Chapter 111: You Didn’t Cry Enough Earlier

“When did that happen? Why didn’t I know about it?” Ruan Li was sure she hadn’t misheard and turned to look at him.

Fu Huaizhou’s expression was calm, as if he were merely discussing what they had for dinner. “When I was away on a business trip a while ago.”

It was just a minor surgery. If Ruan Li knew about it, she would definitely overthink it. Ever since Shi Xun’s surgery, she had become extremely sensitive to any health issues or hospital visits involving their family.

Fu Huaizhou gently stroked her smooth, long hair. “So you don’t need to take any more medication, and we don’t need any other precautions.”

Ruan Li was delighted to hear that she no longer had to take medicine and had nothing to worry about. “Shouldn’t you inform Father and Mother about it?”

She had always addressed them this way for the past twenty years, and even after marriage, she couldn’t get used to changing the way she called them.

Fu Huaizhou frowned slightly. “Why should I? We already have Fu Chengjing and Lingying. And even if we didn’t have children, they couldn’t say anything.”

“No children?” Ruan Li had never really considered that possibility, since she and Fu Huaizhou had reconciled and married after she got pregnant.

She lay on Fu Huaizhou’s chest, gazing up at his relaxed, post satisfaction expression.

“Fu Huaizhou.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really curious, what kind of wife did you imagine before you met me?”

When she first encountered Fu Huaizhou, he was already in a position of power. Most people of his status in the capital city were married by twenty-five. So Ruan Li was genuinely shocked when she found out that at twenty-eight, Fu Huaizhou was still single.

“If I hadn’t been manipulated into bed with you just a few days after we met, I would’ve suspected that someone like you, still single at twenty-eight, might have a… problem.”

Fu Huaizhou raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes fixed on her.

“Suspect me?” His hand moved under the blanket, threateningly. “Didn’t you cry enough earlier?”

Ruan Li instantly became obedient.

“So, you haven’t answered my question yet,” she said playfully, her voice coy and teasing. She was an expert in getting what she wanted from Fu Huaizhou. “I already know you’re capable no need to prove it again.”

“I never thought about it,” Fu Huaizhou replied indifferently.

“That’s impossible!” Ruan Li thought that even monks in temples couldn’t be entirely free of desire, let alone someone involved in the cutthroat business world.

Fu Huaizhou looked at her seriously. “Why would it be impossible? I never planned on getting married.”

“After all, the Fu family already had Fu Xinchuan and Fu Yu. They didn’t need another heir from my line. All I had to do was manage my part of the Fu Corporation well for a few decades.”

It was the first time Ruan Li heard about his thoughts. “But what if your family pushed you to get married?”

Fu Huaizhou chuckled. “Then I’d urge my brothers to have more kids.”

“You’re so wicked.” Ruan Li laughed, imagining his two older brothers who were already several years older being pressured into having more children just because of him.

Fu Huaizhou lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips. Despite Fu Chengjing already being four years old, Ruan Li still looked like a carefree twenty-year-old. Her biggest daily dilemma was deciding what outfits to choose for herself and Yingying.

As for Fu Chengjing, he had to wear his school uniform every day.

His voice was gentle, the harsh aura he had years ago having long since softened. In their private villa, there was no imposing CEO of the Fu Corporation only a father who took care of his children daily.

“Marriage wasn’t something I ever considered necessary. It was only after I met you that I put it on my life list.”

Ruan Li’s heart felt warm. “I’m glad you didn’t have an ideal image of a wife. Otherwise, you’d be silently criticizing me.”

She knew she didn’t fit the typical mold of a perfect wife or mother. After all, Fu Huaizhou had been the primary caregiver for their two kids once they turned one.

She rarely bothered him about his routine or diet. It always seemed like he was the one taking care of her in every tiny detail.

During those years in the Ruan household, her father had trained her to be a perfect marriage candidate, constantly reminding her how to be a virtuous wife and mother. But she let those lessons go in one ear and out the other.

“But don’t get your hopes up. I don’t feel guilty at all,” Ruan Li puffed up her cheeks defiantly. She never believed in conforming to societal expectations. Life was too short not to live freely.

Fu Huaizhou pinched her soft cheek. “Why should you feel guilty?”

“I’m eight years older than you, and it’s only natural that I take care of you,” he said, finding her words somewhat absurd. “Even if we were the same age, as your husband, it’s my duty to take care of you.”

“You’ve gone through more than I have by giving birth to two children. There’s no way I’d have any complaints.”

Ruan Li buried her face in his neck, inhaling the faint cedarwood scent that he always wore. She’d heard that people who stick to the same fragrance are often steadfast, and perhaps there was some truth to that.

“Are you crying from being touched?” Fu Huaizhou teased her, his voice carrying a hint of laughter.

Ruan Li shook her head, speaking in a muffled voice.

“I just feel like I somehow picked up a bargain husband.”

The first time she was summoned to that room and got involved with Fu Huaizhou, they never managed to separate since.

Hearing her words, Fu Huaizhou lightly smacked her on the bottom. “You mean the free rides you’ve had a few times? Those stand out to me even more.”

“Can’t you save that habit for disciplining our son? He’s only going to get naughtier,” Ruan Li grumbled, tightening the blanket around herself.

“I only do it because you seem to like it,” Fu Huaizhou’s eyes glimmered, easily tugging the blanket away from her grasp.

“It feels like tonight is going by slowly,” he said in a tone that carried a dangerous edge. “There’s still plenty of time left.”

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The next morning, Ruan Li was woken up by knocking on the door. She drowsily glanced at the spot next to her. Fu Huaizhou had just woken up too.

It was already almost noon the previous night had gone on too late, with someone being especially bold after the surgery.

“It’s probably little Jing,” Ruan Li said, scrambling to find her nightgown that had been tossed to the foot of the bed.

Fu Huaizhou’s expression soured, but seeing that Ruan Li was already dressed, he got up to open the door.

Sure enough, there stood their son in his pajamas. Before Fu Huaizhou could ask what he wanted, Fu Chengjing lifted his little sister in the air.

“Dad, Lingying says she’s hungry.”

He walked past his father, setting the little girl down next to Ruan Li. Lingying, still reliant on her mother’s comfort, quickly clung to her.

Fu Chengjing, about to leave, looked back at his mom and sister with curiosity. “Mom, Lingying said she’s hungry.”

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Ruan Li shot a complicated look at her husband, who, for once, seemed slightly guilty. Fu Huaizhou lowered his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Ruan Li asked the pouty little girl in her arms gently, “How about starting today with a bottle of formula?”