The temptation of delicious food was indeed effective. Fu Chengyan hadn’t expected the young girl to be so unguarded, letting him in so easily and now just as effortlessly handing over her phone.
He looked at Xu Zhizhi with a complicated expression—this girl was too naive.
If she hadn’t run into him, she would have been devoured long ago.
Of course, he wasn’t exactly a good person either.
Fu Chengyan smiled faintly and opened the WeChat blacklist. His expression grew even more complicated. Good grief—108 contacts.
After restoring the chat, Fu Chengyan asked, “Should I take your phone number out of the blacklist too? That way, it’ll be easier for me to reach you.”
Xu Zhizhi was puzzled. Why would he need to reach her?
As if reading her mind, Fu Chengyan said, “It’s more convenient for phone calls. When I cook, I can bring some over for you, and you’ll be able to get the message in time.”
At that, Xu Zhizhi nodded emphatically—yes!!!
(＞＜)
“My name is Fu Chengyan. Let me add a note for you while I’m at it.”
Xu Zhizhi nodded while chewing on a fish ball.
That would save her some trouble.
Watching the obedient girl focused on her meal, Fu Chengyan couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Do you write novels every day?”
Xu Zhizhi didn’t like to be distracted while eating. Without even looking at him, she nodded casually.
“Does typing tire you out?”
Xu Zhizhi nodded vigorously. At her most intense, she had typed 80,000 words in a single day. The next day, her wrists were so sore she couldn’t lift them, and she had to rest for a week after getting physical therapy.
Later, she realized it wasn’t worth it, so now she never typed more than 20,000 words a day.
Fu Chengyan: “Do you live alone?”
Xu Zhizhi looked up from her pile of food. “Mm-hmm.”
Fu Chengyan: “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Xu Zhizhi was momentarily confused, then shook her head.
Lin Xitang said that boyfriends should be cultivated from a young age—she was already too late.
Thinking of what happened to Sheng Sijia after she started dating, Xu Zhizhi shuddered violently.
“Don’t believe men’s promises. Men’s words are deceitful ghosts.” Sheng Sijia’s warning had always stuck with Xu Zhizhi.
Fu Chengyan didn’t understand why she was trembling and asked with concern, “Are you cold?”
He had felt like the apartment was an oven the moment he stepped inside, warm and toasty.
But the girl was petite and delicate—maybe she had poor circulation or something. Didn’t all girls have cold hands and feet?
Fu Chengyan remembered how his mother used to hold him, a three-year-old, like a heater to warm her cold hands and feet every winter.
“Maybe you should put on another layer.”
Xu Zhizhi didn’t reply, just kept chewing on the fish ball with intense focus. For a moment, Fu Chengyan felt like she was treating the fish ball as someone she held a grudge against.
Suddenly, she seemed fierce—but still adorable.
Her cheeks were puffed out, looking exactly like a white rice ball.
Fu Chengyan remembered the soft, white treats his nieces and nephews loved to eat—something called “snowy mooncakes,” wasn’t it?
“Actually, I can cook a lot of dishes.”
Xu Zhizhi glanced at him and let out a soft “Mm-hmm.”
What did he mean? Was he showing off?
(ˇˇ)
So what if she couldn’t cook? She could eat!
She was really good at eating—she could finish every last grain of rice in her bowl.
·
“Want to try my cooking? No charge.”
Xu Zhizhi stared at the nearly empty mushroom and fish ball soup for two seconds, her little brain betraying her lack of restraint.
Fu Chengyan chuckled. “Think about it tonight and send me a list of dishes you’d like to try.”
He took her empty soup bowl and washed it, looking quite domestic.
“It’s getting late. I should go. We’ll keep in touch on WeChat.”
Xu Zhizhi murmured an “Mm-hmm” and followed him to the entryway.
She reached up to open the top cabinet and took down his overcoat. Staring at the hem of the coat, she remembered that it seemed to have had some intimate contact with the ground.
She casually patted it with her small hand, pretending nothing had happened, and calmly handed it to Fu Chengyan.
Fu Chengyan didn’t expose her, simply instructed her to lock the doors and windows before leaving.
In the car, Assistant Lin waited and waited, but even after half an hour, he still hadn’t seen the boss. He couldn’t help but glance at Wen Li. “The boss has been gone for so long, aren’t you worried?”
Wen Li gave him a cold look. “You don’t have a wife, do you?”
The emotionless tone made Assistant Lin feel like he was being mocked.
“What’s it to you? Do you?”
Wen Li smirked. “Of course I do.”
Damn! Assistant Lin was utterly defeated.
Why was it that both he and Wen Li worked for the boss, just doing different jobs, yet this guy actually had a wife?
And him? Twenty-eight years old, not to mention a wife, he didn’t even have a girlfriend.
Not even a pretty girl to say good morning or good afternoon to.
Assistant Lin was annoyed, Assistant Lin was angry, Assistant Lin forced a flattering smile. “How did you manage to get a girlfriend? What did she see in you?”
Wen Li stroked his phone, thinking of his wife, and couldn’t help but smile.
Assistant Lin: “…”
A little annoyed, a little full.
“In this area, I can’t offer you any useful help.”
Assistant Lin was puzzled. “Why?”
“Because my wife was the one who pursued me.”
“…” Great, now he was full.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Wen Li asked.
Mentioning this, Assistant Lin grew despondent. “She dumped me.”
Wen Li grew a little curious. “For what reason?”
“She said I didn’t have time for her.” Assistant Lin was sad too, but there was nothing he could do. “She said I only had cold money, not a warm heart.”
Wen Li scoffed. “What kind of nonsense is that? If you didn’t have a warm heart, you’d have been dead eight hundred years ago.”
Assistant Lin: “Alright, stop talking.”
With no one to chat with, Wen Li played a few games. After winning two in a row, he found it boring and called one of his subordinates. “Where’s the boss? Still within sight?”
Wen Yi: “No, the boss followed someone inside.”
Wen Li raised an eyebrow. “Inside? The boss is being a bit improper.”
Wen Yi: “Alright, I’ve recorded that. I’ll play it on loop for the boss later.”
Wen Li laughed in frustration.
“You little brat, behave yourself. By the way, what were they doing just now? Did the boss get so excited he pulled someone into his arms?”
His tone was rather improper. Fifteen-year-old Wen Yi frowned. “You think the boss is like you, knocking on strangers’ doors in the middle of the night without any clothes on?”
Assistant Lin: “!!!”
Wow, he really thought this guy was some kind of decent person.
Who would have thought? In this day and age, there were still such shameless perverts in Shengjing!
He eyed Wen Li suspiciously up and down and sneered. “Your wife must have some kind of leverage over you, right?”
“True love, you understand?” Wen Li glanced at him. “Of course you don’t, since you don’t even have a wife.”
Assistant Lin shrugged. “At least I’m not a pervert.”
“True love.”
“Pervert.”
Wen Yi listened to these two nearly thirty-year-old men bickering like children and had zero patience left. “One’s a pervert, the other’s single. Can you both shut up? Listening to you two argue is giving me a headache.”
“Little brat, no respect for your elders.” Wen Li scoffed lightly. “What was the boss doing earlier?”
Wen Yi considered his words for a moment, then said simply, “Playing out the classic ‘she runs, he chases, until she has nowhere left to hide’ scenario.”
Wen Li drew out an “oh” in a long, exaggerated tone. “How melodramatic. I’ll have to tell my wife about this when I get back.”
A cold, detached male voice drifted over from beside him. “Tell her what?”
Dead silence.
Wen Li cursed inwardly, thinking the little rascal had no decency. He put away his phone, got out of the car, and opened the rear door. “Boss, are you finished with your work?”