“Is a monthly household allowance of three thousand yuan really something to be proud of?” Nan Xin sneered.
Fu Beichen frowned.
“Nan Xin, why are you bringing this up?”
“Weren’t you the one who brought it up first?”
At that moment, Nan Xin was like a rose covered in thorns. Anyone who touched her would get pricked, and it clearly displeased Fu Beichen.
At the same time, however, an inexplicable feeling surfaced in his heart.
He let out a mocking laugh.
“What? You’re finally dropping the act?”
Shen Zhixia had already reached the limit of her patience.
She put down her knife and fork, ready to tear into him, when her usually gentle and easygoing best friend spoke leisurely:
“President Fu, you should take your ‘wife’ and child back to your private room and finish your meal. Getting into an argument with people of our social standing in a place like this is beneath you.”
Her tone remained gentle, but the insult behind her words was unmistakable.
Even Nan Yu’s expression changed slightly.
Everyone knew that Nan Xin was still Fu Beichen’s legal wife. Saying this was essentially mocking Nan Yu for being a mistress who was foolishly dreaming of becoming the legitimate wife.
But Nan Xin had been right about one thing. Getting into an argument with her in a place like this really was beneath them.
She was going to become Mrs. Fu eventually. She couldn’t afford to leave behind any stains on her reputation.
Besides, with Fu Beichen beside her, she couldn’t openly lose her temper even if she wanted to.
Suppressing her displeasure, Nan Yu sighed.
“If you really don’t want to work at Fu Corporation, then forget it. Beichen was only concerned about you. Why do you have to be so aggressive?”
Suppressing the sneer in her heart, Nan Yu slowly pulled a pure white business card from her bag.
With a light push of her fingertips, she slid it across the tablecloth until it stopped in front of Nan Xin.
Under the lights, the words “Nan Yu, Director of the R&D Department, Fu Corporation” gleamed coldly.
“No matter what, I’m still your sister.”
Her voice was gentle, yet every word was like a needle coated in honey.
“The doors of Fu Corporation will always be open to you. If things become too difficult for you out there, you can come to me.”
Nan Xin didn’t immediately reach for the business card.
Once upon a time, her greatest dream had been to join Fu Corporation’s R&D department and present her talent as a perfumer to him.
Now, that position had been taken by Nan Yu and had become a knife aimed directly at her.
She suddenly gave a very faint laugh.
She raised her eyes and calmly glanced at Nan Yu before finally settling her gaze on Fu Beichen.
There was no anger or resentment in her eyes.
Only a cold distance that came from finally seeing the truth for what it was.
“President Fu. Director Nan.”
She set down her glass. The bottom made a crisp, quiet sound as it touched the table.
“One of you is busy with countless affairs, while the other has just taken charge of an important position. Your time is precious. As an idle person like me, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your happy family reunion and quality family time.”
Her tone remained gentle, yet every word carried a sting.
“Please leave.”
“Nan Xin!”
Fu Beichen’s brows knitted tightly.
Her complete indifference and determination to draw a line between them irritated him far more than an outright argument would have.
How dare she?
And what gave her the right?
“Beichen.”
Nan Yu timely hooked her arm around his and spoke with a slight tremble in her voice, subtly urging him to leave.
“My sister is in a bad mood. Let’s take Nuannuan home for now.”
Fu Beichen glanced at the daughter in his arms, who looked somewhat uneasy. Then he looked at Nan Xin sitting across from him, seemingly completely detached from everything.
An inexplicable anger mixed with an even more complicated irritation surged through him.
In the end, he said nothing.
With a cold snort, he turned around and left with Nan Yu.
Back in the private room, Fu Nuannuan still refused to get down.
“Daddy, Nuannuan is cold~”
Only then did Fu Beichen notice that the little fleshy arms wrapped around his neck were freezing cold.
It was already late autumn, yet Fu Nuannuan had run outside wearing nothing but a thin dress.
He frowned.
“Ah Yu, why did you only dress Nuannuan in so little when it’s this cold?”
A hint of uneasiness flashed across Nan Yu’s face.
“I… We just got back to the country, so we haven’t had time to adjust to the change in weather.”
Her eyes turned red, and tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t take good care of our daughter.”
Seeing Nuannuan’s freezing body, Fu Beichen was indeed somewhat angry. But the moment he saw Nan Yu’s tears, he couldn’t bring himself to blame her.
Because of the misunderstanding back then, she had suffered so much. How could he possibly bring himself to blame her now?
Fu Beichen sighed and pulled Nan Yu into his arms.
“I wasn’t blaming you. I just didn’t consider that you two had only recently returned and hadn’t had time to buy everything you needed. I’ll take you shopping later. Pick whatever you want.”
“Beichen, you’re so good to me.”
“Damn them!”
Shen Zhixia viciously stabbed her fork into her steak before stuffing it into her mouth.
She grumbled angrily, “We finally go out for a meal, and we still have to run into that shameless pair. What rotten luck!”
“Alright, don’t be angry.”
Nan Xin smiled and comforted her.
“We’re still going shopping later.”
Fortunately, Shen Zhixia’s temper came and went quickly. Once the two started chatting, they soon forgot about the unpleasant encounter.
After finishing their meal, they went directly to the cosmetics section on the first floor of the shopping center.
Nan Xin walked around the perfume counters of several international luxury brands. The overly strong fragrances made her frown involuntarily.
The perfumes that had been popular over the past few years had hardly changed. Most of the best-selling scents were either rich floral and fruity fragrances or warm, woody scents, all designed to cater to current trends.
When they reached the cosmetics section under Fu Corporation, Nan Xin unexpectedly discovered that a perfume she had designed for Fu Corporation three years ago was still displayed among the best-selling products.
“Miss, you certainly have excellent taste! This ‘Heart Dust’ perfume is one of our brand’s best-selling products. Ever since it was launched three years ago, it has remained a huge hit in the market!”
The sales associate enthusiastically approached them and began introducing the product.
Shen Zhixia lowered her voice and cursed.
“The best-selling perfume under Fu Corporation’s cosmetics brands is still the one you licensed to them for next to nothing back then. What a waste of such an incredible fragrance!”
“What’s done is done. There’s no point bringing it up.”
Nan Xin appeared relaxed on the surface, but her smile never reached her eyes.
Back then, she had secretly used her identity as Moon and licensed the fragrance to Fu Corporation at an extremely low price.
She had been so excited to tell Fu Beichen about it, but all he had said was:
“Not necessary.”
Yes.
She had merely told him that she wanted to join Fu Corporation’s R&D department and help him. She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him that she was Moon before he left for a business trip to M Country.
Looking back now, he had probably been in such a hurry because he wanted to see Nan Yu and his child.
After Nan Xin and Shen Zhixia finished shopping, they were about to leave when Nan Yu’s voice came from behind them.
“If my sister likes this perfume, I can give it to you.”
Fu Beichen had also brought Nan Yu and Fu Nuannuan shopping. Their bodyguards were carrying large and small bags filled with luxury-brand purchases.
Before Nan Xin could refuse, Nan Yu had already cheerfully paid for the perfume.
She personally handed the bottle of “Heart Dust” to Nan Xin.
Looking at Nan Xin, she wore a bright, radiant smile.
“A woman’s life shouldn’t revolve around a man. Xin Xin, you should focus a little more on yourself.”