While the maid was changing the bedsheets, Su Luoyan wandered to the backyard.
It had been two years since she last returned, yet everything remained so familiar—the swaying swing where she used to sit and chat with Fu Siqi.
Some petals from the flowers placed outside the glass greenhouse had already fallen. These carefully nurtured blooms ultimately couldn’t withstand the strong winds, their petals scattered all over the ground.
Su Luoyan picked up a magnolia petal, its red hue exuding a delicate fragrance.
When she was young and read Dream of the Red Chamber, she didn’t understand Daiyu burying the fallen flowers, always thinking it was overly sentimental. Later, after coming to the Fu family, no matter how well they treated her, she was still living under someone else’s roof. She began to grasp a bit of the sentiment behind Daiyu’s act.
Yet no one would bury the petals in this courtyard. By evening, the servants would sweep them up with brooms and toss them into the trash bin, and the withered flowers would be replaced along with them.
A gust of wind blew, carrying petals into the fishpond. Koi fish surfaced, opening their mouths to swallow the petals.
Su Luoyan grabbed a handful of feed from nearby and tossed it into the pond. The koi scrambled for the food. These fish had been raised for many years, replaced batch after batch.
When Fu Cheng Shen arrived in the backyard, he saw Su Luoyan sitting on the swing chair, her toes touching the ground, palms resting on the seat as the swing swayed gently. A breeze swept by, lifting her long hair and obscuring her profile. Her gaze was melancholy as she watched the koi in the pond.
Su Luoyan heard familiar footsteps and looked up just as Fu Cheng Shen stood before her, catching sight of his clean jawline.
“Why are you…” Before she could finish, her words were swallowed by a tender kiss.
Fu Cheng Shen leaned down, one hand cradling the back of her head, his tongue slowly parting her lips and slipping inside.
Su Luoyan hadn’t forgotten this was the Fu household. She resisted, patting his shoulders, her mind distracted even during the kiss. Unable to focus, she bit his tongue lightly, the taste of blood spreading between them.
Fu Cheng Shen released her, his eyes playful as he looked at her, but he had no intention of letting her go. He stretched out a long arm, gripping the top of the chairback as if encircling her in his embrace.
“You’ve really grown up.”
Su Luoyan felt guilty but not regretful. Tears welled in her eyes as she said firmly, “Fu Cheng Shen, this is the Fu family. I can’t indulge in recklessness with you.”
“I’m sorry.”
Fu Cheng Shen released his grip and stepped away from her side, turning to leave. Su Luoyan’s heart clenched in pain. A glistening tear slid from the corner of her eye and landed on the back of her hand before she even realized it.
After her family members passed away one after another, she thought she had forgotten how to cry.
Fu Cheng Shen didn’t leave. He stood by the fishpond, pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. Placing a cigarette between his lips, he cupped one hand around the tip to shield it from the wind while lighting it with the other. He took a drag, then held it between his fingers. His fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, making the way he held the cigarette particularly striking.Su Luoyan watched him enveloped in a haze of smoke, his tall figure turned away from her. Fu Cheng Shen had two periods when he smoked most heavily. The first was when he started his own business. Back then, their competitors had sabotaged them, nearly causing the project to collapse. He had poured all his assets into it—not just his own, but also those of his brothers. As his career hit rock bottom, he smoked almost two packs a day to relieve the stress.
The second period was four years ago, when he had just taken over the Fu family. Within the group, there were open and covert struggles, full of deceit and scheming. All the responsibilities and pressures, like a landslide, came crashing down on him. After a month, he had lost a significant amount of weight.
During that time, Su Luoyan stayed by his side. Every time she entered his study, she was met with the pungent smell of smoke, and the ashtray was always filled with cigarette butts.
She vividly remembered how, back then, Fu Cheng Shen had bodyguards with him 24 hours a day to ensure his safety. Every time he went out, he would take a different car, each meticulously inspected in advance. Each trip involved three cars—one leading the way, one following behind, and sudden route changes midway were common occurrences.
In that moment, Su Luoyan saw the hidden whirlpools beneath the calm surface of the lake. The slightest misstep could lead to utter destruction, and no one around Fu Cheng Shen could escape it.
Two months later, she was sent abroad. No wonder, when she had just entered her senior year of high school, Fu Cheng Shen had asked her what she wanted to study in the future. After receiving her answer, he hired the best French teacher for her the very next day and helped her fill out school application forms.
Two months after the college entrance exams ended, she was sent abroad. Looking back now, everything had been carefully planned.
She understood all too well that everything he had today was earned with his life. This was also the inevitable path to becoming the head of the Fu family. She couldn’t bring herself to ruin him at this point. Grandfather and Aunt had both shown her kindness, and she couldn’t be an ungrateful person, unable to bear their disappointed gazes.
Meanwhile, on the second-floor windowsill, behind the curtains, a pair of deep eyes took in everything. Fu Shen Nan went from disbelief to a self-mocking smile. She picked up a pack of Marlboro Lights from the table, lit a cigarette, and took a drag, the smoke seeping into her heart.
Of course, the rose she had personally nurtured and cherished would never allow anyone else to pluck it.