Chapter 76: Helpless, She Didn’t Understand His Thoughts Either

Fang Chuning woke up a bit early today. Looking at the time, it was only six o’clock. The sky outside was dimly lit. She washed up and put on sportswear, planning to go for a run before coming back for breakfast.

Not far from the villa, there was a maple forest. Next to the maple forest was a coastal road. The place was quite remote, with very few cars driving this way.

Fang Chuning ran along the road. When she was about to leave the maple forest area, she turned a corner and ran into the small path in the maple forest, which would make a perfect loop back.

She adjusted her breathing as she ran. The summer maple leaves were still lush green. The gentle morning breeze blew on her face, carrying a bit of moisture. This was the time when the air was at its best.

As Fang Chuning was running, her gaze was suddenly attracted by a bright color in the maple forest. Her running speed unconsciously slowed down. She took off her earphones and squinted to look over.

The bushes blocked most of it, only revealing a bit of hair, moving back and forth. She couldn’t tell what was going on.

That flash of gold was indeed eye-catching. With just one glance, Fang Chuning associated it with a certain person. She shook her head, put her earphones back on, and continued running.

“Ah, I caught it!” The person in the bushes suddenly stood up, holding a fist-sized beetle in hand.

The familiar German accent plus that familiar face nearly choked Fang Chuning as she couldn’t catch her breath.

Who could tell her why this guy appeared here?!

On the other side, Eric also noticed her. With a dirty face and bright green eyes, he called out, “Ning!”

…

Headache.

Fang Chuning crossed her arms, looking at the blonde youth obediently holding a cup of milk in front of her. Her brows hadn’t relaxed. “Now you can tell me, why are you here?”

Eric’s eyes sparkled as he looked around, his face as dirty as if he had just crawled through a chimney. “Ning, your home is beautiful.”

“Cut it out,” Fang Chuning sat to one side, giving him a meaningful look. “What exactly have you been through?”

He was still wearing aristocratic clothing, but now it was all dirty, with some places torn. Except for his hands which had just been washed, there wasn’t a clean spot on him from head to toe.

Eric seemed to have just discovered the tattered state of his clothes. He blanked out, as if also wondering what had happened.

A vein throbbed on Fang Chuning’s temple. “First tell me, how did you get here?”

“I wanted to find Ning, but they wouldn’t let me, so I snuck out while they were all asleep at night. I also brought my passport and pocket money, took a plane to Ning’s city. But I couldn’t understand what people were saying. I searched for a long time, but luckily I found you!” He described his arduous journey in simple terms.

A person who knew nothing, coming alone across the ocean to a country where he didn’t speak the language, and then being able to find her place safely… Was this what they called God’s favorite?

It was good enough that he didn’t lose any limbs.

The blonde youth looked carefree, making Fang Chuning’s temples throb faintly. “So, what do you plan to do next?”

Eric was stumped by the question. He furrowed his brows in thought, but was actually just blanking out.

Fang Chuning sighed helplessly, “Just stay at my place for now.”

“Mm!”

His clothes definitely couldn’t be worn anymore. Fang Chuning didn’t have suitable clothes for him, so she could only go borrow a few sets from Fang Tianli. As for the blonde youth staying for a few days, no one in the family objected.

On the third-floor balcony, Fang Chuning held a cup of coffee and looked out. From her position, she could see a corner of the maple forest.

Z City was a first-tier metropolis. For someone who didn’t speak the language and was as pure as a blank sheet of paper to coincidentally find his way here, was it really just luck or was there someone helping behind the scenes? She was very suspicious.

After settling him in, Fang Chuning went to the company. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw a group of people gathered on the right side of the company entrance. She saw someone frantically taking photos with their phone at the center of the crowd.

Fang Chuning walked over, then saw that the company security guards were also involved. She frowned and beckoned to her assistant who was following behind, craning his neck eagerly. “Have them return to their work posts if they don’t want to lose this job. Also, don’t let those people crowd at the company entrance.”

The assistant nodded in agreement and walked towards the group.

Soon, the crowd parted to make way, and a figure ran towards her. Fang Chuning impatiently looked away.

“Ning Ning, I made breakfast for you.” Xu Muzhou looked at her cautiously.

The fans who were following him for autographs suddenly fell silent, their curious and gossipy gazes constantly shifting between the two. Seeing their idol carefully trying to please the woman, their hearts melted.

Fang Chuning coldly tugged at the corner of her mouth, not even looking as she walked around him. As she passed by his side, she lightly tossed out a sentence, “You’re only making me dislike you more by doing this.”

The hand holding the food bag trembled slightly. Xu Muzhou lowered his head, his deep pink bangs hiding the expression between his brows as his teeth bit hard on his lower lip.

He really was unrestrained, trying to curry favor with her in front of so many people. Fang Chuning suddenly found it hard to guess his purpose in doing this. She remembered that when they were in school, he was also quite concerned about how others viewed him.

The day was coming to an end in the midst of busy work. Except for Tang Jiali occasionally making his presence known in front of her, everything went smoothly.

Fang Chuning turned off the computer, preparing to go home. Because in a few days it would be the welcome banquet, as per Father Fang’s request, she had been going home on time these past two days. She moved away from the office chair, her gaze flicking towards the direction of the sofa.

Tang Jiali was sitting there idly fiddling with his phone, waiting for her to get off work to go shopping.

There was a knock on the office door. Fang Chuning, who was about to stand up, paused and looked over. After the door opened, the assistant came in with a folder and placed it on the desk. “Miss Fang, urgent documents.”

Because Fang Chuning felt uncomfortable every time she was called president, she had the assistant change the form of address.

She glanced at her watch. “Let’s look at it tomorrow.”

The assistant hesitated a bit, then leaned over and whispered a few words in her ear.

Fang Chuning found it interesting after listening. “You’re saying Tianma is willing to cooperate with us to share that polar mining site? But why?”

Tianma was the dark horse that suddenly rose in the rich list, disrupting the rankings. Its ranking was just behind Fang Corporation. Hong Yi had always been eyeing the polar mining site, but Tianma’s behind-the-scenes person was exceptionally arrogant, never even showing their face, let alone discussing cooperation.

She didn’t know the reason, and the assistant knew even less, only that, “Their person in charge said it must be you personally going to negotiate face-to-face.”

“Alright, I understand. You can get off work now.”

After the assistant left, Tang Jiali’s whole demeanor became gloomy. “You still have to work?”

“You heard it too. I don’t have time. Let’s go shopping next time.”

“Next time, next time, it’s always next time. You haven’t accompanied me once since returning to the country!”

Fang Chuning was used to such unreasonable behavior and didn’t care much. “What can I do? I’m really busy. After you marry me in the future, I might be even busier. If you want to find someone who can accompany you every day, I’m definitely not a good candidate.”

Tang Jiali’s face darkened. “In the end, you just don’t want to marry me. I’m telling you, it’s impossible!”

Sometimes Fang Chuning really wanted to crack open his head and see what exactly he liked about her. Was it necessary to be so persistent?

The meeting time was set for 7 PM. In between, Fang Chuning went home for a while. In the courtyard, Eric, Fang Tianli, and that dog Wangcai were playing joyfully. Probably because he had never encountered a boy as cheerful and playful as Eric, Fang Tianli was extremely fond of him.

The three rolling around on the lawn was a sight one couldn’t bear to look at directly.

Seeing Fang Chuning return, Eric got up, smiling brightly as he waved at her vigorously. “Ning!”

The casual T-shirt he wore made him look full of youthful energy.

Soon Fang Tianli pounced on him, and the two fell back onto the lawn, giggling.

Childish, Fang Chuning criticized in her heart. She didn’t pay them any more attention, went back to her room to take a shower, changed clothes, and went out again.

The meeting place was an F country restaurant. As soon as she entered, Fang Chuning felt the atmosphere was a bit off. Every table in the restaurant was occupied by couples, and she was invited into a private room full of ambiance.

After waiting for about five minutes, the person in charge from Tianma arrived “fashionably late”. When she saw Xu Muzhou “dressed up”, Fang Chuning wasn’t very surprised.

Faced with the woman’s silent gaze, Xu Muzhou nervously pinched his fingers, putting on a relaxed smile. “Have you been waiting long? I didn’t expect there would be a traffic jam on the way here.”

He placed the menu in front of her, his voice gentle, “You decide on the main course.”

Fang Chuning didn’t move, nor did she speak, just looking at him like this.

Xu Muzhou sat across from her. Several candles were lit on the dining table, the soft candlelight illuminating both their faces, creating an eerily harmonious atmosphere.

“Is Tianma’s behind-the-scenes boss you?”

The woman finally spoke to him. Xu Muzhou’s eyes lit up, he straightened his back and said eagerly: “No, it’s my father.”

Right, Fang Chuning had almost forgotten. His father had been in F country before, and it had already been rumored that the second-ranked assets on the domestic rich list were transferred from F country.

Xu Muzhou carefully observed her expression. Seeing that she didn’t seem displeased, he tentatively said: “If you like that polar mining site, I can give it to you.”

The young man might as well have had the words “spendthrift” printed on his forehead.

“No need. I’m not interested now.”

Xu Muzhou dejectedly lowered his gaze. “Why… Is it because of me?” He regretted it as soon as he said it.

“Yes.”

The woman’s unhesitating answer made his heart twist in pain. Xu Muzhou lowered his head and wiped his eyes with his hand. He opened his mouth to take a couple of breaths, then looked up with slightly reddened eye corners and the tip of his upturned nose, looking pitiful. “Then let’s just talk about cooperation.”

Fang Chuning looked at him expressionlessly. “Wait until you’ve sorted out your emotions before we talk.”

The woman was even more ruthless than he had imagined. Xu Muzhou grabbed her hand as she was about to leave, no longer able to control the choke in his voice: “I’m sorry, Ning Ning… It’s all my fault. You can hit me, scold me, I’ll do whatever you say from now on, just don’t ignore me…”

He leaned over and lightly pecked her chin, his beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with tears. “Look at me.”

Fang Chuning coldly turned her gaze to him.

Xu Muzhou covered her eyes, his forehead resting on her shoulder as he cried like a child. “Don’t… don’t look at me with those eyes… Ning Ning…”

It was the first time Fang Chuning had seen him cry so heartbrokenly. No, that’s not right, it seemed it wasn’t the first time. In her memory, a long, long time ago, there had been a similar scene. At that time, they were both just children a few years old.

Fang Chuning frowned deeply and pushed him away forcefully.

Caught off guard, Xu Muzhou almost fell to the ground. He hiccupped as he cried, covering his eyes with his hands, not letting her see his unsightly appearance.

Fang Chuning felt a bit uncomfortable. She turned and left the private room.

“Wu…” Xu Muzhou bit his lower lip hard, slowly crouching down on the ground.