TEMBHIHAWMWAWT CH 01

Chapter 1 — Lu Xi Goes on a Blind Date with Fu Nanzhou

“Sis, brother-in-law, why—why did you come back at this time?!”

Lu Xi came out wearing her pajamas. When she saw her brother-in-law, she was startled, and her little face instantly flushed. Her right hand immediately grabbed her left arm, and she slightly hunched her shoulders.

Although her pajamas had built-in padding, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

Her brother-in-law had been in charge of an urgent project and had been working overtime for several days. Since he wasn’t home, Lu Xi had relaxed a little. Who would have thought that the one day she didn’t wear anything underneath, he would come back?

Che Nan smiled helplessly. “Your sister said Guoguo had a fever, so I took leave. I couldn’t possibly let your sister take care of Guoguo all by herself, could I?”

Lu Xi hummed softly. “Guoguo has mycoplasma pneumonia and has already been in the hospital for five days. I stay with her during the day, and my sister stays with her at night.”

“You’ve worked hard, Xixi.” Che Nan loosened his tie.

Lu Xi tensed at the sight of this movement and immediately abandoned the thought of getting him some water.

“No, I’m just helping out. My sister is the one who’s more tired. Brother-in-law, I’m going to bed first.” Lu Xi was about to return to her room.

But Che Nan walked over. “Xixi, wait a moment.”

“Brother-in-law?” Lu Xi smiled stiffly.

Che Nan suddenly put his arms around Lu Xi’s waist and lifted her up, as if he were playing around with her.

“Brother-in-law!” Lu Xi sucked in a breath, and her scalp tingled.

Che Nan put her down and sighed with a helpless smile. “I told you that you’ve lost weight. Children need to eat more. If you’re too thin, you won’t grow taller.”

Lu Xi’s mind had already gone blank, and she still felt uncomfortable from what had just happened.

Che Nan touched her little face. “Alright, I have to hurry to the hospital. Your sister must be exhausted handling everything by herself.”

With that, he went into the room, packed a few things, and hurriedly left, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Xi quickly returned to her room and locked the door. Her heart was still pounding.

She messaged her best friend and told her what had just happened.

“Xixi, why do I feel like your brother-in-law is interested in you?” Zhuang Yi asked.

Lu Xi’s eyes widened, then she nodded firmly. “I feel the same way, but my brother-in-law hasn’t actually done anything inappropriate.”

“Damn, he already grabbed you around the waist and picked you up, and you still think he hasn’t done anything inappropriate?! That’s way too intimate. Normally, only couples would do something like that.

“You’re already twenty-two, not some teenage girl. What brother-in-law acts this intimate with his sister-in-law?!

“And honestly, girls mature early. By thirteen or fourteen, they’re already quite sensitive, so adult men need to be careful about boundaries.”

Lu Xi pursed her lips.

Her sister and brother-in-law had been married for twelve years, and Lu Xi had lived with her sister’s family since she was ten.

Her brother-in-law was a very kind person and often teased her. From time to time, he would say, “Xixi, come here and let brother-in-law give you a hug.”

Back then, Lu Xi wasn’t completely oblivious either, and she had even mentioned it to her sister.

But her sister had said that her brother-in-law loved her too much, so because he loved her, he also treated Lu Xi like his own child.

After Lu Xi entered puberty, her brother-in-law stopped letting her sit on his lap. He would occasionally pinch her cheek or pat her head, and sometimes, like tonight, he would lift her by the waist to judge her weight.

Lu Xi always felt that it was a little too much. She had told her sister several times, but her brother-in-law hadn’t actually done anything else.

“Xixi, how about you date someone? There’s a handsome older guy who lives near me. He’s never been in a relationship. Do you want to meet him? Maybe once you have a boyfriend, your brother-in-law will realize that you’ve grown up and change his behavior?”

Lu Xi thought about it. She had never had a boyfriend despite being this old. Maybe it would be good to give it a try.

“Alright, I’ll try.”

Zhuang Yi helped arrange things, and the very next day, she set up a meeting at Starbucks.

Lu Xi dressed up a little. She wore a water-blue dress and tied her hair into a high ponytail. She looked like a clean and innocent college student.

From a distance, Lu Xi saw a man sitting by the window with a fountain pen tucked into his chest pocket. She walked over.

“Hello, are you the person Zhuang Yi introduced me to?” Lu Xi asked.

Fu Nanzhou raised his dark eyes. “You know Zhuang Yi?”

Lu Xi nodded. “I’m Yi Yi’s best friend. My name is Lu Xi. She asked me to come here. May I sit down?”

Fu Nanzhou nodded, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Did Yi Yi know that he was returning to the country for an arranged marriage, so she had deliberately introduced him to one of her classmates?

Lu Xi sat down, placing both hands awkwardly on her lap as she secretly sized up the man in front of her.

He was completely different from what Yi Yi had described. He wasn’t sunny or scholarly. Instead, he looked somewhat intimidating, and he even seemed a little… old.

But this man was really handsome. His looks were almost unbelievably good.

Fu Nanzhou could tell that the young woman across from him was secretly examining him. She bit her lip, seemingly not very satisfied. He couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

He, Fu Nanzhou, had actually been disliked?

That didn’t make sense.

“Lu Xi?” Fu Nanzhou asked indifferently.

Lu Xi immediately came back to her senses and nodded. She inexplicably felt a sense of pressure from him.

“How old are you?”

Lu Xi answered obediently, “Twenty-two.”

“Just graduated from university?”

Lu Xi nodded. “I just passed the interview for the Fu Group.”

Fu Nanzhou’s eyes flickered. “The Fu Group?”

Lu Xi nodded.

Fu Nanzhou lowered his long eyelashes and played with the silver ring on his index finger. He said indifferently, “The Fu Group isn’t easy to get into. Looks like you’re one of the outstanding graduates among your peers.”

After receiving his approval, Lu Xi couldn’t help lifting her little face, a confident light appearing in her eyes. She was obviously a little happy.

Still, she remained modest. “Thank you for the compliment.”

Fu Nanzhou smiled.

His phone vibrated. It was a call from his grandfather.

He frowned and hung up.

The phone rang again, and Fu Nanzhou hung up once more.

Lu Xi noticed and quickly said, “If you have something to take care of, you can go ahead.”

Fu Nanzhou raised his head, his dark gaze falling on Lu Xi’s little face.

It was very clean, and her features were delicate, giving her a pure and spotless beauty.

Moreover, this young woman looked a little like her.

To Fu Nanzhou, marriage was merely a way of dealing with his elders. It made no difference who he married, so the girl in front of him would do as well.

Thinking this, Fu Nanzhou spoke. “Lu Xi, what do you think of me?”

Lu Xi’s heart skipped slightly. She hadn’t expected him to be so direct. Men his age really were different.

Her fair, pretty face flushed slightly, and she nodded. “You’re quite good.”

He was handsome, well-spoken, and very polite, like a gentleman.

She didn’t have the courage to say those things aloud.

Fu Nanzhou nodded. “My family is pressuring me to get married urgently. If you’re willing, we can register our marriage.”

Boom!

Lu Xi stared at the man in shock. “G-get married?! But we just—just met. Isn’t this a little too fast?”

The corners of Fu Nanzhou’s lips lifted slightly. “Dating, marriage, and having children—we’re simply skipping the first step.

“I’m in a hurry. If you’re willing, give me a call.”

After Fu Nanzhou finished speaking, he took out his fountain pen and wrote a string of numbers on a tissue. His handwriting was strong and elegant, clearly that of someone who had practiced calligraphy.

Then he raised his hand to call over the server, paid the bill, and left.

Lu Xi was still a little stunned.

After a while, she carefully folded the tissue and put it away, then rode her electric scooter back to her sister’s house.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Che Nan coming out of the bathroom, wearing only a pair of briefs!

“Ah…”

Lu Xi screamed, quickly covering her eyes and turning around.

Che Nan was also stunned and immediately went back into the bathroom.

But he didn’t close the door completely. While getting dressed, he smiled bitterly. “Sorry, Xixi. I didn’t expect you to come back.”

“Brother-in-law, it was my fault.”

Lu Xi quickly apologized and ran back to her room.

Before long, someone knocked on her bedroom door. Lu Xi’s heartbeat still hadn’t returned to normal, so she cautiously asked, “Brother-in-law, is something wrong?”

Che Nan smiled. “I passed by a milk tea shop today and bought you a jasmine milk tea.”

“Brother-in-law, I don’t want it.”

“Xixi, I already bought it, and I don’t like this stuff either. Only you and your sister like it. Be good, open the door.”

“Brother-in-law, just put it on the table. I’ll drink it later.”

“Xixi, it won’t be cold later, and milk tea isn’t good if it sits around too long. Listen to me, open the door.” Che Nan’s voice sounded as though he were coaxing a child.

Lu Xi had no choice but to brace herself and open the door.

But the moment she pulled the door open, Che Nan suddenly hugged her, his breathing somewhat heavy.

“Xixi, Xixi, brother-in-law really likes you too much.”