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

Xie Ci stood at the door and saw her propping herself up on her arms to get up.

He quickened his pace and walked over, reaching out to press his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't move."

Fu Hua simply stopped moving.

"Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

Xie Ci sat on the edge of the bed, his hand still on her shoulder, helping her fix her hair.

His tone was extremely gentle: "It's still early."

"I need to go to the shop today; Uncle Zhang hasn't found anyone yet."

Xie Ci frowned, clearly displeased, but said nothing.

He looked down at her, his eyes soft and filled with tenderness.

"I've cooked."

He ruffled her hair and asked, "Shall we eat now, or later?"

"Now."

If we finish eating early, we can rest for a while.

Xie Ci smiled and said, "How about I bring it over, and you can...?"

"Don't."

Fu Hua raised her hand to stop her: "I absolutely refuse to eat in bed."

"Okay, I'll do as you say. Go outside."

Xie Ci bent down and picked the person up horizontally.

Fu Hua instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and before she knew it, he was already at the dining table.

Two white porcelain plates were placed on the dining table.

Each plate was filled with a generous amount of fried rice.

The rice grains were distinct, the shrimp were pinkish-white, and the pineapple chunks were golden.

It's also garnished with green peas and diced carrots, making it bright and eye-catching in color.

Fu Hua was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him.

"Pineapple and shrimp fried rice?"

Xie Ci nodded, placed her on a chair, sat down opposite her, and looked at her with bright eyes.

"Try it, is it good?"

"When did you learn that?"

A very faint light rippled in Fu Hua's eyes, and the curve of her lips softened almost imperceptibly.

This expression means she is extremely happy.

Xie Ci noticed this, and the corners of his mouth turned up, his expression carrying a hint of pride:

"It's not difficult. I have a comrade who used to work in the mess hall for three years. I learned it from him yesterday."

He paused, looking at the plate of fried rice with some unease: "This is the first time I've made it today, I don't know if it tastes right. He said it's the first time he's ever heard of pineapple being stir-fried with shrimp."

"You just learned this yesterday?"

Fu Hua smiled, picked up the spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.

The rice was fluffy and soft, the shrimp was sweet and fresh, and the pineapple had a slightly tart flavor.

The three flavors blend together perfectly.

She swallowed it without saying a word, then quickly scooped up another spoonful.

"How is it?"

Xie Ci stared at her: "Is it delicious?"

Fu Hua nodded, looked up, and smiled as brightly as fireworks: "Delicious, very delicious."

Xie Ci's eyes lit up.

"real?"

"real."

Fu Hua took another bite. "Very authentic."

Xie Ci laughed, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and then he lowered his head and began to eat.

He took a couple of bites, then looked up at her again, a smile he couldn't hide on his lips.

After the meal, Xie Ci cleared the dishes, and Fu Hua changed her clothes.

The sun was already high in the sky when the two went out.

The shadows of the locust trees in the alley were scattered all over the ground.

Xie Ci drove, and Fu Hua sat in the passenger seat, watching the street scene recede outside the window.

When we reached the intersection of the street leading to Huaning Textile, the car slowed down.

A large crowd had gathered in front, blocking most of the road.

After saying thank you, he honked the horn twice, the crowd parted a little, and the car slowly shuffled forward.

Fu Hua glanced out the window.

In the middle of the crowd, two men in gray uniforms were pulling at a mother and daughter.

Bamboo baskets, vegetables, and eggs were scattered on the ground.

Yellow and white liquids were spilled all over the ground and trampled to pieces.

The older woman slumped to the ground, her hair disheveled, with handprints on her face.

My lips were cracked and blood was seeping out.

The girl squatted down next to her, hugging her mother, and glared at the two men.

She had a small red mole between her eyebrows, like a dot of cinnabar.

Fu Hua recognized her.

They were the mother and daughter who bought clothes at the store that day.

The girl picked out the light green coat for her mother; she didn't buy anything for herself.

A man in a gray uniform pointed at the mess on the ground, muttering curses.

As he spoke, he kicked over another bamboo basket.

Another man grabbed the mother by the collar, trying to pull her up from the ground.

Cai Xiaoyan lunged at the man and pushed him away, but was pushed back and staggered back two steps, almost falling.

"parking."

Fu Hua frowned slightly.

Xie Ci glanced at her sideways and asked, "What's wrong? Do you know her?"

Fu Hua nodded.

"I know that mother and daughter. They were customers who bought clothes from the store before."

Xie Ci followed her gaze and looked over the crowd.

The girl desperately protected her mother, her face flushed red.

"Sit still and don't move."

He unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'll get in."

Fu Hua glanced at his military uniform: "Is it appropriate for you to go there wearing this? What if people say you're abusing your power..."

"Using power to oppress people?"

Xie Ci unbuckled his seatbelt, his gaze deep and unfathomable: "In the past, I tried to reason with them, but they wouldn't listen. That's what you call abusing power."

The car door closed.

Fu Hua looked over through the glass.

Xie Ci walked through the crowd and stood in front of the two uniformed men.

He was tall, and when he stood there, he blocked the mother and daughter behind him.

He spoke a few words, but we were too far away, separated by the car window, to hear anything.

The two uniformed men looked at him with suspicion at first.

Then their expressions changed, they exchanged a glance, and then looked at the epaulets on his shoulders.

One of them opened his mouth slightly, and the other quickly put on a smile, bowing and scraping.

After Xie Ci said a few more words, the smiling uniformed man turned around and began to chase away the onlookers.

"That's enough, everyone go away! What's there to see!"

The crowd retreated, but didn't disperse completely; some people were still peering out from a distance.

Two uniformed men bent down and helped the mother up.

They also helped her pick up the scattered bamboo baskets.

The eggs and vegetables were rotten, and one of the baskets was cracked. They apologetically gathered everything up.

He offered a few more forced smiles and slunk away.

Xie Ci stood still and waited for the mother and daughter to regain their footing before speaking.

The mother wiped the blood from her face and pulled her daughter to bow to him.

Xie Ci stepped aside and pointed towards Fu Hua.

Cai Xiaoyan followed his hand and looked over, then saw Fu Hua's face in the car window and paused for a moment.

Xie Ci led them toward the car.

As he approached, he stepped aside, his voice indifferent.

With an air of politeness that keeps people at arm's length.

"If you want to thank someone, thank my fiancée. If she didn't know you, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this."

Cai Xiaoyan paused for a moment.

She looked up and glanced at Xie Ci.

He stood there, his military uniform impeccably straight, his brows and eyes cold and stern, his imposing presence making people afraid to look at him for long.

She lowered her head, knowing full well what was going on.

Such a man is not someone she can look at, much less someone she can even think about.

She walked quickly to the car window and bent down.

"Comrade, thank you."

Her voice was a little tense, but her eyes were sincere. "You helped us at the store last time, and again today... Thank you, comrade."

Fu Hua got out of the car and stood in front of her.

"How is Auntie?"

She glanced at the mother and asked, "Are you alright? Should we go buy some medicine?"

"I'm fine, it's just a minor issue, thank you for your concern, young comrade."

The mother covered the slap mark on her face, a forced, awkward smile on her lips.

Cai Xiaoyan held her mother's shoulders, shook her head, and lowered her voice: "My mother is fine... she was just frightened. Those vegetables were just harvested today, it's such a pity, they were destroyed by those animals..."

She paused, glanced quickly at Xie Ci, and swallowed back the words she was about to say.