Bai Junnan’s eyes gradually brimmed with a smile. Actually, this was good too—at least she was still there. After dinner, Bai Junnan stood up to wash the dishes, and then the two of them cuddled up on the sofa to watch TV.

"The flavor is good, you should try it." Fu Shuyi handed a biscuit to his mouth, her eyes still fixed on the TV screen. Bai Junnan laughed, "Didn’t we just finish dinner?"

"It’s different, this biscuit is really tasty, just try it." She had bought it on her way over.

Bai Junnan bowed his head and took the biscuit into his mouth. The biscuit was the size of a thumb; he ended up taking Fu Shuyi’s fingers into his mouth as well, even lightly licking the fingertips with a touch of ambiguity. Fu Shuyi, as if burned, quickly withdrew her hand and instinctively sat up straight.

Bai Junnan watched the now blushing ears of the person in front of him, his eyes filled with laughter. He pretended not to notice and asked, "Shuyi, what’s wrong?"

Fu Shuyi glanced around nervously, "Nothing much, I’m just going to use the bathroom." With that, she hastened to the restroom as if someone were chasing her.

Bai Junnan finally let out a laugh, and much of the heaviness in his heart dissipated.

Dinner had been prepared by Bai Junnan, made up of dishes that Fu Shuyi enjoyed. Fu Shuyi had already calmed down, savoring the meal with her eyes squinting into crescents. "Hmm, Brother Jun Nan’s cooking skills are really improving, it’s so delicious."

After finishing the meal, as Fu Shuyi had class in the afternoon, Bai Junnan first dropped her back at school, then received a call from the lawyer asking him to come sign the share transfer agreement.

In the Bai family’s living room, Zhang Suxin sat coldly on the sofa, not sparing Bai Junnan even a glance as if he didn’t exist when he entered.

Zhang Suxin had already signed the documents, and after Bai Junnan signed, the lawyer took the documents and left. Bai Junnan stood in front of his mother, his eyes somber, "Mom."

Zhang Suxin sneered, "Don’t call me mom. I don’t have a son like you. I can’t handle it."

Bai Junnan pursed his lips, "Mom, I know you resent me, and you probably don’t want to see me now. I’ll leave shortly, but even if you’re no longer the chairman of the company, you’re still always my mom. I’ll come to see you again in a few days."

"By no means, I don’t need you to. From now on, you’re no longer my son. This is my home, you’re not welcome here. Whether you live or die is no concern of mine. Just go cling to the company for your whole life."

A trace of pallor appeared on Bai Junnan’s handsome face. He looked weakly at his mother, "Then I’ll be leaving now. Take care of yourself."

Zhang Suxin listened to the footsteps gradually fading away. Her hand, clutching a cup, trembled, spilling tea onto her pants, yet she seemed unfazed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

News that the chairman of the Bai Family had changed hands spread quickly. The other shareholders showed no particular reaction, but Bai Junnan’s uncles were quite agitated. They went to Zhang Suxin, expressing great displeasure that she had transferred shares to Bai Junnan without their consent.

Zhang Suxin scoffed, not even allowing them through the door, "These were the shares of Jun Nan’s father and mine. Jun Nan is our only son, and the shares would inevitably go to him; it’s only been expedited. That’s my prerogative and none of your concern. Rather than called names at me, you’d be better off minding your own business. Don’t assume Jun Nan is like me, turning a blind eye to some of your actions. I advise you to stay on your toes."

This blunt speech left her uncles fuming with faces ashen. Yet, watching the villa’s doors close, they could only begrudgingly depart.

As the saying goes, "a new official lights three fires," and when Bai Junnan became the chairman of the group, the first person he tackled was his third uncle, who had been serving as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Had it not been for the third uncle, his own mother would not have committed such actions. Such a cancer, he absolutely would not keep in the company. The third uncle wanted to make a scene, but the more he looked at the documents Bai Junnan produced, the paler his face grew.

"Third Uncle, I’m leaving this information here instead of taking it to the investigative authorities out of consideration for our familial bonds," Bai Junnan said. "You should understand what awaits you if this information were to reach their hands."

The third uncle looked steadfastly at Bai Junnan, his face turning alternately pale and flushed, a sight to behold. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice, "You’re nothing like your father."

Bai Junnan’s father was a very honest and tolerant man. If Bai Junnan’s father were in this position today, he would never treat his own brother this way. His nephew was much more ruthless than his father ever was.

"I’m not clear about what kind of person my father was. My style has always been like this. Today, even if the person who made a mistake were my biological father, I would make the same choice."

The third uncle laughed derisively, his gaze mocking. "I understand your intention. I’ll submit my resignation to the HR department tomorrow. Junnan, tell me the truth, how long have you been planning this?" He would never believe it was a spur-of-the-moment decision given the secretive nature of the matter.

"Third Uncle, I can only tell you one thing: if you don’t want people to know, don’t do it. You should feel lucky that I was the first to find out about this."

The third uncle did not respond, only giving Bai Junnan a deep look before he stood up and left. Bai Junnan leaned back in the chair, utterly exhausted, truly embodying the saying, "abandoned by all."

First his mother, then his third uncle, and soon his second and fourth uncles would follow. He figured that in the future, he might become the least popular person in the Bai family.

The corners of his mouth twitched into a bleak smile. Even so, he would still choose this path. The Bai Family, this large tree, was already rotten inside. Without the resolve for drastic measures, he could not protect his father’s efforts.

Following Bai Junnan’s actions, many "cancers" of the company were removed. The Bai Family was greatly weakened, but fortunately, thanks to Fu Chenxuan’s connections, the Bai Family had established cooperation with the Junlan Group. Otherwise, other shareholders of the Bai Family would have risen in opposition to Bai Junnan’s drastic reforms.

However, this event had been transformative for the Bai Family, utterly rejuvenating it. Bai Junnan had introduced much fresh blood to the organization, and this rotten tree had met its renewal in spring.

At this time, nearly half a year had passed since the rift between Bai Junnan and his mother. During these six months, Bai Junnan had devoted most of his energy to the company, and he had seen Fu Shuyi very infrequently, only speaking over the phone daily in an unchanging routine. It had been almost half a month since the two had last seen each other.

Thus, Bai Junnan glanced at his schedule for the afternoon, picked up his jacket, and left the company.

Fu Shuyi had just taken leave from the department head. Next Tuesday was her brother’s wedding, and she was going home today to help with the preparations. As she walked out of the school gate, she saw the person standing there.

Fu Shuyi’s eyes lit up, and she ran over, "Brother Jun Nan."

Bai Junnan smiled faintly and embraced her, "Sorry, I’ve been too busy recently and haven’t taken good care of you. You’re not mad at me, are you?"

Fu Shuyi pouted, "Hmm, who said I’m not mad? I am mad, but since you had important things to handle, I’ll let it slide."

As she spoke, Fu Shuyi stepped back from Bai Junnan’s embrace, examining him closely, "You’ve lost weight," her words tinged with concern.

Bai Junnan had indeed lost quite a bit of weight recently, and he didn’t look very well either. There was no helping it, as his company was in a critical period of growth and he had no choice but to work tirelessly.

"Things will get better once this phase is over." The project he was working on in collaboration with Junlan Group was already on track, and all that was left was to hand it over to the project manager to oversee, so he could finally get some relief.

"I’ll take you out for some tasty food today," Fu Shuyi said, holding Bai Junnan’s hand, while she herself took the driver’s seat.

Bai Junnan didn’t ask Fu Shuyi where she was taking him, and just looked at her with a smiling gaze. Fu Shuyi turned her head and met his smiling eyes, "Brother Jun Nan, if you’re tired, you might as well take a nap. I’ll wake you when we arrive."

Bai Junnan nodded amiably and closed his eyes, initially just intending to rest a bit but ended up falling asleep.

When they arrived at the destination, Fu Shuyi looked at the sleeping Bai Junnan, especially at the dark circles under his eyes, feeling a pang of heartache. She had heard from Bai Junnan’s secretary that over the past six months, he had been working overtime almost every day. Even if he took her out for dinner in the evening, he would send her home and then return to the office to continue working. Therefore, Fu Shuyi had started making excuses of being busy with studies to decline Bai Junnan’s dinner invitations, or sometimes she would buy a boxed meal and take it to his office to eat with him. After eating, she would take a taxi and leave.

She took out her phone and took a photo of Bai Junnan.

**

In four days, Fu Chenxuan and Gu Qingzhu’s wedding would take place. Gu Qingzhu had already returned from the military and was now staying in an apartment in the city center owned by Fu Chenxuan. On the wedding day, she would depart from there to get married. As for the marital home, it was an apartment that Fu Chenxuan had bought a year ago, close to the Military District, and was already well-decorated.

"Sister Qingzhu, are you nervous?" Fu Shuyi and Guoguo were helping Gu Qingzhu decorate the house, sticking up the character for happiness and window paper cuts—this place, after all, was considered Gu Qingzhu’s parental home and needed some dressing up.

Gu Qingzhu held a balloon and was figuring out how to blow it up more effortlessly. Hearing Fu Shuyi’s question, she looked up at her, "Nervous about what?"

She and Fu Chenxuan were already legally married, so to her, the wedding was just a formality—she couldn’t see why there was anything to be nervous about.

"People always say that a bride-to-be gets very nervous, and some even develop pre-wedding anxiety. How come you’re not nervous at all?"

Gu Qingzhu laughed, "Your brother and I are legally married as of now. If there were to be any nervousness, it wouldn’t be at this moment."

Fu Shuyi looked at her curiously, "Were you nervous on the day you and my brother got your marriage certificate?"

Gu Qingzhu and Fu Chenxuan had gotten married on the day of Qixi Festival, which was a month ago.

Gu Qingzhu tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and shook her head, "No, I just felt happy." Being with the person she loved and starting a family together—how could she feel nervous when it was the day she laughed the most in her life?

Fu Shuyi, hearing this, envy apparent in her eyes, "Sister Qingzhu, I envy the love between you and my brother."

Gu Qingzhu smiled, "Doesn’t Bai Junnan treat you well?"

Fu Shuyi shook her head, "No, Brother Jun Nan is very good to me, but seeing you and my brother like this, it makes me so happy and envious. I just hope that I and Brother Jun Nan can be like you two."

Gu Qingzhu smiled, "You will be, you’ll definitely be even happier than us."

Hearing their conversation, Guoguo interjected, "Shuyi, you’ll definitely be very happy in the future. Bai Junnan is a good man."

Fu Shuyi’s eyes sparkled, though a trace of regret quickly flashed deep within, then disappeared in an instant, "Actually, I already feel very happy now. Everyone around me has found their own happiness. Once my brother’s wedding is over, it’ll be Sister Guoguo and Brother Pei Hao’s turn. Time really flies. It feels like everything from our childhood was just yesterday, and in the blink of an eye, those who need to get married are getting married, and those who need to take wives are taking wives."

Guoguo laughed, "The way you talk, it sounds like you’re already in your seventies or eighties."

Fu Shuyi, discontented, "Sister Guoguo, I’m not old at all."

"Alright, stop chatting, let’s get back to work." Guoguo stuffed a balloon into Fu Shuyi’s arms, and the three of them continued decorating the house.

Meanwhile, the Fu family was also very busy. They not only had to clean up the house again but also had to arrange for the guests who were arriving one after another. Some of them had come from other places and would be staying for a few nights, and all of these arrangements were entrusted to Fu Shuchen and Shen Qing.

The wedding of Fu Chenxuan would be very high-profile; it would be just as grand as Shen Qinglan’s and Fu Hengyi’s wedding, although it was a western-style wedding, the guest list was quite extensive.

Bai Junnan, serving as the best man, was also kept extremely busy these past few days. As many of the guests were arriving from abroad, he and a few others needed to pick them up from the airport. Even if it was just driving, it was exhausting.

Shen Qinglan was still confirming the final wedding arrangements with the hotel, and Fu Hengyi would only be able to return the day before the wedding. All the decisions that should have been made by them both were now pressing down on Shen Qinglan alone.

Fortunately, Shen Qinglan had a flexible schedule, and with Chu Yunrong also helping, the wedding preparations were proceeding in an orderly manner.

"Brother Jun Nan, the wedding is the day after tomorrow. You should rest well at home tomorrow; you’ll be busy as the best man the day after," Fu Shuyi said as she walked Bai Junnan to the front door, reminding him gently.

Bai Junnan hummed in agreement, reaching up to touch her face, "You too, rest well. When we get married, I’ll definitely not let you be so tired." He had truly participated in the wedding preparation and realized how exhausting it was to get married.

Fu Shuyi’s face turned slightly red, "Nonsense, what’s all this talk about getting married? Go back and rest."

Bai Junnan stepped closer, lowered his head slightly, inching closer to someone, and deliberately lowered his voice, "If you won’t marry me, then who will you marry, huh?" His voice rose teasingly on the last word, carrying a hint of allure.

Fu Shuyi stepped back, her hand against his chest, but before she could speak, a cough sounded from the side—it turned out that Fu Shuchen was standing not far away watching them.

Bai Junnan stood upright regretfully, glanced at Fu Shuchen with a smile, and then turned and left the Fu family premises.