Chapter 44

“Shen Qinglan. Shen Qinglan. You again. Why do you always like to take stuff away me. Grandpa, grandma, brother, dad… and now you’re taking Fu Hengyi. Why do you do this?!”

Shen Xitong sat in her car, pounding on her steering wheels, face full of tears and eyes filled with bitter hatred.

“Shen Qinglan, you can only show off because you have that bit of Shen family blood running in you. Without that, you’re not my match. Just you wait, I won’t let you go so easily. If I can’t have a good life, I won’t let you have one too!”

**

Fu Hengyi did not stay in the Shen household for long. He went back before Chu Yunrong came home.

When he got back, Shen Qinglan was downstairs, having just woken up. She had difficulty sleeping but, once she lay on the bed, sleep overtook her easily, and she slept all the way till lunchtime.

While she ate, Grandpa Fu kept passing side dishes to her, said she was too skinny and ought to fatten up.

Very quickly, Shen Qinglan’s bowl was filled with all sorts of food tall enough to resemble a little hill. She groaned, knowing she could not finish them.

“Eat whatever you can, I’ll handle the rest,” Fu Hengyi said softly in her ear.

Grandpa Fu was a retired revolutionist who had fought enemies on the battlefield. During the worst of times, he had resorted to grazing on roots and gnawing on barks, so he never allowed the family to waste food. Everyone would take what they could stomach. The Shen family was just the same.

Shen Qinglan knew about this rule, so she groaned.

Fu Hengyi noticed Shen Qinglan had stopped moving her chopsticks when she was halfway through. He knew she could not eat any more, so he took over her bowl and emptied the leftovers, not reluctant at all.

Grandpa Fu pretended he did not see anything. This was his grandson’s wife, and his grandson volunteered to finish his wife’s leftovers. As an elder, he would not meddle in their affairs.

“Grandpa, we’ll be leaving now.” After dinner, Fu Hengyi planned to leave with Shen Qinglan.

Grandpa Fu glared when he heard that. “Leaving right after lunch? Do you think this is a restaurant, where you can come and go as you please?” Why can’t you spend more time with me?

Shen Qinglan felt awkward, but Fu Hengyi remained calm, “I’m spending more time with my wife, just like what you tell me to. Now that I’m actually doing it, and taking her out for some fun, you don’t approve?”

Grandpa Fu blew a fuse. “I never said I disapprove. Don’t put words in my mouth. Indeed, you should spend more time with your wife. Didn’t you say you’re going out for some fun? What are you standing there for? Go on, get going.”

Grandpa Fu waved them off.

Fu Hengyi calmly dragged Shen Qinglan out of the Fu household.

“We can’t just leave like this, can we?” Shen Qinglan said, a bit worried. She had always known that Granda Fu might act childishly on the surface, deep down he was actually quite lonely.

“It’s no big deal. We’ll come visit him tomorrow, but today we’re on a date.”

Date?

Shen Qinglan did not believe Fu Hengyi would use a word like that.

And he certainly did take her out on a date. He took her shopping, to the movies, to a restaurant, and everything else that couples do.

“I have clothes at home. I don’t need to get more.” Shen Qinglan stood outside a specialty store of an international brand, unwilling to enter.

“Don’t they say a woman’s wardrobe is always one item short? Relax, our home is big enough to fit the number of clothes you have,” Fu Hengyi draped an arm across her shoulders and led her into the shop.

On a serious note, Shen Qinglan had never stepped into this kind of store before. Not that she could not afford it. On the contrary, her clothes are all custom-made, specially ordered by Shen Junyu. They did not have any logos on them but each one was definitely worth more than any of the items here.

It was just that Shen Qinglan usually kept a low profile. Even the styles of the clothing she wore were quite common. Many people thought they belonged to unknown brands, never expecting them to be custom-made.

“Welcome,” the shop assistants greeted them politely.

Fu Hengyi rejected their recommendations. He proceeded to hover before the rows and rows of clothes. Shen Qinglan watched him with interest. She never knew that he dappled in women’s fashion.

If Fu Hengyi knew what she was thinking about, he would feel gravely mistaken, for this was his first time choosing an outfit for a woman. He brought her here to shop for clothes only because he had noticed the clothes in her wardrobe were all in homogenous, casual styles.

Fu Hengyi came over to her carrying several pieces, “Try these out, can you?”

Shen Qinglan furrowed her brows at the sight, “I don’t wear dresses.” She never had a single dress in her wardrobe.

“Just try them?” Fu Hengyi did not put down the clothes. Instead, he looked at her, eyes filled with perseverance and tenderness.

As though burned by his gaze, Shen Qinglan took the clothes he was holding and got into the fitting room.

Fu Hengyi sat patiently on the sofa in the waiting area, without a trace of impatience, and ignoring the shop assistants’ whispers not far away.

It took Shen Qinglan quite a hassle before she came out of the fitting room. She remained as stoic as ever, the hands by her sides slightly clenched, which was a sign of nervousness.

It was just outfit, yet she did not know what she was so nervous about, like a shy girl anticipating a compliment from her crush.

Shen Qinglan was struck by her own thoughts.

Fu Hengyi’s eyes sparkled when he saw her come out. The dress suited her very well. It did a miraculous job of softening her cold temperament.

Satisfied with what he saw, Fu Hengyi nodded. “You look beautiful in a dress,” he praised her generously.

In the army, he was a captain who was also nicknamed the ‘Devil Instructor’. In the eyes of his elders, he was a rigorous and outstanding kid. But in front of her, Fu Hengyi just wanted to be the man who would love her and spoil her,the one who could cast off her aloofness and gain some warmth.

He was not a contentious person. Since he knew how he felt, he would not hide it. He would let her know plainly that he liked her, and would spend the rest of his life with her. His goal was her heart.

“I’m not used to it.” Her eyebrows slightly creased.

“Wear them more often. Eventually, you will,” Fu Hengyi dragged her along, not letting her out of the dress.

“I’ll take them all,” he said lightly.

The shop assistants were overjoyed. They loved big spenders like him.

After leaving the plaza, Fu Hengyi brought Shen Qinglan to watch a crime film that happened to be trending at the moment. However, the two of them grew bored as they watched the fight scenes. What was fantastic to the audience was mediocre to them. The scenes were full of loopholes. They left before the movie even ended.