In Lin Wan’s memory, she had met Fu Xiuhuai three times before.
The first time she met Fu Xiuhuai, Lin Wan still didn’t know he was the renowned merchant of Jiangcheng, and even less that he was Fu Mingjun’s uncle.
At that time, Lin Wan was in the summer break of her sophomore year. To save money, she worked part-time, and had a chance encounter with Fu Xiuhuai.
The second time they met, Lin Wan learned Fu Xiuhuai’s true identity.
Near the end of her junior year, Lin Wan was busy with part-time tutoring to earn money. Whenever she had free time, she went to the library to read, and had no time at all to agree to her boyfriend Fu Mingjun’s childish dates.
Fu Mingjun wasn’t annoyed. He followed Lin Wan to the library, but while everyone else was reading, he just stared at Lin Wan, making her want to throw a book at his face. In the end, she could only take him off campus to eat, which finally avoided the gossipy gazes of other students in the library.
It was at the school gate that the two ran into Fu Xiuhuai.
At that time, Fu Xiuhuai was in a Zhongshan suit, steady and reserved, yet courteous and polite, treating her with courtesy and ease. Before leaving, he even took the initiative to pay for his nephew and his girlfriend’s dinner, leaving Lin Wan with a good impression.
Such a person seemed completely impossible to equate with the ruthless, decisive merchant Fu Xiuhuai rumored in Jiangcheng.
But at that time, Lin Wan didn’t take it to heart at all. She only regarded him as an elder—an elder who wouldn’t have any further connection with her. Having met him was enough.
The last time before that was yesterday at school, when she personally heard Fu Xiuhuai say bluntly that Fu Mingjun and she were not suitable—clearly also looking down on her just like Fu Mingjun’s mother.
Three meetings with Fu Xiuhuai seemed like three different faces, hard to fathom. Which one was the real him?
Black leather shoes landed steadily on the floor. The refined, elegant black Zhongshan suit appeared in Lin Wan’s line of sight. Lin Wan’s gaze moved up inch by inch, finally landing on the man’s handsome face.
Fu Mingjun bore some resemblance to his uncle Fu Xiuhuai, except Fu Mingjun had been accustomed to fine clothes and rich food, pampered by his family since childhood, never having suffered—full of the high spirits of one raised in comfort.
Fu Xiuhuai was different. In his youth, the Fu family suffered disaster. He, who should have been a young master, became a target of struggle overnight. Later, in his teens, he was bold and meticulous, risking his life doing speculative trading—severely cracked down upon in that era. While every household was eating chaff and wild vegetables, the Fu family could quietly eat meat and grain.
Later, the Fu family was rehabilitated, and with policy changes after the Reform and Opening Up, Fu Xiuhuai was like a fish in water, his methods fierce. While the vast majority were still dreaming of entering a factory and holding an iron rice bowl, he could already travel long distances, steadily, accurately, and ruthlessly dealing in clothing, grain, small electronic devices… and turn a huge profit with a single resale.
With substantial capital, Fu Xiuhuai began to venture into engineering, leading trusted brothers to contract projects and build buildings. In just five or six years, he built the construction company into something great, finally establishing a firm foothold in Jiangcheng and becoming a merchant of notable rank.
Thirty years of a life full of ups and downs had made him steady and reserved today, with few obvious emotional fluctuations on his handsome face.
Only at this moment did Lin Wan discern a hint of gentleness beneath his cold exterior in his deep eyes.
“How is your health? Are you uncomfortable?” Fu Xiuhuai calmly sat down across from Lin Wan, lowering his eyes to glance at the dishes on the table. “Your appetite seems alright.”
The man’s deep voice was just as Lin Wan had heard at school yesterday.
Only yesterday, he clearly looked down on her, expressing that she and his nephew were not well-matched in social status; today, he was earnestly concerned about her health.
Facing such a man whose true face she couldn’t see clearly, Lin Wan’s emotions were somewhat complicated—especially since she had once followed Fu Mingjun in calling him—Uncle.
“My health is fine, nothing much.” At this moment, Lin Wan didn’t know how to address this familiar stranger either.
Her nominal husband, the father of the child in her belly, yet her former boyfriend’s uncle.
But she couldn’t show weakness.
Fortunately, Fu Xiuhuai didn’t seem to be a very warm person either. Hearing this, he only gave a slight nod and accompanied Lin Wan for the meal.
One of Jiangcheng’s top merchants, eating her leftovers with her, even with composure in every gesture—Lin Wan felt utterly uncomfortable watching.
The change in identity was truly staggering.
Perhaps because of the pregnancy, Lin Wan got hungry quickly but also got full easily. After eating half a bowl of rice and some beef, she put down her chopsticks. Instead, she secretly lifted her eyelids to size up the man across from her.
Lin Wan was still a university student. The people around her were likewise somewhat immature classmates. The most imposing person she had met was the school’s dean of discipline. A mature man with such steady presence as Fu Xiuhuai had never been within her circle of contact.
Lin Wan wasn’t clear how she had agreed to marry her boyfriend’s uncle. Had he coerced and tempted her? It didn’t seem so.
She equally didn’t understand how someone like Fu Xiuhuai would be willing to get involved with his nephew’s girlfriend, even marry her. Could it be that she had coerced and tempted him? She probably didn’t have that ability.
Lin Wan clearly remembered that Fu Mingjun had once mentioned his uncle was very capable, only that he had never resolved his personal matters, to the point that his grandparents were troubled endlessly by it.
Even if such a person suddenly married, it was impossible that he would seek trouble for himself by marrying his nephew’s girlfriend—how ugly would that sound if it got out? And how would the Fu family agree?
Thinking of this, Lin Wan couldn’t help but be curious about what the other members of the Fu family thought of this marriage.
“What are you thinking about?” Fu Xiuhuai across the dining table seemed to have noticed Lin Wan’s distraction. With a clean spoon, he scooped a spoonful of steamed egg custard into Lin Wan’s bowl. “Eat a bit more.”
Suddenly caught, Lin Wan nodded and buried herself in finishing the egg custard.
====
After the meal, Auntie Wang went to clear the dishes, while the housekeeper in the villa reported on the whereabouts of the Fu family members.
Today the other Fu family members were not at home. The Fu patriarch’s cousin was hospitalized, and the whole family happened to be accompanying the old master and old madam to visit him. They weren’t expected back until after dinner.
Fu Xiuhuai was clearly a busy man. He took several calls in the living room, discussing with people about contracting municipal engineering projects next.
Lin Wan sat in a corner of the sofa, listening to Auntie Wang chatter about pregnancy precautions. Occasionally, voices from the other end of the phone, fluctuating with emotion, drifted into her ears.
Jiangcheng’s municipal engineering projects were a profitable hot commodity that many people had their eyes on. The Kaihua Construction Company in Fu Xiuhuai’s hands had a great advantage in bidding, and people were coming to seek cooperation.
But the person on the other end, whether excited about the future of making money or complaining about the difficulty of being obstructed in getting projects, was momentarily agitated and indignant. This only contrasted with Fu Xiuhuai on this end of the phone, who was calm and composed, only saying lightly: “Things depend on human effort. When the time comes, the outcome will naturally be clear.”
When the call ended, there was not a trace of fluctuation in Fu Xiuhuai’s indifferent eyes. Only when he caught a gaze lingering around him did he raise his eyes and meet Lin Wan’s sight.
Lin Wan very much wanted to directly ask for answers, but it was difficult to hand over her self without the memories of the past year to this stranger to draw conclusions about.
It was at this moment that the Fu family members returned.
The Fu patriarch and old madam were somewhat tired from the journey. The old master returned to the villa to concern himself with his youngest son’s business, while the old madam asked kindly about Lin Wan’s health.
“How’s your appetite today? Now that you’re pregnant, you must nourish yourself well.”
Lin Wan had only seen photos of his grandparents from Fu Mingjun before. Today was the first time actually meeting them. She assumed the two elders were not clear about her relationship with Fu Mingjun, so naturally she didn’t mention it either, only replying: “My appetite is quite good.”
Lin Wan was currently a stranger in a strange place, cautiously observing everyone. Even her two replies were brief. Instead, Fu Xiuhuai took the initiative to speak and divert his own mother’s attention, rescuing Lin Wan.
Having just escaped from the sudden concern of her mother-in-law, Lin Wan breathed a sigh of relief. In the next moment, she came face to face with her former boyfriend Fu Mingjun’s mother, Zhang Meiying.
The Fu patriarch and old madam had two sons in total. When the eldest son Fu Xiutong was thirteen, his younger brother Fu Xiuhuai was born—so much so that Fu Xiutong and Zhang Meiying’s son Fu Mingjun was only eight years younger than his uncle.
The uncle and nephew had a small age gap and had always been close. Fu Mingjun, in fact, loved to seek his uncle’s help for many things, and Fu’s mother Zhang Meiying was happy to see it.
In Lin Wan’s memory, the two had just met a few days ago. That boyfriend’s mother, in a red dress with an exquisite updo, now seemed to completely not remember past events. She actually took the initiative to exchange pleasantries with her.
“If Wanwan has anything you don’t understand about being pregnant, just come ask me and Mom.” Amid the laughter, Zhang Meiying showed not a trace of her former rejection of Lin Wan as not being well-matched with the Fu family. Instead, like a warm elder sister-in-law, she was thoughtfully treating her sister-in-law.
Lin Wan was somewhat surprised. This person truly changed faces thoroughly. She seemed to no longer remember that she had been her son’s girlfriend, wholeheartedly acting as the elder sister-in-law.
It was just unclear why Fu Mingjun had not appeared here.
++++
The Fu family chatted in the living room for a while, then after the busy running around, each washed up and returned to their rooms. Lin Wan watched the sky gradually darken outside the window and suddenly felt somewhat uneasy.
Wholeheartedly focused on seeking the truth of this past year from Fu Xiuhuai, she had nearly forgotten—the two of them were legitimate husband and wife, who would share a room and a bed.
The Fu family villa was exquisite and grand, with a total area of over three hundred square meters, truly worthy of being called a mansion in Jiangcheng.
Up the solid wood stairs, the second floor held everyone’s bedrooms. The Fu couple lived in the quietest room on the far left, and next door were Fu Xiutong and his wife.
After bustling about, the couple returned to their bedroom. Fu Xiutong took off his suit jacket and couldn’t help but be curious: “I see you and Lin Wan actually get along quite well? They say sisters-in-law are hard to deal with—rare that you’re such a good elder sister-in-law.”
Zhang Meiying choked in her throat, bitterness in her heart hard to express. She barely forced a smile: “After all, she’s your brother’s wife. What else can I do?”
After all, her husband didn’t know that the girlfriend their son dated last year was his own younger brother’s wife!
“It’s strange, come to think of it.” Fu Xiutong was over forty, somewhat more mature than his second brother Fu Xiuhuai. Having long served as director of Jiangcheng’s Second Steel Factory, his leadership airs were even more pronounced, with a somewhat preachy quality in his every gesture. “Xiuhuai was never interested in anyone before, yet a few months ago he suddenly wanted to get married. This Comrade Lin Wan does have some ability.”
“Of course she has ability… who knows what tricks…” Zhang Meiying’s throat grew more and more sour. Otherwise, how could she have been dating her son while also marrying his uncle?
She was determined to marry into this Fu family no matter what.
The Lin Wan who didn’t know how much ability she had stayed alone in the bedroom, lowering her eyes to look at the thin marriage certificate.
An unremarkable sheet of paper, just like that, tied two people with a bizarre relationship together.
Lin Wan felt more a sense of detached bewilderment.
“Why are you suddenly looking at the marriage certificate?”
The bedroom door opened from outside. Fu Xiuhuai, having finished handling business matters in the study, returned. The first thing he saw was Lin Wan staring blankly at their marriage certificate.
The man walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. The originally spacious room seemed to instantly become crowded and cramped, even the air compressed.
Lin Wan stared blankly as the mature man approached her, and blurted out: “Uncle…”