I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 283

"Alright, you should come and catch me then!" Shi Nuan made a face at Fu Chengyan before running up the stairs mischievously. "Catch me if you can!" "Slow down or you'll fall!"

Fu Chengyan was carrying the fireworks in his hands, so he had no choice but to follow Shi Nuan.

When they reached the roof, Shi Nuan instructed Fu Chengyan where to place the fireworks as she followed him closely to film him. Since the sky was dark, Shi Nuan couldn't see Fu Chengyan clearly in the video, so she pointed the camera right at his face.

Though it made him uncomfortable, he couldn't do anything since he was busy setting up the fireworks. After he finished, Shi Nuan finally stopped filming. She then stood behind Fu Chengyan with a lighter in her hand.

"Alright, don't move around anymore." Fu Chengyan put both his hands on Shi Nuan's shoulder. He looked at the glass room behind her and said, "Wait there."

"Sure!" Shi Nuan complied and stood by the glass room. She leaned on the glass panels and tilted her head as she observed Fu Chengyan.

With a half-squatted position, Fu Chengyan lit the fuse of the fireworks in no time. Soon after that, they heard a few whooshes as the fireworks started to fly one by one into the sky. Shi Nuan waved at Fu Chengyan with a childlike sense of delight. "Yan, come quickly!"

Shi Nuan held on to Fu Chengyan's arms as she looked up into the sky. The pitch-black sky, which was previously dotted by a few stars, was now blown apart by the fireworks. It was as if beautiful flowers were blooming brightly in the sky.

Fu Chengyan led Shi Nuan to sit in the glass room. Both of them lay on the rattan chairs as their eyes continued to watch the sky, and their fingers tightly intertwined around one another. It felt as if the whole night sky belonged to just the two of them.

Somewhere outside the Wutong Residence, a ray of light was shone on the two of them on the roof, and suddenly, a flash could be seen. However, it blended itself quickly with all the fireworks in the night sky. Meanwhile, at the Fu residence, the atmosphere was grim. The gloomy mood had started to spread around the house as Fu Chengyan's absence had turned a happy occasion into a solemn one. Everyone was frantically trying to call his phone, but no one could get through.

The patriarch of the Fu clan, Fu Zhengyun, was in a foul mood. He was always proud of his overachieving grandson, Fu Chengyan. All this while, Fu Chengyan had never disappointed him. He became a successful businessman at such a young age, even to the extent that he was feared by many.

Fu Zhengyun had always felt that Fu Chengyan was destined for greatness because he never made a wrong choice in any of his major decisions. That was what gave Fu Zhengyun the confidence to hand ove the reins of the company to Fu Chengyan. From his perspective, Fu Chengyan had already surpassed the capabilities of his own favored son, Fu Heng. However, Fu Chengyan's actions today have caused him great distress.

After Fu Heng and Ning Xin had sent away the other relatives, the Fu residence fell into an empty lull. Fu Heng helped Fu Zhengyun to his seat and shot Fu Sheng a glance. Fu Sheng then said, "Yan had always been very responsible. I think something really important must have come up. Father..."

"That's enough! Stop making up excuses for him. I think it is obvious that he doesn't respect me anymore." Fu Zhengyun was now so furious that nothing Fu Sheng say would calm him down. That night, Fu Zhengyun felt utterly disrespected, especially in front of all the other relatives. "Call him again now! I want to see what he is really up to!"

"Father..."

"Call him now!"

"Granddad, don't be angry!" Fu Jiayu passed Cheng An to Granddad. "I did manage to give Yan a call just now. He was really busy with something." She added, "Granddad, can I speak to you in private?" Fu Zhengyun raised his eyebrows, "What is so important that you can't say it here?"

"That's right, Jiayu. What is it that you can't say in front of all of us? We're family!" Song Zhenyan, too, was curious as to why Fu Chengyan wasn't here today. She still held a grudge against him for humiliating her in front of everyone recently.

However, Fu Jiayu sneered when she heard Song Zhenyan's words. "Family? I'm afraid Mdm. Song isn't a member of the Fu clan!"

"You..." Song Zhenyan's face darkened. "Jiayu, how can you talk to me like that?"

"How would you like me to talk to you then? You are already a stranger to me!" Fu Jiayu scoffed and visibly had no respect for Song Zhenyan at all.

Song Zhenyan did not expect her children to have so much animosity against her. She couldn't stand being humiliated like that, and the only place she could vent her frustration was at Fu Sheng. "Look at how well your daughter turned out!"

In response, Fu Sheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Jiayu, how could you talk to your mother like that? Apologize!"

Yet Fu Jiayu merely gave a cold snort. "I'm not at fault. I don't ever remember having a mother at all!" Fu Jiayu and Fu Chengyan's characters were the same - they were just as feisty as one another. "Enough!" Fu Zhengyun knocked his cane on the floor forcefully as he stood up. "Jiayu, come with me!"

Fu Jiayu patted her husband, Cheng Zhi, on this shoulders and said, "Take care of An!"

As she saw Fu Zhengyun walk upstairs with Fu Jiayu, Song Zhenyan was still outraged and had no place to vent her anger. The only ones left in her vicinity were Fu Sheng and Ning Xin. "Look at how badly educated the Fu clan children are - they can't be any more ill-mannered. As I have always said, one can never do a good job if the children aren't their own!"

Ning Xin's pupils dilated, and her face turned pale when she heard what Song Zhenyan had said.

Beside her, Fu Heng raised his eyebrow in concern. "Are you alright?"

Ning Xin shook her head and smiled broadly at him. "I'm fine!" Then, she turned towards Song Zhenyan. "What you have said is wrong. I wasn't the one that abandoned Jiayu and Yan. Neither did I teach them anything. All I did was to carry out my responsibilities as their aunt to the best of my abilities."

Although Ning Xin had a weak constitution, she wasn't one to be trifled with. "I have nothing more to say if you are just looking for an outlet to vent your frustrations."

"You..."

"Stop it, Song Zhenyan, haven't you had enough?" Fu Sheng scolded Song Zhenyan. "This is the Fu clan and not the Song family. If you're upset with us, you can go ahead and leave. Right now!" "You...Fu Sheng, you're the one that cheated on me. Not..."

"Enough, what is there left to argue?" Fu Heng retorted as he helped Ning Xin up. He glared at Song Zhenyan and said, "What my brother said is right. If you feel that the Fu clan is beneath you, you are welcome to leave anytime. Also, don't go taking it out on my wife either! Ning, let's go upstairs!"

Fu Heng couldn't bear to be in the same room as Song Zhenyan for a minute longer. Not to mention that he could feel Ning Xin's ragged breathing, which was likely due to her being upset over what Song Zhenyan had said.

But Song Zhenyan felt even more humiliated when Fu Heng put her in her place. "All of you are being too much. Fu Sheng, you..."

Fu Sheng snorted. "That's enough. There's no need to keep staring. Even if you never accept me your whole life, he will not take another look at you! Song Zhenyan, do you know how pathetic you are now?" Fu Sheng, too, didn't bother to continue arguing with her anymore. He got up and proceeded upstairs.

"Aunt Song, don't be angry!" Song Jingyu held onto Song Zhenyan's hand as she shook her head gently. "If you continue to be this way, I'm afraid that we won't be allowed to stay any longer."

"If we can't stay, then..." Song Zhenyan stopped abruptly. She then turned her gaze towards Cheng Zhi, who had remained silent throughout with Cheng An in his arms. The sight of both of them only reminded her of her heartless daughter, Fu Jiayu. Since it only made her feel worse, she decided to go back upstairs with Song Jingyu too.

The living room finally quietened down the moment she left. Meanwhile, Cheng An continued to sleep in Cheng Zhi's arms. By the time Fu Jiayu came down, only the two of them were left with the maid. Fu Jiayu softened her footsteps as she approached them. She wanted to take Cheng An over From Cheng Zhi, but Cheng Zhi shook his head instead. "He's asleep. Don't wake him."

Cheng Zhi glanced upstairs and asked, "Have you finished your talk with Granddad?"

Fu Jiayu nodded. "Let's go home."

"Aren't we staying here for the night?" Cheng Zhi was surprised as they always stayed over before this.

Fu Jiayu smirked and asked sarcastically, "Do you want to stay here after all that?"

Cheng Zhi stood up with Cheng An in his arms. "Let's go then. It's already late. It's already past An's bedtime!" Cheng Zhi had no interest in the Fu clan. If he wasn't Fu Jiayu's husband, he wouldn't even want to be here.

"By the way, Yan..."

Fu Jiayu sat in the back as she was carrying Cheng An. While Cheng Zhi was driving, he thought about Fu Chengyan's absence without reason. He felt that his brother-in-law wasn't the irresponsible type. "What did you tell Granddad?"

"Nothing much!" Fu Jiayu pinched her forehead. "I don't want to talk about family matters. By the way, how's your project coming along? Do you still need to go over there after the New Year?" "Yes, we have reached the second half of the project and estimate it to be completed in two months!" Cheng Zhi replied as he looked at Fu Jiayu. "I know it's been a tough time for you."

Fu Jiayu laughed. "It wasn't that bad." She added, "You have to be more forgiving with my family. I know you don't really like them, but we don't really have a choice. By the way, did my mother cause any trouble for you?"

Cheng Zhi let go of the steering wheel for a brief moment in surprise when he heard her question. "This is the first time I've met your mother, she..."

Fu Jiayu shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "It's sad, isn't it? We've been married so many years, and yet, this was the first time you saw her. She is...selfish!"

Fu Jiayu took her phone out from her bag and tried calling Fu Chengyan again. This time, the call got through, but the one who answered wasn't Fu Chengyan. It was a sweet female voice instead. "Hello?" Fu Jiayu was stunned for a moment and thought she had called the wrong number. She looked at her screen to check again. "Hello, and you are?"

Shi Nuan recovered her senses when she heard Fu Jiayu's voice. Only then did she realized that she was holding onto Fu Chengyan's phone. She checked the caller ID and was so shocked that she was dumbfounded.

Fu Chengyan had just come out from the toilet and only had a towel draped around his waist. When he saw Shi Nuan sitting on the bed staring blankly into space, he asked, "What's wrong? Who called?" "I...That... Your sister!" Shi Nuan covered the phone with her hands in denial and whispered. "What should we do? I answered your phone by accident. It's your sister!"

Fu Chengyan couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at the same time. He petted Shi Nuan on her head and took the phone from her hands.

"Yan, just now..." Fu Jiayu was extremely confused. She had just overhead her brother's gentle voice over the phone. She couldn't believe how big the difference was from his usual cold and indifferent tone.

Fu Chengyan lowered his gaze and looked at Shi Nuan, whose face was now full of guilt. He passed her the towel and sat down to continue the phone call. "Yeah... that's my wife!"

"Wife!" Fu Jiayu was again shocked. So much so that she yelled and almost woke Cheng An. Even Cheng Zhi put his finger to his lips to shush her. "Shush!"

After a while, Fu Jiayu managed to take a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yan, what did you just say? I didn't catch it!"