I Want a Lifetime with You novel Chapter 56

Su Shaoqing stayed for dinner. He kept praising Shi Nuan’s cooking, embarrassing her in the process. She went to do the dishes after dinner, while the men went to the study to talk about business. Arnold sat in the corner, looking at the kitchen pitifully, gazing into Shi Nuan, hoping his temporary master would spare him a glance.

Fu Chengyan went upstairs and handed Su Shaoqing a cigarette. “Talk.”

Su Shaoqing raised his eyebrow, then he chuckled. “You know me best.”

Fu Chengyan looked away and tapped on the chair. “I don’t want to even know you.” He then continued, “What happened to the Su family again?”

“Thanks to my cousin.”

“Jiang Shengfan?” Fu Chengyan smiled. “What did he do this time?”

“Don’t talk about that name. Our family does not acknowledge that name.” Su Shaoqing sneered. His cousin was an infamous individual whom he could blabber on about for a long time. “He could have stayed in Rong City, but no, he had to come to Jiang City. And for what?”

Su Shaoqing was talking about the eldest young master of the family—Jiang Shengfan, or also Su Bancheng. The Su family had always referred to him as Su Bancheng in Jiang City, for they had never acknowledged the Jiang family.

Fu Chengyan lit up the cigarette. “You don’t really care about the Su family’s business, so why do you care about him?” He knew a bit about Jiang Shengfan. Two years ago, Fu Chengyan met him during his trip to Rong City. He was a capable person, but quite arrogant.

Su Shaoqing frowned, frustrated that Fu Chengyan seemed not to care about this matter. “You know I’m not interested in taking over the Su family’s business, and the family doesn’t care about me anymore, but he just keeps trying to control me. He’s mad!”

Su Shaoqing ruffled his hair impatiently, while Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrow. “So going to the forum is an excuse. The real reason is because you want to hide.” He chuckled. “This is the first time I’ve seen you being so afraid of someone. He’s the second one to have you in a pinch after her.”

Su Shaoqing looked at him angrily. “I thought we’re friends. It’s an emergency here, so don’t talk about that to me. Don’t forget that you played a part in her departure back then.” Su Shaoqing pursed his lips. He would be upset every time that woman was mentioned. It was uncomfortable, and he disliked it.

Fu Chengyan looked at him sharply, then he said, “Oh yeah, I would have forgotten that she’s a part of my family if you hadn’t mentioned it,” his voice was even colder as he continued, “I wasn’t helping you back then. You were not a suitable match for her.”

Su Shaoqing’s fingers trembled, sadness welling up within him. “Who is a suitable match then?”

“Not you.” Fu Chengyan put out his cigarette. “You promised me you’d let her go. You owe her this much.”

Su Shaoqing said nothing, then he smoked, choking himself. Tears almost flowed out. His perpetually bleached hands looked unusually pale, and they trembled. “She might still be blaming you until now. You’re her brother, and yet you helped me.”

“This has nothing to do with you.” Fu Chengyan looked away. “I didn’t teach you a lesson not because you weren’t a d*ckhead. You were. She wasn’t suitable for you, but she also wasn’t a good descendant of my family.”

Su Shaoqing closed his eyes. “Alright, let’s not talk about this. I’ll be leaving two days later, so I’ll count on you to take care of Arnold.” Su Shaoqing stood up, then he stopped for a moment. “If my cousin were to disturb you or anything, please don’t kill him.”

Fu Chengyan nodded, then he glanced at his friend. “You look out yourself.”

Su Shaoqing forced a smile. “You too. I heard you’re planning to attack Fu Renjiang not long after. He might not be particularly strong, but you should look out for him, since he is also a decent contender too.” Su Shaoqing took the suit from the chair. When he came to the door, the man saw Shi Nuan holding two bowls of lime juice. “Oh, you made these for us, Nuan?”

Shi Nuan nodded. “Have a taste.”

Su Shaoqing smiled. “Thank you, but I have to decline. I need to settle a few things, so I’ll be going to the hospital now. Why don’t you have it with Chengyan?”

“Alright then, see you around.” Shi Nuan smiled at him politely. She saw him off, oblivious to Fu Chengyan’s serious expression behind her. When she turned around, the woman saw him holding a bowl of lime juice. “Have a taste. I made this earlier, but I just remembered I put them in the fridge. It should still be okay.”

Fu Chengyan squinted. Shi Nuan being so nice to him made him decide not to mention what happened earlier. He took a sip and creased his brows.

Shi Nuan relaxed when she saw what he did. “How is it?”

“Delicious,” Fu Chengyan gave his honest opinion. “It’s sweet and sour, but not too sweet, and the temperature is just right.”

“Great to hear that. Have some more if you like it.” Shi Nuan smiled. “I heard you guys talking about something. Did you guys run into some problems?”

Shi Nuan took the bowl when Fu Chengyan had finished the juice. The man paused. “It’s nothing really. Just some trivial matters in the company.”

Shi Nuan nodded. “Alright then, have fun working.”

Fu Chengyan grabbed her hand, and she looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you in the project department in Fucheng?”

Shi Nuan nodded. “Yes, I am,” she then paused, “What’s the matter?”

Fu Chengyan shook his head. “Ever thought of leaving that place?”

Shi Nuan was taken aback. To be honest, she had never thought of that question. Now that Fu Chengyan had mentioned it, she gave it a serious thought. “Why though?” She smiled. “I’m not someone who would give up easily, but I won’t go ahead if I know that I can’t get anywhere. It’s not my style to leave the company because of Fu Xicheng alone.” She looked at Fu Chengyan. “But after what happened today, I think I should think about it.”

Fu Chengyan nodded. “Fucheng can’t grow anymore. Fu Yuqing doesn’t have any plans to expand. He hasn’t thought of using the resources Shengyuan provided to grow the company, but instead all he thought was trying to get all the money he could from Shengyuan. A company like this is destined to stay small.”

Shi Nuan pursed her lips. “I don’t really know how bosses like you see things, but Fucheng is problematic, and it’s been a big problem for a long time.”

“Why did you enter it in the first place then?”

Shi Nuan was surprised, then she blushed. “Will you look down on me if I say it was for personal reasons?”

“I won’t.” Fu Chengyan smiled genuinely. “Everyone will bump into jackasses whom they think are great people once or twice in life.” He then continued, “All that matters is that you have an eye for great men now.”

Shi Nuan bit her lip. She felt that talking to Fu Chengyan required a broad mind, for he would change the topic all of a sudden and make it look like he was flirting. “I knew I can’t get into Huancheng since I was a kid. Even though I didn’t know why I thought that, I don’t really care about it.” She gave it a thought. “Sometimes I would think if this is really important. My sister doesn’t get along well with me, and thanks to these reasons, Fu Xicheng chose her.”

“It is important.” Fu Chengyan tapped his finger. “It’s not like you don’t care; you do. But you just think the value of this matter only stretched to an extent. Compared to family, it’s not important.”

Shi Nuan looked up at him in shock. “How did you know?”

Fu Chengyan smiled. “You’re a simple woman. I think you should fight for yourself given the circumstance.” He then went up and held her hand. “Sometimes, backing off isn’t the best way to do something. Peace isn’t the option sometimes. It can’t solve all the matters.”

“But what will I get through fighting?” Shi Nuan shook her head. “I don’t want this. I don’t want to worsen things.”

“Do you think it’s not bad enough as of now?” He asked. “Haven’t you thought that the more you back off, the more they will take advantage of you?”

Shi Nuan kept quiet, for she knew Fu Chengyan was stating the truth. When they were kids, Shi Wei would snatch her toys and alter her report card, but those were minor matters. Her parents would side with Shi Wei, so she thought those were not big deals either. But after that, Shi Wei would snatch all the things she loved, and then it culminated with Fu Xicheng being snatched away. Her boyfriend became Shi Wei’s fiancé, but still her parents sided with her.

Because of Shi Wei and for Huancheng’s capital, her own parents sent her away to someone else as a plaything.

“Nuan, compromising would only make them grow bolder. They will eventually push you back to a cliff.” Fu Chengyan held her shoulder and made her look up. “I am not asking you to fight to the death, but at least live with dignity, okay?”

Shi Nuan smiled, then she sighed. “I understand.” Even though what he said was cruel, she had to admit that that was the reality. “Don’t worry. I won’t do the same thing anymore.” Now that she had seen through them, the woman wouldn’t allow them to do whatever they wanted with her. However, she needed time to think and plan things out.

“Good to hear that.” Fu Chengyan looked away, his gaze dark. Even though he knew this was heavy for her, the man chose to break it to her anyway. “Fucheng might get into trouble soon, so look out.”

Shi Nuan looked up in shock, but she knew what he was trying to say through a single glance. He wasn’t her after all, and Fu Yuqing had nothing to do with the Fu family, so he didn’t have to think that much.

She nodded. “Do what you have to. I’m just an employee, so you don’t have to care about how I feel.” She then paused. “Do you want to have more?”

He smiled. “Sure.”