I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 303

Just before he returned, Fu Chengyan managed to erase the look of pure revulsion on his face. However, Shi Nuan could tell from his brooding expression that something was still bothering him.

While he was outside, Shi Nuan had been chatting with Ning Xin about something funny. The topic had turned to one of Shi Nuan's friends from her high school days. It was evident that Ning Xin was very fond of Shi Nuan- she had asked her many questions about herself, to which Shi Nuan responded eagerly.

When she saw Fu Chengyan tiptoeing into the house, Ning Xin paused in the middle of her sentence and announced, smiling, "See? I told you that he'd be back soon."

Shi Nuan glanced up and smiled at Fu Chengyan, her eyes crinkling into tiny crescents. "Yan, you're back!"

"Yes, I am." Fu Chengyan had been in a very bad mood upon his return, but Shi Nuan's smile had caused his worries to melt away in an instant. Grinning back at her, he asked, "What were you chatting with Aunt Ning about? The both of you seem very happy."

"We were talking about you!" Shi Nuan uttered, giggling. She stood up and reached out for Fu Chengyan's coat before handing a pair of slippers to him. "Have you sorted out your stuff?"

"Yup!" Fu Chengyan nodded. Caressing the back of Shi Nuan's head, he pressed forth, "So, what did Aunt Ning say about me?"

"What do you think? Don't worry, Aunt Ning didn't say anything bad about you." Shi Nuan could not help but tease him a little. "In fact, she was praising you the entire time! She had talked so much about you that I started to feel a little jealous."

“Haha, is that so?" Fu Chengyan patted her shoulders affectionately. "What would you like to eat for dinner?"

"Of course! I made up my mind a long while ago." As she spoke, Shi Nuan grabbed his hand and rushed over to Ning Xin. As she pushed Fu Chengyan into a seat, Shi Nuan announced, "You must be tired after all of that! Take a seat first. When Aunt Ning and I were returning home, we asked Zhou Zheng to take us on a detour to the grocery store. We had bought lots of household supplies and some cooking ingredients, so you can look forward to a dinner cooked by us tonight."

"Is that so? You're so cute today!" Fu Chengyan stretched out his hand to give Shi Nuan's nose a little pinch. Unfortunately, Shi Nuan slapped his hand away almost immediately as she gave him the stink- eye. He has no sense of propriety whatsoever. "What do you think you're doing? Aunt Ning is still around. Sit down here and have a little chat with her while I put your clothes in the wash and whip up dinner for all of us!"

"Alright." Fu Chengyan smiled as he gazed at Shi Nuan who was rushing upstairs cheerfully. When she disappeared from his line of sight, the smile instantly vanished from his face. Turning to Ning Xin, he said, "Aunt Ning."

"Has your grandfather already caught wind of this?"

Fu Chengyan nodded. "Aunt Ning, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep this from you."

However, Ning Xin shook her head. "Well, what do you plan to do about this?"

Even without Fu Chengyan telling her, Ning Xin had already guessed what Old Master Fu's next move was going to be. Old Master Fu has given his entire life to the Fu family, and he has put the family's prosperity above everything else, in his life. The old man has not only been strict to Fu Sheng and Fu Heng, rather, he has also been the same to Fu Chengyan, his grandson.

Ning Xin had married into the Fu family a long time ago, so she knew how bad her father-in-law's temper could be. Shi Nuan bears an uncanny resemblance to Shen Qianan, which doesn't help her cause at all. Although she has been married to his grandson for quite some time, Old Master Fu has refused to acknowledge her as part of the family. He has never spoken a word in praise of her.

In fact, Shi Nuan's resemblance to Shen Qianan is the main cause of the problems that have recently arisen. When Shi Nuan had first started going out with Fu Chengyan, Ning Xin was no exception, wondering privately whether Fu Chengyan was only taking an interest in her because she looked like Shen Qianan.

"We don't have to do anything about it. May is my fiancée, and nothing he says is going to change that fact." The gaze in Fu Chengyan's eyes was rather distant. "Why should I get the approval of the Fu family? It means absolutely nothing to me."

Ning Xin shook her head in disapproval. "You rascal!" After a brief pause, she continued, "Are you going to tell Nuan about this?"

"She'll be much better off, not knowing certain things." Fu Chengyan had no wish to burden his wife with the news of his grandfather's disapproval.

"You've always exercised caution in all that you do, so I don't have much to say to you. Since you've decided to marry Nuan, you should follow your heart. Remember this- a husband and wife should go through thick and thin together. There should be no secrets between the both of you. For a relationship to go on, trust is essential."

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

Shi Nuan made her way upstairs. However, she could not help but feel slightly suspicious about Fu Chengyan's behavior. She wasn't being paranoid-in fact, they had known each other for so long that she could sense his moods. Earlier, she had a strong sense that Fu Chengyan was feeling extremely awful. Things definitely weren't as simple as they seemed, but since Fu Chengyan had refused to tell her anything, she wasn't going to press him for details.

Shi Nuan hung the coat, as she remained upstairs for a little while longer. When she finally went downstairs again, she found Ning Xin sitting in the living room. However, Fu Chengyan was nowhere to be seen "Aunt Ning, where's Yan?"

"He's in the kitchen!" Ning Xin announced, smiling. She waved Shi Nuan over. "Here, come and sit next to Aunt Ning."

"But- but I'd said that I was going to make dinner for you guys tonight!"

"There's no need for that now! Yan is making dinner for us instead. As for you, come and sit by my side. Have a little chat with me!"

"That sounds nice." Shi Nuan glanced into the kitchen and spotted Fu Chengyan washing vegetables. Knocking on the door, she smiled and asked inquisitively, "What will you be making?"

Fu Chengyan turned around. The apron that he was wearing was slick with grease. When he saw Shi Nuan, his eyes crinkled into crescents as he smiled at her, appearing as though he extremely happy. Shi Nuan exclaimed, "Yan, you look exactly like a housewife!" As she spoke, she whipped out her phone and pointed the camera towards him. “Come on, strike a few poses! I need a photo as my new wallpaper.” Shi Nuan snapped a few photos as quickly as she could. Before she could say anything, Fu Chengyan darted away to another corner of the kitchen.

Fu Chengyan shook his head as Shi Nuan shot off, back to her seat next to Ning Xin. Cheerfully, Shi Nuan showed her the photos that she had taken of Fu Chengyan. "Aunt Ning, don't my pictures of him look wonderful?"

Ning Xin glanced over the photos before bursting into laughter. "Yes, they're wonderful!" In fact, she thought that Fu Chengyan looked better in those photos than he ever had.

The love in Fu Chengyan's eyes as he gazed at Shi Nuan was unmistakable- hence, neither of them feared that Fu Chengyan had only married Shi Nuan as a replacement for Shen Qianan. That was practically impossible. "Nuan, your photography skills are getting so much better. In fact, your pictures always turn out the best!"

Shi Nuan's face flushed red with embarrassment. "Really?" She looked down at her photos and realized that they were pretty well-taken. Swiftly, she changed her wallpaper into a photo of Fu Chengyan in his apron.

At long last, information about Shi Nuan's family background ended up in Fu Zhengyun's hands. As the patriarch of the Fu family, he possessed a great concern towards his grandson's love life. More so than anyone else. However, as he flipped through the pages of the document, with a look of displeasure on his face, he realized that they contained none of the information that he had wanted to know. Upon scanning through all of the documents, Fu Zhengyun didn't act immediately. Instead, he reclined his chair, thinking deeply.

On the other hand, Song Zhenyan was full of panic, laying in the hospital. Someone had just informed her about the recent developments, and she decided to look for Shi Nuan immediately, despite not having recovered fully from her injuries.

When Shi Nuan saw Song Zhenyan on her doorstep that night, she felt rather stunned.

She had met Song Zhenyan at the annual meeting, but they hadn't been formally introduced to each other yet. Tonight, Shi Nuan had gone over to Su Yian's place. Just as she was leaving her friend's house, a car rolled up to her. A few people jumped out of the car and cornered her. "Our lady wishes to speak to you."

"And who might your lady be?"

At that moment, the car door slid open to reveal the pale, ghastly face of Song Zhenyan.

Almost immediately, Shi Nuan understood why Song Zhenyan had come, looking for her. She had probably found out about her relationship with Fu Chengyan.

Shi Nuan bowed slightly. Flashing a smile at Song Zhenyan, she uttered, "Greetings, Mrs. Fu."

However, Song Zhenyan merely sneered at her in return. "You can drop that pretentious act in front of me."

Shi Nuan frowned slightly. "May I know why you're looking for me?"

Song Zhenyan gritted her teeth in rage as she spoke. "Did you and Yan really get married?" She sounded as though she wanted to skin Shi Nuan alive.

Shi Nuan felt slightly startled, but she nodded her head nonetheless. "That's right, we've gotten married." She didn't see the point in hiding that fact from Song Zhenyan. After all, since the older woman had already found out about it, she might as well have informed her of the truth.

Song Zhenyan's expression grew uglier. "Get into the car," she ordered.

Shi Nuan complied immediately. "Yes, Mrs. Fu.”

As soon as Shi Nuan got into the vehicle, the doors slammed shut. Soon, the car pulled away.

Song Zhenyan didn't speak a word to her, throughout the entire duration of the car ride, but her eyes continued to rove around her face in obvious distaste. Shi Nuan made a quick mental note to herself— this mother-in-law of mine doesn't like me very much.

Song Zhenyan took advantage of the silence to give Shi Nuan a once-over. A look of scorn flashed in her eyes as she silently took note of the girl's resemblance to Shen Qianan.

Shi Nuan wasn't a particularly talkative person either. Since the older woman had refused to speak, she didn't feel too comfortable talking either. After all, she still had no idea why Song Zhenyan was looking for her. Hence, she didn't want to reveal too much of her own thoughts before she found out.

After about ten minutes, the car came to a stop. Song Zhenyan got out of the car and shot Shi Nuan a look. As Shi Nuan followed her out of the vehicle, she realized that they were standing right outside a restaurant. It seemed pretty quiet.

Song Zhenyan led Shi Nuan into a private room. As she handed the menu to Shi Nuan, Song Zhenyan announced rather pointedly, "Here you go, Ms. Shi."

Shi Nuan noted the form of address that the older woman had used and realized that she was in for a very difficult night indeed. "You can make the selection, Mrs. Fu. I'm not too picky with food."

"Of course you aren't!" Song Zhenyan exclaimed, cackling. "When you do get picky, however, you always make sure to choose the best, don't you?"

Shi Nuan felt a little startled. "I suppose that you've called me here tonight to discuss my marriage with Yan."

"Hmph!" Song Zhenyan snorted as she slammed the menu onto the table viciously. "Since you've brought up that topic yourself, there's no need for me to beat around the bush anymore. You're not suitable for Yan. Leave him immediately!"

Shi Nuan's face clouded over instantly. It was exactly as she had predicted. Song Zhenyan was here to express her disapproval of Shi Nuan's relationship with her son.

"Well? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I think that it's up to myself and Yan to decide if we're suitable for each other, don't you think?" Although Song Zhenyan was Fu Chengyan's mother, Shi Nuan refused to allow her to have the final say over their relationship. I will never yield to anyone who wants to tear Fu Chengyan and me apart, even if the person was my mother-in-law.

"You- a person like you doesn't deserve a man like Yan. Neither your status nor your position in life will be of any help to Yan. In fact, marrying a person like you will only serve to drag him down!" Launching a litany of complaints against Shi Nuan, Song Zhenyan questioned, "Do you think that I'm an idiot? You are only with Yan for his money, his power, and his social status!"

"No, you've misunderstood my intentions, Mrs. Fu," Shi Nuan explained as politely as she could. "I fell in love with his personality. I'm willing to be with Yan because he treats me well. It really isn't as terrible as you've thought it to be. As for the money, power, and social status that you've mentioned, they were never my reasons for marrying Yan!"

"Yeah, right!" As though she had heard a very funny joke, Song Zhenyan began to chortle as she threw a mocking look at Shi Nuan. "I've seen many women like you, who insist that they haven't married their husbands for money. Well, since wealth is so unimportant to you, why haven't you gotten together with a poor man instead?"

Shi Nuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Song Zhenyan really hates me, doesn't she?

Shi Nuan laughed coldly. Looking frostily at Song Zhenyan, she asked, "Do you mean that I should marry a poor man just to prove that my love for Yan is pure? In that case, you should look at yourself, Mrs. Fu. Why didn't you marry a poor man, too? After all, the Song family is pretty rich, and it wouldn't have blown a hole in your finances to take a beggar for your husband. Why did you choose to marry into an old money family like the Fu family of Jiang City instead?"