Chapter 10: Sorry, I woke up late.

Chapter 10: Sorry, I woke up late.

Last night (or rather, early this morning), Fu Yining "accidentally" played a bit too much and, knowing she might not be able to get up, set several alarms before falling asleep.

Unfortunately, when the alarms went off, she silenced them one by one and rolled over to sleep again.

In her dream, Fu Yining: got dressed, washed her face, and happily went downstairs for breakfast.

In reality, Fu Yining: was buried under her blanket, unable to open her eyes.

Hu Ma had the maid knock on the door, but a drowsy Fu Yining had no intention of getting up. She pulled the blanket over her head and rolled over to continue sleeping.

Snore...

"Madam, are you okay? Breakfast is ready, and Sir is waiting for you downstairs!"

There was no response from inside, and Hu Ma and the maid exchanged glances.

What should they do now?

"Hu Ma, should we try again?" asked the young maid with concern.

Hu Ma thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we should. Madam doesn’t usually sleep in. If something really happened, it wouldn’t be good."

"Alright."

Looking at the closed door, Hu Ma wasn’t sure if Fu Yining had locked it, but they weren’t allowed to just open the door without permission. For now, they could only try to wake her by knocking again.

Hu Ma thought that if Fu Yining got upset with them for waking her, as long as Sir was home, her focus would be on him, and she wouldn’t have time to deal with them.

But if Fu Yining didn’t appear soon, she would go downstairs to find Butler Wang.

With that in mind, Hu Ma continued to direct the maid to keep knocking.

"Knock knock knock—"

"Madam, are you okay?"

"Madam? Breakfast is ready, are you awake?"

Fu Yining, snugly wrapped in her blanket, frowned. Finally, unable to tolerate the noise from outside, she threw the blanket off and checked her phone on the bedside table: it was only 8 a.m.; why were they bothering her?

Wait, it’s already 8 a.m.! Wasn’t she going to be late for work?

Fu Yining hurriedly sat up to get dressed, but then reconsidered upon hearing the knocking.

Actually, she didn’t need to go to work anymore; she was a wealthy lady now.

So why were they so eager to find her?

Calming her racing heart from getting up so abruptly, Fu Yining slid out of bed in her slippers and went to open the door.

"Madam? Are you alright?"

The startled maid nearly punched Fu Yining.

"Madam, I'm sorry, I didn't know you had already come out!"

The maid hurriedly apologized and hid behind Hu Ma, who did not stop her, upon seeing the "scary" (though actually just sleepy) look on Fu Yining's face.

Fortunately, Hu Ma had a conscience and did not prevent the maid from hiding, instead taking the initiative to say to Fu Yining, "Madam, you're finally awake?"

In the light from outside, Hu Ma saw that Fu Yining was still wearing her pajamas, her hair was a bit messy, but her complexion was fine, and she didn’t appear sick, which made her feel slightly relieved.

The madam probably wasn't sick, at most, she looked a little sleepy?

"What's the matter?" Fu Yining tried her best not to look too tired.

"Madam, breakfast is already prepared, would you like to come down and have some?"

"Thank you, I'm not hungry right now—"

"By the way, Sir returned last night and is waiting for you in the dining room to have breakfast together."

"……?"

Fu Yining doubted whether she was still dreaming.

"Who did you say returned?"

Seeing Fu Yining's confused expression, Hu Ma thought she was too happy to hear the news.

The maid behind Hu Ma immediately repeated it, saying, "Madam, you heard it right, Sir has returned, you must be so happy!"

"Hehe, I'm very happy."

Fu Yining didn't know the maid's little thought, she could only smile awkwardly.

Wait! Yu Mingze's father, Fu Yining's husband, has returned?

Fu Yining’s groggy mind was instantly jolted awake by this thunderous news.

What’s happening? That old man (Yu ZhiLi: ???) said he wasn't coming back? Why did he suddenly turn up and wait for her downstairs?

No way!

From what they said, it seemed he had returned last night?

No way, why hadn’t she been informed earlier?

Hu Ma asked Fu Yining to go back to her room to get dressed, and she first sent the maid down to notify them.

Fu Yining’s mind was in turmoil, and she nodded distractedly.

"Go, go ahead."

"Then, Madam, I'll go down now?"

Watching the maid depart cheerfully, Fu Yining suddenly felt a little sad.

The blissful life of wealth without a husband was ending already?

No way!

Smiling as always, Hu Ma asked, "Madam, would you like Xiao Lin to come and help you get dressed?"

"No need."

It's just having breakfast; why go to such lengths for just a meal?

Seeing that Hu Ma was going to wait for her outside, Fu Yining let out an almost imperceptible sigh and turned back to get ready.

How could a husband who never comes home suddenly show up? A hundred thoughts flashed through Fu Yining's mind.

Could he have heard about her sending their son away and come back to question her?

Fu Yining searched her memory for an impression of this man and found it vague and unclear, only knowing that he was a workaholic, aloof, and not much of a conversationalist.

Over twenty years ago, he had inadvertently become involved with "Fu Yining." After she gave birth to their child, he abandoned her, forcing her to focus all her attention on their son.

In the novel, he was the only member of the Yu family who opposed the protagonist Yu Mingze’s actions and spoke up for Song Qingyu. However, as he rarely returned home, he could do little to protect the frequently bullied Song Qingyu.

His infrequent visits were partly due to maintaining distance from his daughter-in-law and partly because of his wife, "Fu Yining."

After all, he wouldn’t return home for days or even weeks, and when he did, "Fu Yining" would be so happy she'd rush to his side, only to be greeted with a cold expression.

Over time, the unreciprocated "Fu Yining" grew emotionally distorted, venting her frustration on the vulnerable Song Qingyu.

Fu Yining pursed her lips, thinking to herself that the father, like his son, was no better!

By the time Fu Yining emerged, fully dressed, Hu Ma was still standing quietly outside the door.

"Madam, are you prepared?"

"Yes, I am."

Hu Ma looked somewhat surprised, not expecting her to emerge so quickly.

She had assumed that Madam would take some time to dress up inside, but naturally, with Sir waiting downstairs, Madam must be eager to see him!

Hu Ma smiled slightly: Madam’s little thoughts had remained unchanged over the years, and they had long since understood them.

Fortunately, Fu Yining couldn’t hear Hu Ma’s thoughts, or she would have said, 'You’re overthinking it.'