Chapter 98: Chapter 98

Even though I knew long ago that he had a woman, seeing it with my own eyes was still quite shocking.

Fu Feibai took off his sunglasses to examine Shen Jianian’s face. She was much more beautiful than the photos from the exposé. Her face was small and delicate, lips red and teeth white, eyes bright and lively. Standing there with an ethereal grace, yet her brows and eyes subtly carried a touch of worldly charm, just right.

"How rude." Fu Jichen strode over the threshold like an elder teaching a young one manners, his tone stern, "Don’t you know how to greet people?"

Fu Feibai took his hand out of his jacket pocket, scratched his ear to cover his embarrassment, and nodded slightly with a smile at Shen Jianian: "Miss Shen... oh no, sister-in-law, nice to meet you, I’m Fu Feibai, you can just call me Feibai."

"I know you." Shen Jianian smiled lightly, responding calmly.

Shen Jianian nodded, and said truthfully, "I’ve seen your movie ’Blue Fireworks,’ the male lead you portrayed was great, I didn’t expect you to look even better in person than in the movie."

Fu Feibai’s ears turned red, he replied shyly: "In the movie, I played a rough mechanic. The director often asked the makeup artist to smear engine oil on my face, saying it made me look more masculine."

Fu Jichen glanced at Shen Jianian coolly, his fingers unconsciously clenched, squeezing the back of her hand.

Shen Jianian looked back at him, using her gaze to ask if something was wrong.

Fu Jichen walked forward without saying a word, silently annoyed with himself, she praised his brother for looking good, yet he had never heard her praise him...

Leading the way in front, Fu Feibai crossed the front yard to reach a small two-story building at the back.

"The private room is on the second floor." He reminded them, quickly heading upstairs.

Wooden stairs creaked underfoot, he opened the private room door with one hand, and couldn’t help but raise his voice: "Guess who my brother brought with him? You’ll never guess!"

"Give us a hint." Ye Xu said.

Fu Feibai: "A woman."

Chen Jinhui put down his crossed legs, sat up straight looking at the door: "A woman? Who else could it be, your sister? Your cousin? Your cousin? It surely can’t be your aunt."

"All wrong!" Fu Feibai shook his head mysteriously.

Before he could reveal the correct answer, the two trailing behind had already arrived. Fu Jichen reached out and shoved Fu Feibai out of the way: "Standing at the door as a gatekeeper?"

Fu Feibai staggered to the side, revealing Shen Jianian’s face.

The three men in the private room stared wide-eyed, their shock no less than Fu Feibai’s when he first saw Shen Jianian.

Zhou Zhizhen was the first to stand up, his teasing gaze fixed on Fu Jichen’s face: "Is this still the Fu Da I know? Haven’t seen you in months, quite a change."

Fu Jichen released Shen Jianian’s hand, closed the door behind them, and as his hand returned, it lightly rested on Shen Jianian’s lower back, retorting Zhou Zhizhen’s teasing: "Not as much change as you, Young Master Zhou. I heard you got engaged last month? I was busy then and missed your engagement party, hope you don’t mind."

"Tsk, who would dare hold a grudge against you, Fu Da." Zhou Zhizhen dragged a chair over, motioning for him to sit down for a chat.

Fu Jichen didn’t sit, he first pulled out another chair, and once Shen Jianian was seated, only then did he sit beside her, casually leaning against the back of the chair.

This small act was caught by everyone present, and they exchanged glances, secretly astonished.

Fu Da, whether before going abroad or after returning, in Beicheng, it was always others who catered to him and respected him, acting according to his mood. When had anyone seen him lower himself to serve someone else?

They looked at Shen Jianian again, their gazes now carrying more of a curiosity, wanting to see what extraordinary qualities she had to captivate the usually aloof Fu Da so thoroughly.

Ye Xu watched and suddenly exclaimed: "Hey, Fu Da, this girl looks familiar, have I seen her somewhere before?"

Under the table, Chen Jinhui nudged Ye Xu’s leg with his leg, gritting his teeth as he reminded in a low voice: "The one from the news with Mr. Pei."

Ye Xu gasped, it was really her, Shen Jianian, once the defeated daughter of the Shen Family.

Rumor had it that she and the Pei Family’s Mr. Pei were childhood sweethearts, the two of them put on a show online of long-lost lovers reunited, gaining considerable attention. How was she now involved with Fu Da?

The few of them had so many questions but didn’t dare to ask directly, for the moment their expressions were quite varied.

As for Fu Jichen, he calmly poured a cup of tea, looking at Shen Jianian, introduced the people present to her: "They are all my childhood friends, from left to right: Zhou Zhizhen, Chen Jinhui, Ye Xu."

From the moment she stepped into the private room, Shen Jianian had felt their curiosity and scrutiny towards her, not warm and not cold, she greeted politely: "Hello."

The three men spoke almost in unison.

While others might not be given face, Fu Da’s face could not be ignored, whoever he brought, even if a beggar from the side of the road, they had to be treated with proper respect.

"Everyone is here, let’s order." Fu Feibai went outside to call the waiter in.

The waiter handed the menu to Fu Feibai with both hands, who then handed it to Fu Jichen: "Bro, today this meal is to welcome you back, you start."

Fu Jichen opened the menu and moved it slightly to the right, placing it between himself and Shen Jianian, gently asking her, "See if there’s anything you’d like to eat."

The people across silently watched, growing increasingly respectful of Shen Jianian.

Shen Jianian wasn’t shy, she pointed to two light dishes.

Fu Jichen added a single-serving stew bowl of matsutake chicken soup, then ordered a few signature dishes and handed the menu to Zhou Zhizhen on his right.

By the time it went around the table, the six of them had ordered a dozen dishes.

With Fu Feibai present tonight, given his special status, the entire second floor had only their private room in operation, and the dishes arrived especially quickly.

"What’s a proper welcome without good wine?" Chen Jinhui waved to stop the waiter about to leave the room, "Go get the red wine I stored here last time and open it."

Fu Jichen picked up some food with his chopsticks and said, "You guys drink, I drove here."

"Just call a driver, it’s no trouble," Zhou Zhizhen suggested.

Fu Jichen didn’t decline further.

The waiter brought a bottle of red wine, uncorked it, and poured it into a decanter. Among the group, each had an impressive status, so the waiter wisely chose not to linger and quietly exited.

Zhou Zhizhen stood up to pour wine for everyone. When it came to Shen Jianian, a hand reached out to cover her wine glass: "She’s recently caught a cold and shouldn’t drink."

In fact, it was because of a neck injury she was still recovering from, and she needed to avoid alcohol and spicy foods.

Zhou Zhizhen didn’t insist, sat down, and poured himself a glass. He had noticed that Fu Da indeed treasured Miss Shen, but given her status, she probably had no hope of entering the Fu Family’s door.

No matter how deep their feelings might seem now.

The conversation among the men revolved around business ideas and untold secrets within their circle, which Shen Jianian had no interest in, and she didn’t intend to join in, focusing instead on her food.

Occasionally, she’d glance at the man beside her who spoke eloquently, discovering something new.

Fu Jichen’s presence among them was completely different from his usual self, lacking his typical strict and aloof demeanor; instead, he seemed relaxed and at ease.

Probably because Beicheng was his turf, and being here, he felt in his element.

While Fu Jichen was in conversation, a waiter came in, bringing a white porcelain bowl and setting it in front of him.

He paused, then pushed the bowl toward Shen Jianian, softly reminding her, "Careful, it’s hot," before resuming his previous conversation.

Shen Jianian lifted the lid, and the fragrant steam rose up to meet her.

The soup was double-boiled, featuring red dates, goji berries, caterpillar fungus flowers, and matsutake, rich yet not greasy, offering nourishing benefits. A single serving was ordered just for her.

The chicken soup was very hot, so Shen Jianian sipped it gingerly with a spoon, her body warming up quickly, a rosy tint gracing her pale cheeks.

At some point, Fu Jichen’s voice fell silent, and his deep eyes watched her smilingly, his gaze tender, as he joked, "Is the soup that effective? Your complexion immediately turned radiant; I’ll have to ask about the secret recipe later."

Shen Jianian’s expression remained calm, and she responded earnestly, "I’m just warm..."

After dinner, the group chatted for a while longer, and by a little past nine, they were ready to leave.

Zhou Zhizhen and Ye Xu, still full of energy, walked out with arms around each other, planning to continue the night at a bar across the alley.

Chen Jinhui was persuaded and joined them.

"You two, care to hit the bar for another drink?"

He was addressing the Fu brothers, Fu Jichen and Fu Feibai.

To avoid being recognized, Fu Feibai donned a bucket hat, sunglasses, and a mask as soon as he left the door, with the zip of his jacket pulled up to the top, looking entirely like a beekeeper, with no skin exposed.

He pointed to his own nose, his voice muffled and indistinct from under the mask, "Me? If I go to a bar, I’ll be trending on social media by morning."

"True." Zhou Zhizhen laughed and looked at the other person who hadn’t spoken.

Fu Jichen said, "It’s late, time to go home and sleep."

The others didn’t know what to say.

It’s not even ten o’clock, how is it late? It’s not like they haven’t stayed out past midnight before. During their youthful days, they’d even stay up all night.

Zhou Zhizhen glanced at the charming lady beside Fu Jichen, catching on quickly. Time in a spring night is invaluable, who would still think about the bar’s pleasures? He said to the others, "Alright, just the three of us then."

Under the colorful neon lights, Fu Jichen smiled, but didn’t respond.

He pulled out his car key from his pocket, pressed the unlock button from a distance, and unlocked the car.

He had called Qu Mo earlier, who had just gotten out of a taxi and, upon seeing Fu Jichen and several wealthy young men, approached and greeted them, then deftly went to the car and opened the backseat door.

Zhou Zhizhen, holding a cigarette, pointed to a bar across the street, where someone lay on the steps at the entrance. Under a glaring white light above, his face was illuminated.

It was none other than Pei Che, the illustrious only son of the Pei Family.