Chapter 20: Acting Spoiled
“I’ll put it on for you.”
At certain times, Fu Sizhuo would speak to her in a tone that left no room for refusal.
Like right now.
He tilted his head up to look at her, stating it very simply.
Those eyes were born too deep and affectionate, making Shen Zhuying feel a dangerous illusion, that he truly loved her.
Shen Zhuying stretched out her left hand. “Go ahead.”
The man’s long lashes lowered, concealing the emotions in his eyes as he slowly slid the ring onto her ring finger.
Shen Zhuying stared at the massive diamond, the size of a pigeon’s egg, for a while before asking Fu Sizhuo, “This diamond… can be removed, right?”
It was really huge, really conspicuous.
“It can.” Fu Sizhuo let out a small laugh.
“Good.”
Shen Zhuying then took out the men’s ring. Before she could even say anything, Fu Sizhuo’s elegant, well-shaped hand reached over on its own.
She carefully slid the ring onto his finger, then lifted her left hand and placed it side by side with his.
Both hands were defined with prominent bones, only hers were whiter, softer, while his were longer, with veins visibly etched.
On their ring fingers, the silver bands gleamed together under the cutting light of the sunset.
Shen Zhuying pulled out her phone. “Wait a sec, I want to take a picture.”
She lowered her head and snapped photos from every angle, seriously capturing every detail of their two hands.
When she finally finished, she let out a sigh of relief. But as she looked up, she noticed Fu Sizhuo also holding his phone horizontally, clearly in the act of taking pictures.
“…”
“Done taking them?” Fu Sizhuo was the first to speak, his tone casual.
Shen Zhuying nodded.
He asked again, “Posting on Moments?”
Huh?
Shen Zhuying shook her head.
She hadn’t planned to post it.
Because the moment such a photo went up, her WeChat Moments would explode, and countless classmates and friends would bombard her with questions.
Too troublesome.
Yes, it was something inevitable, but still, Shen Zhuying thought, the longer she could put it off, the better.
Fu Sizhuo fixed his gaze directly on her, his voice soft, “Not posting?”
“No.” Shen Zhuying couldn’t stand being stared at like that, so she looked away, muttering under her breath, “You didn’t post either.”
“Who said I didn’t?” Fu Sizhuo suddenly took her hand again, their fingers interlaced, but the rings remained deliberately visible.
“Shall we take a couple more pictures like this? I still have to hurry back to work.”
So they held hands and snapped two more pictures.
“I’ll have someone throw out those flowers at the door.” Before leaving, Fu Sizhuo remembered the roses outside, and his tone turned noticeably colder.
“Don’t throw them out, the roses aren’t at fault.” Shen Zhuying knew he was annoyed just looking at them. She hooked his pinky finger and gave it a little shake, coaxing him with her tone.
“Just leave it, I’ll take care of it.”
“Shen Zhuying.” He had already stood up then, lowering his gaze at her, his Adam’s apple sliding with unbearable clarity.
“You’re pretty good at acting spoiled.”
“Mm-hm.” Shen Zhuying batted her big eyes at him, shamelessly declaring, “I’ve been good at acting spoiled since I was little. Everyone likes it.”
“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.” Fu Sizhuo averted his eyes, then added after a pause, “But make sure it’s cleaned up before I come pick you up after work. You’re not allowed to keep even one stem.”
“Got it, got it.”
Shen Zhuying was in such a good mood that she almost wanted to put the whole shop’s flowers on sale. Of course, that impulse was firmly stopped by Xiao Chun and Xiao Tao.
Still… if before marriage Fu Sizhuo had only liked her a little, then now…
he probably liked her a lot more.
Ah, Shen Zhuying.
You really are charming.
Xiao Chun and Xiao Tao had worried their boss might be upset by that “rose man.” Who would’ve thought that after her husband showed up in such a rush, their boss’s mood would improve instead.
She not only hummed happily while wrapping flowers, but also kept sneaking glances at the sparkling ring on her ring finger and giggling to herself. She even suggested putting things on sale, that kind of outrageously extravagant idea!
Love really was a dangerous thing. It made people lose their minds and burn through money!
Meanwhile, in Fu Sizhuo’s office, Assistant Lin was pacing anxiously with a stack of urgent documents in hand.
Where was Director Fu?
Where had their mighty Director Fu gone??!
He had just overheard colleagues in the translation department whispering: the director who hadn’t taken a day off in eight hundred years, who practically lived in the Foreign Ministry office, had actually left work early today?!
Impossible!
To Assistant Lin, who regarded Director Fu as a lifelong idol, this was nothing but a baseless rumor!
Director Fu must have been called away to handle some sudden diplomatic incident critical to bilateral relations!
Finally, after waiting about half an hour, Fu Sizhuo returned to the office.
His expression was as cold and indifferent as always. He glanced at the urgent documents in Assistant Lin’s hands. “Put them on my desk. I’ll sign them right away.”
Assistant Lin stood dutifully by his side, still looking at Fu Sizhuo with unshaken reverence.
“Director Fu, were you just called by Minister Liu to handle some emergency?”
But as soon as the question left his mouth, Assistant Lin’s face stiffened.
Oh no.
Did he just ask something unrelated to work?
Given Director Fu’s usual strict, serious attitude toward his duties, would he cut him down for this?
Assistant Lin scratched his head in panic, desperately trying to find some diplomatic topic to change the subject.
Unexpectedly, Fu Sizhuo’s lips curved slightly, and his tone was surprisingly mild.
“No. It was my wife, there was a bit of an urgent matter on her end.”
“Madam is wonderful, Madam…” Assistant Lin hurriedly latched onto the topic, grinning broadly. “Madam is amazing…”
Then his smile stiffened. So, the colleagues in the Foreign Ministry hadn’t been wrong, Director Fu really did…
“Mhm, I left work early.” Fu Sizhuo signed the document and handed it over. The silver ring on his finger caught the glare of the fluorescent light with a faint flash. His smile softened even more.
“Go contact finance, deduct me half a day’s salary.”
Assistant Lin: “…”
No, Director Fu, I never wanted to play the role of payroll judge. Could you please stop smiling at me?
You’re scaring me.
Assistant Lin left the office with a stiff face.
He pulled out his phone, thinking of posting something on Douyin[mfn]Chinese version of Tiktok [/mfn].
The title was already in his head, How much trouble can a person really stir up inside the system?
But before he could post, he saw a bombshell in the Ministry’s gossip group—
The sky has fallen!
Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry, the handsome, wealthy, outstanding young man Comrade Fu Sizhuo, is married!!!
Oh.
Assistant Lin straightened his back with pride. So what.
He had known all along.
But… how did everyone else know too?
His face froze again.
At that moment, he almost wanted to rush back into the office and sob to Fu Sizhuo, to prove his innocence. Director Fu, it really wasn’t me who spread it!
But soon enough, Assistant Lin no longer worried about being misunderstood.
He looked with deep relief at the rare WeChat Moments post that Fu Sizhuo himself had shared. Perfect, this news had come straight from Director Fu.
And at last, Assistant Lin could confirm, Director Fu was indeed in a very good mood today.
That rare curve at the corner of his lips… it must have been from the heart.
