant.
"Qinglan, I’d like to ask you to keep this a secret for me temporarily, not to tell Fang Tong. I’ll resolve things with Tong Yushi as soon as possible and, when the time is right, I’ll come clean to Fang Tong myself," Li Bo Ming earnestly requested.
Fang Tong had just gotten through the risky first trimester and although her condition was currently stable, it’s uncertain how she would react to stress. Shen Qinglan agreed to keep the secret for Fang Tong’s sake, "I’ll conceal this for you, but you still need to handle Tong Yushi as soon as possible. Since she’s convinced it was you, she won’t give up easily."
"I know. I’m planning to visit the hotel again tomorrow to ask the service staff which room Tong Yushi emerged from that morning."
"Didn’t you ask after it happened?"
"I did, but unfortunately, the service staff responsible for cleaning that floor had to take emergency leave back to their hometown that day and hasn’t returned since," he lamented.
Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow slightly; it was indeed too convenient a coincidence. "Are you sure Tong Yushi really was drunk that night?" She chuckled at her own question—if Tong Yushi had not actually been drunk, Li Bo Ming wouldn’t have woken up alone in the hotel room the next day. It seemed to be a true coincidence.
"A couple of days ago, I called the hotel’s service desk and they told me that service staff member will be returning in the next few days."
After understanding what had happened, Shen Qinglan no longer felt any doubt and walked into the banquet hall with Li Bomming.
"Hey, how come you two came back together?" Fang Tong was a bit surprised to see them returning in each other’s company.
Shen Qinglan smiled, "I stepped out to take a call, and when I was coming back, I happened to run into him at the restroom, so we came back together."
"Oh." Fang Tong wasn’t suspicious, nor did she appear to dwell on it. It seemed she found nothing odd about Shen Qinglan stepping out to take such a long phone call.
*********
The banquet began, and after Shen Junyu’s speech, the dance party kicked off with Wen Xiyao and Shen Junyu sharing the opening dance. Then, one by one, other guests gradually joined the dance floor.
Jin Enxi clenched her fist, giving herself a bit of pep, before slowly approaching Daniel. However, just as she had gotten halfway there, she saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman walk up to Daniel, evidently inviting him to dance too. Jin Enxi paused momentarily, then quickened her pace and reached the pair, removing the woman’s hand from Daniel’s shoulder with a beaming smile, "This gentleman doesn’t want to dance with you. Why bother persisting?"
The woman glanced at Jin Enxi with disdain, "And who might you be?"
"I am naturally this gentleman’s dance partner." As she spoke, she threw a flirtatious look at Daniel, "Isn’t that right, darling?"
Daniel didn’t deny it, but he didn’t confirm it either. He just stared at Jin Enxi steadily. Jin Enxi didn’t care that the blond, blue-eyed woman was still there and took Daniel into the dance floor with her.
"Sir, I know I’m very beautiful, but you don’t need to stare at me like that," Jin Enxi teased Daniel.
Today, her dress had an open back, revealing a large expanse of her pale skin. Daniel’s hand rested lightly on Jin Enxi’s waist, his fingers unconsciously moving along her back.
Jin Enxi’s gaze sharpened as she leaned closer to Daniel, whispering seductively in his ear, "Darling, I didn’t expect you to be so eager, but I like that. After the banquet is over, we can ’chat’ some more." The emphasis she put on "chat" was loaded with meaning, and not hard to interpret.
Daniel’s eyes, which had been shining, suddenly dimmed, and he gently pushed Jin Enxi away, "Thank you for stepping in just now, Miss. I need to attend to something. I won’t be dancing anymore."
Jin Enxi was taken aback, puzzled by Daniel’s sudden change of face, but her heart secretly rejoiced.
Daniel left the dance floor, his mood clearly deflated as he watched the men and women in the banquet hall laughing. He felt melancholic. For a moment, he had thought Jin Enxi had come back because the woman carried Jin Enxi’s scent. But he knew Jin Enxi had a distinctive birthmark on the small of her back, which this woman did not have.
Enxi, where are you? Are you well? Do you know I think of you every day? If I didn’t know you were still alive, perhaps I wouldn’t have held on this long.
Daniel’s eyes grew misty. Suddenly, a wine glass appeared before him, "Sir, have a drink." Daniel looked up and saw the woman who had pulled him to dance earlier.
"Let me introduce myself. I’m Lola, pleased to meet you."
Daniel looked at the wine glass but did not take it or speak. Jin Enxi smiled faintly, "Sir, I’m just making an acquaintance. No need to be so cold."
Daniel took the glass, "Daniel." He held the glass but didn’t drink.
"Are you a friend of the banquet host?" Jin Enxi asked, feigning curiosity while covertly lowering her gaze to hide the unusual look in her eyes. The closer she got, the more she could sense the change in Daniel.
"Yes." Daniel was sparing with his words.
"What a coincidence, I am too. I’m a friend of Shen Qinglan. She used to have an agent named Daniel. Are you him?"
Seeing that he knew Shen Qinglan, Daniel warmed up slightly, "It’s me."
"So it really is you. I was just guessing. Ha-ha, I had always wanted to see what the acclaimed agent Daniel looked like. I never expected to meet you today, and you look just like an ordinary person, without three heads and six arms."
Daniel smiled lightly, "I am no longer Qinglan’s agent."
"I know, you’re the scion of a wealthy family. What intrigues me is why someone like you would choose to become an agent?"
"If I say it’s because it’s my hobby, would you believe me?" Daniel was actually willing to chat.
Jin Enxi nodded, "Of course, I believe you." She surveyed Daniel and leaned in closer, "I think you’re great, and I’d like to be friends. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?"
Daniel leaned back, creating some distance, "Miss Lola, I can hear you fine." The implication being that she didn’t need to lean so close.
A hint of amusement flashed in Jin Enxi’s eyes as she sat up straight, "Let’s add each other on WeChat then." She took out her phone and looked at Daniel.
Daniel took out his phone, added her on WeChat, and then seemed ready to leave. He didn’t seem keen on contact with this woman, evident by him not bothering to leave a note on WeChat. It was clear he had no intention of further communication.
Jin Enxi’s smile deepened slightly, watching Daniel make an excuse to leave without trying to stop him.
"Aren’t you afraid you’ll play this game and he’ll be angry when he finds out?" Shen Qinglan’s voice came from behind. Jin Enxi turned around, her smile facing Shen Qinglan, "Hehe, you caught me."
"Why don’t you just tell him you’re back?" Jin Enxi had always wanted to see Daniel but didn’t dare and couldn’t. Now that she finally saw him, why hide it? Shen Qinglan was somewhat puzzled.
"An, you can understand that I’m scared." Jin Enxi’s voice suddenly lowered, tinged with loss, "He has changed so much, and so have I."
"Enxi..."
"An, I know what you’re going to say. Pretend I’m playing a game with Daniel. If he recognizes me, that’ll be great. If not, then it’s like getting to know each other again. Anyway, he is mine no matter what."
"Be careful not to play with fire," Shen Qinglan said softly.
Jin Enxi raised an eyebrow, "You have so little faith in me?"
"It’s not that I don’t have faith in you. Your behavior can easily be interpreted as testing him, showing that you don’t trust Daniel. He will definitely be upset when he finds out," Shen Qinglan said, knowing that Daniel getting angry was inevitable. "So you better clear things up with him soon."
Jin Enxi pondered for a moment, "You make sense, but since the game has already begun, let me give it a try. I also want Daniel to know that I have many sides, to let him understand me a little more."
"You’ll need to be careful with how far you go." If Jin Enxi’s mischievousness acted up, Daniel would have his hands full.
"Don’t worry." Jin Enxi assured.
"Lanlan, come and dance with your brother," Shen Junyu approached and said gentlemanly. Shen Qinglan raised an eyebrow and placed her hand in his, gliding with him into the dance floor.
"Brother, you haven’t danced in a long time, have you? Your skills have gone backwards," Shen Qinglan teased Shen Junyu.
Shen Junyu just smiled, "No choice, I’m old now, and when you get older, dancing gets harder. Let me tell you something serious, I plan to let Jun Ze start his own thing now."
"Is it time?" Shen Qinglan asked.
"Yeah, over these years Jun Ze has grown quickly, faster than I anticipated. Now it’s time for him to do his own things." And Shen Junze himself was also getting impatient.
In recent years, Lu Jincai had shown his capabilities, transforming Shen Real Estate, or rather, it should be called Lu Real Estate now, which had grown to some extent through years of development. But only so much, since Shen Junyu and Shen Qinglan had always kept an eye on it, it would not be allowed to expand unchecked.
"I’ve already registered a company under Jun Ze’s name. It will be Junlan’s new partner. This is as much as I can do, the rest is up to Jun Ze himself."
"Have you talked to him about this?"
"I have already told him. He submitted his resignation to the company today, and I approved it," Shen Junyu said with a tinge of regret. Shen Junze was like an uncarved gem that he had meticulously shaped; it pained him to have to give away such a finely crafted work of art...
Shen Qinglan saw through his thoughts immediately, "If it’s a fine jade, it should be appreciated by others. Plus, he has been suppressed for too long. If he doesn’t let it out, the fine jade might just turn into a dark-hearted stone."
Shen Junyu chuckled; indeed, that was exactly the point, "You really do stand up for him."
"Although I didn’t like him at first, after all, he is Second Uncle’s only bloodline. Nobody is perfect, and if he has an opportunity to mend his ways, that’s a good thing." Shen Qinglan’s expression remained indifferent. To date, she wasn’t particularly fond of Shen Junze, but for the sake of Grandpa and Shen Rang, she wouldn’t dwell on some matters. Best to let bygones be bygones.
After one dance, Shen Qinglan called Fu Hengyi, then took a seat to wait for him to pick her up. Fu Hengyi was quick, arriving in just half an hour.
"Were you nearby just now?" Otherwise, how could he have arrived so quickly?
"Yeah, I figured you would be finishing up soon, so I headed out," Fu Hengyi said warmly, glancing at Shen Qinglan and taking off his outer coat to drape over her shoulders.
Shen Qinglan frowned, "I’m not cold."
"Wear it anyway," said Fu Hengyi lightly.
Shen Qinglan paused slightly, immediately understanding his point, and couldn’t help but find it amusing and frustrating. He was being possessive today as she wore an off-the-shoulder evening dress that left a lot of skin exposed on her shoulders.
Shen Qinglan draped the coat over her, and looked in the direction the car was headed. This wasn’t the way home. "Where are we going?"
Fu Hengyi didn’t say but just smiled, "You’ll know when we get there."
Shen Qinglan didn’t ask further. The car drove for over an hour, heading further and further away, making it seem like Fu Hengyi was planning to take her for a nighttime excursion around the outskirts of Beijing?
When the car finally stopped, Shen Qinglan looked at the beach in front of her and raised an eyebrow, "So your plan was to take a stroll with me on the beach late at night?"
"Is that a problem?" Fu Hengyi replied, his tone laced with a trace of a grievance. He was increasingly feeling that his position in the family was slipping. When Anan was born, Shen Qinglan had seemed to agree that even after the child’s birth, the most important person in her heart would be him, not their son. But in reality, Shen Qinglan had already left him behind because of Anan numerous times.
Fu Hengyi deeply regretted not waiting longer before having a child, thinking they should have enjoyed a couple more years as just the two of them. Recalling the last time he was abandoned by his wife to stay with their son, Mr. Fu felt very bitter. Knowing full well that Anan was waiting at home for Shen Qinglan to come back and tell him a bedtime story, yet he deliberately brought Shen Qinglan to the beach for a stroll.
"What about Anan?" The first thing Shen Qinglan thought about was not the romantic gesture but her worry for her son at home, whom she told a story every night before he would go to sleep.
Fu Hengyi’s face darkened, though it was too dark to see, as he looked somberly at Shen Qinglan, "Wife, who is more important to you, me or our son?"
Hearing this, Shen Qinglan felt it was even more ridiculous, "Fu Hengyi, how old are you this year?" He was actually jealous of a three-year-old child.
"You answer me first, who is more important, me or our son?" Fu Hengyi’s questioning was like a rivalry with his son, determined to prove that his position in Shen Qinglan’s heart was higher than that of their son.
"You, you are more important, okay?" said Shen Qinglan, appeasingly.
"That’s so perfunctory, wife. You really treat me like that little brat, trying to coax me," Fu Hengyi wore a look of a deeply wronged woman, only it was too dark for Shen Qinglan to see clearly.
Shen Qinglan internally remarked that his intelligence quotient wasn’t much higher than Anan’s, "I’m speaking the truth. You are more important to me than Anan." For the sake of harmony in the family, Shen Qinglan felt it necessary to indulge the man in front of her.
Upon hearing these words, the corners of Fu Hengyi’s mouth curled slightly, "Well, we won’t go back today. I haven’t had the chance to take you out for a walk for a long time."
Shen Qinglan looked around. There were indeed many men and women walking or night-touring on the beach, but she was the only one in an evening dress. She pointed to her attire, "You’re making me wear this to take a walk with you?"
Fu Hengyi helped her adjust the coat properly, making sure not a hint of flesh was exposed. Shen Qinglan glowered, it was so dark, who could see anything?
"What does it matter, no one will notice what you’re wearing."
"But there’s Anan, all alone at home," Shen Qinglan remained concerned about her young son.
Fu Hengyi cut her off, "Grandpa, Aunt Zhao, and Aunt Liu are all at home, he is not alone. Moreover, Qinglan, Anan is a boy and is already three years old; he should be independent."
Speaking so earnestly and virtuously about being jealous, Shen Qinglan was impressed. Alright, considering she had indeed devoted most of her attention to her son recently, neglecting Fu Hengyi, it was better to appease the man in front of her.
Shen Qinglan eyed Fu Hengyi, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she suddenly got an idea, "Fu Hengyi, let’s stay in a hotel tonight and not go back."