“Your husband actually said that?”
“Damn, Young Master Sheng is so cool!”
In the café, the impeccably made-up woman looked utterly shocked.
Cool my ass!
She had come to see Fang Yinian today specifically to complain—ever since Sheng Tangzhou returned to the country, she couldn’t freely be herself anymore.
Seeing the stunned expression on Fang Yinian’s face, Cen Wangyue let out a cold snort. “Whose side are you on, exactly?”
It had taken her a while to explain to Fang Yinian that her business marriage to Sheng Tangzhou had zero emotional foundation.
Fang Yinian gave a light cough. Before Sheng Tangzhou had returned, she had been unconditionally supportive of her best friend. But the moment President Sheng came back, the scales in her heart seemed to tip just a tiny bit.
“What he said was quite sincere. The moment he learned you were sick, he didn’t waste a single second and flew back to see you—that shows he cares about you. After all, when you two got married, Huajing was going through a rough patch. He was abroad, but every month, gifts flowed to Qinyuan like a stream. I think he has you in his heart.”
Fang Yinian had also heard some old stories about the Sheng family from her mother. Old Chairman Sheng favored his eldest son—he never publicly named an heir, but privately, he had long since decided Sheng Bowen would take over. Otherwise, Sheng Tangzhou wouldn’t have left Junsheng to found Huajing on his own.
If not for the fact that a year ago, Huajing had fallen into a financial crisis, and Sheng Tangzhou had traded marriage for Cen Corporation’s capital injection to resolve Huajing’s difficulties…
Sure, the outside world kept saying Sheng Tangzhou married her best friend for profit, but what did those people know about the truth?
Cen Wangyue: “Are you a shill hired by Sheng Tangzhou?”
Why was she singing his praises so much?
Fang Yinian didn’t quite understand and went straight to the heart of the matter. “The reason you’re so angry is just that he went abroad three days after the wedding, and then those gossips started spreading rumors that you two don’t get along, even betting you’ll divorce within a few years.”
Cen Wangyue nodded, wearing an expression that said, “See, you get me.”
She had only met Sheng Tangzhou twice, but his face was just too handsome to resist—no wonder none of those young pretty-boy celebrities could catch her best friend’s eye.
Fang Yinian continued to persuade her. “Since he’s being so honest, just give him a chance. You two can try building some feelings. Isn’t that whole ‘marry first, fall in love later’ CEO novel trope super popular online?”
Cen Wangyue sighed helplessly. “That’s not what you said when I first got married.”
She was amazed at how quickly her best friend had switched sides.
Fang Yinian coughed lightly and deliberately lowered her voice. “People change. Besides, Young Master Sheng is young and vigorous—aren’t you enjoying that too?”
Girl, isn’t your focus a little off?
The moment she thought about rekindling their married life with Sheng Tangzhou over the past two days, Cen Wangyue felt her face flush and her heart race.
Under Fang Yinian’s relentless gaze, Cen Wangyue mumbled quietly, “Well… the flower at home does smell pretty sweet…”
Sometimes she had to admit—Fang Yinian had excellent taste when it came to judging men.
“That hug you two shared last night caused quite a stir again. Even Liang Zhi posted on Weibo.”
With that, Fang Yinian handed over her phone.
On the Weibo page, Liang Zhi had posted a photo of Sheng Tangzhou carrying Cen Wangyue in his arms, a beam of light hitting his back, giving the shot a cinematic, atmospheric feel.
The caption was equally interesting—Liang Zhi had written, “Another day of believing in love.”
The comment section already had several hundred replies, all saying how sweet it was and how much they loved it.
[So even business marriages can have real love!]
[Sure enough, the richer you are, the deeper the love—wahhh!!]
【Dear God, please grant me a husband who’s 1.9 meters tall, handsome, and loaded! Even if it means living in a mansion and driving luxury cars for the rest of my life, I’m all in!】
【Kissing in the snow, a public princess carry—I’m shipping them already!】
Cen Wangyue’s mouth twitched at the sight. “Zhi should go get her eyes checked.”
She handed the phone back to Fang Yinian.
How could Liang Zhi possibly tell that a couple was deeply in love from a single back-view photo?
Did she have eagle eyes or something?
Fang Yinian chuckled and glanced at the street scene outside the window. “There’s nothing wrong with looking at these things. You should have a little faith in your own love life.”
She could always dish out advice to her best friend so easily, but when it came to herself, she was just as lost.
Speaking of which, Cen Wangyue deliberately lowered her voice. “What about you, then?”
Fang Yinian took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll just go with the flow. I have a date tonight.”
Ever since she returned to the country, Ms. Fang had already started arranging blind dates for her. But ironically, ever since that night, Shang Heyu had been like he’d installed a tracker on her—showing up wherever she went.
Right now, she was annoyed to death.
Cen Wangyue shot her a curious look.
Fang Yinian: “Fine, it’s a blind date.”
“With who?”
Fang Yinian spread her hands lazily. “Xie Group’s Xie Jiansheng.”
Cen Wangyue had some impression of this man. The Xie family had good relations with both the Shang and Fang families, and he was a promising young talent.
She propped her chin on one hand and sighed. “Auntie really has good taste.”
As the two were chatting, the café door happened to open.
A tall man in a black suit walked in, his features cool and refined, though his overall demeanor was rather cold.
Cen Wangyue nudged Fang Yinian’s hand. “Shang Heyu’s here.”
At the mention of his name, Fang Yinian couldn’t help but furrow her brows. How did he manage to track her down here?
Cen Wangyue smiled and asked, “Here to pick up Niannian?”
Shang Heyu remained composed and explained his purpose to Cen Wangyue. “I happened to be nearby, so I figured I’d swing by and pick her up.”
Cen Wangyue’s smile deepened. “Senior Shang and Niannian have such a great relationship.”
All three of them had attended Mingli High School, except Shang Heyu was one year ahead of them.
She studied Shang Heyu, thinking to herself that these two step-siblings really did get along well. They’d only been out for a short while, and Shang Heyu was already coming to pick up his sister.
Shang Heyu didn’t answer, his gaze dropping to rest on Fang Yinian. “Taking care of her is only natural.”
Cen Wangyue suddenly remembered the Mingli school anniversary and asked curiously, “The Mingli school anniversary is in January. Is Senior Shang planning to go back?”
Shang Heyu looked toward Fang Yinian. “I just donated a building to Mingli not long ago, so naturally I’ll be going back.”
After the polite pleasantries, Cen Wangyue found herself unsure of what else to talk about with him.
Shang Heyu didn’t pay attention to such trivial details and said calmly, “If you two aren’t done chatting, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”
Cen Wangyue tapped her fingers. “No need—we’re actually done. I wouldn’t dream of making you wait, Senior Shang.”
Back in high school, she’d never seen Shang Heyu be this considerate.
She glanced at Fang Yinian and noticed that her best friend had gone very quiet ever since Shang Heyu arrived.
What was going on with them?
The moment the words left her mouth, Fang Yinian quickly grabbed her bag. “Anyway, Yuebao, I still have things to do this afternoon. I’m heading off first.”
She was afraid that if she stayed one more second, her best friend would see through the way Shang Heyu was staring at her.
Cen Wangyue winked at her. “Go on then. Hope your blind date tonight goes well.”
At these words, Fang Yinian’s body stiffened. She dared not meet Shang Heyu’s burning gaze and could only mutter a few perfunctory words before hurrying away.
Cen Wangyue sat in her seat, watching the two of them walk off hand in hand, and suddenly thought—
They actually made a pretty good match.