I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 55

Shi Nuan wasn't happy for being praised by Fu Chengyan. All she did was force a smile. "So, Fucheng is finished?"

Fu Chengyan thought about it for a bit, then he tilted his head. "Why? Are you feeling sad about it?"

Shi Nuan pursed her lips. "You know I don't mean it that way." She didn't drag her own emotions into this, though she thought this wasn't the only way. "Must you do it this way?"

"Stay out of the company matters. I can't tell you everything," Fu Chengyan said. "You will know about it when the time is right."

Fine then. Shi Nuan knew it wasn't as simple as it looked. This wasn't the only reason that prompted Fu Chengyan to make this decision, so she smiled. "If Fucheng is finished, what should I do?"

"I told you. You're a smart woman, so you'll replace a better company." He tapped on his knee. "Take a left turn."

Shi Nuan snapped out of it and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't poke my nose into the company's matters."

"Nope," Fu Chengyan looked at her salaciously. "I can tell you if you want to know about it."

Shi Nuan's heart raced when she met his fiery gaze, and she gulped. "Thanks but no thanks. I'm not your staff after all." Shi Nuan ended this topic. Fu Chengyan wasn't someone who would pester her for answers, so they tacitly agreed not to talk about this.

They agreed that Shi Nuan would be the one to cook after this, but still the man busied himself in the kitchen. Shi Nuan looked at him, something welling up within her. She leaned on the doorstep and hesitated about something. When Fu Chengyan turned around and saw her looking at himself, he lifted his brows teasingly. "Do you need something?"

"Do you need my help?" Shi Nuan pointed at the veggies in the basin. "I can cook, you know."

"Alright, then wash the veggies." Fu Chengyan pointed at the vegetable in the basin. "You'll have a lot of opportunities to cook after this." He enunciated, then the man looked at her. "Don't be in such a hurry." Shi Nuan froze up. She was holding a lettuce when Fu Chengyan told her that. "Alright then." Suddenly, someone rang on the doorbell, and Shi Nuan looked at Fu Chengyan, feeling suspicious. "It's late, so who could it be?"

Fu Chengyan squinted, then he smiled. "Open the door then."

Shi Nuan nodded. She wiped her hands dry before going to take the door, thinking that it might be one of Fu Chengyan's friends. However, she was shocked after opening the door, for there was a gigantic creature there. Shi Nuan screamed, then she staggered backward, looking at the man and the dog outside the door.

Fu Chengyan heard her scream, so he came out quickly. "What's wrong?"

Shi Nuan pointed at the man and the dog at the doorstep with a trembling finger. "I..." She was aghast, especially when the dog almost pounced on her. If it wasn't for Su Shaoqing stopping it in time, something bad would have happened.

Fu Chengyan frowned, then he looked sharply at Su Shaoqing. "What the hell are you doing here?" Instead of welcoming his friend, Fu Chengyan asked him a hostile question.

Su Shaoqing raised his eyebrow, a gleam of quizzical light twinkling in his eyes. He could see that Fu Chengyan wasn't very welcoming, so the man smiled, then he patted his dog. "I wanted to come for the housewarming party for Nuan, see. Don't worry, Nuan. My dog's a smart one. He approached you because he likes you." Su Shaoqing smiled innocently, then he pushed his glasses up, looking like a useless

git.

Shi Nuan chuckled drily, still shivering from the lingering fear. For some reason, she thought of Su Shaoqing as a wolf in sheep's skin. There was nothing better to describe the person Su Shaoqing was now. Fu Chengyan squinted, his eyes gleaming coldly. "You are an uninvited guest."

"Oh, you don't welcome me, Nuan?" Su Shaoqing looked at Fu Chengyan. "Nuan?"

Shi Nuan chuckled drily. "You guys chat. I'll go to the kitchen."

Fu Chengyan quickly held her hand. "Did you get scared?"

Shi Nuan gulped, but she shook her head. "It's fine. I was shaken up, but it's fine now." She pried his hand away. "You chat with Mr. Su. I'll make dinner."

Fu Chengyan wanted to say something, but he felt amused when he saw her scurrying away. On the other hand, Su Shaoqing felt curious, for it was rare to see Fu Chengyan looking this way. "Hey, are you trying to be all soft and fluffy now?"

Fu Chengyan glared at him sharply. Su Shaoqing was shocked, but he kept his smile on like usual. "Hey, hey, this isn't too great of you, Chengyan. Everyone else is still a bachelor, you know." "Really?" Fu Chengyan smirked. "Do you want me to call her back?"

Su Shaoqing's expression changed. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Chengyan?"

"What about you?" Fu Chengyan wasn't about to be all smiles to him. "Why are you here?"

"I told you, I came here for the housewarming. We promised we'd gather around, but you don't seem to have that plan. Jingxiu and Heng didn't see her yet, so I have to get to know her for them." Su Shaoqing said seriously, then he kicked his dog. "Arnold, sit!"

Arnold was a German Shepherd. He was Su Shaoqing's pet, though they seemed like a jarring pair. When Fu Chengyan looked at Arnold sharply, the dog lowered his head and lay down beside Su Shaoqing's foot carefully, as if admitting to its wrongdoing.

Su Shaoqing patted its head. "Are you sure about this?"

Fu Chengyan looked at him. "We've taken the marriage certificate, so how am I not sure about this?" he snorted. "Why did you come here anyway, really?"

Su Shaoqing shrugged. "Alright, I was just bored. You know I'm busy lately, and Arnold hates the residence."

"You want to house him at my place?" Fu Chengyan said coldly. "You saw it too. Shi Nuan dislikes him."

Arnold looked up and yelped a couple of times, then he crawled toward Fu Chengyan and rubbed his head against his calf, seemingly trying to please the man. However, he kicked the dog away without even looking at him. "Why didn't you house it at Li Heng's place then?"

"You think I haven't thought of that? You know how Heng is like. He likes dogs, but only his own dog. He doesn't really like Arnold." Su Shaoqing was in a pickle. "I wouldn't have come to you if I'm out of ideas. have to go to an academic forum somewhere else after a couple of days."

Fu Chengyan looked up and massaged his forehead. "No. Shi Nuan hates this."

"Hey, why is everything about her? Can you change it to something else?" Su Shaoqing looked at him in disdain. "I think this has nothing to do with Nuan."

"What has nothing to do with me?" Shi Nuan came out from the kitchen at the moment and seemed to vaguely hear Su Shaoqing mentioning her, so she paused. The woman wanted to go over, but she stood at her spot when she saw that gigantic German Shepherd.

Arnold yelped when he saw Shi Nuan looking scared of him. Feeling hurt, he tried to run to Shi Nuan, which shocked her. The woman quickly went to the kitchen. "D-Don't come near me!"

"Arnold!" Fu Chengyan called him coldly, and Arnold obediently stopped running and turned around to look at him expectantly, giving him the puppy-eye look.

Shi Nuan was amused by Arnold's quirkiness, so she chuckled, which made Arnold bark happily. He then went to nibble on Fu Chengyan's trousers, barking a couple of times at the same time, as if saying, 'See? She likes me!'

Fu Chengyan looked at the dog and his friend, then he looked at Su Shaoqing. "For how long?"

Su Shaoqing knew this was in the bag, so he smiled. "Not long, probably a week."

Fu Chengyan frowned, then he looked at Shi Nuan. "Arnold will be staying here for a week. What do you think?"

is he asking for my opinion? Shi Nuan was surprised. So Arnold's the name of the dog? Shi Nuan was in a dilemma, for she was shocked by the dog earlier. Even though she had calmed down now, the woman wasn't sure if she could accept him. Also, this was Fu Chengyan's house. She wondered why he asked her this question.

Su Shaoqing looked pleadingly at Shi Nuan. "I had nowhere else to go, Nuan. I can't just leave Arnold alone at home for one week. He'll starve."

Hmm, that bad, huh? Shi Nuan looked at Fu Chengyan, hoping he could give his input.

Fu Chengyan looked at Su Shaoqing impatiently, then he nodded at Shi Nuan. "He's going on a trip for a week. If you don't mind, we'll take care of Arnold for a week. But if you do, I'll chase them out right away."

Su Shaoqing and Arnold were speechless. Shi Nuan chuckled drily, then she noticed Su Shaoqing and Arnold looking at her like hurt little puppies. Well, technically, one of them was a dog, but everyone could use the puppy-eye tactic. "I-I don't mind."

Su Shaoqing heaved a sigh of relief. "Arnold's really easy to take care of, Nuan. Just leave him in a corner, and that's it. If you don't like it, tell him to stay away from you."

Shi Nuan nodded reluctantly, then she gasped, "My fish!"

They watched as she quickly went into the kitchen, then the men looked at each other. Su Shaoqing smirked. "Nuan's... not bad."

Fu Chengyan arched his eyebrow and snorted. "Of course she is. She's my woman." He pursed his lips and looked at his friend in disdain. "Now that your business is settled, can you scram?"

"Scram?" Su Shaoqing was stunned, then he smiled innocently. "Oh no. It's not every day I get to come here, so I can't just leave. Besides, it's dinnertime. I can still taste the food Nuan made even until now. It's delicious."

"Do you want to fight, Shaoqing?" Fu Chengyan squinted and cracked his knuckles.