Su Huaiming was still puzzling over it, but he couldn't make sense of it and soon put it out of his mind.
He didn't have to send the email until tomorrow anyway. He could think about it then.
Su Huaiming recovered his good mood quickly. He closed the troublesome mailbox and prepared to find an online game to unwind with.
For three whole days, Su Huaiming stayed holed up in his room without setting foot outside.
The butler was deeply worried about his mental state and tentatively tried talking to him about it. The longer they talked, the more the butler blamed himself, believing he had failed to do his job properly and left Su Huaiming so dissatisfied that he didn't want to go out.
Su Huaiming was at a loss. He could only show his face in front of the butler regularly and go downstairs to the gym for a quick look before leaving, pretending he was active. Only then did the butler feel reassured.
That afternoon, Su Huaiming saw an ad on his Moments feed offering a 100-yuan hot pot voucher to anyone who shared it.
Su Huaiming was instantly tempted. He had to take advantage of the deal, so he decided to go out for hot pot.
He didn't want to enjoy it all by himself, but Fu Xiaoxiao was too young, and hot pot might upset his stomach. That was why he planned to keep it from Fu Xiaoxiao and go out alone.
When the butler heard that Su Huaiming was going out, he immediately wanted to arrange a private car for him, but Su Huaiming stopped him.
"It's almost time to get off work, and the roads are bound to be congested," Su Huaiming continued. "I'm going to a busy area, too. Even if there isn't a traffic jam, the trip will take a long time."
The butler nodded and asked hesitantly, "If you aren't going by car, how will you get there?"
Su Huaiming proudly showed him his ride:
A yellow electric scooter he could unlock by scanning a code to pay.
Su Huaiming was very pleased with it.
The weather was neither hot nor cold, making it comfortable to ride an electric scooter, and there was no risk of getting stuck in traffic.
If his destination wasn't far away, an electric scooter was the best way to get around the city.
Su Huaiming didn't plan to go out often, so buying an electric scooter would be pointless. He might as well ride a shared one.
Besides, electric scooters he could unlock by scanning a code were everywhere. It was easy to find one, making them very convenient.
Su Huaiming was quite proud of himself for having thought of everything, but then he unexpectedly met the butler's gaze.
??? Here we go again!
The butler felt so guilty that he was practically ready to kneel before Su Huaiming. "It's all because I failed to make proper arrangements that you have to put up with riding a shared electric scooter. If you don't mind, sir, I can have a shop deliver a top-of-the-line electric scooter right now, or have someone drive you there."
Su Huaiming: "..."
He was speechless. As long as an electric scooter was safe to ride, wasn't that enough? Why did there have to be so many requirements?
Afraid the butler would keep talking, Su Huaiming got straight onto the scooter, waved, and fled.
Su Huaiming rode the scooter leisurely through the bustling streets, arriving at the mall entrance in just fifteen minutes.
The mall was more than twenty stories tall. At the very top was an open-air restaurant where diners could enjoy French cuisine and a romantic night view. The five floors below housed exclusive clubs, a common choice for business entertaining and gatherings... But none of that had anything to do with Su Huaiming. He was only going to the hot pot restaurant on the third floor.
Although it was only on the third floor, the rent was very expensive. The hot pot restaurant specialized in delicious, fresh flavors and had excellent reviews from diners. Otherwise, Su Huaiming wouldn't have gone out for it.
Su Huaiming wasn't familiar with the place, so after reaching the third floor, he had to look for it one store at a time.
Su Huaiming had walked a few more steps when he suddenly heard someone call his name.
He turned around and saw a beautiful woman in business attire walking toward him with a smile.
Su Huaiming gave a small smile and greeted her. "Secretary Zhou."
Secretary Zhou remained poised and politely made conversation. "What a coincidence. What brings you here, Mr. Su?"
At that, she suddenly remembered something and looked a little surprised. "Are you here to see President Fu?"
Su Huaiming was startled. He hadn't expected Fu Jingfan to be here too.
He and Fu Jingfan were husbands, so he ought to know Fu Jingfan's schedule. To avoid raising suspicion, he gave a vague nod.
Secretary Zhou continued, "President Fu is at the club on the top floor. Would you like to go up and see him, Mr. Su?"
To Su Huaiming, a hundred Fu Jingfans put together were less tempting than one hot pot meal. But he couldn't make his refusal too obvious, so he said tactfully, "Fu Jingfan is busy. It wouldn't be right for me to go up and disturb him."
Secretary Zhou nodded and asked, "Then what brings you here, Mr. Su?"
Su Huaiming was too embarrassed to say he'd chosen hot pot over Fu Jingfan, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "I wanted to look around."
"Look around?"
Under Secretary Zhou's puzzled gaze, Su Huaiming couldn't come up with a better excuse and gave up trying. "Yes, I just wanted to look around."
Secretary Zhou paused but asked no further questions.
After the parenting reality show aired, Su Huaiming had become somewhat famous. He had risked being recognized to come to the mall, so he surely wasn't here just to look around.
Secretary Zhou recalled what Su Huaiming had said and done and immediately understood.
Su Huaiming must have come to see Fu Jingfan, but he was afraid of disturbing his work and putting pressure on him. That was why he'd said he wanted to look around the mall.
Secretary Zhou looked at the considerate Su Huaiming, her smile widening.
Su Huaiming thought the way Secretary Zhou was looking at him was a little strange, but he was too embarrassed to ask, so he smiled back at her.
They smiled at each other for a full five seconds before Secretary Zhou said, "President Fu is still waiting for me upstairs. Mr. Su, I'll be going now."
Su Huaiming nodded and watched Secretary Zhou leave.
After Secretary Zhou left, Su Huaiming walked all the way around the mall before finding the hot pot restaurant.
Afraid of being recognized, he deliberately chose a private room.
He ordered a rich, fiery broth and every specialty meat the restaurant offered, ready to eat to his heart's content!
At that moment, Fu Jingfan was entertaining business partners at the club upstairs.
Secretary Zhou waited outside the room without disturbing them.
Half an hour later, the door opened.
Two middle-aged men came out. Both were older than Fu Jingfan, but neither put on any airs in front of him. Instead, they were extremely cordial, their faces wreathed in smiles as they kept talking to him.
Fu Jingfan was the last to come out.
He wore a crisp suit, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs clad in suit trousers. He looked aloof and austere.
His dark eyes were exceptionally deep, and the light cast a faint shadow from his high nose bridge. His expression remained cool, but he didn't ignore what the others said. There was not a trace of a superior's arrogance in his every move, though his distinguished bearing was hard to conceal.
The two business partners greatly admired Fu Jingfan and were very pleased with him. They exchanged a few more pleasantries at the door before leaving with smiles of delight. From their attitude, it was clear that their cooperation would proceed exceptionally smoothly.
Fu Jingfan showed no sign of fatigue, but Secretary Zhou knew he had been working nonstop for three whole days.
Fu Jingfan pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, "Have all the arrangements been made?"
"Everything concerning the two gentlemen's accommodation, meals, and transportation has been taken care of. The project team has also been in contact with their side, and everything is going smoothly," Secretary Zhou said respectfully.
Only then did Fu Jingfan nod. He looked at Secretary Zhou and saw through her thoughts at a glance.
"Is there something else you want to say?"
Secretary Zhou was startled, but she was used to interacting with Fu Jingfan and immediately recovered her composure. "I just saw Mr. Su downstairs."
Fu Jingfan paused for a few seconds, his voice rising slightly, as though puzzled. "Su Huaiming?"
"Yes." Secretary Zhou didn't embellish anything and relayed Su Huaiming's words truthfully. "Mr. Su knows you're here and doesn't want to disturb you. He plans to look around the mall."
Fu Jingfan didn't speak.
Secretary Zhou knew Fu Jingfan's decisive, efficient style all too well. She didn't dare look at his expression, much less try to guess what he was thinking, and simply waited respectfully for his reply.
A few seconds later, Fu Jingfan's deep voice rang out. "Have the restaurant add a place."
Secretary Zhou immediately understood that Fu Jingfan wanted to have dinner with Su Huaiming.
"Certainly. I'll arrange it right away."
Fu Jingfan valued efficiency, and the people under him didn't dare delay. By the time he headed upstairs, the restaurant was already making preparations.
By the time he arrived, everything was ready, and they were only waiting for Fu Jingfan's word.
"Shall I ask Mr. Su to come up now?" Secretary Zhou asked.
Fu Jingfan gave a slight nod.
Secretary Zhou called Su Huaiming immediately, but the first call didn't go through.
Fu Jingfan didn't rush her. He calmly checked his work emails and unexpectedly found one from Su Huaiming.
The name Su Huaiming was appearing far too often.
Fu Jingfan recalled the ninety-odd "I miss you so much" emails. His finger paused for a moment, but in the end, he opened the new email.
Su Huaiming had wanted to imitate the original owner's emails, only to find he had nothing to write about.
The original owner did many things in a day and had all sorts of details to report, but Su Huaiming spent every day eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping without doing a single productive thing. Besides, those weren't things he could report to Fu Jingfan in detail...
He couldn't very well say how many hamburgers he'd eaten or how many rounds of games he'd played!
Su Huaiming had no other choice but to write the email in his own style.
[I rested today and didn't see anyone. The butler took Fu Xiaoxiao out to play. He behaved very well and didn't throw a tantrum. Also, I miss you very much.]
Both emails had roughly the same content. With nothing else to write about, Su Huaiming could only write more about Fu Xiaoxiao, trying to show Fu Jingfan how conscientiously he was reporting to him. But the transition was too abrupt, making it easy for the reader to focus on the final four Chinese characters.
Fu Jingfan showed no surprise or any other emotion. Before he'd even closed his mailbox, Secretary Zhou got through to Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming's surroundings were quieter than expected.
Secretary Zhou said, "Mr. Su, where are you?"
Su Huaiming was so absorbed in eating that he'd forgotten his earlier concerns and casually said, "I'm eating hot pot."
Secretary Zhou was dumbfounded.
Hadn't Su Huaiming just said he was looking around? How had he ended up eating hot pot?
Secretary Zhou couldn't ask too many questions over the phone, so she said, "President Fu has finished his work. You can come up and see him, Mr. Su."
How could Su Huaiming possibly abandon his delicious hot pot? With meat in his mouth, he said indistinctly, "Never mind. I won't go see him today."
Hearing that, Secretary Zhou nearly broke out in a cold sweat and didn't dare look at Fu Jingfan's face.
She struggled for a few seconds, terrified of being caught in the vortex, then asked in a trembling voice, "Sir has booked a table at the restaurant on the top floor. You can come here to eat."