Chapter 45: Stop Crying, Baby

Fu Huaizhou’s face was hit, his glasses knocked off. He caught the pillow and placed it beside the bed.

“So, come down and eat,” he said in a low voice.

Ruan Li couldn’t believe how shameless this man was. Most of the servants in Yu Garden were women, hired after she moved in, and they couldn’t lose their salaries just because of her. But seeing Fu Huaizhou’s composed and confident demeanor made her even angrier.

Before she could react, he had already bent down and picked her up, carrying her downstairs.

“Put me down!” Ruan Li, even if forced to eat, would rather walk herself than be carried by him. She struggled against his shoulders, trying to get out of his arms, but it was useless. He held her even tighter.

She even considered biting his neck, but as they left the bedroom, she felt too embarrassed to do so in front of others.

In the living room, a line of servants stood, their eyes respectfully downcast. They had heard the argument from upstairs, or more precisely, Ruan Li’s one-sided scolding.

She thought he would put her down at the dining table, but instead, he sat her on his lap.

“I’ll eat by myself!” Ruan Li protested as he picked up a spoon and brought it toward her mouth.

Feeling humiliated with the servants still around, she turned her head away.

“Open your mouth,” Fu Huaizhou said, ignoring her resistance, his arm locking her in place.

Ruan Li glared at him, hoping her fierce stare might make him relent, but he remained cold and unmoved, holding the spoon patiently. Defeated, she opened her mouth and ate. After not eating all day, her appetite wasn’t great, and after a few bites, her stomach felt bloated.

“I’m full,” she said, staring at the spoon he lifted again, and shook her head slightly.

Fu Huaizhou glanced at the barely touched porridge. “Eat a little more.”

Ruan Li pushed his arm away, feeling as though he was deliberately tormenting her. He wouldn’t let her leave, wouldn’t let her sleep properly, and now, even her meals had to be on his terms.

“Do you want me to vomit right here?” Her tone was cold, and her eyes, usually captivating, were now filled with unshed tears, as though they could fall at any moment.

Fu Huaizhou paused, then set down the spoon and used a napkin to gently wipe her mouth, avoiding her slightly reddened eyes.

“Alright, no more.”

He carried her back to the bedroom. She had thought he would stay in the master bedroom—after all, he had the spare key, and she couldn’t stop him. She lay on the bed, turning her back to him, but after a long, tense silence, she heard the door close softly.

Fu Huaizhou had left.

Ruan Li’s thoughts wandered slowly. People couldn’t handle emotional whiplash. If Fu Huaizhou had always been domineering and cold, perhaps she wouldn’t have chosen him, or maybe she would have gotten used to it, like she had with the Ruan family.

But lately, he had been treating her well. He wasn’t the tender type, but he had been accommodating, agreeing to whatever she asked. That’s why she couldn’t accept how he treated her last night, nor the fact that he had taken away her freedom.

It was like she had become a caged canary, a plaything for him, with no dignity left.

She hated the Fu Huaizhou of last night it made her feel so wronged.

The atmosphere in Yu Garden remained gloomy for the next two days. Ruan Li stayed in the bedroom, and Fu Huaizhou came back every noon and night to feed her. They barely spoke; when they did, it always led to arguments well, more like Ruan Li yelling at him.

Finally, the day came for Ruan Li to join the film crew. She had packed the essentials for her stay at a nearby hotel, and Chen Jing was waiting outside to pick her up.

However, Ruan Li was stopped once again in the living room. Unable to bear it any longer and not wanting to make things difficult for the servants, she called Fu Huaizhou.

“I’m going to the film set,” she said coldly when the call connected.

There was a long silence on the other end, so long that she thought there was a problem with the phone, until finally, his deep voice came through, “No.”

“Fu Huaizhou!” she shouted his name in fury.

The servants around her dared not say a word. Who else would dare address Mr. Fu by name like that?

“Yes?” he responded calmly.

“This is my job! What gives you the right to imprison me in Yu Garden?” Ruan Li kicked a nearby porcelain vase in frustration.

“We’ll discuss this later. I’ll invest in a project for you.”

Ruan Li felt like he was losing his mind. She didn’t want any investment from him this was a script she had fought for herself. “I’m going to this set right now. I don’t need you or your money!”

“No.”

She hung up, clutching her phone tightly, and considered storming out, but the security at Yu Garden was too tight. The servants, afraid of her getting hurt, were in disarray.

In the chaos, her phone slipped from her hand and smashed into the nearby porcelain vase, shattering it into a million pieces.

The room fell silent. Ruan Li looked at the mess indifferently, then turned and went upstairs. She didn’t believe Fu Huaizhou could keep her locked up forever. If necessary, she’d sever ties and end this relationship.

Her phone was broken, so she switched to her iPad and checked the trending topics. As expected, Jingluan had taken up several spots on the hot search list.

Ruan Shu, Fate’s Chosen Heroine Couple Chemistry

And one that was out of place Ruan Li’s Diva Attitude

She had known Ruan Shu wouldn’t miss this opportunity, and the comments had already spiraled out of control, accusing her of acting like a diva because of a wrist injury, skipping the opening ceremony, and lazing around because she had found a wealthy backer.

Ruan Li guessed that Chen Jing must be panicking, but with no way to reach her, there was nothing she could do.

In the quiet room, large teardrops began to fall onto the iPad screen. Ruan Li’s heart sank as she thought of how all the hard work she had put into changing her public image had been undone by this.

A servant had been on her way to deliver something to Ruan Li, but hearing the sound of her quiet sobs from the half open door, she didn’t dare enter.

When Fu Huaizhou arrived home early that evening, he noticed the broken porcelain shards being swept up by a servant and saw the cracked phone on the table.

The decorative pink case made it clear whose it was.

“The young miss is in a bad mood. She’s in her room,” a servant whispered.

Fu Huaizhou nodded slightly. Ever since he had restricted her from leaving, Ruan Li’s mood had been low. He had planned to take her out for horseback riding the next day to lift her spirits.

He went upstairs and found that, unlike the past few days, the door wasn’t locked today. Expecting things to be as usual, he entered the bedroom, only to notice a pile of crumpled tissues on the nightstand and the faint sound of sobbing.

The last time he had seen her cry was that night in bed. He had never seen her cry for anything else.

Fu Huaizhou suddenly felt a pang of panic, a tightening in his chest. He walked over to the bed and bent down to scoop her up.

Ruan Li, startled, caught the scent of his familiar woody cologne. She didn’t react at first, just stared coldly at him as tears streamed down her face. But then, she began to struggle violently in his arms, her voice hoarse as she sobbed uncontrollably. Seeing him only made her cry harder. She pounded on his shoulders and mumbled through her tears, “I hate you. Don’t touch me.”

Fu Huaizhou looked into her red, tearful eyes, her face still wet with tears. His heart felt like it was crumbling. He sighed softly, holding her firmly in his arms, gently patting her back to soothe her.

“Stop crying, baby,” he whispered.