Heaven as my witness, Wen Yao’s desire to save Fu Yan was utterly sincere.
Unfortunately, no amount of sincerity could change the reality that she had no idea where Fu Yan was.
The funniest part was that when she tried to ask Fu Jinzhi, she opened her phone and discovered—she didn’t even have her cheap husband’s contact information.
Wen Yao was speechless. Am I some caveman? I’m supposed to be a young lady from a good family—how do I have zero social connections at all?!
“Ugh, Fu Jinzhi… you big dumb donkey!” Wen Yao sat sulking at the dining table, starting to shift the blame. How could a husband not add his own wife as a friend?
“Is the missus missing the master?” Nanny Wang appeared out of nowhere, her expression inscrutable.
“!” Wen Yao was startled. “What makes you think that?”
Nanny Wang set her rag aside, her face practically screaming “I see right through you, stop pretending.”
“I could tell from your appetite today,” Nanny Wang said with a look of heartfelt concern. “You only ate two bowls of seafood congee, three shrimp dumplings, and four crystal buns!”
Ever since Wen Yao stopped pretending to be pregnant, she’d been eating nearly three times as much as Fu Jinzhi at every meal. What she’d eaten this morning was barely half her usual amount.
Combined with the fact that Nanny Wang had just heard Wen Yao muttering “Fu Jinzhi” under her breath—this was definitely a case of missing the master so much that her appetite had shrunk!
“Huh?” Wen Yao was mortified. In truth, her appetite hadn’t always been this big, but Fu Jinzhi’s chef was just too skilled. Plus, after spending months as a vegetable sustained by nutrient fluids, she was currently in a phase of ravenous hunger.
She wanted to eat everything she saw, and nothing she ate was ever enough.
And even if you took a step back—wasn’t Fu Jinzhi partly to blame? Hiring such an amazing chef!
“You young people need to be braver. If you want something, go do it.” Nanny Wang patted Wen Yao’s shoulder affectionately, then turned toward the kitchen and called out, “Xiao Qi, make a lunchbox for the master. The missus will deliver it to him shortly!”
“Coming right up!”
Wen Yao, who had been arranged for so thoroughly she had no say: Who said I was going to deliver food?
Fine, since it had come to this, she might as well go add him as a contact.
【Host, why did Nanny Wang suddenly stop disliking you?】8848 was confused.
Nanny Wang was a longtime servant of the Fu family. She had watched Fu Jinzhi grow up, and when he later established his own household, she followed to take care of him. To call her a servant was almost an understatement—she was more like a housekeeper and an elder figure.
Given her feelings for Fu Jinzhi, she definitely wouldn’t have liked the Host. Her earlier reaction upon learning about the fake pregnancy was the normal one.
“8848, Fu Jinzhi is already 26 years old, and Fu Lizhi is even 28.”
【That’s the prime of life for human males. What’s the problem?】
“This is a species difference. You don’t understand humans.” Wen Yao shook her head, her jade-white face feigning world-weariness. “When humans reach this age, if they don’t have kids, aren’t married, or aren’t even dating anyone…”
“Then it’s over. In the eyes of their elders, even a dog ranks higher than them.”
【…】8848 couldn’t comprehend.
Wen Yao continued sharing her brilliant insights. “I’m still Fu Jinzhi’s wife, after all—I just didn’t perform well before.”
“As long as I sincerely tell Nanny Wang that I faked the pregnancy because I love Fu Jinzhi too much, and that I only put on that cold, aloof, superior act because I was afraid of being caught in my lie—when in reality, I desperately wanted to bear his child…”
“Old people accept that very easily. She’d even be eager for me and Fu Jinzhi to ‘mend our relationship’ as soon as possible!”
【I didn’t expect the Host to possess such wisdom.】8848 was quite astonished, having always considered Wen Yao a sharp-tongued imbecile,【No wonder on your first day in this world, you went to have a heart-to-heart with Nanny Wang instead of the male lead.】
【So you were planning to take the route of surrounding the cities from the countryside. First win over everyone around the male lead, then conquering Fu Jinzhi becomes much easier—brilliant!】
“That’s not it.” Wen Yao blushed at the praise, saying shyly, “It’s mainly because Nanny Wang controls the daily menu. Winning her over is the only way to achieve culinary freedom~”
【Scram.】Truly, I held far too high expectations for the Host.
Meanwhile, Fu Jinzhi was diligently working when he suddenly received a notice from home.
Wen Yao was coming to bring him lunch?
What scheme was this woman cooking up now…
“President Fu, would you like me to decline on your behalf?” The executive assistant stood nearby in his crisp suit, inquiring considerately.
Thinking of Wen Yao’s curved, smiling eyes, Fu Jinzhi’s heart softened slightly. “No need. If she wants to come, let her.”
Though she’d most likely come just to irritate him.
If 8848 could hear Fu Jinzhi’s inner thoughts, it would surely exclaim: Good heavens, a prophet!
Seeing the trace of indulgence leaking from Fu Jinzhi’s eyes, the executive assistant maintained his flawless expression while inwardly screaming like a startled groundhog.
Has the CEO’s romantic situation changed? A month ago when he was forced into marriage, he treated his wife like she was invisible.
When it came to being infuriating, Wen Yao never failed to disappoint.
Near lunchtime, Fu Jinzhi had to attend an urgent meeting that came up unexpectedly. By the time he finished and hurried back to his office, this was the scene before him:
Wen Yao’s array of dishes and bowls had taken over his entire desk. She sat unceremoniously in his office chair, chopsticks sweeping through the plates like a violent storm, her face nearly buried in her rice bowl.
As if afraid of leaving him even a single bite.
“Didn’t you say you were coming to bring me a meal?” Fu Jinzhi steadied his breathing without showing it, unwilling to reveal his haste. “Looks to me like you came for a picnic.”
Heaven knows, the moment he thought of Wen Yao waiting for him in his office, he felt an inexplicable urgency—wrapping up the meeting early and rushing back with swift strides.
The considerate executive assistant never missed an opportunity to help his boss score points. “Madam, President Fu ended his meeting half an hour early just to share lunch with you.”
“Mind your own business.” Fu Jinzhi’s divinely blessed handsome face showed no emotion, his deep, luminous peach-blossom eyes casting a brief glance at the assistant.
“My apologies.” The assistant said the words of apology, but inwardly thought: It’s settled. If he were truly upset, he’d just dock my pay directly.
With that thought, he tactfully withdrew from the office.
Hearing the assistant’s words, Wen Yao gaped in astonishment, setting aside her chopsticks—the weapon of her crime.
“Fu Jinzhi, I never took you for this kind of person.”
What kind of person—one who would temporarily set aside work for his wife? It wasn’t as if he were some workaholic. Was that so strange?
He couldn’t say that out loud, or else that woman Wen Yao would be insufferably pleased with herself.
Fu Jinzhi sat relaxed on the sofa, his delicate lips parting and closing, his voice clear and pleasing like stones falling into a deep cavern.
“I was just…” hungry, and ended the meeting early. It had nothing to do with you.
He’d barely opened his mouth when Wen Yao’s indignant words cut him off. “Afraid I’d steal your food, so you ended the meeting early!”
“…” A vein pulsed faintly on Fu Jinzhi’s forehead. He truly wanted to choke Wen Yao to death—all she ever thought about was food! Food! Food!
“Stingy!”
Wen Yao pouted, lifting another insulated lunchbox from beside her, and sneered at Fu Jinzhi with dripping sarcasm:
“But unlike some people, I brought two portions—I’m eating my own.”
“Hmph. Judging others by your own petty standards.”
His fists clenched. His fists really clenched. After being maliciously misjudged and slandered by Wen Yao, any lingering tenderness in Fu Jinzhi’s heart was wiped clean again.
His dark, murky eyes narrowed, leaking a hint of displeasure and danger. “I’m petty? Have I ever skimped you a single meal?”
“Making sure your wife eats well and eats properly is your duty as a husband.”
Wen Yao said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then carried the insulated lunchbox over to Fu Jinzhi’s side and deftly laid out the food for him. “All your favorites. You must be starving after a whole morning of work—come on, eat, eat.”
Fu Jinzhi thought he should probably see a psychiatrist. Just moments ago, Wen Yao had infuriated him so much his heart ached, and now she’d quelled his anger with two casual sentences and clumsy attempts at appeasement.
Maybe she’d cast some kind of spell on him.
After the food was set out, Fu Jinzhi ate a rare, quiet meal. Watching Wen Yao stare at him with burning intensity, he felt the urge to sigh again.
“Go on. What did you come to see me for?”