SWNOVELS Chapter 47
Fu Chengyan brought Shi Nuan back to his house at Wutong Residence.
Shi Nuan had been here before, so she was familiar with the area. But when his car drove in, Shi Nuan couldn't help but glance around.
She had heard about the soaring property prices in this neighborhood and how someone had spent a fortune to buy the land here. Shi Nuan had wondered who was rich enough to buy almost half of the neighborhood, but it turned out to be Fu Chengyan.
After Fu Chengyan parked his car in the garage, Shi Nuan got out of his car and was astounded by the scene that greeted her. "You have so many cars!" Enough for an auto show!
Fu Chengyan was taken aback by her words. The man merely smiled in amusement. "You have a driving license, right?"
Shi Nuan nodded, "I got it back in college with a friend." She accompanied her friend to get a driving license back then and got one herself since she was already there. However, although she successfully got one, she didn't get to drive that much.
After Shi Nuan graduated, she started working almost immediately. Her family didn't offer to buy her a car and she couldn't afford one herself, so seldom had the chance to drive.
Fu Chengyan pointed at a Ferrari in the corner. "I won that car in a bet with Su Shaoqing last year. I rarely drive it, so you can have it."
Shi Nuan was stunned. She glanced at the red Ferrari before shaking her head. "No need for the trouble. I can just take the cab."
"It's just a car. If you don't drive it, it'll just be sitting the garage and collecting dust anyway." Fu Chengyan wasn't bothered. He took out Shi Nuan's luggage from the trunk as he continued, "Plus, this area is a bit secluded. You have to walk a distance to the nearest bus station to take a cab. It won't be convenient for you to commute to work that way."
Fu Chengyan was right. His house was in a secluded area. That was also the reason he bought all the land here - so no one would come and disturb him.
The man hated noise, so he didn't hire any stay-in maids. He had to do everything himself. "I didn't hire any maids, but someone will come over and clean the house every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We'll have to cook for ourselves."
Shi Nuan helped him with the luggage. She was relieved when she heard his words. "It's fine. I can cook simple dishes. You've tried my cooking earlier." Shi Nuan smiled and touched her head, "I don't like strangers in my house too."
"Your house?" Fu Chengyan smiled in delight at her choice of words. "Good, we've reached a consensus."
"Eh?" Shi Nuan glanced at Fu Chengyan in confusion. "What consensus?"
Fu Chengyan shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's go!"
He helped her enter her fingerprint into the security system of the main door. "It'll be easier for you to come and go. The password is my birthday."
Shi Nuan withdrew her hand and nodded while looking at her finger. "Okay! When is your birthday?" she asked.
Fu Chengyan turned. He narrowed his eyes and settled his gaze on Shi Nuan. The man raised his voice, "Don't you know my birthday?"
Shi Nuan was startled as she stared at his face blankly. Her heart started thumping violently, quivering in fear when he stressed the word "birthday". "How would I know? You never told me," she said on the brink of tears.
Fu Chengyan's gaze darkened dangerously. Shi Nuan licked her lips subconsciously. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Fifth of April!"
"Ah?" Shi Nuan was flabbergasted. "That's my birthday." She did a double-take. "How do you know my birthday? Or do we share the same birthday?"
Her reaction exasperated Fu Chengyan. He flicked her forehead and told her, "Looks like you don't really care about me, huh?"
Shi Nuan was rendered speechless. She really didn't know his birthday. Why would she know a stranger's birthday?
"It's on our marriage certificate, Mrs. Fu. Take note next time!"
Fu Chengyan brought her luggage upstairs and left Shi Nuan standing alone at the entrance. She stared at his back with mixed feelings.
Shi Nuan touched the spot he flicked earlier. It hurt a little. She pursed her lips as an uncomfortable feeling arose in her heart.
Their relationship began suddenly, so she had no time to get used to it. But it was obvious that Fu Chengyan had adapted to it well.
Shi Nuan went upstairs and noticed Fu Chengyan had brought her luggage into the master bedroom. She hurriedly went in. "Actually, you can leave my luggage in the guest room."
Fu Chengyan, who was unpacking the luggage stopped in his tracks abruptly. Shi Nuan looked at him and took a deep breath. "I think we―"
"Shi Nuan." Fu Chengyan put down the item he was holding. "We're married. As your husband, I don't think we should sleep separately."
"B-But we don't know each other that well yet." Shi Nuan couldn't sleep in the same bed as him. "You said you'll give me time."
Fu Chengyan arched his brows. "Yes, I did agree to give you time. But that was for you to get used to our relationship, not to make the gap between us grow bigger."
Fu Chengyan strode over with his long legs. Shi Nuan was terrified and retreated backwards while staring at him in a panic. She didn't know what he wanted to do. "B-But I think we're advancing too quickly. I can't catch up."
"Mm?" Fu Chengyan stood right in front of Shi Nuan as she stumbled and hit the wall behind her. Her hands were propped against the wall as she raised her head to look at the man before her.
Fu Chengyan extended an arm towards the wall as he towered above her. To others, it might seem like she was in his embrace. Shi Nuan was pinned to the wall by Fu Chengyan.
She licked her dry lips subconsciously.
"It's too quick? But I think it's too slow."
"Fu Chengyan, you can't force me!" Shi Nuan was about to cry from his assertiveness. "You can't go back on your word!"
Fu Chengyan's gaze darkened before he finally released her. "Do you think I have to wait till now if I really wanted to hurt you?"
Shi Nuan was dumbfounded, but Fu Chengyan had already turned and continued unpacking her stuff. She swallowed hard before walking towards him. "I know. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. We're a married couple, so I'll treat you as my wife. You should remember that I'm your husband too." Fu Chengyan's lips curved upwards. "If I really wanted to hurt you, I'd have done so when you were drugged twice back then. I won't take advantage of you."
Shi Nuan's heart tightened and she clenched her fists. "I-"
"I'll give you time, but it won't be forever. You can sleep in the master bedroom. I'll sleep in the guest room."
At night, Shi Nuan lay on the bed alone. She tossed and turned but could not fall asleep. The events that happened during the day kept replaying in her mind. Of all the images that flashed through her thoughts continuously, Fu Chengyan's lean figure appeared most frequently.
Shi Nuan was upset and she rolled around the bed for a while before climbing up.
Fu Chengyan was in the room beside hers. She knocked on the door for a long time, but there wasn't any response. How strange, she thought. When Shi Nuan walked past the study, she realized the lights were on. She stopped at the entrance of his study.
The door to the study was ajar. Fu Chengyan was seated on the sofa with a pile of documents in front of him.
Shi Nuan's footsteps might've startled him as he raised his head and met her gaze. Shi Nuan gave him an awkward smile. "Why are you still up?"
Fu Chengyan raised his brows. There was still a file in his hands. "I have some work to do. Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Shi Nuan was embarrassed as she was caught in the act. She lowered her head and stared at her slippers. "You can't sleep?" Fu Chengyan smiled.
Shi Nuan nodded. "Can I come in?"
"Of course!" Fu Chengyan closed the file. "Come on in!"
Shi Nuan walked into his study and realized it was unexpectedly huge. There were a few shelves full of books. Some were economics books, and some were about literature. "Your study is almost a library. My grandpa loves books too!"
"Yes." Fu Chengyan stood up. "Were you looking for me?"
Shi Nuan nodded awkwardly. She selected a book from the shelf and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I was wandering around. The door to the guest room was closed, and you didn't answer to my knocks. Turns out you're in the study."
"Yes, there was a minor delay today. Some of the files are needed tomorrow so I'll need to go through them before then. Why are you here, anyway?"
"I..." Shi Nuan bit her lips and trailed off. She shot him a sheepish look. "Can you not tell my grandpa about us getting married for now?" "Mm?" Fu Chengyan raised his brows and asked, "Why?"
"You know how my grandpa is. I had just ended a relationship. Although he wanted to bring us together, I told him it was impossible for us to get together!" Shi Nuan blushed. "Even if I agreed to date you, I didn't expect to get married this soon. Grandpa must think that way too." Shi Nuan was thoughtful as she was worried Jiang Shizheng would be concerned about her. "If he finds out that we got married, he'll demand the reason for our marriage!"
"What else? Is there another reason for two people to get married?"
"The problem is, I told him firmly that we won't end up together, but here we are - a married couple. He's no fool, so he'll definitely get suspicious. We obviously aren't in love and I don't want him to get worried." Shi Nuan gazed at Fu Chengyan hopefully. "You don't want him to worry too, right?"
Fu Chengyan shook his head and burst out laughing, "So I'm not wanted right now?"
"No, that isn't it." Shi Nuan hurriedly explained. "There's the marriage certificate that binds us together for life anyway. You said you'll give me time to get used to it, right? Let's tell our elders when we can truly accept each other. I hope our relationship can be accepted by both sides. Our marriage... Although we don't love each other for now, getting a divorce never crossed my mind. I hope we can be together forever, so-"
"Okay!"
"Eh?" Shi Nuan was bewildered by his swift reply. "What did you say?"
Fu Chengyan couldn't but smile at her reaction. "You're so thoughtful, so I can't say no!"