When Fu Chen arrived in Beijing, it was already past three in the afternoon. It was the Chunyun period, so plane tickets were hard to get. Fu Chen and Shi Fang were in economy class, and their seats were also apart. Sitting beside Fu Chen was a young couple holding a child of about five months old.
Before the plane even took off, the child was already crying hysterically, scaring Shi Fang so much that his face paled.
Third Master likes silence. If this child cries throughout the flight, he will definitely break down.
Shi Fang stood up and hesitated about whether to change seats with Fu Chen. The child was lying in his motherâs embrace and was right next to Fu Chen. All of a sudden, the child stretched his leg, leaving a small footprint on Fu Chenâs black pants.
âIâm so sorry!â The woman apologized to Fu Chen.
âItâs fine.â Fu Chen raised his hand to dust his pants and then glanced at the child.
The child instantly stopped crying, stunning Shi Fang.?Third Master didnât threaten the kid, did he?
âHe seems to like you a lot.â Seeing that her child wasnât crying, the woman wiped his tears away.
âHow old is he?â Fu Chen and the baby were staring at each other.
âA little over five months.â
âCan I touch him?â Fu Chen saw that the child was fair, chubby, cute, and had bright black eyes. The baby looked at him unblinkingly, and his heart stirred slightly.
âOf course.â The woman smiled at him. âSir, are you married?â
âNot yet.â
âThen, you must have a girlfriend.â
Fu Chen smiled and didnât deny it. He reached out his finger to poke the babyâs face. To his surprise, the child opened his mouth, grabbed Fu Chenâs finger, put it in his mouth, and sucked on it.
When Fu Chen pulled his finger out of the childâs mouth, there was still saliva on it, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch violently.
But the child suddenly giggled at him.
Fu Chen was speechless.?He was just crying so much, but heâs actually laughing now? The world of children is too difficult to understand.
When they got off the plane, the mother smiled at Fu Chen. âI wish you a Happy New Year, and I hope you can marry your girlfriend soon.â
âThank you.â
âYouâre quite patient with children. Youâll definitely be a good father in the future.â
Shi Fang was waiting for Fu Chen in the corridor. Hearing this, he almost burst out laughing.?I canât imagine what Third Master will look like holding a baby. Heâs much older than Young Master Yuxiu and Young Master Jinye, but Iâve never seen him have any patience with them.
When he has to coax his child in the future, wonât that childâs living environment be a bit too difficult and dangerous?
But Third Masterâs child did arrive a little early. Song Fengwan was still in university at the time, so the child spent a lot of time with Fu Chen. His personality was a little difficult to describe in just a few wordsâ¦
In Duan Linbaiâs words: âItâs already good enough that Fu Chen could bring the child up safely. Isnât it normal for his child to grow up devious? Donât ask too much of him.â
This was also something for later.
â¦
Fu Chen got out of the plane and turned off airplane mode on his phone. Before he could send Song Fengwan a message, Qian Jiangâs messages kept coming.
[Miss Song and Ms. Qiao went shopping.]
[Sheâs trying on clothes. She looks very beautiful.]
[She bought a dress, the kind that shows her calves. A man keeps staring at her.]
â¦
Fu Chen pinched the space between his eyebrows.?Three times the salary? I donât even want to give him a single cent.
***
There were a lot of people gathered at the airport exit. All of them were holding either LED signboards or banners while constantly calling a certain celebrityâs name.
Fu Chen was wearing a mask. As soon as he left the exit with Shi Fang, a girl rushed over and nearly knocked over their luggage of Yuncheng specialties.
Shi Fang was pushing the luggage cart, so it wasnât convenient for him to protect Fu Chen. The group of fangirls ran in a hurry to the space behind them and knocked into Fu Chen quite a few times.
He turned his head to look behind him. With his height advantage, he was able to see through the crowd. In the middle of the crowd was a female celebrity accompanied by bodyguards. The capital was freezing cold, but she was still bare-legged. Some fans were even holding DSLR cameras and were very professional.
âThird Master, this way.â Shi Fang pointed at the other exit. âSheâs a celebrity who rose to fame last year. Sheâs acted in two hit TV dramas and has already jumped to being top celebrity from an unknown extra.â
Fu Chen furrowed his brows and raised his hand to dust off his clothes, looking displeased.
âI heard thereâs a sugar daddy supporting her. Do you know who it is?
âApparently, heâs from the Ning family, the Ning family that also lives in the compound. His father is also a popular figure in the capital. Many people in the circle know that they seem to be in a serious relationship. I donât know if the Ning family will accept such a daughter-in-law.â
Fu Chen turned his head and glanced at Shi Fang. âYour annual leave is cut by three days.â
Shi Fang almost cursed out loud.?I just gossiped a bit. Is there a need for this?
***
Shi Fang first sent Fu Chen back to Yunjin Prime Manor before officially going on holiday. Uncle Nian had also returned to his hometown for Lunar New Year, and Fu Chen had already sent Huai Sheng up the mountain on the morning of the 28th of the last lunar month. The huge house looked empty in an instant.
Fu Chen put away his luggage and drove to the old residence with the local specialties that Old Madam Yan and Qiao Aiyun had asked him to give to his parents.
When he arrived at the old residence, only the two elders of the Fu family and Fu Sinian were in the living room meeting guests. There was a family of three sitting on the sofa, and they happened to be the Ning family that Shi Fang had mentioned earlier.
â⦠Fu Chen, youâre back.â The middle-aged man stood up.
âBig Brother Ning, Sister-in-Law.â Fu Chen greeted them. Although they were more than twenty years apart, they were still of the same seniority.
âThird Master.â The young man sitting at the side got up. Seeing Fu Chen always made him a little uneasy and nervous.
âNing Fan?â Fu Chen narrowed his eyes. He didnât have a deep impression of him.
âYes.â Ning Fan didnât expect Fu Chen to remember his name and was a little flattered.
The Ning family had been developing well over the years, so he was considered one of the top people in the Beijing circle, but it was still hard for him to reach Fu Chenâs circle.
Fu Chenâs circle wasnât big, and there were only a few people in it. The most low-key person in the group was Fu Chen, the most mysterious was Sixth Master Jing of the northern Sichuan Jing family, and the most unrestrained person wasâ¦
⦠naturally Duan Linbai.
But recently, people rarely heard any news about him, and his last Weibo post was on New Yearâs Eve. In the eyes of his fans, he was already considered a âmissing personâ.
âWhy did you bring so many things back?â Old Madam Fu frowned slightly when she saw the servants carrying bags of specialties into the house.
âI passed by Yuncheng and went to visit the Qiao family. I also saw Old Madam Yan, so I couldnât reject her.â Fu Chen avoided the main points.
Fu Sinian, sitting at the side, took off his glasses and wiped them.?Passed by Yuncheng? I never knew that Third Uncle is so good at acting. The Oscars owe him a golden statuette.
âShe just called me recently, and now sheâs giving us so many things. How can this do?â Old Madam Fu was overjoyed to receive an unexpected call from her old friend. âHow was she when you saw her?â
âSheâs very good.â Fu Chen looked at the guests. âYou chat with the guests first. Iâll go upstairs to change my clothes.â
âGo ahead.â Old Madam Fu told the servants to pack these things away.
Perhaps because he had just heard the gossip from Shi Fang, when Fu Chen glanced at Ning Fan, who was sitting at the side, he thought of the female celebrity.?The Ning family is quite conservative. Looks like there will be some commotions in the future.
As soon as Fu Chen left, not only did Ning Fan not feel relaxed, he instead felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Because Fu Sinian, who was sitting opposite him, seemed to be sizing him up.?We arenât even familiar with each other at all. Why is he staring at me like that?
The Ning familyâs current status was all thanks to Old Master Fuâs discerning eyes and help back then. He had given Ning Fanâs father a chance, which allowed him to climb to his current position. He had the ability himself now, but it was Old Master Fu who had provided him with the opportunity. His family was very grateful, and they always paid a visit to the Fu family every year. Old Master Fu was their familyâs benefactor.
The Ning family didnât stay for long, and they left after chatting for a while.
âOld Master Fu, Old Madam Fu, thereâs no need to see us off. Itâs very cold outside.â The Ning family members smiled.
âThen, weâll get Sinian to see you out.â Old Madam Fu smiled and motioned to Fu Sinian.
The Ning family didnât decline and let Fu Sinian see them out. They lived in the same compound, so it wasnât far away. After sending them out of the door, Ning Fanâs parents asked Fu Sinian to go back into the house, but Ning Fan instead stopped and chatted with Fu Sinian for a while.
âYou kept looking at me just now. Do you have something to say to me?â Ning Fan spoke to him very politely.
âThe person living opposite meâ¦â Fu Sinian raised his eyebrows.
âSheâs a close little sister of mine. When I helped her to move in, we made a lot of noise for a long time. Iâm really sorry about that.â Ning Fan was a little apologetic.
âLittle sister?â
âYes, and I would like to ask you for a favor.â
âHmm?â
âShe hasnât been back in the capital for long, so Iâm worried about her living alone. You live opposite her, and as the saying goes, âclose neighbors are better than distant relativesâ. If anything happens to her, please help her out. If she does anything to disturb you, please be more understanding of her.â He was hesitant, but he still voiced his request.
âYou mean you want me to take care of her slightly?â Fu Sinian raised his eyebrows.
âThatâs not what I meant. Itâs just thatâ¦â
âUncle and Aunt have gone far. You should go too.â Fu Sinianâs face was cold and expressionless from beginning to end.
âI spoke too much. Goodbye. Thereâs no need to see me off.â Ning Fan sighed.?I was really too stupid to actually ask Fu Sinian for help.
He was just worried that something would happen to Yu Manxi.If her neighbor could find out in time, he could help her.?I was really out of my mind just now. How did I dare to say that to him?
He sounds like heâs angry.
Ning Fan shook his head helplessly.
Fu Sinian watched the Ning family members disappear from sight, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.?Isnât Ning Fan a bit too concerned about her? Even if he wants me to take care of her, itâs still not his place to say so.