Transmigrated as the Stepmother of a Rebellious Heir-Chapter 376 - 208 Calligraphy
"Are you asleep?"
The room was quiet for a while before Fu Siyu suddenly spoke up.
"Not yet." ππ«ππ²π¨πππππ―ππΉ.ππ¨πΊ
Shu Wan had slept a lot during the day and wasnβt yet sleepy.
"Are you cold? Do you need me to turn up the temperature a bit?"
"Not cold."
Shu Wan hesitated, perhaps because the dimmed environment blurred certain awkward boundaries, and she subconsciously said, "You are really nice to me. Are you like this with other people?"
No sooner had Shu Wan finished speaking than she knew the answer in her heart.
"Of course not," Fu Siyu turned to face her, his gaze resting on Shu Wan, "My energy is limited, so of course my attention can only be given to important people."
Even without turning her head, Shu Wan could feel Fu Siyuβs gaze, her throat tightened, unsure of how to respond.
Fu Siyu added another line himself, "You are also very nice to me."
"Iβm pretty nice to other people too," Shu Wan added quietly.
"But can I say with a bit of confidence that I treat you slightly better than I do others?" Fu Siyuβs tone hinted at a smile.
Shu Wan couldnβt refute this; after all, people respond in kindβFu Siyu was so good to her, she naturally treated him a bit better than others.
But though it made sense, there was an added implication when Fu Siyu pointed it out.
"Can I consider myself a somewhat more important person then?"
Full of confidence in everything he did, Fu Siyu hesitated substantially when he said this, using two words of uncertainty.
Even with lingering doubts about their strange relationship, Shu Wan affirmed at that moment, "A very important person."
"Really?" Fu Siyuβs tone was unmistakably cheerful, "Hearing you say that makes me very happy."
After a pause, he added, "Especially happy."
The night deepened, only a dim light shone at the foot of the bed, and a gentle breeze stirred the branches outside the window, casting swaying shadows on the wall, as if to disrupt the quiet night.
Shu Wan closed her eyes and could still sense the happiness emanating from Fu Siyu.
The emotion was almost contagious, slightly lifting Shu Wanβs spirits and curving her lips into an involuntary smile.
"Good night, Shu Wan."
"Mm, good night."
Shu Wan had thought she would struggle to fall asleep under these circumstances, but perhaps from spending too much time with Fu Siyu, she had grown accustomed to his presence. Even with a mind full of thoughts, she quickly settled down and fell asleep.
Beside her, Fu Siyu was wide awake.
After a while, Shu Wanβs breathing smoothed out completely, and Fu Siyu picked up his phone, dimmed the brightness to the lowest, tapped a few times, put down his phone, and closed his eyes.
At this juncture on the short video platform, everyone was preparing for bed, but a fresh refresh revealed a new update from Fu Siyu.
"Feeling really happy today @Bailu people."
Fu Siyuβs relationship with the owner of the Bailu peopleβs account had long been speculated by netizens, nearly certain, but Fu Siyu had never directly addressed it.
Now, this mention confirmed their guesses.
"I told you Fu Si and Bailu people were a pair, alright, now theyβre even flaunting their love."
"Not to burst your bubble, big shot, but youβre so happy about something, canβt you share with us? We all use the same social media, weβre so close now, what is there to hide?"
"Fu Siyu, such an impressive man, dares to publicly showcase his wife on social media, yet my boyfriend still hasnβt acknowledged me on his friend circle, truly sad."
Fu Siyuβs post had already sparked a flurry of online discussion, of which Shu Wan was blissfully unaware.
She slept well that night, even dreaming about the Little White Fox she had kept in her past life.
The Little White Fox was always warm in winter; Shu Wan liked to hold it while lounging on the soft couch reading. In her dream, she also held the Little White Fox in her arms.
Only, the Little White Fox felt different from what she remembered, and there was a faint scent of sandalwood.
The smell of sandalwood awoke Shu Wan from her dream.
She opened her eyes to see Fu Siyuβs distinct jawline.
Looking down, her hand was resting on Fu Siyuβs waist, and the posture clearly indicated she was the initiator.
Shu Wan was about to withdraw her hand while Fu Siyu was still asleep, but unexpectedly, before she could lift her hand, Fu Siyu raised his hand to grasp her entire body in his arms, his right hand also resting on her waist.
This placed them in an unmistakably intimate embrace.
Enveloped in the scent emanating from Fu Siyuβs body, Shu Wan didnβt find it unpleasant, yet such an action was decidedly too intimate.
For a fleeting moment, Shu Wan wondered if Fu Siyu had woken up, suspecting that it was deliberate.
But she quickly dismissed this guess.
Fu Siyu had consistently been very kind to her, behaving as a gentleman, and Shu Wan didnβt think he would do such a thing.
Shu Wan had intended to wake Fu Siyu, but seeing the faint darkness under his eyes, she gave up on the idea, after all, Fu Siyuβs hard work was for her sake.
Having realized this, Shu Wan ceased to fret and closed her eyes, adopting this posture to continue sleeping in Fu Siyuβs arms.
Soon, Shu Wanβs breathing became steady, and at that moment, Fu Siyuβs hand on her waist tightened a bit.
By the time Shu Wan woke up again, Fu Siyu had left. She reached out and felt the blanket; it was cold, indicating that Fu Siyu had been gone for quite a while.
This was for the better, as it spared them the awkwardness of having to explain to each other upon waking.
After getting out of bed and freshening up, Shu Wan sat back down on the bed. She picked up her phone to see a message from Fu Siyu sent an hour ago, "Iβve gone to take Fu Yang to school. After you wake up, have the Housekeeper bring you food. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay."
After responding to Fu Siyu, Shu Wan opened other apps to take a look.
The first thing she saw was a post by Fu Siyu on the short-video platform. Fu Siyu had sent her a private message, "I mentioned you in the spur of the moment. If you mind, I can delete it."
"I donβt mind."
Originally, no one knew that she was the Bailu people, so even if Fu Siyu mentioned her, it didnβt really matter.
Casually browsing the short-video platform, Shu Wan then opened Weibo and was bombarded with a deluge of mentions and comments, all about accusations of her calligraphy being fake.
Shu Wan had been doubted several times before, so this time, instead of anger, she was curious about the reasons they had concocted now.
Shu Wan clicked on the trending topic "Literary Professor Publicly Questions Shu Wan," where many people claimed that Shu Wan had used trickery to win during her last live stream, believing that she couldnβt possibly have written those characters.
After the last live stream, Shu Wan had emerged triumphantly, while Ren Yong, along with many advertisers, failed to fulfill their contracts and nearly faced financial ruin.
In such a dire situation, Ren Yong could only insist that Shu Wan had cheated in order to recover some losses.
Therefore, during the past few days while Shu Wan was sick, Ren Yong had racked his brains and finally came up with a claimβthat Shu Wan had used "Visible Paper" during her live stream.
This type of paper was already written on by someone else, but using some special method to make the characters invisible, they would only become visible when exposed to water, meaning that it wasnβt Shu Wanβs skill, but merely a trick she used to fool everyone.
Ordinarily, such an argument would lack evidence, merely indicative of Ren Yongβs impotence and rage.
However, with many calligraphers stepping out to publicly back Ren Yongβs claim, his accusation suddenly gained credibility.
The calligraphers supported Ren Yong because they couldnβt believe that such masterful strokes could have been penned by someone so young, let alone a woman.
In the art circle, ninety-eight percent of the influential voice was in the hands of men, among whom seniority also mattered a great deal.
To them, Shu Wanβs identityβa woman, a youngster, and an entertainer looked down upon by those in the art industryβbuffed the skepticism to its limit, leaving the public utterly incredulous.
"Nowadays, young people disrespect objective principles just for sensationalism. Such calligraphy couldnβt be mastered without decades of practice."
"If any young lady could write like this, then my fifty years of arduous practice would be a jokeβabsurd."
[Well, the farce goes on unresolved, doesnβt Shu Wanβs live demonstration count for anything?]
[Didnβt the experts already say? Shu Wan had someone write on the paper in advance, then it became visible once wet, looking as though she wrote it when in fact, she did not.]
[Oh my, the cityβs schemes run deep. Who knew you could play tricks like this? From which calligraphy master did Shu Wan get the fake? Their writing is genuinely good.]
Initially skeptical about Shu Wanβs capability to produce such excellent calligraphy, the public naturally sided with the experts as they came forward, vouching that Shu Wan had indeed faked her work.
In no time, Shu Wan was once again thrust into the eye of the storm.
Shu Wan wasnβt angered by the expertsβ skepticism; after all, she had experienced similar situations in her past life.
Back then, when she first entered the court, she had shown her talents in governance, and the old forces in the courtβs first thought wasnβt to promote her but to suppress her.
Because someone who isnβt amenable to them, regardless of their capability, would only threaten the vested interests of those in power.
Just like now, her emergence posed a threat to their interests, therefore, whether she had actually produced the calligraphy or not, they were determined to push her down.
Unfortunately for them, Shu Wan wasnβt someone who could be easily suppressed.
In response to these emphatic doubts from the experts, Shu Wan straightforwardly posted a status update, "If you question me, come and face me one-on-one. If you donβt have the courage, then I win."
