Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ding dong ding, ding dong ding.

Yu He was roused from his sleep by the knocking at the door.

Yu He swore he wasn’t a particularly uncouth person; he had his fair share of manners.

However, being awoken just after falling asleep following a night of insomnia, even the most gentlemanly of people might involuntarily curse the intruder and their entire family in their heart.

A string of expletives flashed through Yu He's mind as he irritably pulled the blanket over his head, even going as far as covering his ears with his hands.

Given his current status, Yu He didn’t lock the door, making it convenient for Fu Yunzhe to ‘bestow his favor’ upon him at any time. However, judging from the relentless knocking, Yu He subconsciously felt it wasn’t Fu Yunzhe.

If it were Fu Yunzhe knocking, the rhythm would likely be slower.

A slow, deliberate ‘knock, knock, knock’.

Slowness denotes a sense of ease and confidence. Big shots always speak and act unhurriedly, carefully contemplating their next move to control the entire game. They would never come across as impatient.

Ding dong ding, ding dong ding, ding dong ding.

It was like the summoning of a death knell, more vexing than a persistent cowbell.

Yu He kicked off his down comforter and asked in a hoarse voice, “Who is it?”

A woman’s voice came from outside the door: “Young Master, it’s time for lunch.”

So, it was a call for lunch.

Yu He suppressed his irritation: "Wait a moment."

He didn’t like wearing clothes to sleep, and he would lock the door when he slept at the Yu residence. Now, he was only wearing a pair of loose pajama pants, and was topless. Hearing a woman’s voice outside, Yu He hastily grabbed a shirt and put it on.

Yu He, barefoot, stood on the floor and opened the door: "I won't be eating, and there's no need to call me for dinner."

Outside the door stood a middle-aged woman in a uniform.

She appeared to be around forty, her hair pulled back into a low bun, with high cheekbones and upturned eyes, giving off a rather harsh vibe.

Hearing what Yu He said, she subconsciously retorted, "How can you not eat?"

The woman craned her neck to look into the room, and upon seeing that the curtains of Yu He's room were drawn and the bed was messy, she couldn't help but frown:

"What time is it, and you're still sleeping?"

Yu He subtly shifted his body, blocking the woman’s line of sight: "I'm not hungry."

"I am the head housekeeper at Fu Residence, Li Jing. You can just call me Sister Li." Li Jing pushed past Yu He, swaggered into his room, and headed straight for the master bedroom. She raised her hand and yanked the curtains open, letting the dazzling sunlight flood in instantly.

The sunlight made Yu He squint, and his vision was filled with a dazzling array of light spots. He heard Li Jing snicker, and she continued to introduce herself.

"I’ve been a housekeeper at the Fu family for over a decade, managing all internal affairs. Since you are now Mr. Fu’s man, I suppose I will have to take some time to brief you on the Fu family’s rules." Li Jing glanced disdainfully at Yu He’s bare feet, her tone laced with scorn.

Yu He: "......"

What’s there to be proud of being a housekeeper for over a decade?

And what are these so-called 'rules of Fu Residence'?

What does this older sister think the Fu family is, a royal palace?

Wake up, sister, the Qing Dynasty is long gone!

Li Jing interpreted Yu He’s silence as weakness. She looked down on this young man with nothing but his looks even more. She scrutinized him from head to toe, as if assessing an object, and said arrogantly, "It won’t hurt a young man like you to learn some rules, to avoid being disrespectful and embarrassing the Fu family. There’s never been anyone like you around Mr. Fu; it really doesn’t sound good when word gets out."

Li Jing sighed, as if lamenting that supporting Yu He had tarnished Fu Yunzhe’s good reputation.

Yu He: "......"

We're all working for the Fu family and getting paid for our services. Just because I’m Mr. Fu’s kept lover, doesn’t mean this older sister can look down on me and bully me at the workplace.

Besides, it wasn’t Yu He who actively seduced Fu Yunzhe.

Li Jing, harboring dissatisfaction she dared not express to Fu Yunzhe, could only assert her presence by coming to Yu He. Witnessing her behavior of ingratiating herself with superiors while bullying those beneath her, Yu He truly realized the diversity of the human species.

Yu He utterly failed to understand from whence this sister derived her sense of superiority.

The midday autumn sunlight was exceptionally warm. Standing under the sun, bathed in its warmth, Yu He yawned, “You can leave now; I’m going to sleep.”

Li Jing pursed her lips, revealing her displeasure as she rebuked, “Didn’t you hear what I said? It’s lunchtime already.”

Without even lifting his eyebrows, Yu He flipped the blanket and lay back down on the bed, “I said I’m not eating.”

Li Jing had never encountered someone as unyielding as Yu He. She tried to pressure Yu He by bringing up Fu Yunzhe, “Mr. Fu has already gone downstairs.”

Yu He turned away, his back to Li Jing, and retorted, “Did Mr. Fu ask you to come get me?”

Li Jing did not respond.

Yu He knew in his heart, of course, it wouldn’t be Fu Yunzhe asking him to go downstairs for a meal.

First of all, Yu He had already told Zhang Shan that he was going back to his room to catch up on sleep and would skip lunch and dinner. Even if there really were Fu family rules against napping during the day or not joining Fu Yunzhe for meals, Zhang Shan had no reason not to inform Yu He.

Secondly, Fu Yunzhe’s serious car accident had occurred half a year ago, but when Yu He saw him yesterday, he was still very thin. It was evident that Fu Yunzhe had not fully recovered from his illness even after a full half year, indicating that he himself was not particularly interested in eating.

Yu He had tasted the culinary skills of the Fu family’s chef this morning. Without any exaggeration, if Yu He ate to his heart’s content without exercising, he could gain twenty pounds in a month.

He covered his head with the blanket, not quite knowing how to deal with women of Li Jing’s age, hoping she would leave him be.

Unfortunately, Yu He had never had a girlfriend and his understanding of women was somewhat superficial.

He thought this gesture signified a ceasefire, but in Li Jing’s eyes, it was a blatant provocation.

Li Jing, enraged to the point of turning pale, yanked the blanket off Yu He, berating him furiously, “Don’t be ungrateful! I...”

Yu He sat up, his beautiful peach blossom eyes slightly lifted, his gaze falling on Li Jing’s face.

Yu He’s eyes, with their clear distinction between black and white, were deep and mesmerizing. Usually, his lazy demeanor and droopy eyelids hid any hint of aggression, but now, staring straight at someone, those eyes were like luminous charms sinking into a cold pond, exuding an ominous and sinister air, sending chills down one’s spine and making it difficult to maintain eye contact for long.

The bone-chilling cold in his eyes made Li Jing break into a cold sweat. Such an enchanting and devilish aura in one so young; she clenched her fists, resolved to drive Yu He out of the Fu residence.

Yu He, however, did not say anything more. He faintly shifted his gaze and stood up to leave the room.

Even though her objective was achieved and she had successfully intimidated Yu He, Li Jing did not feel any sense of victory. Instead, she felt a sense of discomfort and suffocation in her chest.

She wanted to stop Yu He and ask him to change into a proper suit, but Yu He completely ignored her and walked down the stairs in his slippers.

Yu He had just fallen asleep when he was rudely awakened, and he was inexplicably scolded by a middle-aged woman. With a mournful expression, he lowered his head and walked to the first floor.

Li Jing followed him from behind.

Fu Yunzheng was sitting at the dining table with chopsticks in hand. Seeing Yu He, he did not ask any questions and simply gestured for the servants to add another set of tableware.

On the dining table were four dishes: steamed pork ribs with shiitake mushrooms, braised pomfret with radish, chicken stir-fried with Chinese broccoli, blanched lettuce, and a pot of stewed ginseng soup that had been simmered overnight.

The dishes were visually appealing and fragrant, but Yu He had no appetite. He sat up straight and, following dining etiquette, did not immediately start eating; instead, he silently wiped his chopsticks.

Fu Yunzheng, on the other hand, was quite casual. He picked up some Chinese broccoli and placed it on his plate, not in a hurry to eat. Instead, he said to Yu He, “Feel free to ask for anything you want from the kitchen.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fu.”

Yu He responded, taking Fu Yunzheng’s words as a mere courtesy.

After a while, Fu Yunzheng put down his chopsticks, and the metallic chopsticks lightly tapped against the ceramic chopstick holder, producing a crisp sound.

His face showed no emotion, but Yu He could feel the atmosphere in the dining room instantly become tense.

It was as if everyone had become nervous.

Yu He looked around, holding his chopsticks, and even Li Jing, who usually liked to boss others around, lowered her head.

After a moment of hair-raising silence, Fu Yunzheng broke the silence and asked, “Yu He, why are you upset?”

Yu He was somewhat surprised as he lifted his head, not expecting Fu Yunzheng to be so sensitive to his emotions.

Well, Fu Yunzheng did say that he was not good at hiding his feelings.

And indeed, Yu He couldn’t hide his feelings.

When Fu Yunzheng asked why he was upset, Yu He subconsciously glanced at Li Jing.

Li Jing shivered, realizing that Yu He dared to embarrass her in front of everyone. She had been able to maintain her position as the head of the Fu family for many years, and she was certainly not a pushover. She decided to take the initiative and speak first, instead of waiting for Yu He to speak. By doing this, she could take control of the situation.

She slightly bowed and turned to Fu Yunzheng to explain, “Mr. Fu, Young Master Yu He didn’t eat much this morning. Sleeping on an empty stomach can harm the stomach, so I took it upon myself to ask him to get up and have lunch first. Perhaps this has upset Young Master Yu.”

Yu He: “......”

Her words were eloquently put, and not a single lie was told.

It was true that Yu He didn’t eat much in the morning, and it was true that sleeping on an empty stomach is bad for the stomach. Li Jing honestly admitted that she took the initiative to wake Yu He up. While acknowledging that she disturbed Yu He's sleep, she simultaneously reported the incident to Fu Yunzheng, subtly implying that Yu He was undisciplined for still sleeping at noon.

Anyone listening would think that Li Jing was not at fault, and that it was instead Yu He who was unappreciative.

It was as if she had kindly asked him to get up for a meal, and he was the one throwing a young master's tantrum.

Yu He didn’t speak; he simply put down his chopsticks, waiting for Fu Yunzheng to react.

Fu Yunzheng seemed not to have heard what Li Jing said afterwards, focusing only on the fact that Yu He had a poor appetite.

He called over Aunt Zhou, who was in charge of planning the meals: “Aunt Zhou, bring the menu here for Yu He to choose some dishes.”

Li Jing’s face turned sour in an instant.

She had a silver tongue, able to turn black into white, but Fu Yunzheng didn’t seem to care at all, as if he had only heard the part about “Yu He didn’t eat much in the morning.”

Fu Yunzheng, still recovering from a serious illness, had all his meals planned and confirmed by several nutritionists. Extremely disciplined, he knew what was good for him. There were vegetables he didn’t like, but he would never remove them from the menu.

The Fu family’s villa had a special banquet hall on the first floor, large enough to accommodate dozens of people.

A month ago, relatives from the Fu family came for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Fu Yunzheng had a table full of delicacies prepared in the banquet hall, but he didn’t look at or eat them. He sat at the main table for a while before returning to the dining room to eat a nutritional meal prepared by the family chef.

Several uncles who wanted to talk to Fu Yunzheng had to chase him to the dining room and accompany him in eating the bland nutritional meal.

Even then, Fu Yunzheng didn’t request any additional dishes.

Yu He flipped through the menu and asked Fu Yunzheng, “Do you eat spicy food?”

Fu Yunzheng answered calmly, “Yes.”

All the attendants present: “......”

Li Jing clenched her teeth, her dislike for Yu He intensifying. Her eyes were as sharp as knives as she glanced at Yu He, viewing him as if he were a bewitching enchantress bringing disaster to the nation. Li Jing truly couldn’t comprehend how such an ordinary boy could completely captivate Mr. Fu.

Since when has Fu Yunzheng ever consumed spicy food?

She has been serving in the Fu residence for over a decade, and she has never seen Fu Yunzheng eat anything spicy.

Fu Yunzheng is from Yun Su, where the cuisine is known for its light and delicate flavors, emphasizing the natural taste of the ingredients, rarely using a variety of sauces for seasoning.

Chili peppers are particularly rare in Yun Su cuisine.

Previously, when Fu Yunzheng was on a business trip to Xiang Nan, a deputy mayor from the capital city encouraged him to try the local specialty, Sichuan pepper hot pot.

Fu Yunzheng politely declined, stating that the chili pepper’s flavor was too overpowering and dominated the dish.

So why isn't it overpowering today?