The streets outside were nearly empty, appearing somewhat desolate.
“Have you been drinking?” Fu Sili glanced at her as he started the car. From the moment he approached her, he had already caught the faint scent of alcohol on her.
“Yes, I had no inspiration.” Fu Wanzhi sat in the seat, already feeling the ache in her shoulders.
“No inspiration, so you drink…” Fu Sili’s knuckles stood out as he gripped the steering wheel, his voice cool and magnetic. “Quit it from now on.”
That lecturing tone again, like an elder scolding her. Fu Wanzhi looked up at him. “Do you have to interfere in everything?”
Fu Sili didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, “Alcoholism, stomach problems—what other surprises do you have in store for me?”
“What’s this? One day I’ll make you an uncle directly.” Fu Wanzhi said coldly.
Fu Sili kept his eyes on the road ahead, his emotions unchanged upon hearing this. “Then let’s see if you have what it takes to give me that surprise.”
She really did have what it took, but…
Fu Wanzhi spoke again. “When are you and Zhen Lianyun getting engaged?”
“The tenth of next month.” Fu Sili’s voice was indifferent, showing no excitement or nervousness about the upcoming wedding.
“Will you move out then, or will I?” Fu Wanzhi’s brow twitched slightly. The time was approaching quickly.
“No one needs to move out.” Fu Sili dismissed her words but offered no explanation.
“Why?” Fu Wanzhi frowned. From the sound of it, Zhen Lianyun wouldn’t be moving into the Champs-Élysées Villa.
“Because of work.”
With the upcoming election, there would be no time for rest even after marriage. Moreover, Fu Sili would only be busier than before.
Fu Wanzhi looked out the window. “Don’t you think it’s a pity, Brother? Not being able to go on a honeymoon with your wife.”
“So now she’s your sister-in-law.” Fu Sili glanced at her.
“I’ll call her whatever I want.” Fu Wanzhi shot him a look, a hint of her childhood willfulness resurfacing.
Fu Sili curled his lips slightly, not bothering to argue. “It’s unnecessary. After this period, I’ll have to take full control of the Fu family.”
With Father Fu critically ill in the hospital, the position of the Fu family’s head was left vacant. Besides Fu Sili, there was also Father Fu’s older brother, their uncle Fu Yi, who was preparing for the election.
He was a man of considerable skill and ambition, currently serving as the Director of the Police Department, one rank above Fu Sili. However, in terms of age, he was no match for Fu Sili.
Now, with Father Fu seriously ill, his ambition was becoming harder to suppress. The Fu family had split into two factions. If not for Grandfather Fu holding the fort, the family would have descended into chaos.
“Didn’t Grandfather give you the ring and family emblem?” Fu Wanzhi was aware of some of the undercurrents within the Fu family.
“Do you think people nowadays care about that?” Fu Sili’s tone was dismissive. So far, his uncle had set countless traps and planted numerous landmines for him.
He had even sent people abroad in an attempt to kidnap Fu Wanzhi to threaten him.
Thinking of this, Fu Sili’s eyes darkened.
This wasn’t ancient times anymore. A mere object couldn’t make people submit—it required real skill or ruthlessness.
“Just focus on your studio. You don’t need to worry about these matters.”
Fu Wanzhi knew Fu Sili’s temperament. When he spoke like this, it meant he had everything under control. Since childhood, she had never been involved in the Fu family’s affairs.
But no honeymoon… and they weren’t planning to live together…
“Could it be… you’re in a marriage of convenience?” A ridiculous and laughable thought suddenly surfaced in Fu Wanzhi’s mind.
The Zhen Family Group, led by Zhen Lianyun’s father, could be considered a local powerhouse in the capital. Given Father Fu’s current situation, aligning with him would undoubtedly elevate things to another level.
Fu Sili lightly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, watching the red light turn green before accelerating. His casual tone drifted over with the wind: “Zhizhi finally figured it out.”
That Shang Yan said they had been together for over two years… that was also a lie. Such an absurd notion turned out to be true.
“Have you really fallen to the point of needing an arranged marriage? Isn’t Grandpa on your side?” Fu Wanzhi tightened her grip, not objecting to Fu Sili’s ruthless climb to power.
“Each has their own needs and desires. What’s wrong with that?” Fu Sili lowered his gaze. “What use is his support…”
What he wanted was to take control of everything himself, free from anyone’s influence.
Father Fu threatened him openly and covertly, while Fu Yi pressed him step by step. All his scheming was merely to protect those around him…
The car slowly entered the underground parking lot, and neither of them spoke a word until then.
Fu Sili unbuckled his seatbelt and noticed the person beside him hadn’t moved. Just as he was about to remind her, he heard her say, “Fu Sili.”
He looked over, meeting her bright, beautiful eyes as she gazed at him calmly. “What is it that you really want?”
For a moment, it felt as if they had returned to eight years ago, when the same person had looked at him like this, not crying, just saying, “Can I not go abroad?”
Meeting those eyes again, Fu Sili restrained the urge to reach out, forcing himself to stay composed. His expression grew obscure, his voice low. “A high position.”
A high position…
Fu Sili was already a central figure in the political arena. To pursue a higher position, he would enter into an arranged marriage, treating marriage and love as worthless, mere tools for exchange.
And then there was her—a madwoman who harbored forbidden feelings for her own brother, a ticking time bomb.
Deep down, she had never believed Fu Sili would abandon her. Yet, those eight years constantly proved that he had given up on her.
She kept deceiving herself, but ever since her mother passed away, he was all she had left…
“Truly worthy of you, Fu Sili.” Power and status were what he truly desired; everything else was just an illusion.
Rather than saying she was the one pretending, it was Fu Sili who was the master of disguise.