Among those present who were married and experienced, their hearts skipped a beat. Almost at the same time, they all thought of the same troubling possibility.
Oh no… could it be that Linchuan… isn’t capable?
Old Master Fu was the most anxious—he was still waiting to hold a great-grandchild! The soup in his mouth instantly lost all flavor.
“Linchuan, don’t be willful. Yunli is just concerned about you. It’s only a check-up—just go.”
Madam Fu quickly chimed in, “Yes, Linchuan, you should go. Think of it as peace of mind.”
Everyone was tactful enough not to say it outright, but that very consideration made Fu Linchuan feel even worse.
He wanted to shout: I’m perfectly fine! I’m completely normal! I can go seven times a night!
But he couldn’t—anything he said would only make it sound worse.
What made him even more furious was that just now, out of the corner of his eye, he clearly saw a servant sneaking a glance at his lower body—with unmistakable pity and regret in her gaze!
What the hell? He hadn’t even had the check-up yet, and they’d already reached a conclusion?!
Fu Linchuan was practically exploding with rage.
But with the whole family seated there, his status didn’t allow him to lose control.
Taking a deep breath, he swallowed his anger.
“Alright, Grandpa. I’ll listen to you. I’ll go with you then.”
With her goal achieved, Shen Yunli was in an excellent mood. She picked up a chicken drumstick for herself and even pretended to ask Fu Linchuan if he wanted one.
After all… you eat what you lack, and shape nourishes shape.
Seeing the drumstick, Fu Linchuan immediately thought of his “third leg” being questioned. His expression grew even darker.
Shen Yunli’s smile became even sweeter.
Earlier in the bedroom, he had humiliated her—so now she made sure he couldn’t save face in front of the whole family.
Shen Yunli always paid back every slight.
Moreover, she needed this check-up to confirm something.
Setting aside that little episode, the meal was otherwise harmonious. Fu Linchuan was clearly too angry to talk much and simply ate in silence, his face dark.
Shen Yunli quietly admired his expression for a moment, then casually cast a glance toward Fu Qiwen.
After the meal, as usual, she accompanied the old master for a walk to help him digest, then personally escorted him back to his room to rest.
On her way back, she passed by Fu Qiwen’s courtyard—and stopped.
He was sitting under a tree, wearing earphones, seemingly on a call.
Shen Yunli tightened her grip on the item in her hand. She gave a slight nod to the bodyguard beside him but didn’t interrupt, quietly standing to the side.
Fu Qiwen had injured his eyes in an accident half a year ago and had been receiving treatment abroad. He had only recently returned.
Shen Yunli didn’t yet have a full grasp of his personality. One reason she came today was that she got along well with everyone in the Fu family—naturally, she should try to build a good relationship with him as well.
As for the second reason… she wanted to leave herself a way out.
Fu Linchuan hadn’t gone for the check-up yet, and his condition was unknown. She had to prepare for the worst—that he truly wasn’t capable.
If that were the case, how would she have a child?
Then she would have to find someone else.
Fu Qiwen was blind—he couldn’t see. In a way, that made him a more convenient choice.
Secondly, he was related to Fu Linchuan by blood. If she bore his child, resemblance to the uncle wouldn’t easily arouse suspicion.
Going further—if he happened to take an interest in her, then all the better. She could immediately dump Fu Linchuan, that useless man, and marry him instead. Even if she changed partners, she would still remain a wealthy Mrs. Fu.
Changing men didn’t matter to Shen Yunli.
To her, it was nothing more than replacing an old tool with a new one. If a tool didn’t work well, you replaced it—who would feel sentimental over a tool?
Fu Qiwen was on a work call, and his secretary was just finishing the report when the bodyguard gently reminded him, “Miss Shen is here, sir.”
Fu Qiwen ended the call and inclined his head slightly. “Yunli, is there something you need?”
Standing to his side, Shen Yunli pressed her lips together—he truly couldn’t see.
She held out a small sachet of mosquito-repelling herbs, her tone cautious and slightly nervous.
“I heard from Linchuan that there are many plants behind your room, which can attract mosquitoes. My mother taught me how to make these herbal sachets when I was little. You can hang it by the window or door.”
Since she hadn’t yet married into the family and wasn’t familiar with him, it wasn’t appropriate to call him “uncle,” so she addressed him as “Mr. Fu.”
Just as Fu Qiwen was about to speak, Shen Yunli hurriedly added, as if afraid he might refuse:
“Mr. Fu, the herbs are harmless to the human body. I thought it would be safer than using mosquito repellent.”
Even though he couldn’t see, from her tone alone he could easily imagine the young woman’s nervous expression, afraid of being rejected.
In his memories, there seemed to have been someone who once spoke in a similar tone.
Something stirred in Fu Qiwen’s heart, and he smiled gently. “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful of you. I’ll keep it.”
Shen Yunli let out a breath of relief, her smile bright. “Mm! You’re welcome, Mr. Fu. If you need more, just let me know!”
After handing the sachet to the bodyguard, she turned and left.
Watching her walk away, the bodyguard looked at the carefully made sachet in his hand and sighed sincerely.
“Miss Shen is really kind—so thoughtful and considerate. She must have grown up in a loving and well-mannered family. No wonder Young Master Fu likes her.”
A loving and well-mannered family…? Not quite.
Fu Qiwen let out a soft chuckle.
With a new person entering the household, he had naturally conducted an investigation.
Shen Yunli’s family background was complicated. Her parents were divorced, neither wanted her, and she had drifted between relatives, living under others’ scrutiny.
Could someone like that truly have grown up feeling happy and secure?
Under normal circumstances, the traditional old master would never have approved of her. It was only because she had saved his life that an exception was made.
But a change in social class couldn’t easily erase her ingrained timidity. She was constantly afraid of losing the hard-won wealth she now had, which was why she was so eager to please, so cautious—terrified of falling back down.
So even without sight, he could clearly sense that she was trying to win his favor, adding another bargaining chip to secure her place in the Fu family.
For a moment, Fu Qiwen felt as though he were looking into a mirror.
She was too much like him—or rather, like who he used to be.
Fu Qiwen only smiled, saying nothing.
The bodyguard hesitated. “Sir, what about this sachet…?”
He knew his master was always cautious and rarely accepted gifts from others—usually, he would have him dispose of them.
A warm summer breeze carried the faint herbal scent from the sachet—it wasn’t unpleasant.
“Check it. If there’s no problem, keep it.”
After passing through a long corridor and turning a corner, Shen Yunli returned to the residence she shared with Fu Linchuan.
Once she was completely out of Fu Qiwen and the bodyguard’s sight, the smile on her face gradually faded.
This “uncle” of hers had also lived a life full of hardship.
When he was seven, he had been separated from his family for five years. When the Fu family finally found him, he was much thinner and far quieter, never speaking of the suffering he had endured—only saying he had been temporarily taken in by another family.
But how had he truly lived during those five years?
Seeing the scars on his body, his once lively personality replaced with quiet restraint, what more was there to understand?
Those years of living under someone else’s roof, reading others’ expressions, walking on eggshells—he had suffered greatly at a very young age.
Shen Yunli smiled faintly.
See? How similar he was to her.
That was why today, she had deliberately acted cautious and eager to please in front of him—to evoke empathy, to send a message:
We are the same kind of people.
And people of the same kind… should huddle together for warmth, shouldn’t they?