The fake heiress loves to act? The max-level boss isn't interested in playing along.

"Let's skip it today, but you and Yu Rou can get back together the week after next."

Old Master Fu paused for a moment,

"Remember to bring the children, especially that girl Fu Hua. You two didn't even discuss her being in the newspaper with us."

"Your mom doesn't like family members showing their faces in public, and you're not... Never mind, we'll talk about it when you get here."

After hanging up the phone, Fu Xiao stood in front of his desk for a moment.

Originally, we planned to announce that Huahua had joined the research station.

It seems...

Outside the window, the sounds of soldiers' drill commands could be heard.

Fu Xiao remembered that he had already informed his family about the family gathering that morning.

Aunt Liu wasn't here at noon today either.

Why don't we just go out for a meal as a family?

He picked up the phone and dialed the city theater troupe's number.

"Hello, this is the city theater troupe office."

The person who answered the phone was a young woman.

"I'm looking for Comrade Su Yurou. I'm her husband, Fu Xiao."

A moment later, Su Yurou's gentle voice came through: "Old Fu? Why are you calling at this hour?"

"Dad just called and said that today's family gathering has been moved to Mom's birthday."

Fu Xiao paused for a moment, "I was thinking, since we have some free time at noon, why don't we take the kids to that roast duck restaurant near Qianmen for a meal?"

Huahua has been back for so long, and we haven't gone out to eat together yet.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Su Yurou's voice carried a hint of surprise: "Going to a restaurant? Why all of a sudden..."

"We just felt we should have a meal together."

Fu Xiao said gently, "When Chaochao was little, didn't we often take her out for snacks?"

Mentioning Fu Chaochao, Su Yurou's voice softened: "Okay... then I'll take the afternoon off. The weather's getting cooler, so I'll take them to the department store this afternoon to buy some winter clothes."

"The two children should dress presentably for Mom's birthday party."

Fu Xiao smiled and said, "Okay, you've thought of everything. See you at the restaurant at noon."

After hanging up the phone, Fu Xiao looked at the national flag fluttering outside the window and felt a sense of relief.

Perhaps, this family is slowly getting back on track.

Minghua High School Basketball Court

After the morning classes ended, Zhang Wen excitedly dragged Fu Hua to the basketball court.

"Hurry up! There's a basketball game for the second and third year high school students today!"

Lin Bei missed both of these classes.

"I heard that Fu Youchuan is here too."

Fu Hua frowned slightly: "Is he on the field?"

"Yeah, he's a key player on the school team, but don't worry, Lin Bei from our class is pretty good too."

Zhang Wen didn't notice Fu Hua's subtle change in expression. "Let's go take a look, since you're not eating lunch at school today anyway."

A number of students had already gathered around the basketball court.

The match on the field is now in its most intense phase.

Fu Youchuan, wearing a red jersey, stood out on the field.

He dribbled past his opponent and scored a beautiful layup.

This drew cheers from the girls around.

"This Fu Youchuan is quite good at playing basketball."

Zhang Wen muttered something subconsciously.

Thinking of Fu Youchuan's attitude towards Fu Hua at the school gate last time, he pursed his lips again.

Fu Hua didn't reply, her gaze calmly fixed on the field.

She noticed Fu Youchuan after scoring.

He glanced at her, intentionally or unintentionally, with a hint of provocation in his eyes.

The match continued.

A few minutes later, Fu Youchuan grabbed the rebound.

Suddenly, he turned around and dribbled the ball towards Fu Hua's direction.

When there were still two or three meters to the sideline

He suddenly pushed the ball out of bounds.

The basketball flew straight at Fu Hua's face at extremely high speed!

A gasp rang out from the sidelines.

Fu Hua's pupils contracted slightly, and her body instinctively wanted to dodge.

But it was too late.

In the blink of an eye, a blue figure pounced from the side!

Lin Bei appeared in that direction at some unknown time; he leaped into the air.

He intercepted the basketball with one hand in an extremely dangerous manner during the game.

The immense impact caused him to stagger a couple of steps when he landed.

But he held the ball tightly in his arms, his arm veins bulging from the effort.

The field was completely silent.

Lin Bei steadied himself and turned to look at Fu Youchuan.

His eyes turned cold: "You did this on purpose?"

Fu Youchuan strolled over slowly.

With a nonchalant smile, he said, "It was just an accident, why are you so nervous?"

He glanced at Fu Hua. "What's wrong? Why are you so protective of her? Do you even know who she is?"

"She is your sister."

Lin Bei's voice was deep.

"younger sister?"

Fu Youchuan chuckled, his voice not loud but loud enough for the people nearby to hear, "A country bumpkin from the countryside, trying to gain a foothold in the Fu family with his little bit of cleverness."

Lin Bei, I advise you to stay away from her. You can't afford to play with a girl who's so scheming.

Lin Bei's face instantly darkened.

He stepped forward, almost face to face with Fu Youchuan: "Apologize."

"On what grounds?"

Fu Youchuan raised an eyebrow. "I'm telling the truth. There hasn't been a moment of peace in our house since she came back."

Chaochao is so kind, yet she's driven her to this state.

"Fu Youchuan."

Lin Bei interrupted him, his voice laced with suppressed anger, "Throwing balls at people on the court, insulting your own sister off the court—is this the Fu family's upbringing?"

Fu Youchuan's expression changed: "What did you say? Say it again if you dare!"

I said,

Lin Bei said, enunciating each word clearly, "You don't deserve to be her brother."

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The two boys faced off, and the surrounding classmates held their breath.

Fu Youchuan's teammates gathered around.

Lin Bei also had friends standing beside him.

Just then, the referee blew his whistle: "What are you doing! The game continues!"

Fu Youchuan stared intently at Lin Bei.

He finally gave a cold laugh: "Fine, you're protecting her, huh? Let's see who's better on the court."

The next match became a one-on-one duel between Fu Youchuan and Lin Bei.

When the two face off, the offense and defense become extremely intense.

Fu Youchuan made several attempts to break through Lin Bei's defense.

But Lin Bei seemed to be holding back a lot of energy, desperately defending against every attack he made.

During a struggle, Fu Youchuan deliberately elbowed Lin Bei in the ribs.

Lin Bei grunted, but did not back down.

Instead, they seized the opportunity to intercept the ball and launch a quick counterattack to score.

Fu Hua watched all of this quietly from the sidelines.

Her face was expressionless, but the fingers hanging at her sides tightened slightly.

Zhang Wen tugged at her sleeve worriedly: "Fu Hua, that Fu Youchuan is too much. Don't be afraid, if he dares to do anything to hurt you, I won't let it go."

"It's alright, there's nothing he can do."

Fu Hua said softly, her gaze fixed on Lin Bei's sweat-drenched back.

The match ended in a tense atmosphere.

Fu Youchuan's team won the game.

But there was no joy of victory on his face.

He stopped as he passed by Fu Hua.

She coldly retorted, "Does having a man protecting you make you think you're so great?"

Fu Hua looked up at him, her eyes as calm as a deep pool: "You're no good at playing ball, and you're far from being a good person either."

Fu Youchuan's face stiffened, and he was about to say something...

But then they saw a figure in military uniform walking towards them.

"Fu Hua, Commander Fu sent me to pick you up."

The guard, Xiao Zhou, said respectfully, "The car is already at the door, and Chaochao has already boarded."

"You're here too? That's perfect, I was just about to come find you, let's go together."

Fu Youchuan then remembered that the whole family was supposed to go out for lunch, and his face turned even uglier.

"I'll walk there myself; I find it too messy where there are other people."

He glared at Fu Hua and turned to walk towards the locker room.

The bodyguard, Xiao Zhou, caught up with Fu Youchuan and spoke to him.