"No, no!" Fu Xiaoxiao cried out, quickly bringing the apple to Su Huaiming's lips. "I'll give you the apple, but don't tell Dad."
Su Huaiming dodged again, saying firmly, "I don't want to eat."
Fu Xiaoxiao could only hold up the apple, repeatedly trying to reach for Su Huaiming's mouth, her body trembling with anxiety, "Just eat one piece, just one piece, and I won't complain!"
Upon hearing this, Su Huaiming remained tight-lipped, his head bobbing back and forth, while Fu Xiaoxiao awkwardly followed suit.
Fu Jingfan, standing at the door. "..."
For a moment, he couldn't tell which of the two was more childish, and which one was the real child.
After standing at the door for a full two minutes, Fu Jingfan couldn't bear it any longer. He walked over, wanting to reach out and touch Fu Xiaoxiao's head, but didn't know where to start. He could only place his hand on the dinosaur's head and say, "Let me do it."
When Fu Xiaoxiao saw her father arrive, she panicked completely. She looked at Su Huaiming with her big, watery eyes and stammered, unable to utter a single word.
Su Huaiming knew what Fu Xiaoxiao was afraid of, sighed inwardly, and covered for him. "Xiao Xiao was feeding me fruit, it was so sweet of her."
Fu Jingfan understood Su Huaiming's meaning and also praised, "Xiao Xiao did a great job."
Fu Xiaoxiao immediately beamed with joy, chuckling to herself, feeling like the best baby in the world.
Fu Jingfan took the fruit platter from Fu Xiaoxiao. "Go out and play, I'll feed them."
Fu Xiaoxiao was at his happiest. No matter what Fu Jingfan said, he would listen and immediately ran out wagging his Dinosaur Tail.
After Fu Xiaoxiao left, Fu Jingfan sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a piece of fruit with a toothpick.
Seeing Fu Jingfan's posture, as if he were about to feed him an apple, Su Huaiming suddenly felt a little ashamed. Just as he was about to refuse, his phone suddenly dinged.
It was Sun Siyuan sent the message, asking him how to handle the donation; he seemed quite anxious.
Su Huaiming's attention was diverted, and he immediately picked up his phone to reply to the message, ignoring Fu Jingfan sitting next to him.
With the apple placed near his mouth, Su Huaiming didn't think much of it and took a bite.
This was the first time Fu Jingfan had taken care of someone. He fed them three pieces of food, but didn't receive a single thank you.
Su Huaiming was focused on his phone, typing away rapidly, his eyes not even glancing at Fu Jingfan, but he was happily eating.
When the apple was brought to his lips, Su Huaiming habitually opened his mouth, but this time he didn't get to eat it; his lips only touched the edge of the apple. Su Huaiming subconsciously followed, stretching his mouth out as much as possible, wanting to eat the apple.
He didn't get to eat the apple, but he heard a soft chuckle.
Su Huaiming then shifted his attention from his phone to Fu Jingfan, whose eyes were filled with a smile and who seemed to be in a good mood.
Su Huaiming paused for a few seconds, his thoughts gradually returning, and he realized that the reason he hadn't eaten the apple was not an accident, but rather Fu Jingfan's deliberate act.
Su Huaiming frowned, glaring fiercely at Fu Jingfan, "Don't go too far! Do you think I'm a cuckold?!"
"Bastard..." Fu Jingfan never expected to hear these two words from Su Huaiming's mouth, and subconsciously repeated them.
An image roughly formed in his mind, but it was too absurd for him to be certain for the moment.
Su Huaiming thought Fu Jingfan was just putting on an act, and snorted, "A thousand-year-old tortoise, a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, didn't you raise turtles when you were a kid? You tie meat to a rope, and when the turtle can't reach it, its head keeps swaying back and forth, its mouth always open. Isn't that just like what happened to me just now!"
A strange image of Su Huaiming hiding inside a tortoise shell, eating an apple, appeared in Fu Jingfan's mind.
... That's quite a vivid analogy.
Fu Jingfan had only meant to tease Su Huaiming on a whim and didn't intend to treat him like a turtle, but after Su Huaiming made his intentions clear, he felt like he couldn't clear his name no matter what.
Fu Jingfan was always in control and rarely caught off guard—mainly because he had never met anyone like Su Huaiming who would compare himself to a turtle, risking personal injury against a hundred enemies.
Fu Jingfan, unsure how to explain, readily agreed, saying, "I'm sorry, my actions just now were indeed excessive, but I didn't mean anything by it."
Fu Jingfan's attitude was so good that it shut down Su Huaiming's remaining words. Su Huaiming was still not completely calm, so he picked up the fruit plate and started eating it with gusto, ignoring Fu Jingfan.
After he finished eating, Su Huaiming's anger dissipated under the soothing influence of the food, and he belatedly asked, "Why are you back at this hour?"
"The matter has been taken care of." Fu Jingfan casually took the plate without offering any further explanation.
Although Su Huaiming was curious as to why Fu Jingfan, this workaholic, would return from the company so early, as the president, Fu Jingfan could decide his own working hours, so there was no need for him to ask further.
After finishing the fruit, Su Huaiming lay back down. Seeing that he wanted to rest, Fu Jingfan quietly left the room.
*******
Su Huaiming only caught a cold and had a fever; there wasn't much inflammation in his body. He was treated like a panda by the housekeepers these past few days and recovered quickly.
After examining Su Huaiming, the doctor said, "There are no problems now, but Mr. Su's body is rather weak. In order to reduce future illnesses, he still needs to improve his constitution and boost his immunity."
Upon hearing this, Su Huaiming suddenly felt a little guilty. He coughed awkwardly twice and then quickly looked away.
Fu Jingfan took in this scene and said meaningfully, "So he needs some exercise?"
The doctor nodded. "That's right, you need to maintain sufficient exercise."
Su Huaiming didn't want to get sick, but he didn't want to exercise even more.
He knows that more exercise is a healthy lifestyle, but he's already taking good care of himself in other ways, so it's okay for him to slack off on exercise, right?
Su Huaiming mentally encouraged himself and said softly, "I exercise regularly too."
Fu Jingfan looked at him without any emotion and said indifferently, "Stand up to get some water, go downstairs to eat, and shower standing up—is that considered exercise?"
Su Huaiming: "..."
Thinking of what he had said before, he pursed his lips and lowered his head in embarrassment.
The doctor, seemingly in agreement with Fu Jingfan, said, "While these involve physical activity, they cannot be considered healthy forms of exercise."
Su Huaiming: "..." Thank you for telling me such an important thing!
Fu Jingfan noticed Su Huaiming's reddened ear tips and knew that he had also realized the problem. He turned and nodded slightly to the doctor.
The doctor sensed Fu Jingfan's intention, greeted him, and left the room. The butler also didn't linger, leaving Su Huaiming and Fu Jingfan alone, and thoughtfully closed the door before leaving.
The room fell silent instantly. Fu Jingfan looked at Su Huaiming, who hadn't looked up, and said, "Starting tomorrow, you'll exercise with me."
Before Fu Jingfan could finish speaking, Su Huaiming suddenly looked up, his eyes wide, as if he had heard something terrifying, "I can't get up at 5:30, so I can't go for a morning run with you!"
Fu Jingfan paused for a moment before saying, "I didn't mean that. If you don't want to get up at 5:30 for a morning run, I won't force you. Besides, the doctor said that your exercise needs to be increased gradually."
Seeing that Fu Jingfan was so easy to talk to, Su Huaiming looked at him suspiciously, fearing that he might have some ulterior motive.
"When do you want to exercise?" Fu Jingfan's tone wasn't stern, but it carried an air of authority.
Su Huaiming felt like a primary school student caught doing something wrong, and his momentum suddenly weakened.
Fu Jingfan handed the initiative to him, but Su Huaiming hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he said, "One hour after dinner."
Fu Jingfan nodded. "Okay, I'll have someone create an exercise plan for you that won't exceed your limits."
Su Huaiming had just fallen ill with a fever due to his weak constitution. Fu Jingfan had been so considerate of him and had repeatedly compromised. If he were to refuse again, he would seem too tactless.
Although reluctant, Su Huaiming realized the seriousness of the problem and could only sigh and nod almost imperceptibly.
Seeing that Su Huaiming had finally become sensible and obedient, Fu Jingfan raised his hand, wanting to pat his head encouragingly, just like he had done to Fu Xiaoxiao.
But as his hand reached into the air, he realized that Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao were different. His fingers twitched slightly, and he casually withdrew them.
Su Huaiming noticed Fu Jingfan's strange behavior, his gaze following Fu Jingfan's hand before slowly moving to Fu Jingfan's face.
Fu Jingfan showed no embarrassment at being caught red-handed, and simply said, "Get ready in advance. I'll come find you an hour after dinner."
Su Huaiming suddenly realized something, his lips trembling slightly, "You, you're not going to come with me, are you?"
Fu Jingfan stood by the bed, looking down at him with unfathomable eyes, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. "Is it not allowed?"
Su Huaiming blinked, avoiding Fu Jingfan's gaze, which seemed to read his mind, and whispered, "Aren't you very busy with work? You have to handle official business every night. I'm afraid that... exercising with me would be a waste of your time."
"It's alright," Fu Jingfan said succinctly.
Upon hearing this, Su Huaiming forgot everything else, his face showing an expression that looked like he was about to cry, and he even let out a soft "Ah!"
You're okay, but I'm okay!
Fu Jingfan lowered his eyes to observe Su Huaiming's expression, not missing a single detail. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked leisurely, "Is it not allowed?"
Su Huaiming choked up, unable to find a reason to refuse, and could only squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth. "Yes, of course... yes!"
Fu Jingfan liked to tease Su Huaiming. When Su Huaiming got angry, he was like a little animal with its fur standing on end, making a hissing sound in his throat and launching a fierce attack, but it had no power to kill at all—his reaction was just too funny.
Su Huaiming couldn't see through Fu Jingfan's thoughts, and since he couldn't refute him, he felt that Fu Jingfan was an eyesore, so he expressionlessly gave him the order to leave.
Fu Jingfan didn't provoke Su Huaiming any further, nodded slightly, and left the room.
He had just closed the door and hadn't even left when he heard Su Huaiming whining and whining from inside the house, interspersed with a few wails.
You could tell he really didn't want to exercise.
Fu Jingfan's lips curled into a smile. He stood at the door for a while longer before turning to leave.
*****
After dinner, Su Huaiming completely forgot about the incident and went back to his room to continue watching a movie.
Fu Jingfan seemed to have anticipated this scene, and knocked on the door ten minutes in advance.
Su Huaiming stared blankly at Fu Jingfan, who was dressed in black sportswear, before realizing that he was going to exercise. His eyes dimmed instantly, his eyelids drooped, and he reluctantly returned to his room to change into a black sportswear outfit.
He's a public figure now, so even at night he has to cover himself up completely so he won't be recognized.
Su Huaiming was wearing a black mask and hat, his entire body was black, and his exposed skin was exceptionally fair, making it impossible for people to look away.
After changing his shoes, Su Huaiming saw Fu Jingfan still standing at the door and looked at him in confusion.
Fu Jingfan looked at Su Huaiming's long neck, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said, "Zipper it up."
It was windy outside, Su Huaiming, worried about catching a cold, nodded and zipped his jacket all the way up, covering his neck. Now he was truly dressed in all black.
Fu Jingfan strode out, with Su Huaiming silently following beside him, his lips drooping beneath his mask.
Fu Jingfan was very accommodating to Su Huaiming, maintaining the same pace as him. If Fu Jingfan had run as usual, he probably would have left Su Huaiming far behind.
Lush trees lined both sides of the road, casting deep shadows on the ground. Su Huaiming and Fu Jingfan, both dressed in understated black, were completely inconspicuous under the shade of the trees.
Seeing that no one was around, Su Huaiming pulled his mask down further while running, so that it hung on his chin.
After exercising for a while, Su Huaiming was slightly out of breath, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
The skin around his eyes is thin and sensitive, and after running, it has a faint pinkish tinge, like rouge that has been smudged.
The purpose of exercise was to keep Su Huaiming healthy, not to exhaust him. Fu Jingfan grasped the right balance and made Su Huaiming stop and rest.
The two walked slowly together along the roadside.
After running, my body felt warm and I felt much lighter. Strolling along the street, breathing in the fresh air, felt pretty good, and I didn't resist running as much as before.