Chapter 11
1818 Words
Chu Yeyan drove Xu Mei and Fu Shuyang back to Baihe Tower residential area.
It was already late, the streets nearly empty, with only distant neon lights flickering dutifully in the night.
Curled up in the backseat, Xu Mei finally felt the exhaustion settle in.
The intense dance practice had already drained her, but seeing Zhu Rui and the others at home earlier had made her so furious that she'd completely forgotten the pain.
Now that everything was quiet again, the aching fatigue returned all at once. She wanted nothing more than to pass out and sleep for a day.
But she couldn’t sleep just yet.
“Brother Fu, Brother Chu, thank you both,” Xu Mei said earnestly. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known what to do today.”
She had thought being a transmigrator, knowing how the story would unfold, meant she could take control of her destiny.
But in front of Xu Zhongya’s wealth and power, and Xu Lang’s protagonist aura, she was helpless.
“No need to thank us,” Chu Yeyan quickly replied, glancing at Fu Shuyang, who looked as cold and detached as ever, not even bothering to respond.
Trying to change the subject, Chu said, “Do you know what documents you need for the property transfer?”
Xu Mei shook her head. She’d never handled such things before—let alone in a semi-fictional world like this.
“I don’t know. What do I need?”
Chu was just about to answer when he changed his mind.
“Xiao Yang has done it before. Ask him.”
Fu Shuyang shot him a cold look, but Chu just grinned playfully, not intimidated in the slightest.
Fu Shuyang froze for a second.
It had been so long since anyone dared joke around in front of him.
“Brother Fu?” Xu Mei called from the backseat.
Fu Shuyang exhaled and looked down at his phone.
A minute later, Xu Mei received a text from an unfamiliar number—it listed the documents required for the transfer.
“Thanks, Brother Fu.” She didn’t bother asking how he got her number.
“Is this your number? Is your WeChat linked to it? I’ll add you.”
She moved quickly, and just as Fu Shuyang heard her ask, a friend request popped up on his phone.
He didn’t reply right away. Through the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of her.
Her eyes were already drooping from exhaustion, but she was still trying to keep up the conversation.
He tapped “accept.”
When he lowered his hand, his eyes met Chu Yeyan’s teasing look.
Fu Shuyang turned his gaze away, but the knot in his chest loosened just a little.
They soon arrived. The police station was near the residential area.
“I’m not leaving tonight. We’ll go to the real estate office together tomorrow,” Chu told Xu Mei.
“Go rest. If you need anything, just call.”
Xu Mei thanked them again, then collapsed onto her sofa.
After lying there a while, her stomach growled loudly.
Too tired to cook, she dragged herself into the kitchen, found some leftover bread in the fridge, and started eating it cold.
But just as she closed the fridge, she suddenly remembered—Chu Yeyan and Fu Shuyang hadn’t eaten either.
They’d been helping her all evening. And she hadn’t even offered to treat them to dinner.
Xu Mei grabbed her phone to call Chu Yeyan but realized she didn’t have his number.
So she called Fu Shuyang instead.
“Something wrong?” His low voice was unexpectedly magnetic over the phone, making her heart skip a beat.
“Xu Mei?” he prompted again when she didn’t answer.
She snapped out of it and scolded herself internally.
“You guys haven’t eaten yet, right? I made some noodles. Want to come over and have some?”
Fu Shuyang didn’t reply immediately. He seemed to hesitate.
Then she heard Chu Yeyan shout loudly in the background, “I want a fried egg! Thanks, Xu classmate!”
Xu Mei laughed. “Okay, then come on over.”
She put down the bread, pulled out dried noodles and eggs, and chopped up some green onions.
Once the noodles were cooked and rinsed, she topped them with aromatics and poured hot oil over them. The rich aroma filled the apartment.
“Smells amazing!” Chu Yeyan burst through the door, practically drooling as he dashed to the kitchen.
“Xu classmate, I can’t believe you’re this good at cooking. Impressive.”
“It’ll be ready in a sec,” she said, flipping the eggs.
Chu nodded and went to wash his hands, eagerly helping with utensils and sauces.
When he came out, he saw Fu Shuyang standing at the door, silently watching him.
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Chu said, waving a bottle of soy sauce. “I’m just here for the food. I didn’t even glance at our future sister-in-law.”
“Don’t joke,” Fu Shuyang replied coolly.
Just then, Xu Mei came out of the kitchen carrying two large bowls of noodles.
Her hands weren’t small, but the bowls still looked huge in her grip.
Fu Shuyang hesitated, then stepped forward to take the bowls from her.
Xu Mei thought it was Chu and handed them over naturally. But when she looked up and saw it was Fu Shuyang, she jumped a little.
He caught her reaction, his gaze darkening.
“Ah, I’ll go get the fried eggs!” she said, retreating into the kitchen, feeling oddly happy.
Fu Shuyang was considerate and gentlemanly—he must have had a tragic reason for turning dark in the future.
If she could find that turning point, maybe she could change his ending.
During dinner, Chu chattered non-stop, eating the most but talking the loudest.
Xu Mei responded now and then. Fu Shuyang, as always, stayed quiet.
Afterward, when she got up to clean, Fu Shuyang beat her to it, silently taking the dishes into the kitchen.
Chu wiped the table, chatting again.
“Don’t mind him. Whenever we ate together before, Xiao Yang always did the dishes. Pretty girls shouldn’t ruin their hands washing dishes…”
He trailed off when he saw Xu Mei standing at the kitchen doorway, watching Fu Shuyang.
Chu sighed.
He knew it. There was definitely something going on between those two.
But Xu Mei wasn’t thinking what he assumed.
To her, it was shocking that the wealthiest, most dangerous man in this world was doing the dishes.
If she were braver, she’d record it and show it to the world—imagine the reaction!
But she wasn’t that bold. So she just watched for a few more seconds.
When Fu Shuyang came out of the kitchen, he stopped, surprised to see her there.
“Something wrong?”
“No,” Xu Mei shook her head quickly. “Thank you.”
He paused, then replied, “Thank you.”
Chu: “…Alright, that’s enough thanks from both of you. Am I invisible or what?”
Fu Shuyang ignored him, nodded at Xu Mei, and left.
Chu smiled and said, “Don’t mind him. He's just shy. We’ll get going. You rest up. And seriously—the noodles were amazing.”
Once they left, Xu Mei gathered the necessary documents for the transfer, then went to bed.
In the middle of the night, she dreamt of Xu Zhongya chasing her with a knife and woke up in a cold sweat.
The window was open, creaking in the breeze. The sound was eerie.
She got up to close it and happened to glance outside—
Fu Shuyang’s apartment, just a few hundred meters away, still had its lights on.
The warm glow in the darkness made her feel safe.
She’d never lived in such a large place before. It was too empty.
Especially at night, the silence was suffocating. With all the ghost stories she’d heard, it sometimes felt like living in a graveyard.
But that one light changed everything.
At least now she knew:
If something ever happened, if she called out—
That cold, quiet man across the way would answer.
Maybe the light wasn’t left on for her.
But it gave her a sense of safety nonetheless.
Half-asleep, she made a silent vow—
She would change Fu Shuyang’s fate.
—
The next morning, Xu Mei was jolted awake by a phone call.
It was Chu Yeyan, calling to wake her up.
It was already 9:00 AM. The appointment with Xu Zhongya was at ten!
She rushed through her routine and flew out the door, only to see Chu’s car waiting below.
He and Fu Shuyang were casually leaning against the hood, eating breakfast.
Her lips curled into a smile. “Sorry, I overslept.”
“It’s fine. You’re the fastest girl I’ve ever seen out the door,” Chu said, handing her a breakfast.
“Pretty girls can go out bare-faced—they’ve earned it.”
Xu Mei showed them the documents before getting in the car.
“Oh no! I forgot to tell Miss Yao!” she suddenly exclaimed.
Class was supposed to start at ten too.
“Relax, I already told her,” Chu replied.
“But she said you’ll need to make up for the practice time tonight.”
“No problem!” Xu Mei beamed. “You’re so thoughtful, Brother Chu.”
Chu cleared his throat, looking a bit flustered for once.
Even Fu Shuyang chuckled faintly in the front seat.
Xu Mei didn’t see it, but she thought she might have imagined the sound.
She did notice Chu’s ears turning red.
Then it clicked.
“Wait… Brother Chu, do you have a thing for Miss Yao?”
“Nonsense. Who’d like her?” Chu huffed. “Always grumpy, always accusing people—no fun at all…”
Well, that confirmed it.
“Tsk tsk. Since when do bosses care if their employees have a sense of humor? Getting a job these days is tough.”
Chu: “…”
For once, the silver-tongued Chu was speechless.
He looked at the girl smiling like springtime and the faint smile lingering on Fu Shuyang’s lips—
And sighed, letting it go.
The lighthearted mood continued all the way to the real estate office.
But when they arrived, Chu’s tone changed.
“Your… President Xu is already here.”
Xu Mei spotted Xu Zhongya at the entrance—
Standing beside him was a man in a sharp suit.
A bad feeling crept into her chest.
They got out of the car, and Xu Zhongya approached.
“Sign this. I’ll transfer the house to you right after.”
He handed her a document with a frosty face.
Xu Mei took it and glanced at the title—
"Waiver of Inheritance Rights Agreement."
- Writer
