"About six years ago."
Fang Yi's deep eyes suddenly lit up. "What was she like back then?"
Chu Yang back then? Xiao Xiao recalled carefully. In her memory, Chu Yang was a girl with waist-length hair who spoke very little. The only thing that caught her attention was her strange name.
Xiao Xiao considered her choice of words for a moment before answering Fang Yi: "In today's terms—it's cool!"
Yes, it was cool. He only glanced at her briefly, his gaze aloof and indifferent, completely out of character for his age. Xiao Xiao always felt that such a look shouldn't belong to a child from a normal family; it was as if he had an innate wariness and indifference towards people.
Therefore, when Xiao Xiao saw Chu Yang again some time ago, she didn't feel that Chu Yang was cold at all. On the contrary, she felt that Chu Yang had changed a lot and was at least closer to the situation of her peers, although she still had some strange ideas.
"Did something happen to her that year?" Fang Yi asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
Xiao Xiao was taken aback, not understanding why Fang Yi would ask such a question, and also wondering why he had become interested in Chu Yang's past.
Fang Yi smiled wryly, "It seems like she wasn't like this before. She was such a child. Why did she suddenly become so cold? Aren't you close to her sister? Didn't she mention it?"
Xiao Xiao did mention it to Zhang Jingzhi. At the time, Zhang Jingzhi casually said that it was because Chu Yang did not do well in the high school entrance exam that his aunt had forced him into school early. He had been treated as a child prodigy for a long time, but he underperformed in the high school entrance exam, which inevitably caused him to be affected and his mentality became a bit distorted. He said he would be fine after this period.
Hearing Fang Yi ask this question so suddenly, Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat. How did Fang Yi know about Chu Yang's past? Was he secretly investigating Chu Yang? But why would he investigate Chu Yang?
A thousand thoughts flashed through Xiao Xiao's mind, but her face remained calm. She looked at Fang Yi and smiled, "I don't know about that. Maybe she's always been like this since she was little. Mr. Fang, what's your stance on asking me so many questions? Are you Chu Yang's boyfriend, or—my boss?"
Fang Yi smiled knowingly when he saw her throw back the same questions he had used to brush her off before. He knew she didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he didn't press her further.
The intercom suddenly rang. Fang Yi pressed the button, waved to Xiao Xiao, and signaled that she could leave.
Xiao Xiao smiled politely, turned and left. Before she even reached the door, she heard the secretary's gentle voice on the intercom say, "Mr. Fang, a Mr. He wants to see you. He said he has an appointment with you."
Fang Yi seemed to pause for a moment before saying indifferently, "Let him come up."
Xiao Xiao opened the door and left without pausing, but a faint unease crept into her heart. Fang Yi, Chu Yang, what exactly was going on between them? The one surnamed He? Could it be He Yiyang?
She deliberately slowed her pace and even paused in the corridor. Finally, she heard the elevator ding-dong, and the elevator doors slowly opened. A young man stepped out and brushed past Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and recognized him. It was as if she had seen him somewhere before. The moment she entered her office, Xiao Xiao finally remembered where she had seen this person before. Wasn't this the one who was entangled with Chu Yang on the street that day?
Out of loyalty to her friend, Xiao Xiao decided to tell Zhang Jingzhi or Chu Yang about it. After thinking for a long time, she finally dialed Chu Yang's number directly.
“Fang Yi may be investigating you,” Xiao Xiao said, considering her wording, “mainly about what happened six years ago, the year you took the high school entrance exam.”
There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone; you could barely hear Chu Yang breathing. Xiao Xiao felt a chill run down her spine.
After a long while, Chu Yang seemed to come alive again, letting out a low, cold laugh, as if he found the news disdainful or absurd.
Xiao Xiao wisely remained silent.
The laughter stopped, and Chu Yang asked, "Did you tell my sister about this?"
“No,” Xiao Xiao said. She knew Zhang Jingzhi too well. She seemed calm, but in reality, she was the most impulsive person. Sometimes, even the slightest spark could make her explode. Moreover, she wasn’t calm enough, at least not as calm as Chu Yang.
"Also, right now, there's a man surnamed He in Fang Yi's office," Xiao Xiao added. "I think you should know who he is."
"Yes, I know," Chu Yang replied calmly. "Please don't tell my sister about this."
Xiao Xiao considered for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Can you solve this yourself?"
If she couldn't, she couldn't keep it from Zhang Jingzhi, otherwise everyone would find out sooner or later. If Chu Yang really got into trouble, regardless of whether she was responsible, Zhang Jingzhi would inevitably take her anger out on her, even if Zhang Jingzhi herself didn't want that.
Friendship is profound, but it shouldn't clash with family ties. It's best if the two can coexist in parallel, and Xiao Xiao understands this very well.
Chu Yang seemed to think for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Yes!" His voice was low but unusually firm.
"Alright then, I'll pretend I don't know anything about your affairs," Xiao Xiao said.
Chu Yang was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you, Sister Xiao Xiao."
After throwing down the phone, Chu Yang collapsed onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted. All his strength had been drained away by that phone call.
Why, after all this time, does everyone still refuse to let her go? He's been wandering outside for six years, why did he come back? And why, even after he came back, does he still refuse to let her go?
Why did he investigate what happened to her six years ago? Yes, as shrewd as he was, how could he not see the difference between her and that other man? But what kind of result did he want? She was already so obedient, why wasn't he satisfied?
Why doesn't she even have the right to choose to forget? What do they want from her?
After a long while, he finally regained his strength and gradually clenched his fists, tighter and tighter, as if he could crush his joints.
Chu Yang turned to look out the window. It was completely dark outside. The phone rang, and it seemed like it took her a while to react. Her grandmother was calling her from the kitchen to answer the phone. When she picked up, her mother's ever-confident voice boomed in her ear: "You brat, why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Your dad has a business dinner tonight, and your aunts are dragging me to play cards. I'm not coming home tonight. Just tell your grandmother I'm working overtime!"
The sound of mahjong tiles being rubbed could be heard from the other end of the phone, along with an urging voice: "Old Chen, are you going to play?"
"Play, play, I'm hanging up now! Be a good girl, Mom will buy you a dowry if I win money!" Mom said hurriedly and then hung up the phone.
Chu Yang held the phone for a moment, stunned. His grandmother had already poked her head out from the kitchen. "Chu Yang, who's calling?"
“My mom,” Chu Yang replied, “both she and my dad have things to do, they won’t be home for dinner tonight.”
"Huh? I've already started cooking! Why did you only tell me now!" Grandma complained.
Chu Yang paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, grabbed his phone, put on his shoes, and ran outside. "Grandma, you eat by yourself. I have things to do tonight, so I'm going out now."
"Huh?" Before the old lady could finish her sentence, seeing her granddaughter run off, she could only pout and mutter to herself, "Not a single one of them is willing to keep an old woman like me company! Humph! What good are children!"
Chu Yang
Chu Yang took a taxi directly to the building where Fang Yi works. He looked up at the lights shining from the top floor before dialing Fang Yi's number and excitedly asked, "Guess where I am right now?"
Fang Yi was taken aback upon hearing this, then stood up from the leather chair, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down from the high floor. Chu Yang's figure across the street was very small. Even though it was impossible for him to see him, he still raised his face and waved his arm in his direction.
Chu Yang's cheerful voice came through: "See? Nobody's cooking for me at home. I'm hungry. Take me out to eat! I want a big meal!"
As if afraid he wouldn't see it, Chu Yang jumped up from the ground and waved her arm vigorously at him. She was too far away to see her expression clearly, but you could hear the joy in her voice. Judging from her agile figure, her ankle was probably fully healed.
"Okay, let's have a big meal!" Fang Yi said, a smile appearing on his previously gloomy face.
He Yiqian, who was sitting opposite, was a little puzzled. He walked to the window and looked down. His face changed color instantly.
Fang Yi glanced at He Yiqian's pale face, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Fifth Brother, what's past is past, why be so fixated on it?"
"Big brother!" He Yiqian suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness. "She's not one of your previous women. She's different from others. She—" He Yiqian pointed to his left chest, "has been here with me for eight years! Eight years! I liked her when I was a child. You want me to let her go? I want to let her go, but I can't!"
Fang Yi's gaze gradually turned cold, and his thin lips were pressed into a stiff line.
He Yiqian stubbornly met his gaze, refusing to back down.
After a long while, a cold smile finally appeared on Fang Yi's lips. He took his hand off He Yiqian's shoulder and said indifferently, "Is this how you talk to your elder brother?"
He Yiqian's lips trembled, his voice incredibly hoarse, "Big brother, please let her go, okay? I heard from second brother that she doesn't want to, she—"
Fang Yi's sharp gaze shot over like an arrow, silencing He Yiqian's next words. Fang Yi said coldly, "This is between her and me. I don't want to ruin our brotherhood over a woman. If you still call me 'Big Brother,' then forget about it!"
Fang Yi grabbed his coat and headed outside. Chu Yang was still waiting downstairs. That girl didn't have much patience; she'd probably get impatient soon.
"You can wait a while before going down," Fang Yi said calmly.
He Yiqian's forehead veins bulged, and he called out in a hoarse voice, "Big Brother!"
Fang Yi paused, his hand on the doorknob.
"Please grant my request, brother?" He Yiqian said with difficulty.
Fang Yi turned to look at He Yiqian, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Fifth Brother, didn't Huang Fei tell you? I've already brought Chu Yang home, and I've never treated her like any of the women I knew before." He paused, then turned back and said coldly, "Fifth Brother, between brothers, we can compromise on anything, except women!"
He Yiqian stood there, frozen, watching Fang Yi slam the door and leave. His clenched fists trembled slightly, and his handsome face was distorted with anger.
Chu Yang had indeed lost all patience. Seeing Fang Yi's car emerge from the underground parking lot, he stepped forward, frowned, and held out his hand to him, saying, "You can figure out how to pay for the ride here!"
Fang Yi looked at the taxi receipt Chu Yang handed him, both amused and exasperated. He thought to himself, "No wonder this girl was waving at me so enthusiastically earlier; she was showing him this receipt after all."
"I offered you a credit card, but you refused. You're so insistent on arguing over such a small amount of money," Fang Yi laughed, tossing his head. "Get in the car. What do you want to eat?"
Chu Yang walked around the car and happened to catch He Yiqian coming out of the building, his gaze also turning towards her. Chu Yang looked up and met He Yiqian's eyes without flinching, his eyes revealing a hint of mockery and contempt.
He Yiqian stood there with a livid face, watching Fang Yi's car drive away.
The car drove straight into the Fang family mansion before stopping. Fang Yi looked at Chu Yang and saw that she was still sitting there in a daze. He smiled, reached out to grab her chin, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Chu Yang suddenly woke up and instinctively tried to dodge Fang Yi's hand, but it was too late, and he couldn't help but hiss.
Fang Yi sensed something was wrong and turned her face to look at her. Sure enough, he found two faint blue marks on her chin.
"What's going on?" Fang Yi asked coldly.
Chu Yang turned his face away. "Did we bump into each other? Weren't we going out for a fancy meal? Why did you bring me home again?"
Fang Yi frowned at Chu Yang, knowing full well she was lying. Those two bruises couldn't have been from a collision; how could someone have pinched them so hard to create such marks? A surge of anger rose within Fang Yi, but his furrowed brows relaxed, and he simply smiled faintly, saying, "Get out of the car. Let me show you my mother's cooking. I bet you won't be interested in any fancy meals after that! She doesn't cook easily, so you'd better act pitiful later!"
As usual, Fang Yi's father was not there. Fang's mother was indeed very enthusiastic about Chu Yang's arrival. As soon as Fang Yi said that Chu Yang was hungry, she went to the kitchen without saying a word.
"What do you want to eat? Tell your aunt! Your aunt doesn't usually show her cooking skills to others, but today I'm going to make sure you get to taste what Fang's private kitchen is all about!"
Chu Yang was a little embarrassed and quickly said, "Auntie, anything is fine, I'm not picky about food."
Fang's mother smiled happily, "It's good that he doesn't pick at his food!" Then she turned to Fang Yi and chuckled, "It's good that he doesn't pick at his food, so he can grow up strong!"
Chu Yang smiled helplessly. Looking at Fang's mother's slender figure, she still had the nerve to say that she had raised others to be strong. She hadn't even been able to raise herself to be strong. But he couldn't say that. Chu Yang stole a glance at Fang Yi's figure and thought to himself that she had certainly fed her son well.
Fang Yi seemed to see through Chu Yang's thoughts and laughed, "Don't look at me like that. My figure isn't from my mother. She's afraid of the cooking fumes on her face, so she rarely cooks for me herself. She can hardly be considered a virtuous wife and loving mother!"
Fang's mother smiled and rolled her eyes at her son, then looked at Chu Yang, "Chu Yang is thin, but his bone structure is there, so he'll grow strong."
Chu Yang nodded in agreement, but to his surprise, Fang's mother nodded again and continued, "Only when the baby is strong can they have more babies!"
Chu Yang was stunned, her face flushing red instantly. Fang Yi chuckled, patted her head affectionately, and said with a smile, "Don't agree with whatever my mom says so quickly in the future!"
Fang's mother chuckled and tied on her apron to prepare the dishes. The housekeeper busied herself helping out. Fang Yi saw that Chu Yang was still standing there in a daze, so he gently patted her bottom. After Chu Yang gave him an annoyed glare, he chuckled in a low voice and said, "You go too, go and help out, learn a bit. The Fang family's private recipes are passed down to daughters-in-law, not daughters!"
Sure enough, Fang's mother's private cooking lived up to its reputation, and Chu Yang was also very generous, eating quite a lot, which made Fang's mother very happy, and she kept adding more dishes for her.
Fang Yi didn't eat much; most of the time, he just watched his mother busy taking care of Chu Yang with a faint smile on his lips.
"Chu Yang, I heard from Fang Yi that you're graduating from university soon, is that right?" Fang's mother asked with a smile.
Chu Yang swallowed what was in his mouth and nodded.
"That's great. You can get married after graduation. When are your parents available? We should meet them and discuss how to proceed. I think spring is the best time to get married, but I'm afraid you won't graduate yet. Early autumn would be nice, maybe September, when it's neither too hot nor too cold."
Chu Yang was speechless. He watched as Fang's mother became more and more engrossed in her story. He turned to look at Fang Yi, who was still smiling faintly.
"Once you're married, you can have a baby. If you conceive in the fall, you can give birth next spring, when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold..."
"Ignore her, just eat your own food!" Fang Yi said.
Chu Yang thought to himself, "How can I possibly eat this? Your mom's already talking about having kids! By the time I finish this meal, my child might already be in college! It seems like food isn't something you can just eat for free!"