Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

Xu Qingcheng was wearing shoes with a slight heel; as a pregnant woman, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to wear high heels.

Without the support of high heels, she looked tiny and small standing in front of him, and he pulled her into his arms with a single sweep.

His warmth spread over me, gently enveloping me.

"Oh dear, look at me, so blind." A voice suddenly came over, tinged with mockery.

It was Fu Hongxin.

He kept saying he was blind, but he didn't seem to care about the obvious.

Fu Jingting frowned, released his grip, and patted Xu Qingcheng. "Go find Si Chen. Isn't there something you need to give her?"

Xu Qingcheng responded. The last time they met, Fu Hongxin left her with a very bad impression, and Xu Qingcheng didn't want to stay for even a quarter of an hour longer.

The woman turned and left without pausing for a moment, her back view graceful.

Fu Hongxin's gaze was immediately drawn to him. Fu Jingting's face turned cold as he stepped forward to block the view. "Did you need something?"

"You're protecting her so tightly." Fu Hongxin looked him up and down. "During the previous shareholders' meeting, I heard you only kept Duan Heng to attend, but went to see this woman's brother. Did you leave a loophole for Fu Pinxiu to exploit? Are you deeply in love or did it on purpose?"

Fu Hongxin asked the question as if it were just a casual remark, and didn't seem to care much on the surface.

"I'm just a wise man who knows when to yield." Fu Jingting glanced at him, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and smiled nonchalantly. "Being marginalized is better than being completely unable to get involved in the Fu family's business."

Fu Hongxin's face suddenly hardened, but he quickly composed himself, patted Fu Jingting's shoulder, and laughed, "You brat, you know how to talk back to me now."

After everyone else left, Fu Jingting stood still, finishing his cigarette before turning around and walking back.

The Fu family is just a microcosm of society, with each person having a different stance and way of behaving. Fu Pinxiu's sudden rise has already attracted attention.

Fu Hongxin is known for his unconventional and ruthless methods. Fu Jingting will not provoke him, but he will not back down either.

The old man and woman have changed into festive Tang suits. They will be keeping watch tonight. The whole family is gathered here and will sleep here tonight. Tomorrow morning, they will get up at four or five o'clock to make dumplings and pay New Year's visits.

The Fu family has maintained the customs of traditional festivals very well.

The rooms were tidied up and allocated fairly well. The younger ones simply stayed up all night playing cards to kill time.

Xu Qingcheng was arranged to share a room with Fu Sichen, as they didn't want her to go through the trouble of traveling with them since she was pregnant.

Xu Qingcheng always felt guilty whenever she received special treatment because of this.

She found Fu Sichen in the room. The little girl was putting on a hair accessory, a red ribbon, which was wrapped in her long hair and braided into a cute braid.

Seeing Xu Qingcheng enter, she tilted her head and asked, "Does this look good?"

"nice."

Xu Qingcheng smiled and handed her the watch. "It's for you. A New Year's gift."

Fu Sichen opened it and immediately beamed with joy, almost rushing over to kiss him. "I love you so much."

She took it off and put it on her wrist, comparing it to her own, then suddenly remembered, "But I didn't prepare a gift for you."

"This one," Xu Qingcheng pointed to the fan on her neck, trying to sound friendly, "I like it very much too."

"My second brother told you it was a gift from me?" Fu Sichen sat down next to Xu Qingcheng.

"Um."

"But actually, I can't afford this jewelry," Fu Sichen said with a smile. "So, fairy sister, who do you think gave it to you?"

For the sake of the fairy sister's New Year's gift, second brother, I'll help you out.

Xu Qingcheng pondered it for a moment and immediately understood its meaning.

She was stunned.

Fu Sichen was already skipping and jumping outside, saying she was going to show off her new watch, leaving Xu Qingcheng alone in the room.

The sun set early, and the room gradually darkened. Xu Qingcheng didn't think about getting up to turn on the light; her face felt warm.

He said it was a return gift from Sichen, and she never doubted it.

But what does this prove?

Xu Qingcheng's heart was pounding wildly in her chest, sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

Fu Jingting looked around but couldn't find her. Then he saw Fu Sichen walking in front of him with her wrist raised, winking and saying, "Second brother, I'm helping you out. You'd better treat your little sister better from now on."

Her shifty, sly look made him want to punch her. "Explain yourself clearly. What are you helping me with? Just don't make things worse."

Fu Sichen scoffed, "You gave that fan to the fairy sister to show your affection, huh? I told her it was from you. Honestly, men, be straightforward. Why use my name to give things away?"

Fu Xiaomei's complaints are endless, and Fu Erge's sharp tongue is relentless.

The room was dark. Fu Jingting opened the door and saw her sitting on the small sofa by the window.

He turned on the light, and the beautiful ceiling light instantly illuminated the entire room.

"Why aren't the lights on?"

Xu Qingcheng quickly turned around and stood up. "Oh, it's getting dark so fast. Shall we go downstairs?"

"No need. You can go down later." Fu Jingting walked in and stood beside her. Seeing that she was staring at him, he couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you looking at?"

"Si Chen said this was a gift from you." Xu Qingcheng pointed to the necklace around her neck.

Fu Jingting hesitated for a moment, then walked forward, trapping her by the windowsill. He didn't deny it, "I bought it. So, you're incredibly touched?"

His question, asked in such a somewhat unserious tone, instantly dispelled all the romantic notions that had been swirling in Xu Qingcheng's heart.

"You're crazy. You think you can move me to tears with just this?" She glared at him and retorted.

Fu Jingting truly loved that slightly reproachful look in her eyes, which pierced his heart like a hook. He asked her, "Where's my return gift?"

"Give it to Sichen."

"That's hers, but what about mine?"

"You want two gifts in return for the same thing? Dream on, there aren't any left." Her soft voice, with a hint of reproach and coquettishness, gently caressed him.

She may not have realized how alluring her unintentional, charming appearance was.

Fu Jingting leaned down and kissed her lips, his tongue sweeping back and forth along her lips, kissing her but not going any further, just tormenting her tender lips and disturbing her breath.

"Why is it gone? Hmm?" The man's soft, low hum landed in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

Xu Qingcheng was restless and reached out to push him away, but she couldn't. This man was so annoying. He was just trying to entice her to kiss him.

Her heart pounded, and she felt both ashamed and a little resentful that he was teasing her like this. Xu Qingcheng suddenly stood on tiptoe and moved closer to his lips, but the man suddenly stepped back and avoided her kiss.

He raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a puzzled expression, as if asking, "Mrs. Fu, what are you trying to do?"

It's infuriating and driving me crazy.

Xu Qingcheng bit her lip lightly, her face flushed with irritation. She shoved her knee into his leg, angrily saying, "Get out of my way, I'm getting off."

"That won't do." Fu Jingting laughed, lifting her chin to kiss her. "I need to accept Mrs. Fu's return gift first."