At night, Yu Yue lay in bed reviewing the Su family’s information.
The Su family had now completely relocated to Nancheng. Nancheng was Old Madam Su’s maternal home. Old Master Su was a live-in son-in-law of the Su family. Before the old master made his fortune, the entire family lived in Nancheng.
Later, as the old master’s career flourished, they moved to the capital to establish their roots.
The old couple had three sons. The eldest, Su Dehou, was Su Qingyue’s father.
Su Qingyue also had two older brothers, making a family of five, complete and harmonious.
The second son, Su Zhiyuan, had no children. Both he and his wife were DINKs, pursuing freedom and a carefree life.
The third son, Su Wenzhong—if Lin Lan was a member of the Su family, she was most likely Su Wenzhong’s daughter.
Su Wenzhong had three children: the eldest son, Su Jun; the second daughter, Su Man; and the youngest daughter, Su Cheng.
The youngest daughter went missing at the age of two and was only found when she was sixteen.
A few years ago, the family of five encountered a shipwreck while at sea. Su Jun and Su Cheng’s bodies have yet to be found.
If Lin Lan was a member of the Su family, she should be Su Cheng.
A shipwreck?
It was at sea that she and Li Kui had rescued Lin Lan.
But the timing didn’t match up. The time they rescued Lin Lan was nearly half a year off from the shipwreck.
As Yu Yue pondered this, a knock came from downstairs.
Irritated, Yu Yue haphazardly gathered the pile of documents she had scattered messily across the bed and went downstairs to answer the door.
When the door opened and Fu Jingyan appeared before her, Yu Yue nearly froze.
This man, why was he here again?
“Fu Jingyan, you’re visiting so frequently that it’s starting to give me the wrong idea,” Yu Yue leaned against the door, arms crossed, her delicate brows furrowed.
“What wrong idea?” Fu Jingyan asked, puzzled.
“That you’ve fallen for me,” Yu Yue lifted her chin slightly.
She knew it was impossible, of course, but she just wanted to tease Fu Jingyan.
Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why this rather handsome man was so attached to a fat girl like her.
He had chased her to her pharmacy in the morning and now to her home at night.
If it wasn’t affection, what else could it be?
“You really dare to think that,” Fu Jingyan shook his head, trying to enter. However, Yu Yue’s large frame blocked the doorway, and he couldn’t even squeeze in sideways.
“I have something to discuss with you. Aren’t you going to invite me in? I brought you something delicious.”
“What?” Yu Yue belatedly caught the scent of durian. “Durian?”
“Yes, Grandma said it’s your favorite. You used to—”
“Ugh—”
Before Fu Jingyan could finish, Yu Yue was overcome with nausea again.
She leaned over the flower bed in the yard and vomited some of the food she had eaten that evening.
Fu Jingyan was stunned. Without another word, he immediately threw the durian in his hand far away, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “Here, wipe your mouth.”
Yu Yue took his handkerchief. The soft, silky texture gave her pause for half a second before she unceremoniously used his fragrant handkerchief to wipe the mess from her mouth.
He was the one who had made her nauseous and vomit, so she had no reason to be polite about using his things.
After vomiting, Yu Yue felt much better.
She thought to herself, whether this little one in her belly was a boy or a girl, once the little rascal was born, she would buy durian every day to get her revenge.
Hmph, letting him live comfortably in her belly, and he had the nerve to stop her from eating her favorite food.
Hmph—
That’s really too much.
Yu Yue straightened up and saw Fu Jingyan’s puzzled expression. Her heart trembled, and she took the initiative: “No, Fu Jingyan, what kind of expression is that? You made me nauseous and vomit, and now you’re looking disgusted, is that it?”
“I’m not disgusted. I wanted to ask, is your gastroenteritis still not better?”
“Grandma said you used to love durian the most. That’s why I endured the disgusting smell and specially bought it for you.”
“How come you don’t like it now?”
“You… don’t like durian?” Yu Yue caught the key point and asked in surprise.
Something flashed through her mind.
Then she cursed inwardly, why did the little one’s preferences have to be the same as this guy’s?
It’s as if it were his own child.
“Yeah, many people don’t like durian. Anyway, we can’t understand the appeal of that thing. If your stomach really isn’t well, you should go to the hospital for a check-up.”
“Thank you, my stomach is perfectly fine.” Yu Yue turned and walked into the house.
Li Kui had bought her a lot of sour preserved plums, saying that when she felt nauseous, sucking on one would help ease the discomfort.
Yu Yue took one and put it in her mouth.
Fu Jingyan invited himself in and followed Yu Yue into the living room.
Tonight, the small Western-style house felt a bit too quiet. Recently, Zhongsheng Hall was rushing to fulfill orders. Since Yu Yue was pregnant and unsuitable for staying long in the medicine preparation room, Li Kui, as the senior apprentice, naturally took on the task.
“Your senior apprentice isn’t coming back tonight?”
“What? Trying to catch someone in the act again?” Yu Yue raised an eyebrow. As the host, she should have properly entertained Fu Jingyan, this uninvited guest. However, once she sat down on the sofa, she felt lazy and didn’t want to move at all.
Anyway, she figured Fu Jingyan must have come for a reason—he never visited without a purpose. It would be best if he got straight to the point, saving her the trouble of entertaining him.
Not entertaining him was just fine.
After all, he wasn’t a welcome guest but a soon-to-be ex-husband she thoroughly disliked.
“I didn’t.” Fu Jingyan denied it.
Tonight, he had come here for a childhood playmate, not for himself.
“Good if you didn’t. So, what brings you here so late?”
Yu Yue couldn’t think of anything left between them that would warrant him coming to find her in the middle of the night.
He couldn’t possibly be the reincarnated soul of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, actually liking plump Yang Guifei, could he?
Besides, she couldn’t compare herself to Yang Guifei—only the plumpness was comparable.
“I heard you have two close friends living here too.”
“Heard? From whom?” Yu Yue suddenly became alert.
It wasn’t her fault for being sensitive; it was just that the timing was too coincidental.
“Of course from Grandma. Who else?”
Then, Fu Jingyan added, “You know, Grandma has always been against our divorce, saying I can’t be an ungrateful person. So, every time I talk to her on the phone, she talks about you the most.”
“What else did your childhood sweetheart tell you?” Yu Yue suddenly smiled.
If Fu Jingyan hadn’t added that extra explanation, Yu Yue might have believed it was Old Madam who told him these things.
But that was just how she was—her logic was that if someone offered an extra explanation, it meant they were guilty.
Coupled with the timeline, it wasn’t hard to guess at all.
“She said she went today…”
Realizing Yu Yue had successfully tricked him into revealing the truth, Fu Jingyan stopped himself in time.
Bingo.
She had guessed right.
She really is a clever little thing.
After spitting out the plum pit in her mouth, Yu Yue sat up straight, looked at Fu Jingyan, and said to him earnestly, “Fu Jingyan, your childhood sweetheart is a snake and a scorpion.”
“…”