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

Unexpectedly, he suddenly woke up, and the abrupt smile in his eyes couldn't be taken back.

Xu Qingcheng pursed her lips. "I wasn't laughing at anything."

She lay back down in her seat, closed her eyes, and covered them with an eye mask, which seemed like an attempt to conceal the truth.

Fu Jingting scoffed. He shifted his body to adjust his posture, and when he saw the book beside him, he picked it up and noticed the neatly folded corners of the pages.

The man rolled the book up in his hand, tracing the pages with his fingertips as it rustled and fell apart. Among the many pages, the one with a folded corner stood out.

Repeat this several times.

He suddenly stopped.

The rustling sound of the pages was very faint, but because the two were so close, it still reached Xu Qingcheng's ears clearly.

As the sound of pages turning faded, a warm breath suddenly sprayed against her ear, and Xu Qingcheng instinctively flinched away.

He noticed her head tilting outwards unconsciously, even though she pretended not to notice. This subtle movement was still noticed by him.

The man chuckled. "What were you thinking about while staring at me?"

"..."

She tightened her lip line, remaining impassive, forcing herself to ignore him.

"Smiling so seductively, who are you trying to seduce?!"

"Who seduced you!"

Xu Qingcheng could no longer bear it, so she ripped off her eye mask and glared at him.

Her voice was getting a little out of control, and she looked around in fright, afraid of attracting attention. Fortunately, there weren't many people in the business class, and most of them were resting, so no one was paying attention to them.

Thinking about it again, I realized I had overreacted.

She composed herself and said coldly, "I wasn't thinking anything, and I wasn't staring at you. Don't overthink it, Mr. Fu."

Fu Jingting raised an eyebrow. "Am I overthinking it?"

"Yes."

Her reply was firm and resolute.

Fu Jingting nodded, then suddenly asked her, "Now that you're willing to return to Ancheng, it seems Miss Xu's good news is on the horizon?"

Xu Qingcheng's fingers tightened subtly at her side. "Yes. So in the future, Young Master Fu, you'd better be careful with your words when you speak to me. It's better for both of us."

She was unwilling to reveal any sign of the failed marriage to him.

Those photos were taken because of the ambiguous relationship between the two of them, which made Xu Qingcheng lose face and feel ashamed.

It's so embarrassing.

From the beginning to the end of those photos, taken so clearly, and following the entire process, Xu Qingcheng knew that she was being watched.

The most likely explanation is that the Liang family doesn't approve of her and doesn't want her to marry into the family.

But she never, ever had even the slightest doubt that the man beside her was responsible for those photos.

All her lies were laid bare before him, and she knew nothing of them.

She feigned composure, yet firmly drew a clear line between the two of them.

Fu Jingting stared intently at her with his dark eyes, a fire burning in his heart. In the end, he was completely suppressed by her, and truly experienced the lonely feeling of being completely excluded from all her plans.

The man's jawline tightened repeatedly, but in the end he only nodded. "Miss Xu is right."

His polite address of "Miss Xu" immediately created a sense of unfamiliarity.

He stopped speaking, and so did she. They were just strangers whose seats happened to be next to each other.

May you have a safe journey and avoid disturbing each other again.

When the plane landed, Fu Jingting took out his suitcase and helped her take it down as well, but the two did not exchange any further words.

He pushed his suitcase and walked ahead, while Xu Qingcheng deliberately lagged behind a few steps. As soon as they entered the airport hall, the surging crowd completely separated them.

Xu Qingcheng stared at his back, her thoughts a mix of emotions.

When she broke up with Ye Tinghong, it was decisive and clean, and the pain was so intense that her heart was bleeding. Even now, when she thinks about it, that pain is still etched into her muscle memory.

Even so, she never imagined starting a relationship with another man.

It is said that women have special feelings for the first man they have an intimate relationship with.

Really?!

She can no longer talk about feelings in terms of pure liking.

But at this moment, I also felt a little lost.

They are like the flow of people at the airport, briefly touching each other before becoming long-term strangers.

The driver came to pick her up from the airport, and Xu Qingcheng got into the car and left.

The window of the van that had been parked on the side rolled down, and the man watched her bend down to get in before rolling up the window. "Let's go."

The car slowly merged into the traffic.

Fu Jingting looked away before asking, "How was the matter handled?"

The man in the passenger seat replied respectfully, "Young Master Fu, both of them have only minor injuries, nothing serious. As you wish, we should create pressure to get Miss Xu back to Ancheng first."

Fu Jingting gave a faint "hmm." His gaze swept forward, and the car that was supposed to pick her up was long gone, but the image of her swaying slightly as she got in the car was still etched in his mind like a needle prick.

"Young Master Fu, what's the next step? The Ye family is using this opportunity to create public opinion and try to escalate this matter. Their people are in contact with these two."

"Since that's the case, let them pretend to agree to the Ye family's demands and see what they're up to." Fu Jingting tapped the car window with his finger. "They need to put on a good show in front of Miss Xu, so she doesn't notice anything. Ask for compensation as you see fit, but don't make exorbitant demands."

"clear."

Fu Jingting rubbed his temples as his phone rang; it was Zhong Wanxiu calling.

The first thing he said was, "Come home for dinner tonight."

Fu Jingting pressed his temples, which meant he knew that Fu Jingting had returned.

"Mom, I have a lot of things to take care of, and I might not have time tonight."

"Yes, you still have a lot to do. You rushed back to Jiangzhou City before finishing your overseas project. What businesses does the Fu family have there that are worth your overnight trip?" Zhong Wanxiu's voice was neither loud nor soft, but it hit the nail on the head.

Fu Jingting knew that his mother knew his schedule inside and out. He leaned back in his seat, his voice tinged with a hint of teasing, "Ms. Zhong, are you just eyeing me, or is it a deep mother-son bond?"

"Your eyes are on me perfectly fine, so don't try to fool me. I can't figure out what you're up to. If you have something to ask me, come back here. And whatever important things you have to say, put them aside for now."

Ms. Zhong gave a firm order.

Fu Jingting clicked his tongue and had no choice but to agree.

I went back to my parents' villa area in the evening. Fu Sichen was at school and wouldn't be coming home today. Only Fu Pinghui and his wife were there. As soon as I entered, I could smell the warm aroma wafting from the kitchen.

Fu Jingting took off his coat, and Zhong Wanxiu put down what she was holding and came to greet him as he entered.

"Where's Dad?"

"The study upstairs was locked when I came back, and I noticed I didn't look well." Zhong Wanxiu paused. "Go upstairs in a bit. Sit down first; I have a few questions for you."

"Okay, go ahead and ask." Fu Jingting sat down on the sofa.

"Jingting, let me ask you a question: what are your true feelings for that Miss Xu?"