Chapter 4 – The Author Who Deserves Death by a Thousand Cuts

“How can you be a fool? You’re not. And from now on, don’t ever call yourself that again, understand?”

“Oh, understood.” Fu Shiyuan replied. He thought of himself as a fool, but since Wife said he wasn’t, then he wasn’t.

“Hey, you just mentioned Mom and Dad. Where are they?”

“They went on a trip. Ever since we got married, they’ve been away traveling.”

“Oh.”

Qiao Yanyan looked at the scenery outside. It was late September, already late summer. The weather was no longer so hot.

“Wife.” Fu Shiyuan leaned his head on her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Qiao Yanyan felt very unnatural about Fu Shiyuan calling her “Wife.”

“You’re so pretty.”

Qiao Yanyan’s face turned red in an instant.

This Fu Shiyuan—how could he flirt like that? Was he really a fool?

In the front seat, Driver Xiao Wu: “……”

He had worked for this family for seven years. The Eldest Young Master used to be so sharp, decisive, and full of presence. Who would’ve thought that incident three years ago would leave him with the intelligence of a child now?

The Eldest Young Master—what a pity.

Thank goodness he was now married. He really hoped that the Eldest Young Madam hadn’t married him just because the Fu Family was wealthy. He hoped the Eldest Young Madam could genuinely treat the Eldest Young Master with her whole heart.

The car continued moving, and Qiao Yanyan kept her eyes on the scenery along the way. Fu Shiyuan, resting on her shoulder, was dozing off.

As the car slowly entered a bustling commercial district, Qiao Yanyan observed the liveliness of the area. It didn’t seem all that different from the real world.

Casually, she noticed that a black car had been following them closely. Whenever they turned, the black car turned too.

Qiao Yanyan started wondering why the car behind had been tailing them. Could someone be planning to assassinate the Fu Family’s Eldest Young Master?

On TV and in novels, she had seen plenty of plots involving assassinations of elite families or kidnappings. Getting a bit nervous, she asked: “Driver Wu, why has that car behind us been following us the whole time?”

Driver Wu looked at the black car in the rearview mirror and replied: “No need to worry, Eldest Young Madam. That’s the Eldest Young Master’s bodyguard. Every time he goes out, there are a few bodyguards assigned to protect him. It was arranged by the Master and Madam—they’re afraid the Eldest Young Master might go missing.”

So that was it.

“Eldest Young Madam”—what an awkward title.

Looking at Fu Shiyuan sleeping on her shoulder, at his long eyelashes, at how handsome he looked asleep, she couldn’t help but curse the author of the novel again in her heart. Damn author deserves death by a thousand cuts for turning such a handsome supporting male character into a fool!

The car drove into a wealthy neighborhood and stopped in front of Villa No. 8. Xiao Wu turned off the engine and said: “We’re here, Eldest Young Madam.”

Then he got out and opened the door for her.

Qiao Yanyan gently shook Fu Shiyuan and softly said: “Fu Shiyuan, we’re here. Wake up.”

Fu Shiyuan opened his sleepy eyes, rubbed them, and then wiped the drool from his mouth.

“We’re here, Wife?”

“Mm. Come on, let’s get out.”

“Okay.”

After the two got out of the car, Xiao Wu said: “Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Madam, I’ll wait here for you. Whenever you’re ready to head home, just come out, and I’ll be right here.”

Qiao Yanyan was about to say it wasn’t necessary when a sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind.

“Yanyan, you’re home!”

Qiao Yanyan turned around and saw a woman and a young girl. The girl was especially beautiful, wearing a long white dress, her long hair fluttering—she looked so delicate and lovely. These must be Aunt and the female lead, Su An’an?

Su An’an smiled brightly as she approached Qiao Yanyan, beaming with joy. “Sister, you’re back!”

“Mm, An An.” Qiao Yanyan returned the greeting.

Then she looked at the woman and awkwardly said: “Aunt.”

Aunt Ning Yi was overjoyed to see Qiao Yanyan return. “Mm, Yanyan, I’ve missed you so much these past few days.”

Only then did she notice the tall, handsome man next to her niece. She quickly greeted him: “Oh, our dear nephew-in-law is back too?”

Fu Shiyuan looked at Ning Yi and called out: “Hello, Aunt!”

Ning Yi replied with a smile: “Good, good. Come inside, quickly, come inside.”

Fu Shiyuan instinctively took Qiao Yanyan’s hand. Qiao Yanyan didn’t shake him off. She was afraid it might be uncomfortable for him on his first visit.

Meanwhile, Su An’an had found it odd from the moment she saw Fu Shiyuan. At school, her sister had said she didn’t like Brother-in-law. She even complained that Brother-in-law was a bit of a fool and said they would get divorced sooner or later. So why had she brought him home now?

Once they entered the living room, Ning Yi asked Fu Shiyuan: “Nephew-in-law, would you like something to drink?”

Fu Shiyuan smiled and replied: “Aunt, I’d like some juice.”

“Sure, Aunt will make some juice for you right away.” Then Ning Yi instructed Su An’an: “An An, take good care of your sister’s husband.”

Su An’an nodded at her mother.

“Wife, this is my second time coming to Aunt’s house.” Fu Shiyuan said as he sat closely beside Qiao Yanyan, still holding her hand. The two looked incredibly intimate.

Su An’an’s eyes widened. Brother-in-law actually called Sister ‘Wife’?!

And Sister didn’t object?

Then, Qiao Yanyan asked Fu Shiyuan: “Then when was the first time you came here?”

“September 9th. The day we got married. I came to pick you up. Did you forget?”

“Oh, I remember now.” Qiao Yanyan made a mental note—the day they got married was September 9th.

“Sister, we get an eight-day holiday for National Day. Where are you planning to go?” Su An’an asked.

Oh? So October 1st was National Day in this world too? It really wasn’t much different from the real world.

Fu Shiyuan quickly interjected: “An eight-day break? Wife, can you take me with you wherever you go?”

“I haven’t decided where to go yet.”

The key issue was—she wasn’t familiar with this place at all!

Back when she read the book, she only skimmed it. On top of that, her name matched that of the evil female supporting character. The character was portrayed so viciously it made her uncomfortable, and the comment section was full of people cursing that female character, saying things like she didn’t deserve such a beautiful name, and that she hurt the kind and perfect male supporting role. Some even wished she’d get hit by a car or die in some horrible way.

Well, joke’s on them. The evil female supporting character didn’t get hit by a car—

She did.

And now she had turned into the villainess. But she wasn’t going to be cruel.

Su An’an said: “Do you want to go hiking? Or maybe take a boat around the lake?”

“What plans do you have, An An? I can join you.”

“I’m planning to go hiking in Fancheng in three days, then go boating at the lake afterward.”

“Sounds good. Look for me in three days, and we’ll go together.”

“Wife, I want to go too! I want to go!” Fu Shiyuan raised his hand enthusiastically.

“Sure, you can come too—but only if you behave.” Qiao Yanyan said with a smile.

“I’ll behave, I’ll be really good! Yay! Wife is taking me out to play—this is the best!”

Fu Shiyuan was overjoyed, like a child.

Su An’an looked at Brother-in-law’s bright, beaming face, then looked at her sister smiling at him softly. She couldn’t help but recall that, just a few days ago at school, Sister had said she and Brother-in-law would divorce sooner or later.

But now? It didn’t seem like that was happening anymore.

Brother-in-law really was handsome. If only his brain worked properly, how great that would be.

Back then, when Sister said she wanted to marry him, both she and their mother opposed the idea. After all, marriage was a serious matter, and Brother-in-law’s mind…

But Sister insisted. No one could stop her, and so the wedding happened.

The other party came from the capital’s most elite family. Brother-in-law’s parents were very kind and had offered an enormous dowry. Her mom had saved every bit of it, ready to return it to her sister whenever she asked.

At that moment, Aunt Ning came over with a tray and set several glasses on the table.

“Juice is here! Orange juice, watermelon juice—drink up. I’ll go start cooking.”

Fu Shiyuan picked the watermelon juice. Qiao Yanyan and Su An’an each took an orange juice.

After a few sips, Fu Shiyuan nodded eagerly. “Delicious! So good! Wife, how’s your juice taste? I want to try a sip!”

Qiao Yanyan tightened her grip on her glass. “Don’t you already have your own juice? Why do you want mine?”

“Because your color looks different than mine. It’s yellow and pretty. I just want to taste it, please? Can I, Wife?”

“Of course not. That’s very unhygienic.”

“Why does it matter? You’re my Wife!”

“Still no. I’m not giving it to you.”

Su An’an watched the interaction and slowly broke into an “auntie smile.”

She could definitely get into shipping this couple—they were pretty sweet.

And yet, Qiao Yanyan eventually still let Fu Shiyuan take a sip of her juice.

Fu Shiyuan smiled and said: “Wife, your juice is kinda sour. Try my watermelon juice. It’s sweet.”

“Nope. You already drank from it—I’m not drinking it.”

“Wife, just one sip. My mouth is very clean!”

Qiao Yanyan still refused. She wasn’t used to sharing drinks with others.

Su An’an now felt like a complete third wheel.

“Sister, Brother-in-law, do you want to watch some TV? I’ll turn it on for you.” Su An’an quickly turned on the television.

On the screen was a news broadcast—an interview with Fu Shixu. He was dressed in a sharp suit, clean and radiant, confidently announcing the acquisition of Yuanda Group…

Fu Shiyuan beamed and pointed at the screen, excited. “Wife, it’s Shixu! Shixu is on TV!”

Qiao Yanyan nodded. “Mm, that’s him.”

And just then, she caught sight of Su An’an’s expression—her gaze was fixed on Fu Shixu on the screen. Her eyes were complicated, lingering intently on his face.

Qiao Yanyan smiled.

Looks like the female lead might already be falling for the male lead.

Fu Shixu—what an arrogant guy. She really didn’t like him.

She had a bad impression of him from this morning.

And he wasn’t even as good-looking as Fu Shiyuan!

Male lead, huh?

If that damned author hadn’t made Fu Shiyuan a fool,

Who’d even give that male lead a second look?