“Crying Out to be Fed / Waiting to be Fed”
“Hello, Grandfather, I am Jiang Zhi.”
“Ah! Come over, come over, both of you come over.” The old master waved his hand toward the two of them. “What are you doing standing so far away?”
Jiang Zhi instinctively looked toward Fu Yunting; he truly had no experience when it came to meeting a partner’s family.
The man nodded toward him and brought him to the front of the old master’s bed.
This Old Master Fu was completely different from what Jiang Zhi had imagined. Aside from monitoring instruments, the bedside table was filled with books. At this moment, having taken off his reading glasses, his smile was even more heart-warming, not looking at all like someone who had been soaked in the business world for most of his life.
Looking at the two well-behaved children in front of him, the old master held one in each hand, pressing them against the two children’s cheeks as if patting his own milk-babies who were still going to school.
“Have the kitchen serve the dishes,” the old master indicated to the old butler on the side.
Jiang Zhi instinctively looked toward the back; there was actually a kitchen here?
“During the day, Yunting specially called the kitchen to brief them on your tastes. Taste it first later to see if it suits your appetite,” Old Master Fu said.
Jiang Zhi touched his nose. This plot had completely not developed according to his assumptions; the grand villain seemed to be somewhat beyond-imagination considerate.
“Alright, Grandfather.”
Seeming to see that Jiang Zhi was uncomfortable, the old master casually chatted with him for a bit about some matters of the Jiang family.
“Tell your parents not to worry. As long as Yunting is around for one day, nothing will happen to the Jiang family.”
Jiang Zhi nodded. Seeing that his father and brother were finally able to return home on time recently, the heart he had been suspending all along finally lowered a bit.
“Thank you, Grandfather, and thank you… Yunting.” He had always distinguished clearly between love and hate; even though Fu Yunting was currently a dangerous figure, he still had to give thanks where thanks were due.
“What is family thanking for? Don’t have pressure. Although the marriage was facilitated under such circumstances, rest assured—if Yunting bullies you in the future, Grandfather will definitely stand on your side.”
Old Master Fu promised Jiang Zhi just like a grandfather in an ordinary family whose grandson brought a wife home for the first time.
Jiang Zhi shook his head. “He won’t. Grandfather, rest assured.”
Even though he knew these were polite formulas for a first meeting, Jiang Zhi still felt somewhat warmed in his heart. At least up until now, Fu Yunting and his relatives had not given him a hard time because of those unspoken transactions, giving him plenty of respect.
On the contrary, the thing he was currently going to do was very bad.
But in order to change the ending of the two of them being foil counterpart tool characters, he had no choice but to do it.
After a moment, the old butler delivered the dinner. The old master’s food was made according to the hospital’s medical orders, while the rest of the dishes were all to Jiang Zhi’s taste.
The three people had a fairly warm dinner around the mobile dining table by the bedside.
Because Jiang Zhi was coming, the old master had been very excited since the afternoon. But being old and in the midst of illness, after eating just a few bites, he lost his appetite, and fatigue also gradually manifested.
Jiang Zhi was somewhat worried, turning his head to look at Fu Yunting.
The man didn’t say much, asking him in a warm voice, “Have you eaten well?”
Jiang Zhi nodded.
“Grandfather is tired, I will send you back.” Fu Yunting had someone clear away the dining table, wiped the old master’s hands, and then retreated out.
Fu Yunting asked the doctor about the old master’s daytime condition as was his routine, and hearing that there were no accidents, he then sent Jiang Zhi out the door.
At this hour, the assistant had already got off work. Fu Yunting drove him personally, and Jiang Zhi for a certain instant couldn’t move his eyes away.
Especially when this person suddenly drew near, buckling his seatbelt in a couple of swift moves, and then leaving without any dragging of feet.
Jiang Zhi blinked. This kind of routine, which would normally be more than obvious for him to sneer at, was so damn suitable when placed on Fu Yunting’s body today.
“Actually… you don’t need to be like this, I can do it myself.” He used a huge amount of effort to drag back his composure that had flown far away.
Fu Yunting swept a glance at his reddened earlobes, seemingly not feeling at all that he had crossed the line. “It’s what should be done. You’re welcome.”
Jiang Zhi, “???”
…
After the engagement, Jiang Zhi’s life didn’t have too much change. Aside from fixedly needing to see Grandfather once a week, he felt everything was the same as before.
Until… he encountered Gan Shize at a performance venue.
Jiang Zhi’s career ambition was actually not very big; all work was arranged by the company. However, recently there was an additional requirement.
Do not enter the entertainment industry.
But domestic entertainment platforms nowadays were not separated from each other; the probability of encountering artists at various types of work venues was very large, unless it was a professional orchestra performance.
When seeing Gan Shize’s name on the process timetable, Jiang Zhi’s sense of crisis instantly upped to the peak.
Especially… under the circumstances where Fu Yunting was still going to pick him up to eat dinner in the evening.
Gan Shize’s lounge was just next door, and their program sequencing was also tightly connected. Just now, the director had even come in to ask him if he had interest in accepting an interview together with Gan Shize later.
“Sorry, I have something to do after it ends.” Without waiting for the manager to speak, Jiang Zhi opened his mouth first.
The director hadn’t expected him to refuse so quickly, and after freezing for a moment, he smiled and then left. Seeing this situation, the assistant Chang Ran felt it was strange. “Jiang Zhi, what’s wrong with you today? Why are you so restless?”
“…It’s nothing, just a bit tired.” He waved his hand. “Let’s still accept fewer of this kind of brand activities in the future; interpersonal relationships are a bit annoying.”
Chang Ran recalled that just now when Jiang Zhi saw Gan Shize’s name hanging next door in the corridor, his footsteps paused for a good long while before he managed to snap out of it.
“Zhizhi, when you just returned to the country, didn’t you quite like Gan Shize?”
Jiang Zhi’s eyes flickered. Lowering his head, he replied to Fu Yunting with today’s wrap-up time. “Chasing stars, ah—it’s just a three-minute heat. Recently I think Bai Ranxia is also quite handsome.”
Chang Ran was suspicious. “Is that so?”
Jiang Zhi didn’t look at her again. Lowering his head to arrange his clothes, he followed the staff member to go prepare.
Going to the backstage, within his expectations, he saw Gan Shize whom he hadn’t seen for a long time. Gan Shize’s own personality could not be counted as welcoming; their previous two collaborations seemed to have a tacit understanding, but actually there wasn’t any superfluous exchange.
Jiang Zhi gave a simple nod of acknowledgment toward the other party and then went up to the stage. Gan Shize’s eyes moved slightly—in his impression, this little artist was very enthusiastic every time they met.
The manager beside him was also somewhat strange. “What’s the situation? Isn’t this Jiang Zhi your fan? Today… seems a bit cold and detached.”
Gan Shize looked toward the stage through the curtain. Jiang Zhi happened to sit down in front of the piano, his whole body sprinkled with soft white light, looking like a little prince who had walked out from a fairy tale world.
Having been in the circle for a long time, it was actually hard to encounter a person as bright and clean as Jiang Zhi.
Gan Shize turned his eyes away and lifted his steps to leave, crossing paths from afar with Fu Yunting who had just arrived. The gaze of the two was calm, and when their sights met, they nodded in acknowledgment simultaneously, subsequently brushing past each other.
As if they had never known each other.
“Mr. Fu, this piece by Jiang Zhi is relatively long. How about I bring you back to the lounge first?” Chang Ran asked him.
Fu Yunting didn’t look at her, his eyes remaining on that beam of light on the stage all along. “It doesn’t matter, I will wait for him here.”
Chang Ran silently gasped a bit. Between this person and Jiang Zhi… it seemed not simple.
Before returning to the country, she was Jiang Zhi’s assistant, and her understanding regarding his interpersonal relationships was still okay. This Fu Yunting seemed to have popped out of thin air—she hadn’t seen him and hadn’t heard Jiang Zhi mention him either.
They had only met once in the meeting room last time; today was the second meeting, but Chang Ran just felt the relationship between the two was not ordinary.
As soon as Jiang Zhi returned to the country, he signed with Huayan Music. While preparing for the new album, various kinds of public announcements were also continuously being carried out in a tight schedule. The audience for classical music was limited; in order to rapidly raise his domestic popularity, it was very necessary to participate in these occasions.
Fu Yunting looked at the shining Jiang Zhi on the stage. He could see that he genuinely loved music, yet even so, he still stepped into the complex and turbid arena of vanity for that person.
The moment Jiang Zhi entered the backstage, he saw Fu Yunting standing beside Chang Ran. Along with being surprised, he was also somewhat embarrassed.
He had started participating in competitions since he was thirteen years old, and this kind of performance experience was too numerous to count, but being stared at by someone he knew still felt a bit awkward, especially when the other party was Fu Yunting.
“Why didn’t you wait in the lounge?”
Fu Yunting finally revealed the first smile of today. “Wanted to see you at the first possible moment.”
Sheng Yuan behind him silently turned his body around, and Chang Ran’s pair of eyes stared extremely wide.
How… what was the situation?
Jiang Zhi pursed his lips and walked straight past the man; he shouldn’t have said this extra sentence.
The man raised his brows, following neither too far nor too close behind Jiang Zhi toward the direction of the lounge.
When almost arriving at the door, Jiang Zhi’s footsteps paused for an instant, and he suddenly turned his body around, took two quick steps of a small run, and blocked in front of Fu Yunting.
Fu Yunting lowered his eyes to look at Jiang Zhi’s face which was close at hand.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Zhi silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and only after a good long while did he stammer.
“…N-Nothing, just suddenly felt the perfume smell on your body is very good to smell.”
“……” Fu Yunting, “I don’t use perfume.”
Jiang Zhi choked. “I-Is that so? Oh, then it was me who smelled wrong…” After finishing, he turned around and left.
The man cast a glance at the lounge not far away that was hanging Gan Shize’s nameplate, his expression cold and indifferent.
Sheng Yuan, who was waiting at the entrance of the lounge, saw that Jiang Zhi had already gone inside while his own boss was still standing in the original spot, and instinctively cast a glance behind himself as well. Regrettably, the back was empty—there wasn’t a single human shadow.
“…President Fu?”
Fu Yunting snapped out of it. “You get off work. Give me the car keys.”
“Oh, okay.”
…
Aside from looking after Grandfather, Fu Yunting didn’t have more actions, but this didn’t mean Jiang Zhi wouldn’t panic, especially under the circumstances where all three people had run into each other today.
Inside the car, he recalled some details in the book. In the future, this kind of encounter would be very frequent, and Ye Yanxi should also appear very quickly.
Therefore… there was no time to lose, he couldn’t wait any longer.
The marriage was something he was definitely going to break off. As for how to break it, mutual dislike was the best reason.
By the time the car arrived at the hospital, Jiang Zhi already had a calculation in his heart.
The old master was not in the ward today, being brought by the butler to take a stroll in the garden. The two of them encountered them just as they arrived downstairs.
Jiang Zhi noticed Old Master Fu’s posture of walking—the stooped body and the physical stamina that needed rest after walking a section—and his heart for no reason felt a bit stifled.
The thing that made people the most helpless in life was birth, old age, illness, and death. That kind of ending in the book was enough to make him constantly fearful for a lifetime, but what about Fu Yunting? For a person as powerful as him, would he be afraid?
Detecting Jiang Zhi’s gaze, Fu Yunting looked toward him.
This was the second time today; he had no way not to notice Jiang Zhi’s abnormality. Previously, the gaze he used to look at himself was mostly cold and detached, and rarely had this kind of complex emotion.
“Let’s go, Grandfather is coming over.”
“Oh…” Jiang Zhi hurriedly kept up his steps, going past Fu Yunting to help the butler support the old master.
“Grandfather, today Yunting bought the pastries you like to eat.” Last time the old master gave Jiang Zhi a very good impression—he was a benevolent and warm old man—so meeting again he wasn’t nervous at all, but instead had a kind of instinctive feeling of wanting to draw close.
“Is that so?” The old master looked at his own grandson suspiciously.
His physical condition nowadays was getting worse day by day; the meat dishes and sweet pastries he loved to eat hadn’t been seen for a long time. The butler sometimes felt heartache and would still secretly stuff a piece for him, but this big grandson of his own was different—he was quite cruel-hearted, ah.
Not only did he not give it himself, but he also didn’t permit others to give it.
Listening to the old master complaining to Jiang Zhi about someone’s iron face, Jiang Zhi turned his head to cast a glance at Fu Yunting. This person didn’t seem this nitpicky in front of himself, though it quite conformed to the characteristics of a grand villain.
Noticing Jiang Zhi’s gaze, the space between Fu Yunting’s brows twitched.
“Don’t listen to Grandfather adding fuel and vinegar [exaggerating].”
The moment the old master heard these words, he was unhappy. “How did I add fuel and vinegar? You even dare to slander your biological grandfather, you unfilial descendant!”
The man touched his nose, followed into the elevator, and then silently turned around to look at the upward-changing digits, allowing the old and young behind him to carry out a strong emotional critique against him.
Of course, mostly it was the old master speaking and Jiang Zhi smiling, looking as if he had already accepted the relationship of the two being a fiancé couple.
The old master had a check-up the next day and couldn’t eat food in the evening, so Jiang Zhi simply didn’t eat either, accompanying him to chat all along.
Fu Yunting saw that this wouldn’t do. Going outside, he used a large bowl to ladle a bit of each kind of food delivered by the butler, carried it inside, and placed it by Jiang Zhi’s hand. “Eat a couple of bites simply.”
The bottom of the bowl was lined with a layer of rice, on top of which was displayed various kinds of side dishes. The fish meat had already had the fish bones removed, and there were also large shrimp that had just been peeled, two pieces of braised pork, and a small pinch of sweet and sour pork tenderloin—they were all Chinese dishes he loved to eat. If there weren’t the two small oil rapes [bok choy] on the side, then it would be even more perfect.
Jiang Zhi curled his lips slightly, lowering his head to shovel a couple of bites.
However, it provoked the old master’s sourly complaint, “Humph, the boy has grown up, knows how to ache for [take care of] a wife, but just forgot that he still has a grandfather crying out to be fed.”
Jiang Zhi, “……”
Fu Yunting kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, taking his phone and going out. Jiang Zhi gave a smile of embarrassment to Old Master Fu.
“Grandfather, what ‘crying out to be fed’, ah—this term cannot be used like this. Yunting is also not refusing to let you eat; isn’t it because there is a check-up to do tomorrow? Rest assured, these pastries are all brought for you; after finishing the check-up tomorrow, we will eat to our hearts’ content all at once.”
“It’s still from seeing that boy pulling a long face the entire time.” Old Master Fu’s expression eased a bit. “Seeing you guys getting along so well, I am relieved. Zhizhi, ah—Yunting’s conduct as a person is a bit dull/stiff; if there is anything, you tolerate him more.”
Dull? Jiang Zhi blinked his eyes.
“Grandfather, can you tell me a bit about Fu Yunting’s usual preferences? We are a marriage alliance after all; I want to understand more of his matters,” he asked with some guilt in his heart.
Seeing Jiang Zhi proactively open his mouth to ask, Old Master Fu suddenly had spirit, and even excitedly called the butler over to tell him about it together.
While Jiang Zhi listened, he carefully recorded it in his heart.
According to Old Master Fu’s way of speaking, Fu Yunting was just a bit cold and clear in personality, conducted himself very uprightly, and bad habits were almost nonexistent; on the contrary, his requirements for private life were extremely high, loving cleanliness almost to the point of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
His food nature was light, disliking tobacco and alcohol, and disliking noise.
His usual only two hobbies were equestrianism and fitness; aside from work, he basically stayed at home.
Jiang Zhi stroked his chin. The moment he got into the car, he minutely recorded these on file, and going back, he used the computer to minutely carry out an analysis on every single habit.
By the time the sky light outside the window turned wide bright, he finally managed to produce an ultimate plan to break free from the grand villain.
If this plan went smoothly, in less than three months, Fu Yunting would keep him at a respectful distance, let alone mentioning anything about getting married.
Therefore, Jiang Zhi took decisions on his own authority, changing the two people’s tacit understanding of meeting once a week into meeting as many times as he wanted to meet.
…
When Sheng Yuan saw the exquisitely dressed Jiang Zhi at the company downstairs, he almost didn’t recognize him. If the first meeting was a clean and delicate youth, this time he was a manga-breaking boy who could emit light.
“Jiang… Young Master Jiang, you are this…?”
“Is your President Fu in? I’m looking for him.” Jiang Zhi casually swung the car keys in his hand.
Sheng Yuan cast a glance at the time. “He is in, he is in, but today President Fu’s schedule is very full…”
Hearing this, a flash of success slithered across the depths of Jiang Zhi’s eyes.
“No matter, I have nothing to do today, let me go together with you guys then. In passing, I’ll visit the arrogant/grand Fu’s Mansion Corporation Tower.”
Sheng Yuan, “???”