Wen Baozhu never expected that Fu Lian would come back so early.
The expression on her face froze. After hesitating for a moment, she walked towards him. Her hand that wasn't holding the water cup was a bit cramped. "Mr. Fu."
"You came back so early. Didn't you have dinner at the old mansion?"
Wen Baozhu pursed her lips. After hearing so much information today, she had no appetite for food. "I'm not very hungry, so I came back directly."
Fu Lian raised his eyebrows. "Are you not hungry, or did she not invite you to stay for dinner?"
This "she" referred to Li Wenshu.
Wen Baozhu forced a smile. "Madam isn't feeling well. I didn't want to disturb her too much."
She put the water cup on the dining table and added another excuse for herself. "...Actually, I didn't really want to have dinner at the old mansion either. The atmosphere there is so depressing. It would give me indigestion."
His cold and stern expression instantly melted like ice and snow because of her words.
Wen Baozhu noticed the smile in his eyes and suddenly felt even more at a loss. "...I'll go and pour you a glass of water, Mr. Fu."
She turned around and went to the kitchen. Then she took another glass.
Wen Baozhu poured a glass of hot water for Fu Lian. The temperature was just right, not too hot to burn his mouth when he drank it.
Seeing her standing there with the water cup in her hand, Fu Lian let out a laugh and waved at her. "Come here and sit across from me."
Wen Baozhu walked over and sat on the chair beside Fu Lian. She unconsciously folded her arms, and her fingers rubbed against her elbows repeatedly.
She was in a very nervous and defensive state.
"Mr. Fu, have you had lunch?"
Fu Lian looked at her. Her guilty and nervous appearance couldn't be hidden at all. It was all exposed right in front of his eyes.
He picked up the water cup and took a sip. Then he said slowly, "No. I wrapped up a project ahead of schedule and rushed back right away."
In the business world, Fu Lian was always elegant and calm. He rarely showed an impatient side.
"Do you have something urgent to do this afternoon, Mr. Fu?"
Fu Lian raised his eyebrows. His eyes were half - smiling. "What urgent thing could it be? I was just worried that you'd be bullied by Li Wenshu and waiting for you to call me for help at any time."
Wen Baozhu felt a bit embarrassed. She bit her lip. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Fu."
Fu Lian's tone was gentle. "So, did our Baozhu get bullied when she was alone with her for so long this morning? You can come and complain to me now."
Wen Baozhu looked up. Her eyes passed over his hand that was holding the water cup, and she easily saw the ring on his middle finger.
It was his engagement ring with Fang Yuan. He had put it on the night of the engagement banquet.
She arrived late and didn't see the ring - exchanging ceremony.
But it didn't stop her from noticing the presence of this foreign object right away. Because when he hugged her, the diamond - inlaid metal always felt cold and would press against her skin.
Even if she wasn't the Princess and the Pea, she would still find it sharp and piercing.
Wen Baozhu lowered her head. Her voice was very soft. "No. Mrs. Li just showed me the location of the cemetery, saying that she wanted to get more familiar with the place where she would be buried in the future."
Fu Lian's eyes turned a bit colder.
"It seems that she also knows that her days are numbered. Didn't she tell you that there's no place for me in the Fu family's cemetery?"
Wen Baozhu suddenly looked up.
She met the man's sharp and cold eyes, and her heart suddenly became flustered.
It wasn't because of the concealment that she felt flustered.
It was because she had learned too much about Fu Lian's tragic side, and she couldn't hold back the pity that was about to overflow from her eyes.
But who was Mr. Fu?
How could he tolerate someone pitying him and feeling sorry for him?
She was afraid that he would find out, so she was flustered.
But all these acts of concealment had another meaning in Fu Lian's eyes.
His little bird was really trying to peck at his heart.
It was a pity that her acting skills weren't good enough. Her true desires couldn't be hidden at all.
Fu Lian suddenly lost all interest in Wen Baozhu.
He could tolerate a woman being stupid, shortsighted, or even materialistic, but he couldn't accept betrayal and deception.
Especially this woman... this damned woman, who always looked at him with a pair of innocent, clear eyes that would sometimes show vulnerability and helplessness!
He had underestimated Wen Baozhu and really thought she was that innocent.
Fu Lian sneered.
Wen Baozhu still hadn't noticed anything yet. She just felt uneasy because of the long silence.
Maybe Fu Lian didn't want to talk about this topic.
It was too heavy and too private.
If Fu Lian knew that she had been forced to listen to so many of his humiliating pasts, would he feel a bit sad for a moment?
Wen Baozhu decided to end the topic.
"Are you hungry, Mr. Fu? I'll go and cook you a bowl of noodles."
Fu Lian looked at her.
Her expression was very cramped. She kept pursing her lips, and her hands didn't know where to put. It was as if she was trying every means to please him but couldn't find a shortcut.
Normally, he liked to see her like this the most.
Whether it was real or fake, he would accept it all and was willing to pay for this emotional value.
But now, after seeing through her true nature, this kind of interest was completely gone.
Not hearing his negative response, Wen Baozhu took it as his silent consent and got up to go to the kitchen to cook noodles.
Since Aunt Jiang was driven away, although she had to do everything by herself, Wen Baozhu really enjoyed this kind of life.
Especially buying groceries and cooking.
Since she was sensible, she had learned to cook for her grandma. At first, she was clumsy. She either added too much salt or the fire was too strong.
But her grandma always smiled and ate everything up. Then she would rub Wen Baozhu's head and say that in the future, their Baozhu would be a big kid and could be relied on.
She was very happy because she could also be the one that others could rely on.
Later, she could cook a beautiful and sumptuous meal, but her grandma fell seriously ill. Besides liquid food, she couldn't eat anything else.
This was the thing that Wen Baozhu felt most regretful about.
Rarely having the opportunity today, she originally wanted to show her cooking skills to Fu Lian. But unfortunately, she didn't prepare in advance. There was only a bunch of fresh noodles and the spring vegetable seedlings left from yesterday in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, simple ingredients could also make good - tasting food. Wen Baozhu took the fresh noodles and spring vegetables out of the refrigerator and went to the kitchen to turn on the fire and boil water.
This villa had a semi - open kitchen design. Sitting at the dining table in the living room, Fu Lian could see the whole process of her cooking clearly.
He quietly watched the back of the person who was cooking for him.
Originally, he should have found it warm.
He slowly finished the glass of water. Then he said indifferently, "Baozhu is so good to me. You're not going to poison the noodles, are you?"
Wen Baozhu was holding the chopsticks and stirring the noodles that she had just put into the pot to prevent them from sticking together.
The boiling water in the pot was surging. The gurgling sound of the bubbles drowned out Fu Lian's voice. "Mr. Fu, what did you just say?"
Fu Lian: "...It's okay."
He must be out of his mind.
Even if Wen Baozhu was given a hundred guts, she wouldn't dare to poison his food.
But as for other things, he didn't know.
The more Fu Lian thought about it, the more irritable he became. Just when his patience was almost at its limit, Wen Baozhu had already put the noodles into a bowl.
"Mr. Fu, sorry to keep you waiting."