Shui Ruyue felt a pair of soft lips gently press against hers.
Unlike her own fleeting peck, Fu Qingzhi had kissed her with her entire lips, lingering for a brief moment before lightly brushing against them.
Shui Ruyue’s mind went completely blank.
Her legs went weak, and she nearly lost her footing.
“Mmm…”
Fu Qingzhi reacted instantly, catching her before she could fall. She pulled her into her arms and gently rubbed her back to steady her breathing.
Standing nearby, Lu Lu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Just now, Fu Qingzhi hadn’t merely shown affection in front of her.
It had also been a silent act of defiance.
The familiar feeling of losing control surged through Lu Lu again, ready to erupt at any moment. But in the next second, Fu Qingzhi’s cold gaze met hers.
“Hmph. Miss Shui certainly knows how to seduce people. My Zhizhi has always been such a well-behaved child. She’s never done anything improper before, and yet you’ve managed to tempt her into doing this right in front of her own mother…”
“Yueyue is timid. I only comforted her because I didn’t want her to be frightened and upset Mother.”
Fu Qingzhi interrupted calmly.
Lu Lu raised an eyebrow.
Just as she was about to continue, she noticed Shui Ruyue burrowing even deeper into her daughter’s embrace, shamelessly taking advantage of the situation.
She gave two light coughs.
“Ruru should be arriving soon. Zhizhi, go pick her up at the entrance. I’ll stay here and keep Miss Shui company.”
As she spoke, Lu Lu reached out, intending to separate the two.
She had long since grown tired of watching them cling to each other.
“Ruru had something come up today. She won’t be coming after all.”
Fu Qingzhi spoke without the slightest change in expression.
Lu Lu froze.
Her voice instantly became shrill.
“What did you say? Did you do something?”
“No.”
Fu Qingzhi answered calmly.
Having witnessed her mother’s emotional outbursts countless times since childhood, she remained completely expressionless.
“Shui Ruyue, you did something, didn’t you? First you clung to Zhizhi, then you drove Ruru away. So now you think you can become the Young Madam of the Fu family? Dream on!”
Shui Ruyue instinctively stepped backward, but Lu Lu refused to let her go and grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t think I don’t know. The Shui family has been declining year after year, so they sent you to Zhizhi’s bed.”
“And every other day, you made scenes in front of her.”
“Not only that, you even took advantage of Zhizhi while she was drunk, and afterward stole things from the Fu family to send back to the Shui family.”
The more Lu Lu spoke, the more agitated she became, looking as though she wanted to swallow Shui Ruyue whole.
Was the original owner really that outrageous?
Those incidents that were glossed over in the novel were actually this dramatic?
The corners of Shui Ruyue’s lips twitched.
That has nothing to do with me!
I transmigrated into the novel—I wasn’t reborn as her! I’m innocent!
Lu Lu had expected to see panic written across Shui Ruyue’s face.
Instead, she saw only calmness, not the slightest trace of guilt.
Her anger immediately flared.
“Mom, didn’t you invite us here to have dinner together?”
Fu Qingzhi suddenly spoke.
“Since Yueyue and I are already here, let’s not keep bringing those things up. After all… Yueyue is part of the Fu family now.”
For a moment, Lu Lu thought she’d misheard.
Seeing her own daughter protect her wife so openly, she felt as though she were about to have a heart attack—even though she didn’t actually have one.
“…Sit.”
Lu Lu forced herself to calm down.
Shui Ruyue finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at the dining table.
She lowered her head and quietly ate her rice, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement.
She looked exactly like a soft little bun that anyone could bully.
The corners of Fu Qingzhi’s lips curled upward.
Yesterday, Shui Ruyue had been baring her claws at her.
Today, she was acting so obedient.
That’s right.
Shui Ruyue was acting.
What was wrong with a little cannon-fodder character trying her best to appear harmless so she wouldn’t get eaten by the villainous protagonist?
Lu Lu kept staring at Shui Ruyue.
“What? You can’t even take care of your own wife? Or do you still think you’re the eldest daughter of the Shui family and can do whatever you want? Keep dreaming!”
Shui Ruyue looked up.
It felt as though Lu Lu was about to explode at any second.
Back when she had read the novel, she’d seen descriptions of obsessive, possessive characters like Lu Lu—extreme, irrational, and in severe cases even prone to self-harm or hurting others.
“I was just observing what my wife likes to eat. So it turns out Wife likes crispy fried pork.”
As she spoke, Shui Ruyue picked up a piece of crispy fried pork and fed it to Fu Qingzhi.
After feeding her two bites, she thought the meat might be too salty by itself, so she thoughtfully picked up a glass of fruit juice and held it to Fu Qingzhi’s lips.
Fu Qingzhi didn’t refuse.
To Lu Lu, the two looked inseparable, completely wrapped up in each other.
Even the icy sharpness that usually filled Fu Qingzhi’s eyes gradually softened, the edge slowly melting away.
Lu Lu found herself at a loss.
Her daughter…
She actually had an expression like that?
Ever since childhood, Fu Qingzhi had always been disciplined and strong.
When had she ever shown such a gentle side?
The meal ended on a relatively peaceful note.
At least, that’s how Shui Ruyue chose to think of it.
That evening, as they prepared to leave the Fu family estate, Lu Lu tried to persuade them to stay the night.
Fu Qingzhi declined.
A temporary truce didn’t mean the entire evening would remain peaceful.
As their car drove out through the villa gates, Zhao Ruru’s familiar car came into view.
Fu Qingzhi met her gaze for a brief moment before the two silently passed each other.
Shui Ruyue, meanwhile, was busy playing on her phone and never noticed.
She still hadn’t forgotten today’s plan.
No matter what, she had to stop by her company.
That was her career, after all.
“Where are you planning to go?”
Fu Qingzhi suddenly asked.
The unexpected question startled Shui Ruyue so badly that a cold sweat broke out across her back.
She immediately flipped her phone face-down onto her knees, covering her fair thighs.
Fu Qingzhi merely glanced at her before her eyes gradually turned colder.
“Going home?”
she asked again.
“Could you stop up ahead? I suddenly have something I need to do.”
Shui Ruyue answered.
So the act ends the moment we leave the Fu family estate?
Fu Qingzhi’s gaze darkened.
“Where?”
she asked.
Shui Ruyue didn’t dare admit she was going to her little company.
Her mind went completely blank.
She wasn’t sure whether Fu Qingzhi was testing her.
If she answered incorrectly, would all the goodwill she’d painstakingly built up disappear?
Just as she was struggling with what to say, Fu Qingzhi pulled the car over.
She didn’t want to force Shui Ruyue into anything.
But she also disliked how Shui Ruyue kept hiding things from her.
Silence settled between them.
Then Shui Ruyue suddenly spoke.
“I wanted to buy something. I really like the shade of lipstick you’re wearing, so I thought I’d go browse the mall.”
“I couldn’t possibly trouble you over something this small when you’re so busy with work, right?”
Fu Qingzhi was a complete workaholic.
Shui Ruyue simply refused to believe she’d waste precious time shopping.
Without warning—
Fu Qingzhi leaned over and kissed her again.
Little by little, she transferred the color from her own lips onto Shui Ruyue’s.