CH 74.1

Shen Xingsui was a little stunned after hearing this, and asked, “Who invited me over?” The attendant smiled and said, “It’s the old lady.”

Shen Xingsui heard from his mother that the chicken soup made by the old lady Fu was delicious. Although his mother didn’t describe the old lady much, he could probably guess that old lady Fu should be a good person.

Shen Xingchen encouraged him, “You go, the old lady is very good, she even gave me a red envelope!”

In Shen Xingchen’s simple world, giving a red envelope = a good person.

Shen Xingsui smiled, nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go there now.”

He let the attendant lead him through the crowded hall together, walked up the simple wooden stairs, and soon reached the upstairs. The decoration style of the Fu family’s old house was very simple yet elegant, steeped deep with history. There were calligraphy displays and traditional-style paintings hanging on the wall. The glass cabinets  were full of vases. All of them were exquisite and beautiful. 

The attendant in front said as he walked, “Before you came, the old lady kept thinking about you.”

Shen Xingsui asked, “The old lady knows me?”

“Yes.” The attendant smiled: “She often watches your programs. She especially likes your songs.” 

“…”

Shen Xingsui fell into deep thought.

Not for anything else, just a sudden thought, ‘Why do I feel that my songs are particularly liked by the elderly?’

Is this reasonable?

But there seems to be nothing wrong with it.

The two walked to the door of a room together. The attendant opened the door so that Shen Xingsui could walk in. Shen Xingsui took a deep breath nervously before stepping in.

The room was scented with incense, so it smelled a bit like sandalwood, elegant and pleasant. An old lady was sitting on the sofa. She seemed to be holding a book in her hand. When she heard the sound of someone coming in, she turned her head, looked at Shen Xingsui with a kind smile, “Ah, Suisui. You are here.” 

Shen Xingsui was surprised. Old lady Fu looked very young, about the same age as his grandma. Even with a head full of white hair, she was still very delicate and beautiful.

Shen Xingsui bowed: “Hello, Mrs. Fu.”

“You don’t have to be so polite.” The old lady said, “You can call me Grandma too, just call me Grandma Fu.”

Shen Xingsui felt that this seemed a bit out of order. He thought about refusing, but when he met the old lady’s eyes, he couldn’t say anything to refuse.

The old lady beckoned to him and said, “Young man, come and sit beside me.”

Shen Xingsui walked over and sat down beside her.

“You are more handsome than you appear on TV.” The old lady looked at him with a smile and said, “You are really similar to your parents.”

Shen Xingsui was a little embarrassed by the praise, and said a little shyly, ” Thank you for your compliment.”

The old lady’s smile suddenly subsided a lot, and she whispered, “Actually, at the beginning… I heard that when Li Na arranged a marriage for my eldest grandson privately, I was not happy.”

Shen Xingsui’s heartbeat rose. He didn’t expect that the old lady would call him over to say this, he was not a little mentally prepared at all. 

The old lady continued, “Later, I heard that it might be a boy, and I was even more unhappy. Although the technology is more advanced now, it hasn’t reached the point of giving two men a biological child. The Fu family has always been a single family1as in, they only have a single child for every generation so far.. If something goes wrong, whatever the accident might be, how do we deal with ourselves?” 

Shen Xingsui subconsciously curled up his hands when he heard the old lady’s words. His heart was in a mess.

The old lady seemed to understand what he was thinking, so she patted his hand comfortingly and said, “But later, I heard that something happened to your family. It’s also very unpleasant, and Jinxiao also has his own thoughts. So… I thought about it again. Maybe, you also have your own destiny, and I should meddle. Both you and I should let nature take its course.” 

Shen Xingsui patiently listened, and he was in a very complicated mood. “You flattered me too. And uhm… Teacher Fu might haven’t looked for his… future partner just yet. Or maybe, he hasn’t met the right person.” 

The old lady shook her head.

She seemed to have thought of something, and took out a photo album from the side. If Shen Xingsui remembered correctly, this photo album seemed to be the one that the old lady had been looking at when he first entered this room.

The old lady opened the photo album, turned to a page and handed it to him: “Look.”

Shen Xingsui came over and saw a family photo.

And in this family portrait, the woman standing beside President Fu and holding his hands is… not Li Na.

Shen Xingsui said in surprise, “This person is…”

“She is Jinxiao’s biological mother, Wen Rong.” The old lady looked at the woman in the photo and said with a melancholic expression, “When Wen Rong gave birth to this child back then, she died of dystocia.” 

Shen Xingsui had always heard that the relationship between Teacher Fu and his father was not good, but he never knew that there was such a tragedy like this.

The old lady’s emotion was unreadable to Shen Xingsui. And yet, she continued explaining, “After Wen Rong’s death, Li Na came in two years later. While Jinxiao did treat her as his own mother, and vice versa, Jinxiao has always blamed his mother’s death on his father. “

Shen Xingsui asked almost immediately, “Why?”

Although the old lady thought that this kind of family matters shouldn’t be publicized to outsiders, she still told Shen Xingsui truthfully, “Because he suspected that his father was cheating.”

Shen Xingsui’s pupils widened.

“When Wen Rong gave birth, he happened to be on a business trip in the United States and didn’t have time to come back.” The old lady let out a bone-weary sigh, “Li Na also came from America, and this led to many misunderstandings. Jinxiao is very stubborn when he puts his mind into it. I think… because of this, he has always had this… reluctant stance on marriage. And for a while, I was even worried that this child would never be married.” 

Shen Xingsui was also shocked in his heart, but after hearing what the old lady said, he blushed and stammered, “Ah, uhm… Grandma Fu, if you think that I’m the one Teacher Fu likes, then you… are wrong.” 

The old lady looked like she didn’t believe it. Instead, she took out a seal2most likely a stamp spelling out the “Fu” character of her family name. from behind and handed it to Shen Xingsui as she said, “Jinxiao is my grandson, so of course I know what he likes. Grandma is very happy about the two of you. This is a meeting gift, and I hope you don’t dislike it.”

The moment he saw the craftsmanship of the seal, he knew this must not be an ordinary seal. 

He quickly refused, “Grandma, this is too expensive, I can’t take it.”

“You deserve it.” The old lady patted his hand and said, “Young man, just accept it.”

Shen Xingsui refused for a long time, but he couldn’t resist the old lady and had no choice but to accept it in the end.

It happened that the banquet was halfway through finishing, and the dance was about to begin. So the old lady asked him to go downstairs to play, and Shen Xingsui was able to escape.

As soon as he arrived downstairs, he heard the hall was already filled with dance-appropriate music. It felt like a proper ball.

Shen Xingchen waved at him and said, “Come down soon.”

Shen Xingsui walked up to him, looked towards the middle of the stage, and happened to see Fu Jinxiao who was playing the piano. The man was wearing a dark blue suit, sitting behind the grand piano. The bright white light in the hall fell and hit the man. His back was straight, his posture was elegant, and his handsome profile had the charm of a mature man.

There were many guests around, all listening to the piano music seriously.

Fu Jinxiao’s slender and white hands fell on the piano keys. In the eyes of everyone, he was as eye-catching as the protagonist.

Shen Xingchen commented, “Teacher Fu’s piano is really good.”

“Yes.” Shen Xingsui looked at his idol and smiled softly, “He once said that music does not distinguish between high-class and low-class. Everyone is the only one in their own world.” 

It was a quote very dear to him, as it was the one that brought him up after Jian Zhi belittled his composition for the second time. 

That night he locked himself in his room without falling asleep, his love and longing for music was like a mirror being crushed and shattered into pieces. He couldn’t say anything in his own defense, but he couldn’t bottle it up also. 

Also that night, he accidentally clicked on a video, which was a music talent show that Fu Jinxiao participated in. At that time, Fu Jinxiao had just had a falling out with his father and broke into the entertainment industry alone. Naturally, as a young man with no background, he received all kinds of unfair treatment. In the program, his music works were criticized as having no artistic merit, no meaning, and low quality, which was far worse than the other group.

At that time, the young Fu Jinxiao on the stage did not show any sadness because of these harsh and unfair words.

Fu Jinxiao stood there, still tall and proud. Even if he failed, he was still calm. He smiled and said, “There is no distinction between high-class and low-class in music. Everyone is the only one in their own world.” 

This sentence made the judges’ belittling words rang hollow. The said judges choked on pure air. 

Later, Fu Jinxiao competed again after a lapse of a year and won the championship. From then on, he started his meteoric rise in the entertainment industry. It was also at that time that Shen Xingsui was greatly encouraged. At that time, Fu Jinxiao was like the beacon of his bleak world, giving him hope and strength.

And today, Fu Jinxiao was still the shining star in his life, hanging high in the sky, always guiding him in the darkest days.

At the end of the song, there was applause from all around.

This was the beginning of the dance party, and the well-dressed rich ladies came forward one after another. Everyone had the same goal of being Fu Jinxiao’s first dance partner. It was a prestige that no one had got.

Soon, a pretty lady came forward, “Mr. Fu, can I have a dance with you?”

Then, another one:  “I want to invite you to a dance.”

And another, “Mr. Fu, I don’t know if I have the honor…”

At balls, it was more common for men to invite women to dance. But on this occasion, it was reversed. 

Fu Jinxiao stood up, his tall figure allowed him to look down at everyone. With a hypocritical and kind smile on the man’s face, he rejected every single one of them, “Thank you for your attention, it’s my honor, but everyone is excellent, it’s really embarrassing…”

The ladies glanced at each other, and they all saw hostility in each other’s eyes.

When everyone was hesitating, they heard Actor Fu proposed, “For the sake of fairness, let’s use this flower to decide what to do. Whoever it falls on will be the one.” 

It seemed quite fair indeed, and everyone readily agreed. Fu Jinxiao casually took a flower from behind. The red rose was unusually gorgeous and beautiful in the man’s hand. He raised his hand, and threw the flower up high.

The flower flew high, in a nice arc, and the audience followed its trajectory. 

Then, it landed directly on Shen Xingsui’s head. 

“Ah.” Fu Jinxiao’s voice sounded sheepish, “My hand slipped.”

“But since the rules have been stated before, for the sake of fairness,” Fu Jinxiao’s mouth curled up, and he said slowly: “Then it has to be him. Do you have any opinions?”

The ladies: “…”

It’s really too “fair”.

Fu Jinxiao didn’t care what everyone thought at all, stepped over the girls without remorse, and stood in front of Shen Xingsui. With his low and magnetic voice, he once again whispered directly to Shen Xingsui’s ears, “Does it hurt?”

Shen Xingsui shook his head, trying not to blush again, “This… What does it mean?”

Fu Jinxiao bent down a little, with an elegant and polite posture, raised his arm, and stretched it out in front of Shen Xingsui, saying: “It means, respected Mr. Shen, may I have the honor to invite you to dance?”

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