Page 8

"Yichu... why are you treating us like this?"

Because in the past, whenever she looked at Fu Yichu with that expression, he would soften and agree to any condition she set.

She had intended to meet Fu Yichu today, but she had never expected him to hang up on her.

Nothing like that had ever happened before. She knew better than anyone how deeply Fu Yichu liked her.

Jiang Ruoning needed to coax some important information out of Fu Yichu. She had been confident she would succeed, but for some unknown reason, his attitude toward her had actually become distant today.

The Jiang family was also a renowned wealthy family in South City. Jiang Ruoning's mother had been the old madam of the Fu family's best friend. Since Mrs. Jiang had passed away very early, the old madam had taken great care of Jiang Ruoning. Because of that connection, Jiang Ruoning, Fu Yunqi, and Fu Yichu had been

childhood sweethearts.

Hearing Jiang Ruoning plead with him so pitifully, Fu Yichu somehow began to soften again.

It was an emotion he could not control, even though he knew perfectly well that Jiang Ruoning, the "female lead," might very well be targeting the Fu family's bidding project.

But a voice in Fu Yichu's heart kept telling him that he liked Jiang Ruoning, that he must not let her be sad or upset, that he had to stand by her side, protect her, love her, and satisfy her every demand. He was still struggling, and his body actually began walking toward Jiang Ruoning against his will.

Jiang Ruoning, who had been facing expulsion, inwardly rejoiced at the sight. She had known Yichu could never bear to see her wronged.

She also wanted to ask Yichu what the Fu family's final bid was for the land project in Yantian District.

Because Yubai had said that this plot of land was immensely valuable. If they could snatch the project from the Fu family, it would bring them enormous profits.

Jiang Ruoning had to find Fu Yichu and get the project's final bid out of him.

Seeing Fu Yichu looking as though he had lost his soul, Su Wanqiao was unsurprised.

[The female lead's halo is truly terrifying. I knew this brainless Fu Yichu would lose his mind the moment he saw her. Even a wealthy family with riches rivaling a nation could hardly avoid being ruined by someone like him. The Fu family's deaths really weren't undeserved.]

"..."

After the dialogue box above Su Wanqiao's head finished displaying its contents, Fu Huaiyan's already gloomy face turned green. Without another word, he strode forward, swung his arm in a full arc, and delivered a vicious slap.

Smack!

The crisp slap revealed just how much force it carried, startling everyone around them.

Fu Yichu staggered from the blow. For an instant, he felt a burning pain across his fair face, but his mind actually cleared in that same moment.

He saw his eldest brother raise his arm again, as though intending to "wake him up" with another caring gesture.

Frightened, he hastily retreated two steps and hid behind Su Wanqiao.

Fu Huaiyan let out a deep breath of relief, thinking that if this useless, stupid younger brother really lost a project worth tens of billions, he would genuinely fight him to the death.

Now that Fu Yichu had come to his senses, Fu Huaiyan hurriedly waved an impatient hand.

"Get them out of here. I don't want to see them for another second."

This time, no matter how much Jiang Ruoning called Fu Yichu's name, it was useless. The bodyguards dragged her straight out. With the female lead gone, the scene of fighting over a gown in the luxury store naturally never happened.

Fu Yichu had now completely regained his senses and was holding his face, feeling thoroughly dejected.

Su Wanqiao was utterly astonished by the sight.

[Uh... what's going on? Was Fu Huaiyan's slap really that effective? He actually slapped Fu Yichu back to his senses in one go. Looks like if he gets beaten a few more times, the plot won't be so easy to follow. I get it now. If you act stupid, you need more beatings.]

"..."

Fu Huaiyan also gave an almost imperceptible nod. He, too, thought this method worked very well. If his younger brother misbehaved, a beating would fix it.

Su Wanqiao did not find it too strange, either. In the novel, Fu Huaiyan, the eldest brother, truly was a man whose word was law in the Fu family. Once he lost his temper, no one dared defy this tyrant's decisions.

Outwardly, however, she still had to play the part of the Fu family's eldest sister-in-law and ask in puzzlement.

"Why did you suddenly hit your youngest brother, Huaiyan? Yichu's face is all red. Hurry to the hospital and get some medicine put on it."

[Good hit, wonderful hit. He deserved it. Without a beating, he'll never learn his lesson.]

"..."

Although Su Wanqiao did not know why Fu Huaiyan had suddenly flown into a rage, she guessed that he might dislike Jiang Ruoning too. In fact, the villain and the female lead had little interaction in the novel, so it was normal for him to dislike her. The female lead's charms did not work on Fu Huaiyan.

Fu Yichu's breath caught after he read the dialogue box.

He was truly shaking with rage and cold!!

Why was he always the one getting hurt?

Did they take him for an idiot just because he never lost his temper?

Fu Huaiyan, on the other hand, thoroughly approved of this approach. He shot Fu Yichu a sidelong glance, and the latter immediately fell silent. His youngest brother could not see the inner thoughts above Su Wanqiao's head and naturally had no way of knowing the plot in advance. As his older brother, he feared that Fu Yichu would be bewitched, so he could only steel himself and strike.

Sigh.

The blows land on the younger brother's body, but the pain is in the older brother's heart.

Fu Huaiyan offered a thoroughly affected explanation.

"I hit him to clear his head. Fu Yichu, you're one of the Fu Group's executives. Don't become incapable of walking the moment you see a woman."

"..."

That sounded reasonable enough. Hadn't Fu Yichu been staring fixedly at Jiang Ruoning just now? As the son of a great wealthy family, how could he manage the family assets properly if he lacked even that much self-control?

Fu Huaiyan had originally refused to believe that the Fu family would go bankrupt. But after seeing Fu Yichu instantly lose his mind to the female lead's charms, he was now genuinely panicking. According to Su Wanqiao's inner thoughts, sooner or later, his youngest brother and the others would ruin the Fu family.

Besides, if he himself died an unnatural death, none of the others could hold the Fu family up. Its collapse would only be a matter of time.

Fu Huaiyan had to consider hiring more senior professional managers. He could not let this vast Fu family be ruined in his hands.