The air was filled with the salty smell of the sea. Fu Lian pulled Wen Baozhu into his arms to prevent her from catching a cold in the wind.
The sea was dark, and the night was even darker. In the dim light, the stars seemed all the more brilliant.
Wen Baozhu leaned on Fu Lian's shoulder. "When will the fireworks show start?"
"Probably in about two hours."
Wen Baozhu said, "I've heard it's really beautiful and spectacular. Is that true?"
"I've never really appreciated it before," Fu Lian replied in a nonchalant tone, yet there was an unspoken indulgence in it.
Without Wen Baozhu, he would never have had the leisure to watch a fleeting fireworks show.
People would do a lot of stupid things for the so - called romance.
Whether it was setting off fireworks or giving flowers, they were just trying to elicit the touched tears of the other person.
However, once the hormones faded, life would return to its original state.
Fu Lian scoffed at such behaviors, but he was willing to spend a bit of patience to accompany her in doing such a "stupid" thing.
Wen Baozhu could of course tell. She couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips, but within two seconds, they drooped again.
Fortunately, the light was dim, and Fu Lian's usually sharp eyes failed him for a moment. He didn't notice her disappointment.
Even until now, she still didn't understand why Fu Lian had brought her onto the boat so openly.
A look of desolation flashed across her eyes, but she was sensible enough to know that there were some questions she shouldn't ask.
She turned her head and said in a deliberately light - hearted tone, "Thank you, Mr. Fu, for accompanying me to enjoy the breeze. Let's go back now."
Just as Fu Lian was about to speak, his phone in his suit pocket vibrated.
He answered the call. It was A Yan on the other end. "Mr. Fu, I've returned from Fucheng."
"Everything went smoothly?" Fu Lian asked.
A Yan hesitated for a moment on the other end. "… Mr. Fu, is Miss Wen beside you?"
Fu Lian looked down at Wen Baozhu.
Wen Baozhu didn't know who Fu Lian was talking to, but from that fleeting glance, she instantly understood that she shouldn't listen to the following conversation.
She needed to avoid suspicion.
So, she gently wriggled out of his embrace.
She mouthed, "I'm going to the restroom."
Fu Lian nodded in agreement.
After watching her walk away, Fu Lian spoke into the receiver again. "Go ahead. What unexpected thing happened?"
Sure enough, having been with his boss for so many years, A Yan knew that his boss could detect something amiss right away.
A Yan paused for a while, then carefully reported Wen Baozhu's grandmother's situation.
Fu Lian's eyes turned cold.
A Yan said, "… So, for Miss Wen's emotional stability, it's better that you don't let her return to Fucheng recently."
Remembering that he had just promised Wen Baozhu before the New Year, Fu Lian's expression gradually turned cold.
It took him a long time to reply slowly, "Okay, I see."
…
The super - yacht was so huge that Wen Baozhu got completely lost.
She was also worried about running into that "loving" couple again and getting embarrassed, so she walked extremely cautiously.
Finally, after asking around and exploring, she found the restroom in the cabin.
Just as she closed the door, two other socialites walked in hand in hand and stood in front of the mirror by the sink to touch up their makeup.
One of them said with a smile, "Did you see that Wen Baozhu tonight? The necklace around her neck is no ordinary item."
"You know about it?"
"Of course. It was a courtship gift personally designed by Sforza for his beloved wife. It's a high - end luxury item from 1980. I saw it once when I accompanied my husband to an exhibition."
Sforza was a famous Italian romantic - style design master. His designs were already hard to come by in that era. Nobles and socialites flocked to him, offering countless gold and treasures just to get a piece of jewelry.
Among them, the most famous one was this necklace. Since Sforza's wife passed away, it had never entered the market again.
It always appeared as an exhibit, and there were only a handful of exhibition halls that could borrow it.
Such a collectible item would require a great deal of money and connections to take it out from behind the bullet - proof glass and put it around another woman's neck.
The socialite covered her lips secretly. "Do you know the French name of this necklace?"
The other one shook her head. "What is it?"
"You know nothing! It's called 'The Bride'!"
The socialite who knew everything looked smug. "I think Mr. Fu doesn't intend to hide it anymore. He's deliberately showing her off."
"Really?" The other one was surprised. "Does Mr. Fu really have feelings for that country bumpkin?"
Everyone in Hong Kong knew that Wen Baozhu was a country bumpkin, and they addressed her so casually.
"I don't think so," the socialite said with a half - smile. "Maybe he's just deliberately showing off to Mrs. Li and Fu Nian."
She imitated a man's tone. "Both the Fu family and the women should belong to me."
Over the years, the Fu family seemed harmonious on the surface, but in fact, there had been undercurrents.
When Old Man Fu passed away, right after the memorial service, it wasn't Fu Lian who first entered the scene, but Fu Nian. People in the circle knew about it to some extent.
It was said later that Fu Nian wasn't very interested in running the company and voluntarily stepped back to let Fu Lian take over.
Although the inside story was unknown, the competitive relationship between the two brothers couldn't be hidden.
In the past two years, since Fu Lian had been in charge of the Fu family, these speculations had gradually died down.
But it didn't mean that people had forgotten.
The other person finally realized and couldn't help saying, "It's okay for the two brothers to fight for the family fortune, but why do they even fight over a country bumpkin?"
"Who knows? Maybe the country bumpkin really has some 'special skills' that can make the two brothers fall at her feet. But seriously, isn't she just a plaything?"
"How disgusting... Having sex with twins one after another. Can she even tell who is the elder brother and who is the younger brother?"
"What's so strange about that? Maybe they're even more promiscuous. Have you heard of the 'Two Kings and One Queen'?"
"Ugh, stop talking. I'm already a bit seasick. I might vomit all my lunch."
Wen Baozhu listened to the giggling outside. Her palms had already turned cold.
The topic was getting more and more explicit. "Wen Baozhu is hooking up with two men. Whose sperm is in the child in her belly?"
"It's hard to say. The two Mr. Fus take turns. Maybe it's a case of two sperms and one egg? A medical miracle!"
Both of them burst into laughter.
Wen Baozhu shivered and accidentally triggered the automatic flushing system. The two socialites were startled and turned around abruptly.
"Who's in there!" One of them shouted loudly, staring intently at the door from which the sound had come.
Wen Baozhu pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and pushed the door open.
Unexpectedly, it was the very person they had been talking about. The two socialites exchanged a look, and embarrassment showed on their faces.
Who would have thought that the person they were gossiping about would overhear them clearly?
They thought Wen Baozhu would explode, but instead, she just quietly walked to the sink, washed her hands, and then turned to leave.
"She should have heard everything..."
"What's with that expression on your face? So what if she heard? She's just a country bumpkin. She can't do anything to us."
"Of course I'm not afraid, but what if she complains to Mr. Fu? Who knows if Mr. Fu will be soft - hearted..."