Volume 1, Chapter 56: This Man Really Knows How to Pamper Her

It wasn't that Lu Miao had exceptionally sharp hearing; the blame lay entirely in the suffocating quietness of the car.

That "Brother Shiyue," followed by the girl's words dripping with anticipation, reached Lu Miao's ears without missing a single syllable.

Fu Shiyue replied, "Alright."

After ending the call, he turned his head and ran straight into Lu Miao's stark, black-and-white eyes.

His expression remained composed. "Coming with me?"

Lu Miao asked lightly, "Who is that?"

"Xu Mubai's younger sister."

"Does she have anything to do with you?"

"No."

"Then who am I?"

"Lu Yan's niece."

"Does she have anything to do with you?"

Without a second thought, he answered, "Yes."

The air fell silent for two seconds. Lu Miao took a deep breath. "What kind of relationship?"

Fu Shiyue took hold of her hand, gently enveloping her small hand within his palm.

He said nothing else, just looked at her softly. "I'll pick you up after school."

……

Since what was understood didn't need to be spoken aloud, Fu Shiyue could tell that the young girl was jealous. That was why he insisted on taking her with him—simply to give her peace of mind.

Lu Miao knew this as well, leaving her with no room for choice.

Yet, she didn't obediently wait for Fu Shiyue to pick her up. Instead, she deliberately turned off her phone, ran home ahead of time, took a bath, put on makeup, and changed her clothes. Once she had finished tidying everything up, she finally turned her phone back on.

True enough, there were two missed calls from Fu Shiyue, and the third was currently ringing.

Lu Miao answered.

"Still angry?" His voice was low, carrying a helpless smile.

"Hmph."

"I'm downstairs at your apartment."

He had come to catch her, but how did he know she was at home?

"I'm eating dinner at home."

"Not eating with me tonight?"

Lu Miao heard him get out of the car and close the door; he was probably coming upstairs. She said, "Not eating with you."

"What are you eating?"

"Instant noodles." In truth, Lu Miao had just finished her makeup and was sitting on the sofa filing her nails. There wasn't even a shadow of instant noodles in her house, but she was deliberately conveying that even if she ate instant noodles, she didn't want to have dinner with him.

He took a deep breath. "Don't eat instant noodles. Shall I buy you some wontons instead?"

Hearing the man trying his utmost to coax her, Lu Miao pouted. "But I want to eat instant noodles."

"Then wait a moment."

He hung up the phone. Wondering what he was up to, Lu Miao felt a flicker of curiosity.

A short while later, the door to her apartment opened, and he walked in carrying a bag of fresh ingredients.

Lu Miao watched with her own eyes as he washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and started cooking.

He transformed an ordinary bowl of instant noodles into something far too extravagant for her usual tastes.

***

Shocked, Lu Miao took out her phone, captured the scene, and sent it to their three-person besties' group chat. Replies from her two best friends arrived almost instantly.

*Qing Qing Zi Jin:* "If you flex like this again, I'm going to pick up a brick and smash your head open."

*Her Highness Ge Ge Arrives:* "Miao Miao, try to keep a low profile, or you're going to be beaten to death with sticks."

Just as Lu Miao was about to reply that she was merely sharing the discovery of this man's newly unlocked skill,

The steady, reserved man walked over, wiping his hands.

Lu Miao hurriedly put away her phone, gave a light cough, and offered appropriate praise. "Being groomed as the heir of the Fu family really makes a difference. While others are skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, you're skilled in doing laundry and cooking."

"……"

Fu Shiyue sat down to eat with her just as Lu Yan happened to return home.

"What's cooking? It smells so good!" Lu Yan followed the scent right in.

He exclaimed in wonder, "Shiyue, did you make this? Were both of you waiting for me to come home for dinner?"

The expressions on both of their faces clearly spelled out their lack of welcome for him.

Pretending not to notice, Lu Yan said to himself, "Too bad I have a business dinner tonight. But before I head out, I can keep you company for a few bites, just to line my stomach."

With a high degree of self-invitation, he pulled out a side chair and sat down. "Alright, stop looking at me like that. Let's eat."

Lu Miao wanted to call him shameless, but the words reached the tip of her tongue. Remembering that he was the supplier of her allowance, she swallowed them back down.

Fortunately, Fu Shiyue had made a generous portion; otherwise, Lu Yan could have finished the entire pot himself.

"Shiyue, your culinary skills are still as good as ever. With you around, I can rest easy leaving Miao Miao at home."

Lu Yan praised Fu Shiyue to the skies, his sole purpose being to ensure that whenever he was away, Fu Shiyue would take good care of Lu Miao to the best of his ability. This way, every time he left, he could do so burden-free and with diminished guilt.

How could Fu Shiyue not see through his intentions? Ignoring Lu Yan's remarks, he picked up a poached egg, placed it in Lu Miao's bowl, and said softly, "Don't just eat the noodles."

Obediently, Lu Miao picked it up and took a bite.

Such a degree of tacit understanding made Lu Yan feel a twinge of inexplicable jealousy.

Lu Miao had never once listened to him.

The more he urged her to eat something, the more stubbornly she refused, not even touching it.

If he served food onto her plate, on a good day she might perfunctorily shovel down a couple of mouthfuls, but by the time she finished her meal, that same food would still be sitting untouched in her bowl.

On a bad day, she would pick it straight out of her bowl and toss it onto the table.

Not giving him an ounce of face, Lu Yan could do nothing with her and no longer dared to provoke her.

Lu Yan gave a dry laugh. "You two get along quite well. I actually thought you'd be fighting tooth and nail."

Both of them tacitly ignored his remark.

"Shiyue, you really are something. What kind of trick did you use to tame this unruly kid of mine?"

Fu Shiyue glanced at him indifferently. "Sincerity."

Lu Yan choked, knowing his friend was subtly pointing out that he hadn't been sincere in his care for Lu Miao.

"Miao Miao, from now on, you stick with your Uncle Fu. He knows how to take care of people better than your uncle."

"You actually possess some self-awareness." Lu Miao gave him a deadpan, blank stare.

Lu Yan coughed awkwardly. Knowing he was in the wrong due to his past neglect of Lu Miao, he hadn't the face to say much more.

"Since everyone can get along peacefully, let's have a toast." He picked up his water glass, hoping to ease the atmosphere.

Once again, the two of them tacitly ignored him, leaving his words hanging in the air.

Lu Yan hurriedly took a couple of sips of water to mask his embarrassment.

The entire meal felt to Lu Yan as though he were covered in thorns, being slowly carved to pieces by his niece and his good brother.

Lu Miao looked at the silent man opposite her, knowing he was helping her take jabs at her uncle. It hadn't been like this before; at the very beginning, he had even been on the same front as her uncle.

***

She lifted her small foot, hooked her toes around the fabric of his suit trousers, and gave a gentle tug.

The man, who had been dining in silence, paused his movements and raised his head to look at her.

Resting her chin in her hand, she gazed at him suggestively.

Beneath the dining table, her toes were far from idle. They slipped inside his trouser leg and began rubbing against his calf.

Fu Shiyue's throat tightened as he stared at her in astonishment.

She was getting this bold?

Noticing the surprise in his eyes, Lu Miao grew even more provocative, sliding her foot upward to rub against his thigh.

At the rectangular table, the three of them sat on separate sides, and since Lu Yan was seated at the edge, he naturally couldn't see the flirtatious scene unfolding beneath the table.

Fu Shiyue was stiffened all over by the young girl's teasing. Yet she stubbornly pointed at her water glass, signaling him to pour her water.

His fingers trembling, he accidentally knocked the water glass over.

Lu Yan was startled. "Shiyue, something's very off with you today. You look awfully nervous..." He had never seen him act so clumsy before.

"Why are there so many words while eating?" His voice was raspy.

With a cold glance at Lu Yan, he instantly rendered him mute.

Fu Shiyue was generally a reserved man who didn't throw tantrums lightly, but when he turned stern, even Lu Yan was afraid of him.

Refusing to let her act up any further, Fu Shiyue brought his knees together, trapping her foot between them. With his right hand, he methodically used a napkin to wipe up the spilled water on the table, while his left hand reached beneath the table, his fingertips lightly scratching the center of her sole.

The ticklish sensation made Lu Miao wriggle restlessly in her chair.

Observing her squirming as though a nail had been stuck into her seat, Lu Yan asked, "What's wrong, Miao Miao? Do you have lice on you?"

Trying her hardest to hold back, Lu Miao couldn't speak, terrified she would burst out laughing the moment she opened her mouth.

She glared fiercely at Lu Yan.

Lu Yan rubbed his nose. What was wrong with these two tonight?

Once dinner was over, Lu Yan was the first to stand up, wipe his mouth, and gracefully retreat to his room.

Before closing the door, he politely instructed them to leave the dishes on the table, as he would have someone come over to clean up later.

Fu Shiyue silently began clearing the bowls and chopsticks, and Lu Miao followed him around like a little tail.

"My uncle doesn't know how to do any of this. Even these trivial matters have to be outsourced to someone else—that's one of the many reasons I hate him. You're much better than him."

She followed him into the kitchen. The moment those words finished trailing off, she was spun around by the man and pinned against the kitchen counter.

"Lu Miao, the roles he and I play are different. Don't confuse them."

She had compared him to Lu Yan, and he needed to remind her that although they both fulfilled the obligation of looking after her, he and Lu Yan were not the same. The role he played was neither that of an uncle nor a guardian, but a man who doted on her. She might call him "uncle" or "brother" with her lips, but she needed to set his position straight in her heart.

A flush of heat bloomed across Lu Miao's face as she blinked. "...I know."

Fu Shiyue picked her up and sat her on the counter.

Leaning down, he braced his arms on either side of the countertop, trapping her within his embrace, and met her eyes at eye level.

"Do you really know?"

The young girl nodded solemnly.

His eyes were filled with deep affection.

Tugging at his shirt collar, she questioned, "You used to be in cahoots with my uncle, strictly and impartially keeping me in line according to his instructions. Why are you standing on my side now?"

"Because through spending time together, I gradually realized,"—as his warm, damp breath closed in, stopping just a fraction of an inch from her lips—"a girl like you needs to be loved."