Progress +1 +1 (17/100)
Jiang Tang secretly pondered the situation. She had not expected Fu Yuanchao to actually respond to this kind of approach. That made things much easier.
Beneath Jiang Tang’s slightly raised eyelids was a glimmering, shifting softness. Her gaze seemed to linger casually over Fu Yuanchao’s palm, light as a feather carried down by the wind.
Her carefully maintained hair was glossy black and smooth, falling over her shoulders and covering part of her fair, slender neck.
Fu Yuanchao leaned back against the sofa with his right arm resting along the back. From behind, it looked as though he were holding Jiang Tang in his arms.
“What did you come here for?”
Only then did Fu Yuanchen remember the real reason for his visit. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he hesitated and glanced at Jiang Tang.
Fu Yuanchao said, “Just say it.”
“It is like this. Do you remember Sister Mingyue, the girl you used to play with all the time when you were young?”
Fu Yuanchao lowered his eyes and looked at Jiang Tang, who was constantly making little movements.
“Mm.”
Jiang Tang did not care that she had been caught. She continued winding her fingertips around the edge of Fu Yuanchao’s clothes until the fabric lifted slightly, faintly revealing the wheat colored skin of his waist.
Fu Yuanchao gave her shoulder a warning squeeze.
Jiang Tang curled her fingertip, not only refusing to let go but moving even closer. Almost her entire palm was pressed against the small of Fu Yuanchao’s back, while the corners of her eyes lifted in a coquettish, playful expression.
“Who is Sister Mingyue?”
Jiang Tang moved even closer, her lips almost touching Fu Yuanchao’s earlobe.
“A childhood playmate.”
She had assumed Fu Yuanchao would not bother answering such jealous questions, so when she received an answer so easily, Jiang Tang was momentarily stunned.
Fu Yuanchao lowered his arm and hooked it around Jiang Tang’s waist, pulling her firmly toward him. Their thighs pressed against each other, leaving barely enough space between them for even a sheet of paper.
Because they were so close, the faint citrus fragrance from Jiang Tang’s hair mixed into the air and was drawn into his lungs. After circulating through his body, it became a slightly heavier breath as he exhaled.
Fu Yuanchao pinched Jiang Tang’s fingertips. They were cool but soft, with neatly trimmed nails painted a vivid red. The man raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
“Jealous?”
Jiang Tang hummed and pulled her hand back, only for him to catch her wrist the next second and place her hand on one of his strong thighs.
“You are my husband. Of course I am jealous.”
Fu Yuanchao gave an ambiguous laugh.
“Is that so?”
Jiang Tang wrinkled her delicate nose slightly. There was a very familiar scent on Fu Yuanchao.
Darkness and dampness.
It was exactly the same scent Jiang Tang had smelled for countless years beside the Yellow Springs.
Apart from the brief fragment of memory that had flashed through her mind at the beginning, no matter how hard Jiang Tang tried, she could not recall anything else.
Fu Yuanchen rattled on for quite some time, but when he looked up, the two of them were speaking quietly to each other, and neither person was paying any attention to what he was saying.
Fu Yuanchen fell silent.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip before setting it down with slightly too much force, causing several drops of tea to splash out.
Fu Yuanchao lowered his eyes. His lips tightened, and the smile in his eyes disappeared.
Fu Yuanchen quickly pulled out a tissue, wiped the table completely clean, and then gave Fu Yuanchao an ingratiating smile.
“So, although tomorrow is a family gathering, you know that our families have always had a good relationship with Sister Mingyue’s family. They just happened to return to the country, so they will be joining us. They also brought some new projects that have recently emerged overseas. Brother, I am sure you will be very interested!”
Fu Yuanchao did indeed have plans to expand overseas, but he had not yet found a suitable opportunity.
“Come with me tomorrow.”
Jiang Tang rested her chin on her hand and nodded.
“Alright.”
Fu Yuanchen forcibly suppressed his surprise. Thinking about tomorrow, he could not help feeling secretly pleased.
He had never understood why, when the Fu family could find any kind of woman they wanted, they insisted on honoring an agreement made by an elder and marrying this woman who seemed to have nothing but beauty.
She was crude and ill mannered.
At every family gathering, she always managed to create some strange and embarrassing joke.
Now, with the addition of Mingyue, a refined and well educated young lady from a prominent family, Jiang Tang would look even more like a brainless decorative vase by comparison.
Jiang Tang smiled at Fu Yuanchen.
Laugh while you can. You will not be able to laugh tomorrow.
Fu Yuanchen inexplicably felt guilty under Jiang Tang’s gaze and instinctively touched his face.
In the end, he decided that the woman was only putting on a brave front. He immediately glared back at her.
Jiang Tang withdrew her gaze and leaned weakly against Fu Yuanchao.
She deliberately brushed the corner of her eye with her fingertip.
“Darling, your younger brother is glaring at me.”
The way she called him darling was so gentle and affectionate that it sounded utterly charming.
Progress +1 +1 +1 (18/100)
“Did I do something wrong? If there is something my younger brother dislikes, he can tell me directly. There is no need to…”
Jiang Tang did not finish her sentence. She gave a slightly sorrowful sniff and rested her head against Fu Yuanchao’s shoulder, looking deeply hurt.
Fu Yuanchen’s eyes widened. He was practically speechless with frustration.
“I did not!”
“Brother! Do you really believe him instead of me? I am your biological younger brother!”
Jiang Tang gave Fu Yuanchen a provocative look, but when she raised her head, her expression had already become one of restrained grievance.
“It is alright. My younger brother is still young. As an elder, I will not hold it against him.”
Fu Yuanchao lowered his brows, clearly becoming angry.
“Fu Yuanchen, where are your manners?”
Fu Yuanchen had never been subjected to such an accusation before, and he was so furious that he could barely speak coherently.
“She… I did not! She just now… Brother, did you see?”
Jiang Tang gently patted Fu Yuanchao’s chest and softly tried to comfort him.
“I am fine. Please do not let this affect the relationship between you brothers because of me.”
Fu Yuanchen sprang to his feet. When he saw his brother’s warning gaze, he silently sat back down and turned his face away in anger.
He finally understood that he simply could not talk to Jiang Tang.
Jiang Tang almost laughed out loud, but fortunately she lowered her head in time.
Fu Yuanchen had originally planned to stay for dinner, but after what had happened, he found an excuse to leave before the meal was even ready.
Jiang Tang tugged at her little handkerchief.
“See you tomorrow, little brother.”
Fu Yuanchen nearly tripped over his own feet. After hearing her words, he hurried away even faster, as though some evil spirit were chasing him from behind.
Fu Yuanchao caught Jiang Tang’s chin and turned her head toward him with slight force. His scrutinizing gaze slowly swept across the corners of her eyes.
“Had enough acting?”
Jiang Tang was still immersed in the character she had been playing.
“Darling, what are you talking about?”
Fu Yuanchao leaned forward, and the distance between them rapidly disappeared.
Jiang Tang’s back was pressed tightly against the sofa, while a strong, solid body blocked her from the front. Every possible path of retreat was completely cut off.
“I am not as useless as Fu Yuanchen.”
As Fu Yuanchao spoke, their lips were almost touching.
Jiang Tang fell silent.
If Fu Yuanchen heard those words, he would probably leave in tears.
The vulnerable, pitiful look in Jiang Tang’s eyes gradually disappeared.