Volume 1, Chapter 29: I Want to Keep You by My Side, Every Single Day

Fu Shiyue’s fingers paused. He furrowed his brows, lifted his eyelids, and cast a deep, heavy gaze toward the person approaching.

Lu Qingcheng walked up to Fu Shiyue, clutching a wine glass with a hesitant, fluttering air. Seeing the man holding half a cigarette with a cold, stern expression, she nervously smoothed her skirt and introduced herself. "Mr. Fu, I’m Miaomiao’s cousin. We met last time."

She blinked her large, innocent eyes, desperate to make an impression on him.

Fu Shiyue glanced at her face with an expressionless look before looking away and stubbing out his cigarette. "I don’t recall."

Lu Qingcheng’s face stiffened in embarrassment, but she quickly regained her composure. "It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. We’ll have plenty of chances to get to know each other in the future."

She spoke as if they were already involved, blushing with coy shyness. "May I toast you?"

Fu Shiyue, who thoroughly disliked such affected, coquettish behavior, was just about to refuse.

Lu Miao gripped his wrist, lifted her own glass, and stood up. "Lu Qingcheng, he is my boyfriend and your future brother-in-law."

"Toasts are meant for both of us. Since when is it appropriate to toast just the brother-in-law?"

She glanced at Fu Shiyue with cold eyes before turning a mocking gaze toward Lu Qingcheng. "Your parents should have taught you manners. To be so rude tonight—could it be that in your eyes, you don't acknowledge me as your sister, only the brother-in-law?"

As she spoke these words with a chilling lilt, Lu Qingcheng’s cheeks flushed crimson, and she felt instantly humiliated.

The people around them began to look at her with strange expressions. Fearing her true intentions would be exposed, she immediately feigned ignorance. "Miaomiao, you never touch alcohol at family banquets, so I thought it would be enough to just toast Mr. Fu."

The excuse was plausible, as Lu Miao was known for her lack of social grace, often leaving immediately after the meal.

Lu Qingcheng quickly regained her composure. "My apologies, I didn't think it through. Let me toast both of you."

"I wish you both happiness and a long, lasting love."

Watching her fake, hypocritical smile, Lu Miao curled her red lips into a dazzling smile. "I also wish for your dreams to come true, for you to marry into a wealthy family soon and become the young mistress of the Ling family."

Lu Qingcheng’s expression froze, and she instinctively checked Fu Shiyue’s reaction. Was Lu Miao trying to humiliate her by bringing up Ling Feng at such a moment?

"What’s wrong, Qingcheng? Why are you looking at my boyfriend?" Lu Miao asked with a wide-eyed smile, as if genuinely confused.

"N-nothing, thank you, cousin." She forced a smile and clinked her glass against theirs.

"Clink."

With a flick of her wrist, Lu Qingcheng splashed her wine toward Lu Miao.

Having engaged in open and covert struggles for so many years, Lu Miao knew exactly what kind of person Lu Qingcheng was.

Just as Lu Qingcheng’s glass tilted, Lu Miao saw through the clumsy trick, a flash of coldness in her eyes. She wanted to make her lose face in public?

In the second that Lu Qingcheng splashed the wine, Lu Miao pushed back. However, what Lu Miao didn't expect was that Fu Shiyue’s reaction was even faster than hers. The moment Lu Qingcheng moved, he had already reached out to shield her.

Consequently, all three glasses of wine splashed directly onto Lu Qingcheng.

Lu Qingcheng’s gorgeous dress was instantly soaked through with red wine, leaving her dripping wet and looking like a drowned rat. She stood stunned for a second, wanting to scream in her embarrassment.

But before she could make a sound, Lu Miao cried out in panic, a step ahead of her. "Ah!"

Lu Qingcheng was dazed. She was the one who had been splashed—why was this bitch Lu Miao screaming?!

Lu Miao swayed, her footing unsteady as if she were about to collapse, and Fu Shiyue swiftly caught her by her supple waist. She took the opportunity to hide in his arms, pointing fearfully at the ground. "T-there’s a cockroach!"

Fu Shiyue frowned. "Where?"

"Right there!"

"Where?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I must have seen wrong."

"..."

Lu Miao let out a breath and patted her chest to soothe her startled heart. Only then did she turn to look at Lu Qingcheng, her eyes filled with surprise. "Qingcheng, how did you... I'm so sorry, hurry and wipe yourself off!"

Lu Qingcheng opened her mouth, ready to curse at Lu Miao. Instead, Lu Miao pulled out two tissues and pressed them onto Lu Qingcheng’s face, wiping vigorously.

"..." The makeup on Lu Qingcheng’s face was smeared, her lipstick was smudged up to her nose, and her fake eyelashes were stuck to the corner of her mouth, leaving her looking like a complete clown.

Lu Miao held back her laughter, apologizing with utmost sincerity. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. That cockroach was just so terrifying. You won't blame your sister, will you?"

"..." Lu Qingcheng’s face was so stiff she couldn't even keep up with the act.

She looked at Fu Shiyue with grievances, "Mr. Fu, why did you also..."

Fu Shiyue interrupted her expressionlessly, his voice cold. "I didn't mean to either. She startled me just now."

"..." Lu Qingcheng was choked into silence.

Lu Miao raised her eyebrows in surprise. This man, who usually seemed so rigid and serious, was actually better at playing along than she was. *Tsk, the wily old fox.*

"Lu Miao, you've gone too far! You made up a lie about seeing a cockroach and intentionally splashed red wine on me to make me lose face in public. You're so scheming—what on earth did I ever do to offend you?"

Lu Qingcheng hadn't expected to be the one humiliated, so she vented her fury on Lu Miao.

Lu Miao looked at her, bewildered. "You didn't offend me. Are you suffering from some kind of breakdown?"

Lu Qingcheng sneered, "Isn't it because you suspected I was interested in Mr. Fu and were afraid I would steal him away?"

*Ha*, Lu Qingcheng had finally let it out.

Lu Miao kept her innocent expression. "Not at all. How could I ever misunderstand you trying to hook up with him? Even if you wanted to, he wouldn't look at you anyway."

She looked up at Fu Shiyue, her eyes sparkling with admiration and devotion. "His heart is entirely tied to me. He wishes he could keep me by his side every single day. His eyes aren't even enough to look at me—where would he find the time to look at anyone else?"

As she spoke, she gave Fu Shiyue a flirtatious wink. "Isn't that right, Brother Shiyue?"

Fu Shiyue’s expression stiffened slightly at being called "Brother," his heart missing a beat. He hadn't felt this sensation of blood rushing in reverse even back when she called him "Uncle Fu."

He looked down at her proud, confident little face and let out a deep, "Mm."

His arm tightened suddenly, imprisoning her in his embrace. He leaned down, pressing his thin lips against her ear, his voice low and raspy. "I do want to keep you by my side. Every single day."

Every word carried a fierce intensity, as if he wanted to crush her and swallow her whole.

Lu Miao’s ears turned red instantly. What was wrong with this man?

When Fu Shiyue stopped suppressing himself, the aura he released made Lu Miao feel a twinge of fear.

Drenched in wine and forced to watch them flaunt their affection, Lu Qingcheng felt her eyes sting with tears. Her nails dug deep into her palms, her entire body trembling as she raised a hand to slap Lu Miao.

Lu Miao quickly broke free and reached out to grab her hand. "Qingcheng, don't cry. At the very least, I'll pay for your dress."

"Is this about a dress?!" Lu Qingcheng tried to pull her hand away to strike her, but after struggling for a long time, she couldn't break free. Gritting her teeth, she cursed, "Bitch, let go of me!"