Chapter 17: Soft Heart

When one's body is frail, resistance to a gentle man is all but impossible. All the more when the man before her was the one she had longed for, yearned after for so many years. In that moment, Lin Wanbai felt as if a wild beast was rampaging within her heart, restless with desire, desperate to break free and bite.

He smelled so good.

Lin Wanbai could no longer restrain herself. She cupped Fu Juxing’s face in her hands, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on his lips, her throat moving slightly.

Fu Juxing didn’t pull away, yet he made no move towards her either.

There was only a finger’s width between them. Lin Wanbai’s gaze drifted upward, meeting the deep darkness of his eyes. In the next second, her resolve faltered; she let go and said, “Let’s eat wontons.”

“All right.”

She watched him out of the corner of her eye for a few seconds. He showed no reaction whatsoever, as if it mattered not at all whether they kissed or didn’t.

The atmosphere had grown so charged between them. If he liked her, he would not have been able to resist kissing her; if he liked her, restraint would have been impossible.

She had seen him unable to control himself, but never when facing her.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, raised her hand to support her head, overwhelmed with frustration.

Late at night, when all is silent, is the best time for melancholy and regret. Suddenly, memories from the past three years surfaced—how she had deliberately changed herself, striving to become the woman he liked, how hard she tried, so hard she moved herself to tears, again and again.

But Fu Juxing had tried even harder, cooperating with her efforts, becoming the perfect husband.

Only love was missing.

Fu Juxing walked to the door. Suddenly, he turned back. Sensing something, Lin Wanbai opened her eyes, just as he bent down and pressed his thin lips precisely onto hers. He didn’t deepen the kiss, merely brushed lightly, then nuzzled her with his nose, patted her head, and whispered, “Be good. I’ll be back soon.”

She was caught by him, nodding dumbly, breathless.

It was quite a while after he left before she came back to her senses, clutching her chest, trying to steady her racing heart. Her mind felt as if it were about to explode.

Fu Juxing was gone for half an hour.

By then, her IV drip was halfway through the second bag.

When Lin Wanbai saw the “Xu’s” logo on the bag, she understood why he had taken so long.

But she wasn’t angry at all, because when it came to wontons, Xu’s was her favorite.

“Xu’s is pretty far, isn’t it? And this late, they haven’t closed yet?”

“If you want it, there’s always a way.” For him, the process never needed to be mentioned—no matter how difficult, he would never say a word.

He opened the box and slowly fed her the wontons.

That night, Fu Juxing was truly attentive, thoughtful to the smallest detail.

Women are naturally softhearted, and Lin Wanbai’s heart was softer than most.

——

Lin Wanbai became more docile, and began considering what she might do to occupy her time.

On Saturday, she sat cross-legged on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. No particular job interested her, so she said casually, “Maybe I should work as Fu Juxing’s secretary.”

Aunt Rong was beside her, threading beads. She laughed and replied, “I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Be a mother-to-be.”

Lin Wanbai was momentarily stunned, then let out a light laugh, teasing, “Pregnancy is too high a price. I could always find someone to be a surrogate.” Not wanting a lecture, she quickly waved her hand. “I’m not ready yet. Having a child can wait.”

Aunt Rong only smiled and said nothing more.

Today, they were going to the Fu residence in Sibei District for dinner.

Fu Juxing had called ahead; he’d pick her up at four-thirty in the afternoon. The journey from here to Sibei was long, and the Fu family was strict—dinner was always at six, without exception. To avoid being late, he left work half an hour early.

When the time was near, she closed her magazine and went upstairs to get ready.

She chose a black-and-white casual outfit. After cutting her hair, washing it was much easier; she dried it and tied it into a small ponytail, pinning it with a plain black clip. Since it was just a family meal, she didn’t bother with makeup—just a touch of lipstick.

As she came downstairs, Fu Juxing walked in. Perfect timing.

She picked up her casual bag. “Let’s go.”

“You look great.”

She shot him a sidelong glance and smiled.

They left the house, got stuck in traffic for twenty minutes, and arrived in Sibei at ten past six.

When they arrived, dinner had already started.

They hadn’t waited even ten minutes—whether it was a matter of strict rules or simply disregard, she couldn’t tell.

Fu Juxing led her inside, his manner humble. “Grandfather, Grandmother. Sorry, there was traffic. We’re ten minutes late.”

Fu Changjun was clearly pleased to see them; tonight was probably the only day in the month they could meet openly. “Sit down, we’ve just started.”

By seniority, Fu Juxing ranked second among the grandsons of the Fu family.

He should have been seated next to Fu Yanchuan, but as an illegitimate child, he’d never even been allowed at the table in the past. Now, having married Lin Wanbai and become the Lin family’s son-in-law, he was permitted to join them—but only at the end of the table.

The matriarch, Jiang Shuzhi, held great power in the Fu family, both at home and in the company.

After she successfully sidelined Fu Changjun a few years ago, Fu Juxing could barely stand tall in this household.