Chapter 304: Robbing the Cradle
With that, Fu Ze pushed the plate of pink and white peach blossom cakes from in front of him over to Qin Sitong.
Qin Sitong shot him a suspicious glance. ’He must be up to something, showing such unprompted kindness.’
"What, are you afraid I poisoned them?"
"No, I’ll try one."
Qin Sitong carefully selected one and took a small bite. The sweet, chewy flavor instantly captivated her taste buds. Before she knew it, she had finished the entire cake.
"If you like them, have some more."
After he spoke, Fu Ze picked up his wine glass and took a large gulp. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and his downcast eyes concealed his expression, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"Thank you,"
Qin Sitong murmured. She had intended to stop after one, but in the end, she couldn’t resist reaching for another.
Sheng Hao sat in a corner, taking in everything that was happening in the private room.
The lawsuit between Lu Yunque and Li Yuexing was old news. He hadn’t, however, expected to discover something so interesting.
"Heh! Another cradle robber..."
Fu Yang happened to be passing by Sheng Hao just then and overheard him. Confused, he asked, "Brother Hao, what do you mean, ’another cradle robber’?"
Sheng Hao glanced at Fu Yang, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. "Ask your brother. He knows more about it than I do."
Fu Yang’s expression grew even more bewildered. ’My brother is still an eligible bachelor. What young woman could he possibly be pursuing...?’
Wait!
’Does Brother Hao mean my brother is the cradle robber?’
Fu Yang quickly looked over at Fu Ze and discovered that his brother had, at some point, sat down next to the young woman.
While there was still some distance between them, they were close enough that any careless movement could lead to physical contact.
’So she’s the one?’
But when he remembered Qin Sitong’s relationship with their Sister Yun, Fu Yang figured his older brother’s courtship would not be an easy one.
With anyone else, his brother’s usual full-package treatment—flowers, designer bags, luxury cars—would have had the young woman won over in no time.
But Qin Sitong was Yun Zijin’s friend. Hanging around Yun Zijin, she was already used to seeing designer bags and luxury cars, and she could certainly buy her own flowers. That made things difficult.
Moreover, because of her connection to Yun Zijin, they all had to be mindful of Qin Sitong’s feelings. Otherwise, if she complained to Sister Yun, there was no telling how Sister Yun might punish them.
Now, it was Fu Yang’s turn to look at Fu Ze with sympathy.
’Oh, brother,’ he thought. ’It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but Sister Yun is just too terrifying. I really can’t help you with this one.’
"What are you just standing there for? If you’ve got nothing better to do, pour me a drink."
Sheng Hao kicked Fu Yang in the calf, shamelessly ordering him around.
"Brother Hao, do you think my brother has a chance?"
Fu Yang asked for his opinion while dutifully pouring Sheng Hao a drink.
Fu Yang didn’t care about Qin Sitong’s background. His brother was pushing thirty and still single; it was a good thing that a young woman was even looking his way.
’Although,’ he added to himself, ’I have no idea if she’s even interested in him that way.’
"Who knows."
When it came to matters of the heart, no one could say for sure, and Sheng Hao wasn’t about to make any rash judgments.
Still, based on his own nearly non-existent experience, he felt that Fu Ze probably had a chance.
At least they had mutual friends, which would save them the trouble of having to integrate into each other’s social circles later on.
He just wondered what Yun Zijin’s reaction would be when she found out.
"I think my brother still has a shot. After all, in all of Dijing, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better catch than him.
"Of course, there are a few who are on his level, but you could probably count them on one hand."
At Sheng Hao’s sidelong glance, Fu Yang quickly corrected himself.
"Alright, run along and play. Don’t stand here and get in the way of me enjoying the show."
Having gotten his drink, Sheng Hao started shooing him away.
Fu Yang ran back to the sofa where the younger guys were sitting. After chatting for a bit, the group headed over to the entertainment area to start a game of pool.
Qin Sitong watched with fascination, her eyes darting toward them from time to time.
"If you’re curious, you can go take a closer look."
Fu Ze put his phone away. Noticing that Qin Sitong’s attention kept being drawn to Fu Yang and the others playing pool, he spoke up.
"Can I? Won’t I bother them? It looks like they’re in the middle of a game."
Qin Sitong was worried that her presence, as an outsider, would make Fu Yang and the others uncomfortable and throw them off their game.
"It’s fine. If they get distracted, it just proves they lack focus. It has nothing to do with you. Do you want to go watch?"
Fu Ze looked at Qin Sitong with eyes that seemed to view everything with profound emotion. Qin Sitong nearly got lost in his gaze.
Luckily, she had been spending a lot of time with Yun Zijin lately and had built up a considerable immunity to such things.
"Then, I guess I’ll go have a look?"
After saying this, Qin Sitong turned to look at Su Mengyao.
Su Mengyao, however, caught a look from Fu Ze and quickly waved her hands. "I’m not interested in pool. You can go by yourself. With Zijin around, they wouldn’t dare do anything to you."
Su Mengyao was well aware that they were only here because they knew Yun Zijin.
But Yun Zijin was currently absorbed with Lu Yunque and hadn’t noticed what was happening with Qin Sitong at all.
Qin Sitong didn’t want to disturb Yun Zijin and Lu Yunque, so in the end, she had to summon her courage and walk toward Fu Yang and the others by herself.
Fu Ze silently followed behind her.
Fu Yang, Lu Yunfeng, and Li Yue Xuan were speechless.
It felt exactly like being caught messing around by a parent.
The one throwing off their concentration wasn’t Qin Sitong, but the silent Fu Ze following behind her.
"Focus on your game."
Fu Ze had noticed their reaction and, not wanting Qin Sitong to realize he was the cause, decided to issue a threat.
"Bro, you being here is putting us under a lot of pressure."
As Fu Ze’s younger brother, Fu Yang was, after all, bolder in what he said and did around him compared to the others.
Hearing Fu Yang’s words, Qin Sitong turned her head and finally saw Fu Ze behind her.
"Mr. Fu, what are you doing over here?"
She had come over because she was curious about pool, a game she knew nothing about. She hadn’t expected Fu Ze to follow her.
"You seemed a little timid, so I came over to give you some moral support."
Fu Ze said, half-joking, half-serious.
"Brother Ze, we’ve met her before. We wouldn’t do anything to her."
It was true that Qin Sitong had met Lu Yunfeng and the others, but only once or twice. They weren’t what you would call familiar.
"You’ve met? Then it seems you all get along quite well with Miss Yun."
Fu Ze knew, of course, that they only knew Qin Sitong because of Yun Zijin.
They were only this welcoming to people brought personally by Yun Zijin.
"I-It’s fine. Sister Yun is generous and proper, and we get along pretty well."
Lu Yunfeng hadn’t yet realized the trap hidden in Fu Ze’s words.
"Is that so? In that case, I guess I’ll have to let your Brother Lu know that you’ve been hanging out with his girlfriend without him."
The three of them—Lu Yunfeng, Fu Yang, and Li Yue Xuan—were floored. ’You can’t be serious!’
"Don’t, Brother Ze! That was just a small get-together for our own circle. If Brother Lu came, none of us would be able to relax and have fun."
Imagine trying to have fun with your friends at a dinner you organized when an older brother who acts like a parent is sitting right there. Could you really enjoy yourself to the fullest?