Spoiled Sparrow

Fu Chen pulled her into his arms: "I can explain about the marriage, but you need to know that I truly love you."

Ruan Qing broke free from his grasp: "You love me, so you installed surveillance cameras at home and GPS trackers on my phone, right?"

"I was worried about you!" Fu Chen grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.

"What are you worried about? Tell me!"

Her exposed side of him made Fu Chen lose his temper and lower his head.

He wanted to know her every move, wanted her to stay by his side forever, and didn't want her to suffer any harm.

As long as she stays within his control, she can live a carefree life with more money than she can ever spend.

Doesn't this count as love?

With tears in Ruan Qing's eyes, Fu Chen's overwhelming anger subsided considerably, and his tone unconsciously softened, becoming less forceful.

Tell me, what do you want?

"What I want, you can't give me."

If the price of love is that she has to live a life of shame, devoid of self-respect and numbness, then she would rather have never loved at all.

Fu Chen frowned, his tone almost commanding: "Speak."

Ruan Qing looked up, tears streaming down her nose, and said, word by word, "Marry me."

After uttering those two short words, Fu Chen fell into a long silence.

The words of pleas to keep him stuck in his throat; he couldn't utter a single syllable.

His grandmother, whom he had never met, and his mother, who lived in a mental hospital, were living examples of this; he simply couldn't afford the price of marriage.

Ruan Qing saw the answer in his silence.

His previous forceful demeanor vanished completely, and his hands, hanging at his sides, slowly clenched: "Anything is fine, except this."

Ruan Qing wiped away her tears and said self-deprecatingly, "This person could be the Zhao family's daughter, who is a good match for you, but it would never be me, an orphan all alone."

Fu Chen looked away, unable to meet her injured eyes. An unspeakable secret stood between them, an invisible dividing line.

Ruan Qing turned and went upstairs. When she stood on the stairs, she looked back and said, "If you want me to die here, you can do whatever you want."

His men were everywhere outside the house, so she couldn't get out. She turned around, went upstairs, and locked the door.

-----

When I woke up the next day, everything in the house was the same, except that the windows were locked.

She was confined to her home by Fu Chen, and Chen Yan delivered all her meals there.

Ruan Qing sat blankly on the sofa, staring at the heavy snow outside the window, lost in thought.

Chen Yan brought in the lunch prepared by the nutritionist. He saw that she was dressed in thin clothes, curled up on the sofa with her legs drawn up, and didn't look very energetic.

He walked over and put down the tray, only to see that the breakfast delivered that morning was still untouched on the table.

For the past five years, Chen Yan has been in charge of Ruan Qing's affairs, and he has watched her grow from an innocent girl into the person she is today.

He advised, "Miss Ruan, listen to my advice. If you just soften your stance, Mr. Fu won't keep you locked up forever."

He could tell that Fu Chen's feelings for Ruan Qing were definitely not insignificant.

"Give in?"

For the first time, Ruan Qing gave Chen Yan a cold look: "You can leave now. I want to be alone."

Chen Yan silently withdrew, glancing back at her as he left, and sighed silently.

Fu Chen pushed open the gate of the Fu family mansion with a heavy thud, startling the servants tending the courtyard, who all stopped what they were doing and watched their young master stride toward the backyard.

Fu Yancheng was leisurely reviewing the company's financial reports while holding a cup of tea. When his son stormed in angrily, his expression remained completely calm.

He slowly put down his teacup: "I've taught you since you were little to be steady in everything you do. What kind of behavior is this, getting so angry?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

Fu Chen stood condescendingly in front of the tea table, his chest churning with suppressed anger.

As soon as he finished speaking, scalding hot tea splashed heavily on his head, dripping down his high nose and onto the ground.

Fu Yancheng slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Fu Chen! I'm your father, how dare you speak to me like that!"

It's ridiculous that ever since his mother's accident, he has assumed that his father died that year.

His voice was icy cold: "If you want to live out your old age in peace, I advise you to stop."

Fu Yancheng laughed mockingly: "You?"

"Fu Chen, you are the sole heir of the Fu family. How could you stoop to this level for a woman?"

"I'm doing this for you, for the entire Fu family. As long as I, Fu Yancheng, am alive, that woman you're keeping will never be allowed into the Fu family!"

Fu Chen's lips curled into a cold smile: "If you insist on doing this, then don't blame me for disregarding our father-son relationship. Let me remind you, without me, you are nothing."

The air suddenly froze; the threat in Fu Chen's words was obvious.

From the time he officially took control of the company five years ago, Fu Yancheng's position was gradually swallowed up by him.

The company is now essentially owned by Fu Chen and Old Master Fu, each holding half. Once Old Master Fu passes away, Fu Yancheng will have to rely on this distant son for the rest of his life.

Fu Chen turned and left, but on his way to the company he received a message from Chen Yan and immediately turned back.

When I pushed open the door, the house was eerily quiet.

He didn't touch the food on the table and quickly walked towards the bedroom.

The door was ajar, and Ruan Qing lay motionless on the bed.

His heart clenched, and he quickly walked to the bedside.

He reached out to check her breathing, and after confirming that she was just asleep, he said hoarsely to himself, "I just want you to stay by my side. Does my love cause you so much pain?"

Fu Chen slowly leaned down, wanting only to feel her presence.

The moment he touched her forehead, he panicked: "Why is it so hot?"

"Ruan Qing?" he called softly.

He reached his hand under her pajamas and realized it wasn't his imagination; Ruan Qing's whole body was burning hot.

He pulled the person into his arms, scooped them up in his arms, and strode downstairs.

With a sharp press of the accelerator, Chen Yan quickly slammed on the brakes downstairs at the hospital's emergency room.

The nurse stopped Fu Chen and pushed him into the emergency room.

"What's wrong? The patient has a high fever of 39 degrees Celsius and still has residual sleeping pills in their system. They need gastric lavage. Family members, please sign the consent form!"

Fu Chen stood guard at the door, overwhelmed with self-reproach and unease.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the nurse wheeled him out.

The person on the hospital bed was pale, with their eyes closed, an IV drip in their hand, and a white cloth covering their thin body.

The scene before him suddenly pierced his tense nerves: the same pale hospital bed, the same scene, the same pale-faced, unconscious person.

In a daze, he seemed to see himself at ten years old.

The young boy stood there alone, looking at his mother who was dying on the sickbed. He shouted at the top of his lungs, but received no response.

The pungent smell of disinfectant and blood hit him in the face, and he leaned on the bed frame, his face suddenly turning pale.

Ruan Qing's smile from the past overlapped with images of her mother from her childhood, and in an instant, the scene transformed into a cold hospital ward.

His body lost its strength uncontrollably, and he collapsed heavily.

"President Fu!"