I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 260

The shooting for the advertisements for St. Dee progressed quickly. Shi Wei finished all her parts in a few days. As for 'Beneath the Sky," everything had been finalized. In fact, the first cast member to be officially announced was none other than Shi Wei.

Even though the news regarding Fu Chengyan and Shi Wei had been removed from all sites, it couldn't stop people from continuing to gossip about whether Fu Chengyan and Shi Wei really had a thing.

Having the same thoughts were Fu Xicheng, and Mr. and Mrs. Fu Yuqing. They weren't completely aware of everything being said on the internet, but because one of the subjects of the gossip was their wife and daughter-in-law, all of it naturally weighed heavily on them.

And even though Shi Wei had moved back and had explained everything, it was still a thorn on their side. However, Fu Yuqing chose to remain silent on the matter. He thought about the Shi family's stocks in Shi Wei's hands, and made it clear to Fu Xicheng to endure it - no matter what happened, he shouldn't quarrel with Shi Wei.

But that wasn't how Fu Xicheng saw things. He was suddenly really remorseful that he had ditched Shi Nuan for Shi Wei and all the alleged money and power. And now Shi Wei was embroiled in rumors of infidelity. Fu Xicheng was any ordinary man, and hearing that his wife had a scandalous affair with someone else made him feel humiliated. This was compounded by the fact that the other party was Fu Chengyan, someone who was better in both power and social standing.

"I'm back!"

Shi Wei pushed the door open but saw that there was no one there to welcome her other than a blast of cold air.

Shi Wei frowned, but the family cook came out right then. "Madam, you're home?" The family cook was surprised to see her, but when she saw Shi Wei's expression, she quickly ducked her head. "Madam, Mr. Fu is still out. I'm about to prepare some food. What would you like to eat?"

Shi Wei's expression cleared up slightly. "Anything will do." Shi Wei headed up the stairs but suddenly stopped as if she remembered something. "Cook whatever Mr. Fu likes to eat. Let me know when he's home."

"Yes, madam!"

Shi Wei headed straight up the stairs and quickly tidied up the room, changed a new set of sheets and covers, then took a good long bath. When she came out, she saw Fu Xicheng taking off his coat. It was clear that Fi Xicheng hadn't expected Shi Wei to be home so early. But upon seeing her, all he did was just give her a quick look before walking away. Shi Wei's anger rose when she saw how Fu Xicheng was acting. She barely suppressed her anger and asked, "Xicheng, you're back?"

Shi Wei walked over and took Fu Xicheng's coat from him. "The cook said she's cooking some of your favorite dishes. I'm sure you're tired after a long day of work. I'm not working for the next few days so I can have meals with you every day!"

Fu Xicheng nodded and grunted but didn't give any other response.

"Xicheng!" Shi Wei saw how icy Fu Xicheng was to her and couldn't hold it in any longer. "I've already explained everything to you and you've understood it. Why are you still so cold towards me? I really don't have anything to do with Fu Chengyan. You know the person I love is you; otherwise I wouldn't have done everything I could to be with you in the beginning! I mean, I even hurt Nuan in the process!" Shi Wei's face turned pale and she bit her lips, looking innocent and pitiful.

No one could deny that Shi Wei was a natural actor. What she was doing was clearly working on Fu Xicheng.

The moment he saw her demeanor, his heart softened.

Shi Wei saw Fu Xicheng's expression relax a little so she quickly walked over to tug at his arm, like a little child trying to win favors. "Xicheng, do you still not know how I feel about you?"

"That's enough. I'm not really mad at you, but you need to be more careful in the future," Fu Xicheng sighed. The bottom line was he and Shi Wei were married, so no matter how upset he was with her, they couldn't possibly a divorce right after getting married.

"You know how my relationship with Fu Chengyan is. If rumors about the two of you spread again, it'll be very difficult for me and will affect my standing in the family."

"I understand. To be honest, Xicheng, I think the reason Fu Chengyan is being so nice to be and providing me with all these resources is because of you. Think about it, I'd never even met him until I met you. Why would he help me? You were the one who helped get into Xinhuang too. Xicheng, things between me and Fu Chengyan really aren't like what the rumors are saying."

Shi Wei quickly gave Fu Xicheng a kiss on his cheek, then she whispered in his ear. "Do you know Song Jingyu, Fu Chengyan's cousin? I think she's the one behind all this. It's like she has it in for me. Actually I think she has it in for any woman who gets close to Fu Chengyan, regardless of whatever relationship they have with him."

Fu Xicheng narrowed his eyes as if he suddenly remembered something. "Song Jingyu?" Fu Xicheng racked his brain and finally recalled who Song Jingyu was. "Are you telling me that Song Jingyu likes Fu Chengyan?"

Shi Wei nodded. "This is all true. Fu Chengyan made the announcement of me getting the endorsement deal during the annual meeting. And someone took a photo of me with Fu Chengyan and purposely exaggerated it. Xicheng, I'm sure there's more to this than meets the eye."

"If there really is a conspiracy, then you should stay far away from all this. Since things have more or less settled down, why don't you take the chance and just leave the entertainment industry?"

"What?"

Shi Wei's face darkened at his words. "Xicheng, it's my dream to be an actor. Plus, this incident has already been resolved. Why are you being like this?"

"Being like what?" Fu Xicheng's expression darkened too. "The entertainment industry is complicated and murky. Look at all the things you've had to go through since you entered the industry. The Shi family doesn't need the money, you don't need the money, and I certainly don't need the money to take care of you." After all that had happened - and regardless of whether the rumors about Shi Wei were true or not-Fu Xicheng had lost all good will towards the entertainment industry.

"It's not about whether you can take care of me or even about the money." Shi Wei looked at Fu Xicheng in frustration. "It's my dream! I'll listen to anything you say, but this is the one thing I'm going to stand my ground on."

"You..."

Quite a few times, their conversations would end on such unhappy notes. Fu Xicheng had his reasons while Shi Wei had hers. Even though the two lived under the same roof, for the following month, they barely spoke to each other.

Half a month quickly passed by. Thanks to the effect of the St. Dee endorsement deal, Shi Wei received quite a few casting calls for her to consider. But it was an awkward period of time for Shi Wei, plus she was managed by Xinhuang. There was a clause in her contract that stated that for the next three years, all acting roles were to be decided by the company. Shi Wei would have no say.

But Guan Jing had had a look through the scripts and found that they weren't that interesting, so it didn't matter either way. The more important thing was the upcoming press conference for 'Beneath the Sky.' Rumors had it that Fu Chengyan would attend as an investor and that was a big draw for the media.

Even though Fu Chengyan was the CEO of Shengyuan Group and the head of both St. Dee and Xinhuang, he rarely appeared at these press conferences. With the rumors of his appearance this time, the media, the entertainment industry, and even the financial world were in shock. No one knew why he wanted to attend the press conference, so everyone was again dipping into the rumors of Fu Chengyan and Shi Wei.

But right then, the male party in all those rumors was in a small apartment cooking soup for his little lady. And the little lady in question was sitting in the living room watching television, sneaking peeks into the kitchen every now and then. "Yan, are you sure you don't need my help?"

Shi Nuan flipped through a few channels but couldn't replace anything that interested her. She put down the remote control out of boredom and walked to the kitchen.

The apartment wasn't that big. Compared to Wutong Residence, it was practically dainty. But even though it was small, it still had everything they needed. The only problem was it was a tight squeeze for both of them to be in the kitchen at the same time.

Shi Nuan stood by the doorway and giggled at the man busily cooking inside.

Fu Chengyan was cleaning a fish when he heard Shi Nuan's offer. He looked up at her, "Bored?"

Shi Nuan nodded. "It's late. I told you we should've just made something simple. Why are you insisting on making such complicated dishes? And so many of them too? That's one, two, three... four! Four dishes. How're we supposed to finish all that?"

Shi Nuan was perplexed. "Are you really that hungry?"

The corners of Fu Chengyan's mouth twitched upwards. "We'll finish them. Be good. Go wait in the living room, it's too oily in here."

"Okay," answered Shi Nuan. She saw that the kitchen was really two small for both of them to cook at the same time, so she gave up the idea of wanting to help. "How about I just keep you company for a while?"

"Are you sure you want to keep me company or do you just want me to entertain you?" Fu Chengyan placed the knife down helplessly, wiped his hands, and waved Shi Nuan over. "Come here!" Shi Nuan quickly rushed over. "Hehe, what does his majesty need? Please let this unworthy one know!"

Fu Chengyan gazed at Shi Nuan from the side. "What are you trying to do?" He reached out to pat Shi Nuan's head but remembered his hands were oily so he stopped himself. "You, stop being silly. If you're really bored, you can help me wash the vegetables!" Fu Chengyan handed a basket and some vegetables to Shi Nuan. "Go prepare them outside."

"Okay!" Shi Nuan nodded. She headed out but turned around and looked at Fu Chengyan once every few steps, making his heart all tingly. "Alright, if you keep looking at me, we're never going to eat dinner tonight."