Chapter 2: Husband

Ling Tian didn’t interrupt Fu Yumo and listened to him quietly as he finished his long speech.

“Bitter melons are not sweet,” she said.

Seeing that she was not moved, Fu Yumo felt a hint of frustration. He thought that some of the things he just said would have made another woman moved to tears with emotion.

“It’s okay,” Fu Yumo looked at her. “I like sweet melons and bitter melons. Whatever type of melon you are, I will like that taste.”

Ling Tian: “…”

Fu Yumo: “Do you know why I asked to meet you at this coffee shop?”

Remembering the name of the coffee shop was UNIQUE, Ling Tian furrowed her brows slightly but said nothing.

Fu Yumo: “Unique. Ling Tian, to me, you are unique.”

Special, one of a kind.

Ling Tian: “…”

Fu Yumo smiled, his lips curling up, “Of course, you could also understand it as you being my preference, and also an exception.”

Not sure if it was because he was too slick or because the air conditioning in the coffee shop was too strong, Ling Tian shuddered slightly.

Rubbing the goosebumps on her arms, she said, “I don’t need that. Can you please give your preference and exception to those who like you? Please, I’m begging you.”

She repeatedly rejected him, and Fu Yumo couldn’t take it anymore. He sneered, “Fine.”

Ling Tian felt a glimmer of hope, “Really?”

Fu Yumo lifted his chin towards the exit and said, “You can go now and see if anyone else would take over the mess that Zhongsen has, besides me.”

Ling Tian’s heart sank again as he refused to let go of the Ling family.

“Ling Tian, you have never experienced hardship, that’s why you don’t take my words seriously,” said Fu Yumo as he tapped his finger lightly on the desk. “Even if you can endure hardships, can you tolerate being chased by creditors every day? Can you bear to see your parents bowing and scraping before their creditors, enduring insults and humiliations without any dignity?”

Ling Tian shook her head unconsciously. She could endure anything, but Ling Wensen and Song Shuwan were her soft spots.

“Ling Tian, be Mrs. Fu,” Fu Yumo softened his tone, tempting her, “you can continue to live like a princess in the future, enjoying a life of luxury, while Zhongsen thrives, and I can also help your father solve his huge debt.”

He described a beautiful future, but Ling Tian only felt sick and powerless.

It was clear that he had forced the Ling family into the abyss, and now he acted like a savior, pulling them out of it, making her feel grateful to him.

Can someone who truly loves another person do such a thing?

Obviously not.

Ling Tian felt physically uncomfortable and nauseous. She leaned on the table and stood up, “Sorry, I need to go to the restroom.”

In the restroom, Ling Tian stood in front of the sink and touched herself in the mirror. She had a pretty face and a good personality.

Before Zhongsen’s bankruptcy, she was a rich man’s daughter, and naturally had many suitors. However, her love had not yet arrived.

At this age, she still held onto romantic fantasies, but compared to Zhongsen and her beloved parents, what was the point of love that may or may not come at some unknown time?

Ling Tian returned from the restroom, and Fu Yumo looked at his watch and reminded her, “Ling Tian, my time is precious. Although I’m willing to spend it on you, it doesn’t mean you should waste it.”

“Mr. Fu, I came here tonight with sincerity to solve the problem, but…” Ling Tian paused and added a request to her tone, “Could you give me a little more time?”

For the girl he likes, Fu Yumo naturally wants to show more tolerance and patience. Besides, even if he wanted to, Ling Tian couldn’t overturn his Five Fingers Mountain1 “五指山” (Wǔ zhǐ shān / Five Fingers Mountain) is a reference to a famous Chinese mythology where the Monkey King is trapped under the mountain, and no one can lift it except for the Buddha. Here, it means that Ling Tian cannot overcome Fu Yumo’s power and influence..

“Alright, come find me in a week. I believe you will have figured things out by then.”

After leaving the coffee shop, Ling Tian aimlessly walked through the busy streets, drifting through the crowds and stopping at a crosswalk to wait for the red light.

Taking out her phone, she found that Si Qin had sent her a voice message. Si Qin’s father had an affair and was caught in bed by Si Qin’s mother, causing chaos in their family. Ling Tian didn’t want to add to her best friend’s troubles and hadn’t told her about the Ling family’s bankruptcy.

“Quick, look at the big screen on that square, the guy in the center is so handsome!”

“That seems to be Fu Chenyan, the President of the Fu Group!”

“Ah! He is Fu Chenyan, my goodness, he is really handsome, so handsome that it’s hard to resist. I declare that he is my husband now!”

“There are people around you, put on some pants quickly!”

. . . . .

Ling Tian was about to open a message from Si Qin when the excited voices of two girls next to her caught her attention. She subconsciously looked up and gazed at the LED screen on the opposite square.

The bustling traffic flowed in front of her, and the noisy surroundings faded away as she saw the light and shadow reflected in her clear eyes from the large screen.

Her world seemed to pause for a moment, becoming suddenly quiet.

The opposite square was a newly built luxury shopping center belonging to the Fu Group that opened today.

The big screen displayed highlights from the opening ceremony.

As the President of the group, Fu Chenyan could not miss attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his own mall.

He had a slender figure and perfect proportions, wearing a formal dark suit that was tailored to perfection. The high-end customization accentuated his neat and tall appearance, exuding a dignified and restrained aura among the crowd.

The next shot zoomed in closer, revealing his three-dimensional features and sharp brows. His narrow eyes scanned the people with an icy glint, emitting a powerful aura of a superior being.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze towards the camera, swept past it with no warmth or emotion.

However, Ling Tian’s heart skipped a beat, and then accelerated uncontrollably.

Thump, thump…

Ling Tian was momentarily confused by her unusual reaction. She anxiously pressed her chest and felt a tremble, as a word suddenly jumped into her mind

Love at first sight.

After all, he was in the upper circles of Beijing, and Ling Tian had heard a lot about Fu Chenyan over the past two years.

Fu Chenyan is the youngest President of the Fu Group, aged twenty-eight, unmarried, and not interested in women.

He is the illegitimate son of Fu Baiyuan, whose eldest son died young. When Fu Chenyan was twelve years old, he was brought back to the wealthy family, recognized as a member of the family, and groomed as the heir of the Fu Group.

At the age of fifteen, Fu Chenyan went abroad and stayed there until he graduated from a prestigious foreign university with dual degrees in management and architecture. At the age of twenty-one, he founded a technology company that successfully went public on the NASDAQ2 NASDAQ, also known as the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is an American stock exchange that primarily lists technology companies and other high-growth industries. Some of the largest technology companies in the world, such as Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, are listed on NASDAQ. .

Two years ago, he returned to China to take over the Fu Group, and in just two years, he doubled the company’s market value, making him a hot commodity in the business world.

On the big screen in the square, the segment featuring Fu Chenyan appeared for only a short ten seconds before quickly cutting to other event scenes, leaving Ling Tian feeling empty.

His image repeatedly appeared in her mind, causing her to indulge in some romantic fantasies.

If the person pursuing her was Fu Chenyan, it would be wonderful. All her troubles would be solved.

Why is it that all of them belong to the Fu family? Fu Yumo made her disgusted, but Fu Chenyan made her heart race.

Ling Tian heard someone urging her from behind, thinking that the traffic light had already turned green. She took her gaze off the big screen and walked forward absent-mindedly until she was caught in the traffic before she snapped back to reality.

The bright headlights shone into her pupils, accompanied by the screeching of brakes. Ling Tian felt a lightness in her body as she was hit by a black car and thrown into the air.

The Maybach came to a stop and the driver and the passenger quickly got out to check on her.

With closed eyes and disheveled hair, Ling Tian lay motionless on the ground.

He walked up to the back window of the Maybach, which was rolled down a third. The man’s handsome face was cut in half by the dim yellow light of the streetlamp, making his features more striking and profound.

“Mr. Fu, we hit a young girl,” Assistant Yu also reported to the man inside the car. “Unfortunately, she’s from the Ling family.”

Ling Tian, whom he had met once and immediately remembered.

Fu Chenyan raised his eyes slightly, his black pupils cold. “The Ling family?”

This surname is relatively rare in the capital city. The Ling family was once prominent, but their power has declined, and they have been targeted by Fu Yumo. Perhaps their luck is running out.

Assistant Yu also nodded and said, “Yes, her name is Ling Tian.”

The name sounded familiar to Fu Chenyan.

Ling Tian…

Wasn’t she the little girl who made Fu Yumo so obsessed that he refused to marry into the Lin family for her, causing the old man to have a high blood pressure attack and be hospitalized?

Originally, this had nothing to do with him, but by a twist of fate, he opened the car door, got out, and walked towards the poor little princess.

A pair of shiny leather shoes quickly stopped beside Ling Tian, and a long gaze fell on her face.

Fu Chenyan looked at Ling Tian, slightly frowned, as if recalling something from his memory. Suddenly, the old scar on his left ring finger, which had been there for ages, itched as if someone had lightly scratched it.

In the distance, the siren of an ambulance could be faintly heard. Assistant Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but then widened her eyes in shock as she watched Fu Chenyan carefully lift the girl covered in dirt and mud into his arms.

The normally woman-avoiding and germaphobic President was now kneeling down, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms. Ling Tian had not completely lost consciousness yet, and in her dazed state, she felt someone picking her up. A cool scent of cedar rushed into her nose, and she struggled to open her eyes, vaguely seeing the man’s white shirt…

“Tian Tian.”

Ling Tian heard the man’s gentle and mellow voice calling her.

She struggled to lift her eyes and see who it was, but the next moment, darkness rushed in from all sides, and she completely lost consciousness.

Ling Tian had a dream that she was standing in a snow-covered wilderness, looking for a man in confusion.

She didn’t know why she was looking for him, and had no clue.

The scent of refreshing cedar filled her nose the whole time, but she couldn’t find him after searching for a long time. Finally, she grew tired of searching, and the cedar scent gradually faded away, replaced by the smell of disinfectant.

Ling Tian slowly opened her eyes and saw a white ceiling, like an endless snowfield in a dream.

She turned her head slightly and saw the IV stand beside her, with a transparent medicine bottle hanging on it. The clear liquid was dripping down, flowing into her veins through the tube.

Ling Tian closed her eyes again and her mind was blank for a while, until memories slowly began to flood in.

After a few minutes, she sat up on the bed and looked around at her surroundings.

She was in a VIP ward of a private hospital, a large suite with two bedrooms and two living rooms. The decoration was luxurious and there were large floor-to-ceiling windows where she could see the bustling night scene.

At that moment, a man was standing by the window, facing away from her and looking outside.

He had a good figure, broad shoulders and narrow waist, and his white shirt was well-tailored without a single wrinkle. His legs were straight and long, wrapped in straight black pants.

The man heard a sound behind him and turned around.

Ling Tian met the man’s deep black eyes and blinked lightly. Then she curved her eyebrows and eyes, and two shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her lips, full of sweetness.

“Husband,” she called out to him in a delicate voice.