Spoiled Sparrow

It's unbearably hot downstairs, but everyone upstairs is sound asleep.

Fu Chen stared at her chat box, but waited a long time for a reply.

……

The following afternoon.

Ruan Qing dragged her weary body out of bed, washed up, and as soon as she opened her phone, she saw a multitude of unread messages.

He Xunnan: [I'm going to the company. The door lock code is 1227. I had my assistant take Youyou to the children's playground. Pick her up at five.]

Five o'clock?

She glanced at the time; it was already three in the afternoon.

Scrolling down further revealed several 60-second voice messages that Pei Yu had sent her.

She listened to each of the questions one by one. The gist of it was that they were originally on vacation, but then a senior executive at a branch office sold off core technology, and they needed to go there to deal with it. They wouldn't be able to come back for a while.

She put down her water glass and stood there lost in thought for a moment.

Isn't her family reunion event at the end of this weekend?

Will they be able to get back in time?

She opened Zhang Yao's chat window.

Officer Zhang, the paternity test might take a few more days. Don't worry, I'll do my best to get it done and won't cause any trouble for anyone.

Sigh, it seems she's already causing trouble for her official duties, given the repeated delays.

After sending the message, she changed into a casual light yellow pleated long skirt and opened the location of the children's playground that He Xunnan had sent her.

I turned off my phone, and it seemed like I'd forgotten something, but I couldn't quite remember what it was.

After getting ready, I went out and stepped into the elevator.

The elevator stopped quickly. She looked down at her phone, then stepped out.

His calf slammed straight into a hard object—a hand with distinct knuckles.

"Excuse me!"

Ruan Qing immediately apologized, only to realize upon looking up that the person she had bumped into was Fu Chen, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

Behind him was Chen Yan pushing a wheelchair.

She looked up and saw that the elevator was on the 7th floor.

Seeing his cold face, the scenes from last night instantly came flooding back to my mind.

She retreated to a corner, and only then did Chen Yan push Fu Chen into the elevator.

In just ten seconds, the atmosphere in the cramped elevator gradually became subtle.

Sensing the unspoken awkwardness between them, Chen Yan broke the silence first: "Miss Ruan, you're going out too?"

Isn't that obvious?

Through the reflective elevator wall, Ruan Qing saw Fu Chen's gloomy face, which looked terrifyingly sour.

He looked unsatisfied.

She then realized that she hadn't replied to his message last night.

Thinking of this, she felt a surge of secret pleasure.

The elevator went down one floor, and the door opened again.

Two girls walked in, and the moment they saw Ruan Qing, they enthusiastically walked past the man blocking their way and greeted her cheek to cheek.

"What a coincidence!"

The blonde beauty noticed Fu Chen in the wheelchair and quickly grabbed her friend's hair.

"Look, that man is spitting blood."

"OMG, you look kind of handsome today."

The blonde woman whispered, "This is the third time I've met him. I feel like this is a sign from God."

After saying that, she bent down slightly, placed one hand on the armrest of her wheelchair, her long, wavy hair casually draped over her chest, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Handsome, you're great. Can I buy you a drink?"

Her already voluptuous figure was directly in front of Fu Chen's eyes due to the difference in distance between her standing and sitting.

While Ruan Qing was shocked by the openness of her foreign friends, her eyes remained fixed on Fu Chen.

She was very curious about his answer.

It wasn't that I cared, I was just curious about his answer.

Yes, that's right, that's exactly it.

Fu Chen closed his eyes, ignored her, and breathed steadily.

She thought the person didn't understand English, so she specifically asked Ruan Qing to ask again in Chinese.

"Qing, does he not understand? Can you help me explain it to him?"

"what?"

As a viewer, she was suddenly asked a question, and was taken aback at first, then awkwardly relayed the information to Fu Chen.

They clearly understand what you're saying, but they just don't reply. That's rude.

The blonde beauty felt embarrassed when she saw that Fu Chen didn't even lift his eyelids.

There is no man in this world she can't pick up; if there is, it's because that man has bad taste.

Fu Chen's indifference instantly killed her interest.

Just as the elevator doors opened, she muttered as she left, in a voice just loud enough for the people inside to hear, "Qing, is this man gay...?"

Ruan Qing laughed out loud, her sarcastic remark drifting behind her: "Maybe..."

Fu Chen was used to being fawned over wherever he went, so for him, silence was a form of rejection.

After all, his time is precious, and he doesn't want to waste it on unimportant people and things.

Just now... Ruan Qing also followed...

Chen Yan was genuinely worried that President Fu might do something rash.

Who would have thought that the aloof CEO Fu had someone waiting outside her door early in the morning, and after confirming that she had left, he quickly pressed the elevator button and waited for her to come down, just to create a chance encounter.

"Mr. Fu, don't take it to heart. Your wife is just saying one thing and meaning another."

Fu Chen recalled last night and secretly calmed his rising anger: No rush, take it slow.

His fingertips dug into the armrest, losing all color.

"Where is she now?"

Chen Yan: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu, our people will be following your wife secretly and will inform you as soon as they have any news."

Fu Chen's eyes darkened: "Yes, let's go see him."

*

The private car drove into a slum by the sea. There were no tall buildings in sight. Dense tin shacks and messy stone brick houses squeezed out a narrow road that could only be passed by one person.

A tangled mess of electrical wires hung from the rooftops in the middle of the road, and the utility poles were plastered with colorful "niche" service advertisements. Several children were squatting among piles of trash on the ground, picking up litter.

The car could only be parked outside. As soon as you got out of the car, the stench of dead fish and rotten shrimp filled the air and assaulted your nostrils.

The people accompanying him couldn't hold it in and vomited on the spot.

Just a wall away, the world has turned upside down.

Chen Yan took out the masks he had prepared beforehand, and everyone put on the masks and entered the slum.

Soon, a group of men and boys rushed up and looked at these "outsiders".

They stood barefoot, blocking Fu Chen and his group.

The boy's eyes held curiosity, while the man's eyes held predation.

The man in the lead had dark yellow skin, and his face was so wrinkled it could trap a fly. He wore a black cloth over his head and had a hostile look in his eyes.

He extended his hand without saying a word.

Chen Yan took out the money he had prepared beforehand and threw it to him, saying, "Here, this is your rule."

The man who received the money bag weighed it in his hand, then directed the crowd to disperse with satisfaction, revealing a muddy road ahead.

Chen Yan hesitated: "President Fu, should we send a few more people?"

The people here truly have their own set of rules, and the law is like an incomprehensible astronomy to them.

Fu Chen covered his mouth and nose: "No need, don't alert them."

"Yes."

After walking through several alleys, the number of people gradually decreased, and the stench also lessened.

At the end of the road, a middle-aged man wearing a tattered, pirated jersey sat on a wooden plank.

The exposed arms showed obvious layers of skin tone, clearly indicating recent sunburn.

"Mr. Fu, that's him."

Chen Yan held an address and a picture in his hand, carefully compared them, and confirmed that they were correct.

Fu Chen stretched out his left arm and flicked his index and middle fingers forward. Chen Yan understood and pushed him forward.

Hearing the noise behind him, the man timidly turned around...