The car pulled up at a club on the outskirts of the city.
At the entrance stood two neat rows of French plane trees, and further in stretched a vast lawn trimmed like green velvet. In the distance, a lake and gentle slopes lay scattered with several European-style buildings.
Fu Xianshu hopped out of the car and took a deep breath of air.
“Wow, this place is so much more comfortable!”
She turned and reached out to Tong Xi. “Come on, hand Jingxi to me. You can just follow behind.”
Tong Xi carefully passed her son over. Fu Xianshu held him a bit more skillfully than before—still somewhat clumsy in her posture, but at least she no longer jostled the baby enough to make him cry.
The two walked slowly along the path beside the lawn. As she strolled, Fu Xianshu introduced the sights to Fu Jingxi:
“Look, baby Jingxi, that’s a lake—there are ducks in the lake… That’s a big tree—there are birds in the tree… When you’re a little bigger, Auntie will teach you to ride a pony. There’s a stable here…”
Tong Xi followed alongside, watching the scene, and a strange mix of bittersweet ache and warmth welled up in her chest.
She secretly pulled out her phone, wanting to snap a photo of Fu Xianshu holding her son, but then held back.
Never mind. She was “Xi Tong” now—a wet nurse. It wouldn’t be appropriate to take pictures of the Fu family’s young lady no matter how she looked at it.
Just as she was thinking this, voices drifted over from the distance.
Fu Xianshu looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up.
“Oh! They’re over there!”
At the open-air shooting range on the other end of the lawn, a few men in casual wear were gathered together. One was holding a gun, aiming at a target, while others stood nearby talking.
Without a second thought, Fu Xianshu headed straight over, carrying Fu Jingxi in her arms. Her steps were light and quick, as if she didn’t have a nursing baby in her arms at all.
Tong Xi had no choice but to hurry after her, though her heart quietly tightened.
Fu Yanqin was over there too, wasn’t he?
Sure enough, as she drew closer, she spotted that tall, straight figure.
Fu Yanqin stood beside the shooting station, wearing a thin dark-gray jacket over a black crew-neck shirt. He wasn’t holding a gun, just tilting his head to listen to the person beside him speak.
Sunlight fell across his profile, gilding his cold, sharp features with a faint layer of gold.
As if sensing something, he suddenly turned his head, his gaze cutting across the lawn and landing directly on Tong Xi.
Tong Xi’s steps faltered.
Fu Yanqin’s eyes swept over her face, then dropped to the little pale-yellow floral hat on the baby in Fu Xianshu’s arms. He paused for a moment, then calmly looked away.
Fu Xianshu had already sauntered over.
“Second Brother! You’re doing target practice and didn’t even call me!”
Fu Yulang was just aiming at the target. He glanced back at the sound of her voice and laughed. “You’re bringing a baby to a shooting range? Are you kidding me?”
“I don’t care—I’m here now. You’re teaching me to fire a few rounds later.”
Fu Xianshu said it with complete confidence, then shoved the baby into Tong Xi’s arms. “Sister Xi, hold Jingxi tight. I’m going to go chat with them.”
Tong Xi stood at the edge of the lawn, holding her son, about a dozen paces away from the group of men.
She felt a little awkward, lowering her head to pretend she was soothing the baby, but her peripheral vision kept stealing glances toward Fu Yanqin.
Fu Yanqin didn’t seem to be looking at her anymore. He was speaking with a middle-aged man beside him, his expression indifferent, occasionally nodding.
Yang Zhongao, however, glanced over at Tong Xi and asked Fu Xianshu, “Sister Xianshu, is that Jingxi’s wet nurse? She looks pretty young.”
Yang Zhongao was Fu Yanqin’s sworn brother; they had grown up together.
“Yes, she’s really nice, and she can even embroider. That hat of Jingxi’s was embroidered by her own hands.”
Fu Xianshu praised.
Yang Zhongao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tong Xi again,
thinking to himself that this nanny dressed plainly and tastelessly, with ugly makeup—surely this one wouldn’t try to seduce Yanqin like the previous nannies had.
Tong Xi felt a bit uncomfortable under Yang Zhongao’s gaze, so she held the child and stepped aside, finding a bench under a large tree to sit down.
The breeze on the lawn was gentle, carrying the scent of grass and soil.
Fu Jingxi whimpered twice in her arms, his little head burrowing toward her chest.
He was hungry again.
She didn’t notice that over by the shooting range in the distance, Fu Yanqin had at some point stopped talking,
his gaze cutting across half the lawn, landing precisely under that large tree.
Landing on that young woman with her back to the crowd, her head slightly bowed.
Sunlight danced on her shoulders, loose strands of hair lifted by the wind, revealing a stretch of dazzlingly white skin on the back of her neck.
Fu Yanqin’s Adam’s apple rolled silently, his fingers rubbing lightly at his side.
He turned back around, raised the gun that was handed to him, aimed at the bullseye, and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
Ten rings.
Tong Xi stood up holding the whimpering Fu Jingxi, looking around.
The lawn was bustling with people—club staff and scattered guests everywhere.
Fu Xianshu was following behind Fu Yulang, enthusiastically fiddling with a small-caliber pistol, not paying the slightest attention to what was happening over here.
She walked a few steps toward the building and stopped a staff member in uniform:
“Excuse me, may I ask… is there a private space here where I can feed the baby?”
The staff member looked her up and down, saw the child in her arms and her plain clothes—looking like an accompanying servant—and pointed to an annex building on the side:
“There’s a nursing room over there, but the equipment is under maintenance today, so you probably can’t get in. There’s a lounge at the end of the second-floor corridor in the main building. It’s generally not open to the public, but if it’s urgent, I can ask the front desk if they can open it for you.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Tong Xi thanked him as she headed toward the main building. Fu Jingxi in her arms had already grown impatient,
his little mouth puckering and nuzzling toward her chest, making urgent mm-mm sounds,
his little fists also breaking free from the swaddling cloth, waving wildly in the air.
She quickened her pace through the main building’s entrance. Just as she crossed the lobby heading toward the stairs, a low voice suddenly came from behind her:
“What are you looking for?”
Tong Xi’s steps halted.
She slowly turned around and saw Fu Yanqin standing at the lobby’s entranceway, having followed her in at some point.
His dark gray light jacket accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs, the light behind him outlining his entire figure with a sharp silhouette.
He was still holding a bottle of mineral water, his posture casual yet carrying an undeniable presence.
Tong Xi held Fu Jingxi tighter in her arms and lowered her eyes:
“Mr. Fu… the young master is hungry. I was just looking for a place to feed him.”
After she said this, the tips of her ears quietly grew hot.
Fu Yanqin glanced at her:
“The nursing room is under maintenance today. You can’t get in.”
Tong Xi’s voice grew softer. “I know… the staff said there’s a lounge on the second floor I could borrow. I was just about to go check.”
“Follow me.”
Fu Yanqin wasted no words, turning and walking toward the corridor on the right side of the lobby.
Tong Xi was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed with the child in her arms.
She followed behind Fu Yanqin, keeping a distance of two or three steps.
He did not walk quickly, but his strides were long, each step steady and composed.
The air conditioning in the corridor was turned up high. Tong Xi held her warm son in her arms, yet the back of her neck felt chilly.
She secretly raised her eyes, her gaze landing on Fu Yanqin’s back.
The shoulder line of that dark gray jacket was straight and crisp, the fabric slightly taut, faintly revealing the outline of his shoulder blades beneath.
She quickly lowered her head.
Fu Yanqin led her through a fire door, onto a narrower corridor, and finally stopped in front of a door at the very end.
He took a card from his pocket and swiped it. The lock clicked open.
“Come in.”
The door pushed open to reveal a small lounge with excellent privacy.
A dark brown leather sofa sat against the wall, with a coffee table opposite it, on which magazines and an ashtray were placed.
Near the window stood a folding screen, behind which a lounge chair and a small table could faintly be seen.
Fu Yanqin stood sideways by the door, gesturing for her to go in:
“No one uses this room normally. You can feed him here.”
Tong Xi thanked him softly, then hurried behind the screen with the child in her arms.
A clean white fleece blanket was spread over the lounge chair. After sitting down, she quickly unbuttoned her clothes.
Fu Jingxi was already desperately hungry. The moment his little mouth touched her, he suckled eagerly, making satisfied gulping sounds.
Tong Xi let out a breath of relief. She raised a hand to smooth the stray hairs that had fallen beside her face, then unconsciously glanced through the gap in the screen.
She had thought Fu Yanqin should have already gone out.
Yet that tall, slender figure was leaning against the table not far away,
holding that bottle of mineral water in his hand, unhurriedly twisting off the cap.
Tong Xi’s face flushed red with a rush.