Chapter 58: You Really Want Me to Get Married and Have Children?

“There’s still a child here,” Ruan Li said, feeling a little weak in the legs due to his sudden closeness. Her hand clung to the collar of his shirt.

Fu Huaizhou took the bag from her hand. “You’re really not coming back to live at Yuyuan? I can have someone pick you up and drop you off every day it won’t be for long.”

Ruan Li hesitated for a moment. She couldn’t really let Fu Yu be dragged back and forth by Fu Huaizhou every day. Not only would people eventually notice something strange, but the hot weather could also be too much for a child.

“That’s fine, I guess…” Ruan Li replied quietly.

“I’ll have someone come help you pack tomorrow,” Fu Huaizhou said, the corners of his eyes curling slightly in a barely noticeable smile.

While Ruan Li was sitting in front of the mirror getting ready to remove her makeup, she noticed Fu Huaizhou sitting on the sofa, taking a call. She hadn’t been paying attention until she heard him mention Ruan Shu’s name, which piqued her curiosity.

“Make sure she takes the pills,” Fu Huaizhou said coldly, his tone completely different from how he usually spoke to her.

After he hung up, Ruan Li curiously asked, “What’s wrong with Ruan Shu?”

“Why? Are you concerned?” Fu Huaizhou looked at her slowly. “Concerned about Ruan Shu or Fu Xingchuan?”

“I’m not concerned about either of them,” Ruan Li replied, rolling her eyes in frustration. “I’m just nosy, that’s all.”

The hotel staff was still helping Fu Yu bathe in the bathroom, with the door closed.

Fu Huaizhou stood up, pulling her onto his lap. Ruan Li instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You smell jealous,” Ruan Li teased with a laugh as she sniffed his neck like a little puppy.

She knew all too well about Fu Huaizhou’s possessiveness. Even just looking at another man at a banquet would get her questioned by him, let alone her ex-fiancé, Fu Xingchuan.

“He’s your nephew,” Ruan Li pointed out playfully, fiddling with his shirt collar.

“Exactly, which is why I’d be even more worried if we were under the same roof,” Fu Huaizhou replied, his gaze fixed on her.

Ruan Li’s eyes widened in disbelief at his words. She shifted slightly on his lap to find a more comfortable position. “What if, when you returned to China, I had already married Fu Xingchuan? What would you do then?”

Fu Huaizhou was quiet for a moment, as if he were seriously considering the scenario. “If I were living at the Fu residence, I’d probably see you two arguing every day.”

He paused as if contemplating further. Though he didn’t know exactly how he would feel, one thing was certain he would definitely make them divorce.

Ruan Li, still thinking about his phone call, felt uneasy. “So, what happened with Ruan Shu earlier?”

Fu Huaizhou seemed pleased by her slightly jealous tone, but he answered honestly. “I told them to make sure she takes contraceptive pills. She can’t get pregnant.”

“Why not?” Ruan Li asked, confused. “Doesn’t Grandpa Fu keep urging everyone to have grandchildren?”

Even when she was engaged to Fu Xingchuan, she had heard similar comments, though their awkward, mutual dislike for each other made them uncomfortable.

“It’s just to teach Fu Xingchuan a lesson. She’s not actually going to enter the Fu family,” Fu Huaizhou explained.

Ruan Li recalled how cold the matriarch had been that morning. It seemed the entire family was aware of Ruan Shu’s attempt to trap Fu Xingchuan, and they were letting him learn the hard way.

Hearing talk of contraceptives, and with the sound of water faintly coming from the bathroom, Ruan Li’s thoughts began to drift.

The last time Fu Huaizhou came to this hotel to find her, they had both had a bit to drink. Things got a bit out of hand that night, and while she remembered that they had taken precautions on the couch and the vanity table, she couldn’t recall if they had in the bathroom.

Fu Huaizhou, always so meticulous, probably wouldn’t have missed anything. Besides, it wasn’t likely that something would happen from one slip-up. Ruan Li had painful cramps during her periods, so she didn’t think she was particularly fertile anyway.

“I was wondering, with Fu Yu already so grown up, doesn’t your family push you to get married?” Ruan Li asked, her mind still wandering.

Fu Huaizhou’s gaze darkened, and he looked at her intently. “You really want me to get married and have children?”

The words “I don’t want that” were on the tip of Ruan Li’s tongue, but she quickly realized that it wasn’t her place to talk about such things with him. After all, even if Fu Huaizhou ended up with someone, she wouldn’t be a candidate.

A family like the Fu family wouldn’t allow an uncle and nephew to have been engaged to the same woman.

She muttered softly, “It has nothing to do with me.”

“How does it not?” Fu Huaizhou frowned at her. From his perspective, it seemed she was only concerned with the breach of contract clause that would double the compensation if he got married. His voice turned dangerously low. “After everything we’ve done together, you still don’t realize it? Are you stupid?”

Ruan Li blinked in confusion at first, but gradually she understood the meaning behind his words, and her face flushed red. “You’re being a rogue again!”

The water in the bathroom had stopped, and Ruan Li quickly scrambled off his lap. “I’ll go check on Fu Yu.”

Fu Huaizhou watched as his arms suddenly became empty, a look of helplessness crossing his face. Remembering how he had just called her a fool, his mind wandered back to the night they spent at Jiang Yixing’s villa.

If Ruan Li had asked him for anything that night, he would have agreed to it.

Since the hotel room only had one bedroom, it meant the three of them had to share a bed. After Ruan Li finished her bath, she saw Fu Huaizhou laying out a quilt on the floor.

“You’re sleeping on the floor?” she asked in surprise.

Fu Yu tugged at her clothes. “Uncle said we can’t all sleep in the same bed as you, so he and I are sleeping on the floor.”

Ruan Li looked at the pitiful little quilt on the floor. “Why not just open another room? Why squeeze into one?”

“We want to squeeze in!” Fu Yu clung to her clothes, leaving her with no choice but to give in.

“Fine, we’ll all sleep on the bed. It’s big enough,” Ruan Li pointed out, remembering how spacious it had been the last time she and Fu Huaizhou slept there. Feeling a bit awkward, she added, “It’s just one extra child.”

And so, Fu Yu ended up in the middle of the bed, eyes wide open, looking back and forth. After begging Ruan Li for a bedtime story, he still seemed too excited to sleep. He tugged at both Ruan Li and Fu Huaizhou, asking, “My dad says his dream is to protect the country. What’s your dream, Uncle?”

Fu Huaizhou thought for a moment. “I’ve never really had one.”

His life had always followed a set path, from education to work, and he held many things in his hands without ever desiring anything specific.

“What about you, Sister?” Fu Yu asked.

The last time Ruan Li had thought about that question was in high school, while filling out a personal information form. She could hardly remember what she’d written back then. But now, the thing she wanted most was

“To find my family, I guess,” she said hesitantly. Seeing how Duan Min doted on Ruan Shu after she was found, Ruan Li couldn’t help but wonder what her own family’s reaction would be if they discovered she was still alive. The older she got, the more she longed to know.

“Your family?” Fu Huaizhou turned to look at her. “How much do you remember?”

“I don’t have any memories. It feels like I’ve been in the orphanage since I was old enough to remember anything.”

Fu Huaizhou reached out, pulling both Ruan Li and Fu Yu into his arms, his hand gently ruffling her hair. “You’ll find them someday.”