chapter 48
She moved her lips and, after a long pause, finally managed to say, “No need, you should just keep it for yourself.”
With that, she hung up.
Beep…
Fu Juncheng listened to the busy signal on the phone and, for the first time, a faint warmth flickered across his cold, sharp features.
Hearing footsteps, the man in the private room looked up and saw the elegant figure entering through the floor-to-ceiling window. Whistling lazily, he said,
“Come clean—Master Cheng, which young lady have you been wooing?”
After spending over ten minutes on a single phone call, he hadn’t been treated this way.
Fu Juncheng glanced at him. “Feeling bored lately?”
Sensing a subtle, hidden threat in the question, the man only became more convinced there was some intrigue.
He smiled roguishly. “Looks like I guessed right. Just tell me—which young lady was so unlucky to catch your eye?”
Before he could get an answer, a throw pillow landed squarely in his lap.
Xi Nai, smiling, moved the pillow aside, unfazed by the cold aura of the man opposite, and pushed the limits, teasing, “Come on, just tell me. I promise I won’t say a word.”
Trust him on that—his mouth was like a sieve.
Fu Juncheng shot him a cold glance and, voice low and chilly, said, “If you’re that bored, why don’t you help me monitor the new project in M country?”
“Fine, I was wrong,” Xi Nai immediately caved, forcing a smile. “Master Cheng, you’re magnanimous; don’t stoop to petty things with me.”
Gu Zhao pushed the door open and happened to catch that exchange. Teasing, he said, “Ah Nai, did you get Master Cheng mad at you again?”
Xi Nai shrugged, his charming peach-blossom eyes tilting slightly, exuding a carefree, unruly aura.
Like he had found a kindred spirit, Xi Nai’s sieve-like mouth began to chatter again. “Ah Zhao, I’ve got a huge scoop for you.”
Gu Zhao was bewildered. “A huge scoop?”
Fu Juncheng’s cold eyes narrowed, his tone darkly ominous and slightly unsettling: “Xi… Nai.”
A deathly stare shot toward him, and Xi Nai wilted instantly.
He forced a laugh and made a zipping motion over his lips.
Gu Zhao’s gaze darted between the two of them, utterly confused.
What’s going on?
Xi Nai idly swirled his drink, fingers hooked on the glass. “Ah Zhao, what have you been up to these past couple of days? You kept saying you were too busy to come out.”
“Could it be… you were busy wooing some young lady?” He glanced at Fu Juncheng, a teasing smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
Gu Zhao rolled his eyes. “Wooing? Don’t talk if you don’t know how. I’ve been busy keeping our Ning’er company.”
So there really was a young lady?
Xi Nai choked on his drink. “Cough, cough.”
Setting down his glass, his eyes gleamed with gossip. “When did you get a girlfriend? You hid it well.”
Gu Zhao shot him a look of disdain, correcting him, “Not a girlfriend. Ning’er is my biological younger sister.”
What?
Xi Nai froze, then recalled he’d vaguely heard him mention something like that before.
“The little girl your father brought back is really your sister?”
Gu Zhao nodded.
Xi Nai continued, “Have you done the DNA test?”
“Mm.”
“I remember you said your sister has a speech impairment. You left her at home—aren’t you worried the Cheng mother and daughter would bully her?”
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhao smiled proudly. “My Ning’er isn’t so easy to bully. If Cheng Yu and Gu Wanwan try to pick on her, they’ll be the ones who get unlucky.”
Xi Nai had been to the Gu household a few times and knew a bit about the Cheng mother and daughter. Both were capable of putting on airs—definitely not easy to deal with.
Gu Zhao’s sister was mute and weak; how could she possibly contend with them?
Seeing his skeptical gaze, Gu Zhao simply smiled. “Once you meet my Ning’er, you’ll see how amazing she is.”
The proud, doting tone was unmistakable, brimming with admiration.
The mention of “Ning’er” immediately caught Fu Juncheng’s attention. His fingers paused on his phone as the coldness in his eyes flickered.
Surname Gu.
And the given name contained “Ning.”
Could it be…
The question in his mind suddenly clarified. He looked at Gu Zhao, who was busy boasting about his sister.
“My Ning’er is so smart—she took the one-grade-skipping exam and scored full marks, breaking my record.”
Hearing this, Fu Juncheng didn’t need to ask more. The answer he sought was right there.
He narrowed his eyes, a quietly persuasive gleam flickering in their depths.
So his little lion was actually Gu Zhao’s long-lost sister. But judging by her demeanor, she didn’t seem too fond of the Gu family.
Watching the man gradually develop a sisterly obsession, Xi Nai teased, “Ah Zhao, look at your smug face. Remember who used to doubt her identity? You and your two brothers never even went back to see her.”
What was meant as a joke unexpectedly hit Gu Zhao’s soft spot.
He lifted his glass and drank hastily, as if trying to drown himself in liquor.
Sighing, Gu Zhao said, “I regret it so much. I shouldn’t have waited for the DNA results to go back. Ning’er wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
Realizing he might have said too much, Xi Nai nudged his elbow. “Hey, I’m joking. Why the long face?”
“You two siblings having a fight?”
Gu Zhao forced a bitter smile. “Worse than a fight. Ning’er told me before that she doesn’t need a brother.”
That serious?
Xi Nai was stunned.
Fu Juncheng’s gaze darkened as he recalled the scene of finding her at the villa: battered, covered in paint, yet still alert even in unconsciousness.
Thinking of this, his lips pressed into a thin line, his sharp jawline exuding a chill.
Gu Zhao quickly recounted the past few days. Listening, Xi Nai silently gave a mental thumbs-up to Gu Qingning.
Daring to challenge the old master and Gu Hai, this little girl was quite bold.
Leaning back, Gu Zhao looked dejected. “Ah Nai, you’re good at coaxing girls. Give me some advice—how can I get Ning’er to accept me as her brother?”
“Play to her interests. Girls like diamonds, jewelry, pretty clothes—buy more of that,” Xi Nai said habitually, offering the same advice he would give a female companion. “Whatever she wants, give it to her.”
“Shallow.” Fu Juncheng, silent until now, finally spoke, disdain in his tone.
Such trivial things wouldn’t impress his little lion.
If it were that easy, he would have already brought her back to the capital.
Gu Zhao nodded in agreement and added, “You’re just like my second brother, always coming up with bad ideas.”
Xi Nai laughed at his own fiery temper.
Was it possible they’d teamed up to roast him?
He looked at Fu Juncheng, challenging him: “Fine, I’m shallow. Ah Cheng, why don’t you say something that isn’t shallow?”
Two pairs of eyes simultaneously met his. Fu Juncheng raised a brow, calm and cold:
“No shortcuts. Prove it with your actions.”
