Chapter 78 – Extra: Shen Ning × Lu Fengge
Wherever there is a huge business opportunity, there is Lu Fengge.
It wasn’t that Shen Ning lacked sensitivity; even the Shen family had been continuously increasing investments. Lu Fengge was bound to come back sooner or later.
Still, this was too sudden. There’d been no advance notice, and he’d appeared at the front door early in the morning. Had he set off overnight from Harbor City right after a celebration banquet?
A businessman doesn’t get up early without profit. For Lu Fengge to be this eager, he was probably aiming to become the richest man.
Shen Ning said “Oh,” glanced at his pajamas, then thought about how he’d been living in Lu Fengge’s bedroom for a year, adding all sorts of things. All of that would have to be moved out.
He hurried back to the room to pack.
When Lu Fengge arrived home, his nominal spouse neither greeted him with a smile nor asked after him warmly. Only then did he finally confirm that the family letters had been his own overthinking.
One of his broad hands rested on the handle of a half–person-tall suitcase. Compared with the lively flowerbeds beside him, he looked like a desolate vine.
Lu Fengge tightened his grip on the handle and strode into the house.
Aunt Liu, who was knitting, saw him and hurriedly put down the half-finished scarf to take his suitcase. “Sir, why didn’t you say you were coming back in advance?”
“No need,” Lu Fengge said.
Guessing there might be valuables inside, Aunt Liu withdrew her hand. “Shall I prepare breakfast for you?”
“Thank you.” Supporting the suitcase, Lu Fengge walked to his bedroom door, twisted the handle, and was about to go in when his steps halted.
Shen Ning was changing clothes. His white pajama top had been pulled over his head, revealing pale, delicate shoulder blades and, lower down, a slender waist. Like a peony softly unfurling its petals, he looked as if he were ready to receive rain and dew to the fullest.
That waist—slender indeed, but far from being worn down. From his languid posture, it was clear he’d been living quite comfortably in the Lu household.
Lu Fengge paused for just a second, then stepped inside and casually closed the door behind him.
The sound of the door closing was louder than the opening, startling Shen Ning.
Shen Ning glanced back, changed the hand pressing at his waistband to grab the shirt on the bed, and pretended to be calm as he unhurriedly buttoned all five buttons.
Although Lu Fengge hadn’t knocked, it was his room. Using the sound of closing the door to alert him counted as gentlemanly enough.
Lu Fengge pressed down the suitcase handle and pushed it to the side of the wardrobe. Opening the closet, he saw that his clothes had been stuffed into the smallest compartment, squeezed together.
He took out a set of loungewear and went into the bathroom.
Shen Ning watched the bathroom door close, changed into a different pair of pants, and began packing his own things.
By the time Lu Fengge finished showering and came out, Shen Ning had already swept up all his belongings in a whirlwind and piled them onto the bed into a small mountain. He was about to go out and ask Auntie to help him move to another room.
Lu Fengge blocked his way. “I’m not planning to sleep in separate rooms.”
Shen Ning took a moment to process this, his eyes narrowing slightly. Long lashes lowered, covering his dark pupils and giving him a shrewd look. “You’re serious?”
Lu Fengge frowned. “Has anyone ever said it was fake?”
Given how long you don’t come home, it really doesn’t seem serious at all.
Shen Ning couldn’t help but look at Lu Fengge in a new light. “You’re taking an arranged marriage pretty well.”
Lu Fengge: “It’s a good match. Why wouldn’t I accept it?”
Shen Ning: “Because there’s no love.”
Lu Fengge: “Love grows with time.”
Five seconds later, Shen Ning said, “We have different hobbies. You can’t cultivate it.”
Lu Fengge was a pure businessman. Shen Ning felt he might prefer men who worked in libraries, museums, or historical archives—learned, refined, brimming with talent… looks were also crucial.
But since he had “married” Lu Fengge, he stopped thinking about that, focusing on playing the role of a stabilizing link between the two families. He wasn’t forced into this and took marriage seriously. Before Lu Fengge’s long-term business trips, he had even thought love might grow with time.
At the very least, in those artsy places, he wouldn’t find someone as handsome as Lu Fengge.
So when his father once said they could divorce if things didn’t work out, Shen Ning instead felt he was living quite well and didn’t want to leave.
Shen Ning: “You’re not still thinking of having a married life with me, are you?”
Lu Fengge: “That can’t be rushed.”
Shen Ning frowned in dissatisfaction. Why did this man speak in idioms all the time? Sometimes it was hard for him to tell whether it was an idiom or meant literally.
After pondering it for a bit, he heard affirmation in what sounded like a negation.
His Chinese was really good!
Shen Ning folded his arms and said nothing, watching Lu Fengge walk to the bed and hang the clothes piled there back up one by one. He seemed to have an excellent memory—after opening the closet before showering, he roughly remembered how Shen Ning’s clothes were arranged and followed nearly the same order. He didn’t even take out his own clothes from the cramped little compartment to assert himself.
Shen Ning suddenly felt a bit pleased.
Except for formal wear, Shen Ning didn’t like keeping clothes in a dressing room. There had to be clothes in the bedroom; otherwise, how was it different from a hotel?
Shen Ning stepped forward and shoved half the clothes aside. “One half each.”
Wait—
He raised one finger. “If we sleep in the same bed at night, you’re not allowed to drink. I hate the smell of alcohol.”
Lu Fengge: “Alright. If I have engagements, I’ll sleep in the study.”
Shen Ning couldn’t help saying, “Drink less.”
Lu Fengge explained, “It’s only occasional business dinners.”
Shen Ning: “You’re lying. You stay in hotels every day.”
Lu Fengge: “Because sometimes partners also stay in hotels. It’s convenient for work or meetings.”
Shen Ning: “Oh? Then why doesn’t Chu Guilin stay in hotels? Why does he know to stay in nightclubs?”
Chu Guilin was also a Nan Cheng businessman developing in Harbor City. Their families got along reasonably well, but their lifestyles differed. Chu Guilin was more indulgent in his private life—his wife stayed in Nan Cheng while he pretended to be single and went partying in nightclubs.
Lu Fengge frowned as he listened. Since when was staying in a nightclub more upscale than staying in a hotel?
Lu Fengge: “You don’t like me staying in hotels—didn’t I later move to the Mid-Levels apartment?”
Although Auntie had relayed that Shen Ning was concerned about him, after the later misunderstanding with the family letters, Lu Fengge consciously downgraded his expectations. Shen Ning probably just didn’t like it, rather than caring.
Shen Ning used a saying: “A dog can’t stop eating shit.”
Lu Fengge: “What’s so unforgivable about staying in a hotel? Haven’t you stayed in one too?”
Shen Ning: “I haven’t. I don’t like drinking.”
It dawned on Lu Fengge, rather slowly, that Shen Ning—who could write a pile of typos—might not be able to distinguish between hotel and nightclub.
He closed his eyes briefly. He didn’t want to expose Shen Ning, but since it concerned his reputation, he had no choice.
“A hotel is for staying overnight. An inn. A hotel.”
“A nightclub is where you drink,” Lu Fengge explained with an example. “Chu Guilin drinks and picks up girls in nightclubs, drowning in decadence. I work and stay in hotels, drink tea to stay alert.”
Shen Ning: “……” How had he never learned this crucial knowledge?
“I’m sorry. I got it wrong.” His cheeks heated up. He fled the room and nearly ran into Auntie.
Aunt Liu: “Breakfast is ready. Call sir to eat together.”
Seeing Shen Ning’s embarrassed expression, she thought the newlyweds might have quarreled and sided with Shen Ning. “Sir doesn’t know how to speak. Don’t take it to heart.”
Shen Ning said, “He’s very good at speaking—and loves using idioms.”
Aunt Liu was surprised. “But don’t you like artsy men the most?”
Shen Ning: “…Huh?”
In the bedroom, Lu Fengge continued organizing Shen Ning’s clothes. When he finished, he opened his suitcase, took out a stack of letter paper, and locked it in the safe.
Having misunderstood Lu Fengge’s nightlife for half a year, Shen Ning felt a little embarrassed. He went back and knocked on the bedroom door. “Are you hungry? Let’s eat breakfast first.”
Lu Fengge: “Alright.”
Before getting married, they had eaten lunch and dinner together, always accompanied by elders. Come to think of it, they had never eaten a meal alone.
Aunt Liu didn’t know where she’d gone to knit. Two bowls of noodles were set on the table. Shen Ning chose the one with more vegetables and soup.
Lu Fengge looked at the remaining bowl, piled with meat sauce and noodles. Did Auntie serve food this unevenly? He reached out to push it over, wanting to swap with Shen Ning.
Shen Ning shielded his bowl. “No swapping. Auntie knows I like vegetables.”
Lu Fengge: “Sorry. I assumed too much.”
After breakfast, Shen Ning sat in front of the TV watching a slice-of-life drama.
He had once disdained relying on TV to improve his Chinese—true masters went straight to the Four Books and Five Classics.
How could he be worse than ancient children?
Managing French businesses remotely and studying classical calligraphy had taken up most of Shen Ning’s past year. His everyday vocabulary wasn’t very strong.
Shen Ning watched TV all day. Even after watching a person’s entire life on screen, the word hotel never came up.
What appeared more often were guesthouses and inns.
He concluded that hotel was a rare word.
So it was understandable that he couldn’t tell the difference.
Lu Fengge went to the company after breakfast. When he came back that night, Auntie told him Shen Ning had watched TV all day, even guarding it while eating.
Lu Fengge glanced over and found Shen Ning watching a historical drama. “After this episode, rest.”
Shen Ning reluctantly took his eyes off the TV. “Okay.”
Lu Fengge went to wash up.
Only then did it dawn on Shen Ning—rest meant sleeping in the same bed.
The bed was big, but not so big that you could roll around twice without touching the other person.
He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then got up and went to the study to practice calligraphy, conveniently sleeping there afterward.
Lu Fengge could stop him from watching TV, but could he stop him from practicing calligraphy and improving himself?
Then he could say, “Businessmen shouldn’t interfere with cultured people.”
Shen Ning never worked in the study. It had become entirely his calligraphy room, with rough-edged paper spread out on the desk and a box of ordinary ink. As a beginner, he absolutely didn’t do the “bad student with too many tools” thing.
Once he practiced well on rough paper, writing on xuan paper would be even more stunning.
And he could also comfort himself by saying the tools weren’t high-end enough, which was why his writing was only average.
By nine-thirty, Shen Ning’s elbow was a little sore when he suddenly heard footsteps. There were only a few people in the house. Auntie walked lightly and softly—this had to be Lu Fengge coming to urge him to sleep.
Shen Ning put down his brush, rushed to open the door first, and ran into Lu Fengge face-to-face.
“You’re not asleep?” Shen Ning feigned surprise, then slipped past Lu Fengge and ran to the bathroom.
He wasn’t ducking out to pee; he was just too sleepy and went to wash his face, so he’d look more energetic and have a reason to practice a bit longer.
He splashed water on his face; the coolness jolted him awake.
Shen Ning pulled a few tissues to wipe his face and returned to the study with a dewy, fresh face.
On the desk lay an open collection of poetry rubbings. Lu Fengge was holding Shen Ning’s brush and writing.
Shen Ning was about to mock him for pretentiousness, but when he walked closer, his smile froze.
Lu Fengge dipped the brush in ink. Shen Ning wondered if he was like movie protagonists whose writing scenes all used hand doubles. The next moment, Lu Fengge lifted the brush and started a new line, the strokes flowing like dragons and serpents.
On the rough paper appeared five characters, each pressing through the page with force.
Shen Ning unconsciously read them aloud, one by one: “Night… is… deep… please… go… to… sleep.”
Shen Ning’s heart was thoroughly stirred. He looked up at Lu Fengge in astonished admiration.
What was going on—was he the illiterate one?
No one had told him… that Lu Fengge knew calligraphy.
He felt that even after practicing for three more years, he wouldn’t catch up.
Lu Fengge put down the brush. “This brush is terrible. Use mine.”
He opened a compartment in the bookshelf and took out a full set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. “Rough paper is cheap—you don’t practice seriously on it.”
Shen Ning puffed out his cheeks. How was he not serious? He just had something on his mind tonight!
Lu Fengge: “Can you sleep now?”
Shen Ning: “Not sleepy.”
Lu Fengge studied him. “Are you scared?”
Shen Ning was instantly hit right in the heart of the matter and blustered, “No. I’ve slept on that bed for a whole year.”
Lu Fengge: “Give me half the bed tonight. I don’t have a habit of living separately from my wife.”
Hearing him call him wife, Shen Ning felt heat rise in his chest. Didn’t he say it couldn’t be rushed? He looked pretty urgent to Shen Ning. Not wanting to seem naive, he said, “I married you to repay a debt. I know what I’m doing.”
Lu Fengge’s expression darkened. “Repay a debt? You’d better not have that thought.”
Shen Ning: “Why?”
Lu Fengge: “If I were to demand repayment of kindness, I’d want far more than this.”
Shen Ning: “What?”
Lu Fengge didn’t answer. He only told him to go rest and said he would sleep in the study himself.
Seeing him fall silent, Shen Ning guessed on his own. “You want me to bear you children?” With the combination of their two kinds of spiritual energy, the probability of having children was very high—that was why the alliance marriage existed.
Lu Fengge bent down to lay out the bedding in the study. “No. I never thought that.”
Shen Ning: “Then what do you want?”
Lu Fengge, who had been adamant about not sleeping separately, now became a firm study sleeper. “I don’t want you repaying me out of obligation.”
What idiom was that? Practicing his Chinese listening skills? His Chinese was strong when reading texts, but his listening lagged behind.
Shen Ning the illiterate kicked the desk in irritation. Someone like this deserved to have three kids dumped on him to drive him crazy—let’s see if he’d still use idioms when dealing with a one-year-old.
He forgot he was practicing calligraphy barefoot. Pain shot up and he yelped, “Ow!”
