Chapter 564: Number Two 21. The Right Way to Bluff People

When the kiss ended, Fu Chenxuan finally let go of Gu Qingzhu, his thumb brushing her lips, trailing a suggestive silver thread. Fu Chenxuan chuckled softly, "That’s the right way to coax someone."

Gu Qingzhu’s cheeks were a faint red, whether from shyness or the stifling of her breath, she couldn’t tell.

Pretending to be calm, she sat back down, picked up a book, and clearly displayed a "I’m going to start reading now, you can leave" attitude, but her eyes stayed on the pages, not really absorbing the words. Gu Qingzhu had to admit she knew nothing of the content.

Fu Chenxuan did not expose her ploy, instead, he said, "I have to head back to the company for a while, I’ll come over to see you again in the evening."

Gu Qingzhu nodded haphazardly, "Mhm, got it."

Fu Chenxuan raised his hand, tenderly caressed her face, and got up to leave. Gu Qingzhu looked up from her book, touched her still somewhat hot cheek, and chuckled lightly.

Fu Chenxuan had been spending only two or three hours a day at the company, sometimes he wouldn’t show up at all. If it weren’t for his excellent cooperation team, the company could operate normally even without him; otherwise, with his come-and-go leadership style, the company would inevitably have to shut down.

William was discussing a technical problem with Li Meng. He had been working on this issue for three or four days but couldn’t figure it out. The program kept throwing up errors, and just as he was feeling perplexed, he saw Fu Chenxuan enter the company, his eyes lighting up. He immediately dragged Fu Chenxuan over, "You’ve arrived just in time, help me take a look at these lines of code."

And so, Fu Chenxuan got to work even before entering his own office, and he stayed there for three hours.

William watched as Fu Chenxuan’s fingers flew across the keyboard, now frowning, now having a moment of realization, his expressions incredibly vivid.

After typing the last line of code, Fu Chenxuan lifted his hands off the keyboard, "Done, test it again. There shouldn’t be any problems this time."

William gazed at Fu Chenxuan heartily, as if he were staring at his beloved lover, which gave Fu Chenxuan goosebumps and a look of disgust, "What are you doing?"

William chuckled, "Chenxuan, why do you even bother with management? You should just be the head of our development team; it’s such a waste of your talent."

Fu Chenxuan smiled without mirth, "Then you handle the company’s future development?" He would be happy to focus on coding if he could.

William’s face stiffened, and he laughed dryly, "You manage it. I’m better off focusing on development."

They all excelled in technical work, and it had always been Fu Chenxuan who managed the company’s progress and development – his brain was just more efficient.

Li Meng looked at him with disdain, such character.

When Fu Chenxuan got back to his office, Li Meng followed him in. Fu Chenxuan glanced at him, "Boss, what about Nan Yan?" Guoguo hadn’t come to work for several days, and no one answered when he called her.

"She’s abroad."

"She went abroad for what? A vacation?" Li Meng pressed on.

Fu Chenxuan stared at him firmly, "What do you think?"

Li Meng felt uneasy under Fu Chenxuan’s gaze. But knowing that Fu Chenxuan saw Guoguo as a sister, he relaxed, "If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you."

Fu Chenxuan, seeing through Li Meng’s thoughts, considered for a moment before saying, "Her boyfriend’s in the hospital, and she’s taking care of him."

Li Meng’s expression became stiff, "She already has a boyfriend? She never mentioned it."

"She’s discreet," Fu Chenxuan said curtly, content to have quashed Li Meng’s thoughts.

Li Meng felt a sense of loss. He had just realized his feelings for Guoguo and was waiting for her to come back to work to pursue her, but it turned out she already had a boyfriend. His first flutterings of love were nipped in the bud before they could even take root, and Li Meng couldn’t deny his heartache.

Fu Chenxuan patted his friend’s shoulder, "There’s plenty of fish in the sea."

Li Meng’s smile was worse than crying, "Boss, I’ve got work to do, I’ll head out now."

Fu Chenxuan shook his head sympathetically, watching Li Meng’s retreating figure. Yet knowing Li Meng’s character, he wasn’t worried at all. After sorting out the remaining trivial matters, he left the company. He needed to stop by home, it had been days since his last visit.

Today, Fu Shuyi was at home, lounging on the sofa, phone in hand, chatting with someone. She kept giggling foolishly. Upon seeing him return, she greeted him, "Yo, bro, could you bear to leave Sister Qingzhu alone?" Her tone was teasing.

Fu Chenxuan ignored her quip and instead asked, "Where’s Mom?"

Fu Shuyi pointed outside, "In the greenhouse. Bro, you just left Qingzhu alone in the hospital?"

"Who are you chatting with?" Fu Chenxuan countered, not answering her question. Her laughter was like that of a smitten teenager.

Fu Shuyi wasn’t clear about his intentions and responded offhandedly, "My classmate."

"Has Jun Nan contacted you recently?" Fu Chenxuan asked casually.

Fu Shuyi paused briefly, "No, why would he contact me if there’s nothing important?"

Fu Chenxuan felt relieved and went to the flower room to find Shen Qinglan. Shen Qinglan was busy pruning branches. The flower room had grown a bit since before and the variety of plants had increased significantly; many of which were left by Old Sir Fu before he passed, and a few were added by her later on.

"Mom," Fu Chenxuan called out, and Shen Qinglan hummed in acknowledgment without lifting her head, "Is Qingzhu feeling better?"

"She’s much better now. I’ve come back to get a few changes of clothes."

"Oh." Shen Qinglan had no objections. Perhaps in the eyes of others, a mother might feel uncomfortable seeing her son being so caring toward his future wife, as if someone else was taking him away, making them feel more unsettled. Some might even make it difficult for the girl once she becomes part of the family, but such scenarios were non-existent for her.

As long as her son wanted to cherish his wife, he should do so. She had no objections to how he wanted to dote on her, as long as he did nothing morally wrong or harmful to others.

"Mom, I was thinking, once Qingzhu is discharged from the hospital, I’d like to bring her back to have a proper meal with the family. What do you think?" Although Gu Qingzhu wouldn’t be discharged anytime soon, Fu Chenxuan hoped to get his parents’ approval in advance.

"Sure, just give us a call beforehand when you decide to come, and let the aunt know what she likes to eat so we can prepare her favorite dishes in advance," Shen Qinglan agreed readily. As long as her son had thought it through, she wouldn’t oppose. After all, it was the person who would spend a lifetime with her son, not with her.

Fu Chenxuan smiled, walked forward, and put his arm around Shen Qinglan’s shoulder, "Mom, it’s great to have you." His mother truly respected her children’s wishes. Ever since he was little, he was free to do as he wished, with her providing appropriate advice without being overly intrusive. Sometimes, in the eyes of others, Shen Qinglan seemed to be too indulgent with him.

Shen Qinglan patted her son’s hand, "Cut the mushy talk, go grab some scissors and help me finish the work." With more plants in the house, they required quite a bit of time to care for.

"Okay." Fu Chenxuan grinned, turned to get the scissors, and joined his mother in pruning the plants.

**

"Lin Jing, your coffee." A cup of coffee was placed in front of Lin Jing, and as she looked up, she saw Lu Feng, her colleague.

Seeing Lin Jing looking at him, Lu Feng smiled and explained, "You seemed a bit out of it today, so when I went down to get myself a coffee, I brought one back for you too. I wasn’t sure what flavor you liked, so I picked caramel macchiato."

"Thank you," Lin Jing expressed her gratitude.

Lu Feng chuckled, "No need to be polite. By the way, are you free tonight? I was thinking of inviting you to dinner. My parents are out watching a movie, and no one else is home to cook. Eating alone is quite boring."

Lin Jing smiled apologetically, "I’m sorry, I’ve already made plans to have dinner with a friend tonight."

Lu Feng looked a bit embarrassed, "No worries, no worries, it was a spur of the moment idea. We can do it another time."

"Sure," Lin Jing said.

"You go ahead with your work; I won’t distract you any longer." After saying this, Lu Feng returned to his seat, looking deflated.

Lin Jing was beautiful, although a bit reticent, she was mild-mannered. She captured the attention of many upon joining the company. However, she didn’t seem to enjoy mingling with everyone, and no one knew quite how to approach her.

Lu Feng was one of Lin Jing’s admirers, an extrovert, but he had no clue how to proceed with Lin Jing. To him, she was like a fortress with its gates closed and walls too high to surmount.

"Did your invitation get turned down?" a colleague whispered in Lu Feng’s ear, to which he nodded. Although this was his first invitation and he felt embarrassed about being rejected, he had racked his brains to come up with such a perfect excuse.

The colleague patted his shoulder, "The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrade, you must continue to strive."

Lu Feng let out a deep sigh. That was true, as long as she didn’t have a boyfriend, he still had a chance. What was there to fear about being rejected? He was a man; he just needed to thicken his skin. Wasn’t there a saying, ’A shy girl is afraid of a persistent boy’?

Lu Feng wiped his face and perked up again.

After work, Lin Jing saw Lu Feng pull over in his car, "Lin Jing, where are you heading? Let me give you a lift."

"It’s not necessary. It’s easy to catch a cab here. I’ll just take a taxi," Lin Jing declined, knowing Lu Feng’s intentions but not reciprocating his feelings. She didn’t want any ambiguity and preferred to avoid giving him a chance to get closer.

Lu Feng smiled, "I’m free after this anyway, so I might as well save you the trip. Just think of it as me killing time."

Lin Jing did want to walk away without acknowledging him, but since he had repeatedly extended invitations, it would be too disrespectful to just leave. They were colleagues who would see each other frequently. Even if she had to refuse, she didn’t want to create an embarrassing scene. So she got into the car, "Thank you."

Lu Feng glanced back, "You’re welcome. Where to?"

Lin Jing gave him an address near her home. Since she had already told him she had plans for the evening, she couldn’t very well give him her actual home address; that would be too discourteous.

Throughout the journey Lu Feng tried to strike up conversations with Lin Jing who mostly remained silent, occasionally replying with a word or two. Even so, Lu Feng was very happy, chatting away enthusiastically on his own.

Upon reaching their destination, Lin Jing unbuckled her seat belt, "Thank you for giving me a lift today."

Lu Feng waved his hand, "Don’t mention it, it’s on my way. If you need anything in the future, feel free to ask."

Lin Jing nodded and got out of the car, heading in the direction of a restaurant on the street. Lu Feng and the others entered before he drove away. Lin Jing ordered a few dishes to take away, sorting out dinner for herself and Jiandan with ease.

Once home, as expected, Jiandan was there, living a hermit-like life and seldom going out, unless she was creatively blocked and needed some inspiration.

"Jiandan, come out for dinner," Lin Jing called out as she arranged the food.

Jiandan emerged, her hair disheveled, still in pajamas, and wobbling as she walked. Lin Jing frowned, "What’s wrong with you?"

"I’m starving," Jiandan replied weakly, "I’ve missed three meals."

Lin Jing shook her head, "Your lifestyle is too irregular, it will ruin your health."

Jiandan waved her hand dismissively, "I know, I’ve been stocking up on drafts recently. It will be fine once this period passes." Her eyes lit up when she saw the food on the table, "What’s the occasion today? The meal looks so lavish."

Usually, although they would get take-out, they rarely splurged on expensive meals.

Lin Jing smiled, "It’s no special occasion, I just fancied this restaurant’s food, so I got something to go. Quick, wash your hands and eat before it gets cold."

Jiandan nodded and shuffled into the kitchen to wash her hands, prompting Lin Jing to shake her head in disbelief at her state.

After dinner, Jiandan went back into her room to work on her writing; for her, every second counted. Lin Jing wanted to chat with her, but seeing her like this, she immediately scrapped the idea.

The next day at work, Lin Jing saw breakfast on her desk. Glancing around, she noticed Lu Feng smiling at her and gesturing towards the meal; it was clear who had brought it.

Lin Jing wanted to refuse, but with many colleagues already in the office, it seemed inappropriate to do so. Therefore, she promptly transferred money to Lu Feng’s Alipay as payment for the breakfast he had bought her.

Fortunately, Lu Feng had carried things for her before, so Lin Jing knew his Alipay and transferred a bit extra, just to be sure.

Upon seeing the transfer, Lu Feng glimpsed at Lin Jing, his expression darkening. The feeling of rejection truly sucked.

Colleague Xiao Fan, sympathizing, patted his shoulder and whispered, "Do you think she might have a boyfriend?"

Lu Feng was taken aback, "Really?" He hadn’t considered that before. If she did have a boyfriend, his actions would indeed be awkward. Considering this, he asked his colleague, "Can you help me find out?"

The colleague nodded, "Leave it to me."

At lunchtime, Lin Jing went to the company canteen with her colleagues. Xiao Li, Xiao Fan’s girlfriend, asked as if it were an afterthought, "Lin Jing, you’re twenty-five this year, right?" She was tasked by her boyfriend to inquire about Lin Jing’s relationship status.

Lin Jing nodded, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Do you have a boyfriend? If not, let me set you up. I know quite a few eligible bachelors, all types available," Xiao Li offered, sounding like a matchmaker.

Lin Jing, slightly alarmed by this, shook her head, "No, and I’m not planning to date at the moment."

Xiao Li inwardly rejoiced, "Well, you’re not young anymore, it’s time to find a boyfriend. Even two or three years of dating before getting married is enough. Or do you already have someone you like?"

Lin Jing’s grip on her chopsticks faltered, and her gaze shifted. Xiao Li had touched on the truth inadvertently, expressing surprise, "Do you really have someone you like?"

Lin Jing simply looked down and continued eating, not denying it.

Xiao Li took it as a tacit confirmation, sighing regretfully. What a pity, Lu Feng was quite a nice guy.

When Lu Feng found out Lin Jing had someone she liked, one could only imagine his disappointment. However, he also felt relieved to know the reason for her rejection instead of guessing blindly.

He did like Lin Jing, but he wouldn’t interfere in someone’s relationship. If Lin Jing had been single, he would have pursued her wholeheartedly, but knowing she had affections for someone else, he wouldn’t persist.

In the following days, seeing that Lu Feng stopped trying to make his presence felt, Lin Jing also breathed a sigh of relief. She really couldn’t handle such situations. Now that he had retreated gracefully, that was for the best.

**

Time flew by, and half a month passed in a blink of an eye. Gu Qingzhu’s injuries had mostly healed, and the rest required time to mend and could be dealt with from home. Thus, Fu Chenxuan came that day to handle Gu Qingzhu’s hospital discharge paperwork.

"You’ll temporarily stay in my downtown apartment," Fu Chenxuan said while packing Gu Qingzhu’s luggage. He actually wanted to move in and live with her, but a certain someone would not agree.

Gu Qingzhu was stunned, then pursed her lips, "No need, I can stay in a hotel for now, and rent a place in a few days." She didn’t own any property in Beijing, Song Bing did have quite a few, but Song Bing’s assets were not Gu Qingzhu’s. When she resumed her identity as Gu Qingzhu, anything that belonged to Song Bing had already been turned over.

As Gu Qingzhu was now just an ordinary military officer, drawing the meager salary from the army, how could she possibly afford a house in Beijing?

Fu Chenxuan looked at her coldly, displeased, "Are you sure you want to keep things that clear between us?" They were boyfriend and girlfriend, and living in his house was also not okay?

Gu Qingzhu thought about it and seemed to agree. He was her boyfriend after all, just staying in his house, no need to be prudish, "Fine, I’ll listen to you."

Fu Chenxuan had thought it would take some time to convince her, but she changed her stance so quickly that he was momentarily stunned, then pleased.

The apartment was cleaned daily since he would occasionally stay there. Life necessities were fully stocked; he had long thought of having Gu Qingzhu stay there, so he had already prepared everything she might need.

Fu Chenxuan directly took the luggage into the master bedroom, prompting Gu Qingzhu to frown, "I’ll sleep in the guest room."

"Just stay where I told you to stay," Fu Chenxuan said irritably, truly disliking how she kept things so separate between them.

Sitting in her wheelchair, Gu Qingzhu looked up at him, "I’ve noticed that you’ve become much more irritable in the four years we haven’t seen each other." He used to be such a gentle person.

"It’s all because you annoy me," Fu Chenxuan huffed. She could be pretty stubborn in some ways, and only after he got angry would she compromise.

Gu Qingzhu snorted lightly. Admit it if you have a bad temper, she wouldn’t dislike him for that.

Someone, reading the expression in her eyes, huffed indignantly, turned his head away haughtily, but hung her clothes one by one in the closet.

The closet was large; half of it was filled with clothes he hadn’t had the chance to take away yet, and the other half was now filled with women’s clothing, all unopened, stuff he had prepared in advance.

Seeing the clothes in the closet, Gu Qingzhu was slightly surprised, "After my injury heals, I’ll return to the army base." Normally, in the army base, she’d wear a military uniform, rarely having the opportunity to wear casual clothes.

"You’re still in the recovery period now, and you have three months of leave."

Fu Hengyi was considerate of her four hard years undercover, so in addition to the three-month recuperation leave, he also granted her an extra month of leave. Of course, this was also to give the two of them more time together.

Gu Qingzhu could certainly not outtalk Fu Chenxuan, so she wisely chose to keep her mouth shut.

"I need to make a trip back to the base tomorrow," Gu Qingzhu said. One reason was to report in, and secondly, to undergo the army’s review. This should have been done during her hospital stay, but Fu Hengyi had pushed it back for her. After all, she was his future daughter-in-law, and this small favor was just a show of hands.

"Okay, I’ll drop you off at the base entrance," Fu Chenxuan also knew that this was a necessary procedure, even if his father was the Commander of the Beijing Military Region, he could not show favoritism.

Dinner was still prepared by Fu Chenxuan, an ordinary taste that Gu Qingzhu liked very much. Whenever he cooked, her appetite was always better.

"Have some soup, my aunt said this bone broth is very good for people with fractures." Fu Chenxuan placed a bowl of bone broth in front of Gu Qingzhu, keen to boost her nutrition, he had been learning cooking from the family’s aunt.

The soup had been stewing for hours, and it tasted great. Gu Qingzhu drank two bowls in a row. Putting the bowl down, she touched her belly, "I’m stuffed."

"We can go down for a walk to help digest."

Gu Qingzhu: ... She couldn’t walk yet, so she wouldn’t be the one digesting the meal, but whatever Fu Chenxuan said goes.

"It’s almost New Year, come home with me for the celebration this year." As he wrapped Gu Qingzhu up warm, Fu Chenxuan suggested while pushing her downstairs.

All of Gu Qingzhu’s relatives had passed away, and even if she went home, she would be alone, and besides, her injuries would still not be healed by the New Year, so she would need someone to take care of her.

Gu Qingzhu paused, "Would that be appropriate?"

"There’s nothing inappropriate about it. You’ve already met my parents, and my sister too. I also have a brother, and I’m sure you must have met him already."

Gu Qingzhu remembered the evening in the back alley of the bar when she met Fu Shuyi and Fu Shuchen, and she laughed, "Your brother’s personality is quite like Commander Fu’s." Equally reserved.

"He’s the one most like my father, not just in looks but also in personality." That was why every time Uncle Allen saw Shuchen, he would disgustingly shake his head, making all of them struggle to hold back their chuckles.

And so, it was decided. This New Year, Gu Qingzhu would go home with Fu Chenxuan as his girlfriend, formally bringing her home to meet the parents.

Winter nights were still cold, so after strolling around for a short while, Fu Chenxuan and Gu Qingzhu decided to head back. But, right at the entrance of their building, they ran into Lin Jing.