Chapter 4: Fu Yancheng Promises Grandfather to Settle Down

The searing pain from her past life still hadn’t fully faded. Shen Mengxia stared at Qiao Wannuan, a chill running down her spine. Suddenly, words like a barrage of comments floated before her eyes:

“Does the heroine know that the person who tried to kill her was sent by Qiao Wannuan?”
“The heroine seems really afraid of Qiao Wannuan, huh?”
“The heroine is so much more beautiful than Qiao Wannuan. What kind of taste does Ye Huaiting have?”
“That Qiao Wannuan is such a black lotus—she won’t allow any woman near Ye Huaiting.”
“Hey heroine, both these brothers love you!”

What was all this? Shen Mengxia was sure she was hallucinating. She shook her head hard, and the words disappeared as suddenly as they appeared. The amount of information was overwhelming, but Shen Mengxia chose to believe it.

She guessed the reason Qiao Wannuan wanted to kill her was definitely because of Ye Huaiting. It seemed the danger wasn’t over yet. Shen Mengxia knew she couldn’t afford to be alone and give assassins an opportunity, yet she couldn’t just skip classes all the time either. It was truly a headache!

If only she hadn’t clung to Ye Huaiting so persistently before, letting everyone mistakenly believe they had been childhood sweethearts.

***

The current situation was too passive; she had to take the initiative and find a chance to counter Qiao Wannuan. But she had no clue how.

For safety’s sake, she decided to hire a bodyguard, but that was too conspicuous, so she settled on hiring a driver instead.

She immediately returned to her room and contacted a headhunting agency, requesting they help her hire a retired soldier as a driver, available twenty-four hours a day, with a monthly salary of 150,000.

After hanging up, Shen Mengxia furrowed her brows deeply. In her past life, she died two days later, meaning that two days from now, Qiao Wannuan and Ye Huaiting would announce their engagement. But Qiao Wannuan had just returned to the country, and the two had barely been together for two days.

“Young master, something’s wrong with the young lady—the old master has fainted!” Maid Liu called out as she hurried through the villa, pulling Shen Mengxia from her thoughts.

Everyone rushed to the old master’s room. Upon bursting in, they saw the old man lying pale on the bed. Ye Huaiting quickly took his hand, his voice trembling slightly, “Grandfather, what’s wrong?”

Shen Mengxia was equally anxious, her eyes reddened. At that moment, Fu Yancheng arrived swiftly with the family doctor. After a thorough examination, the doctor frowned deeply. Everyone’s hearts tightened.

The doctor spoke slowly: “The old master’s chronic illness has relapsed. He needs proper rest and must not be disturbed. I’ll administer medication now; he should wake soon. However, his time is limited—you’d better prepare yourselves mentally.”

As the doctor finished speaking, Fu Yancheng nodded slightly and subtly exchanged a glance with Maid Liu, who immediately stepped forward respectfully to accompany the doctor out of the room.

The atmosphere inside grew heavy and oppressive. Each person wore a solemn expression, eyes fixed intently on the frail elder, as if afraid to miss any slightest change.

Time ticked by slowly, and they waited silently.

***

Finally, after a long while, the old master’s eyelids twitched before slowly opening.

He parted his lips, his voice weak yet clear: “Xiao Chen... Grandpa’s time... is running out... *cough cough cough*...” He broke into a violent coughing fit, his body trembling.

Fu Yancheng quickly stepped forward, gently patting his back to ease the discomfort.

As the coughing subsided slightly, the old man continued hoarsely: “The greatest wish of my life... is to see you and Xiao Ting settle down before I close my eyes... I wonder if this small wish... can still come true?”

His cloudy eyes were filled with hopeful longing as he looked at Fu Yancheng and Ye Huaiting.

Moved by his gaze, Fu Yancheng could not bear to refuse.

“Yes, Grandpa, you will absolutely witness the day your grandsons start their own families! Huaiting already has a girlfriend, and I have someone I want to marry. Don’t worry!” Fu Yancheng looked at his grandfather with sincere eyes, filled with determination and promise.

“Yes, you will! Live a long life and definitely see both me and my elder brother settle down,” Ye Huaiting said, his eyes brimming with tears.