Chapter 3: What kind do you like?

For Fu Jin, the relationship came unexpectedly and ended predictably.

He did indeed go on a blind date last year; the other person came from a prominent family, a noble young lady.

However, that was because his father was seriously ill at the time, and his father desperately wanted to see him get married, plus…

After spending a brief month together, he ultimately decided to break up.

Speaking of which, he was also grateful for that relationship because it helped him see a lot more clearly.

“Not really suitable,” Fu Jin said succinctly.

“Where is it not suitable?” the girl asked, pressing further.

“Personality,” he casually found an excuse.

Personality?

Jiang You frowned slightly.

They say personalities should complement each other. Fu Jin, being so reserved and introverted, must need someone passionate—just like her.

Meanwhile, that noble young lady was well-mannered and never smiled with her teeth showing…

It really wasn’t suitable!

Jiang You couldn’t help but chuckle, then asked, “So, did you like her?”

The girl’s big, clear eyes blinked without a pause, fixed tightly on the man’s face.

Fu Jin decisively replied, “No.”

“Ahh—” The girl elongated the sound, her expression as cute as a hamster spotting food, “Then what kind do you like?”

Fu Jin glanced at her sideways. “What? Are you really trying to find yourself an aunt?”

Jiang You clasped her hands together, eyes dreamy, “It’s not impossible, though!”

“Who?” Fu Jin asked, suspicious.

“What do you think of me?” The words left her mouth without thinking.

Fu Jin’s body tensed as if he had been hit, and Jiang You vaguely noticed a hint of panic on his face. But the light in the car was dim, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if she had seen it correctly.

After a long pause with no response, Jiang You started to feel uneasy, fearing he might be angry.

“Eh—I’m just joking!”

She turned her head to look out the window, her voice mixed with a hint of disappointment and teasing.

“Kids shouldn’t say things like that,” he seemed annoyed.

“Hmph! You can’t take a joke, I’m not playing with you anymore!”

The girl’s voice was soft and sweet, like a kitten raising its paw, scratching at one’s ears, making them itch.

The air went quiet for two minutes, then Fu Jin’s deep, magnetic voice broke the silence.

“You’re about to start your internship, right?”

Jiang You was eighteen this year, but in her third year of junior high, she passed the entrance exam for the jewelry design youth program at Beicheng University.

She had loved playing with jewelry since she was a child. Perhaps it was genetic, as her grandmother made handcrafted jewelry before she passed away.

That exam had been taken with a “just trying” attitude, but to her surprise, she passed and won a full scholarship with the highest score.

At the time, people were saying she was a genius jewelry designer with an endless future.

Therefore, although she was young, she had already been in university for three years and was starting her internship this summer.

Jiang You turned her head and looked straight ahead, “Yeah, probably starting around August or September.”

The man continued asking, “Have you decided which jewelry company you’re interning at?”

Jiang You replied, “There’s a design competition this summer, and the internship company will be decided based on the results.”

There were only thirty people in the youth program, and everyone entering was praised as a genius, so naturally, they were all striving to go to the best one. Currently, the top jewelry brand in the country is Night, a company owned by the prestigious Bai family of Beicheng, established by Old Master Bai for his beloved daughter Bai Wenwan.

The Bai family…

Jiang You felt a sour pang in her heart, then quickly shook it off, “Uncle Fu, why doesn’t Fu Enterprises have a jewelry company? Otherwise, you could give me a backdoor!”

Fu Jin tugged at the corner of his mouth, his deep-set eyes briefly shining with softness before quickly disappearing in the dim car lights.

Neither of them said anything more.

Soon, the car stopped downstairs at her apartment complex. Fu Jin escorted Jiang You to her door, and just as she was about to take out her key, the door across the hall opened, and it was Xu Chaoyang.

“Jiang You, you’re back?”

Jiang You looked at the handsome man and said, “Yeah, Chaoyang Ge, are you still up?”

Xu Chaoyang smiled gently, “Aunt Wen isn’t coming home lately, so she asked me to look out for you, in case something happens. I called you, but your phone was off.”

Xu Chaoyang graduated from university two years ago and started working in the cardiovascular department of Xiehe Hospital. He also moved across the hall from Jiang You. Since he and Jiang You’s mother were colleagues, he often took care of her.

Jiang You stuck out her tongue, “Oh, my phone ran out of battery.”

Xu Chaoyang nodded with a smile and then looked at the unfamiliar man standing beside her. The man’s clothes were distinguished, his demeanor noble, exuding a proud air.

“And this is?”

Jiang You introduced, “This is my Uncle Fu, he gave me a ride home. Uncle Fu, this is Chaoyang Ge, he takes good care of me.”

The two men nodded in greeting.

It was him?

Fu Jin recognized Xu Chaoyang as soon as he saw him.

The man who had received the carefully prepared gift from Jiang You.

At the same time, Xu Chaoyang was also scrutinizing Fu Jin.

Uncle?

Where did this extra uncle come from? He’d never seen him before and looked nothing like an ordinary person.

Xu Chaoyang’s eyes were filled with suspicion.

The dim hallway light cast shadows, and Fu Jin’s pupils were dark, his gaze menacing. Even though it was summer and hot, Xu Chaoyang couldn’t help but feel a chill in his bones.

The man exuded hostility, like a lion protecting its territory.

Why was this man so scary?

“Good to see you’re back. Get some rest, goodnight,” Xu Chaoyang said before slamming the door shut.

Jiang You froze for a moment. What was going on with Chaoyang Ge?

Why did he act like he saw a cat after a mouse?

She shrugged and opened the door, letting Fu Jin in.

It was an old-fashioned apartment, quite a few years old, a 90-square-meter two-bedroom unit.

The living room was on the left as you entered, with a balcony outside. The kitchen and dining area were on the right, and further inside were two bedrooms, one facing south, the other north.

The floor was light wood, with soft apricot-colored sheer curtains, a beige two-person sofa, and cute carrot-shaped pillows.

The fridge was covered with cute stickers, and there were potted plants and fresh flowers scattered around.

The apartment wasn’t big, but it had a cozy feel.

Everything in the house was still the same as before.

Fu Jin hadn’t visited often, with the last time being four years ago before he went abroad, yet he remembered every piece of furniture and decor.

Fu Jin sat on the sofa, and the girl quickly ran to the kitchen, returning with a cup of water.

He reached out to take it. “Your mom’s not home, you’re here alone tonight?”

Jiang You sat on a smaller sofa nearby and noticed Fu Jin’s concern. She casually said, “It’s fine, I’m used to being home alone.”

“Your mom’s this busy now?”

“The hospital’s always busy, but this time, she’s been sent on a business trip for an exchange program between Beijing and Hong Kong.”

She spoke lightly, but Fu Jin felt a little heartache.

Jiang You’s mother had been pregnant with her out of wedlock and had never revealed who Jiang You’s father was. She had raised Jiang You along with her mother, but after her grandmother passed, it was just the two of them.

As a surgeon at Xiehe, Jiang You’s mom was so busy that she didn’t even have time to drink water some days. When Jiang You was younger, she often went to Wen Nian’s house to eat and stay over. As she grew older and with her studies getting more intense, she had to spend a lot of time at home alone.

That’s why Jiang You was very independent and never caused trouble. She was sensible and well-behaved.

Jiang You watched the man, staying silent for a while.

Under the bright chandelier in the living room, the man’s handsome face was slightly lowered, and his sword-like eyebrows were furrowed. Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his prominent Adam’s apple and faint collarbones.

In the hot air, there was a hint of ambiguity, and Jiang You subconsciously swallowed.