I Want a Lifetime with You novel Chapter 76

“He’s not a wild man,” Shi Nuan blurted out. She sighed upon seeing Fu Xicheng’s expression and continued, “Fu Xicheng, I’ll say this one more time: don’t do anything that will disgust me.”

She reached for his hand, which had clamped down on her arm, and pried his fingers off her one by one. “It’s best for us to maintain our distance at work!”

“Nuan!”

Staring at Shi Nuan’s back, Fu Xicheng punched the elevator door, frightening a personnel who just happened to be walking by. “Mr. Fu!”

“What are you doing here?” Fu Yuqing’s voice rang out from behind Fu Xicheng. “Father!” Fu Xicheng had been oblivious to father’s presence and responded nervously.

“Hmph,” Fu Yuqing glared at Fu Xicheng. “How many times have I told you to watch yourself at work? Since you’re already engaged to Shi Wei, stop approaching Shi Nuan!” Fu Yuqing was disappointed in his own son. “You have to be clear of what you want!”

“But father…” Fu Xicheng frowned. “I truly love Nuan.” If it weren’t for the shares in Shi Wei’s hands and for the sake of obtaining Huancheng, he wouldn’t have chosen Shi Wei. It was true that he was physically attracted to her, but he didn’t love her.

“True love? There’s nothing in the world that money can’t buy. You’ll understand what I’m saying after you get Huancheng’s shares,” Fu Yuqing scoffed as he stared at Fu Xicheng. “Look at what you’ve become. There’s nothing to gain from Shi Nuan. I’m warning you: if I catch you with her again, I won’t go easy on you.”

“Yes, I understand,” Fu Xicheng said submissively.

“It’s a critical moment for the company now. Something’s going on at Shengyuan and it’s drastically impacting our sales. Go investigate.”

“Understood!”

After freeing herself from Fu Xicheng, Shi Nuan felt unsettled, and her skin crawled when she remembered the encounter. Her phone buzzed in her hand – it was an incoming call from Jiang Yu. It would be an understatement to say that Shi Nuan was feeling infuriated.

She stared at the screen for a long time as it continued to ring. The phone would turn silent for a few seconds, only to ring again. After the same process repeated a few times, Shi Nuan finally picked up the phone in frustration. Jiang Yu’s shrill voice immediately pierced her eardrums. “What are you doing? Why did it take you so long to pick up?”

Jiang Yu sounded extremely hostile. Shi Nuan had always known how her own mother treated her, but she still couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt. She could never understand why her mother pampered Shi Wei but treated her like a nemesis when both of them had the same set of parents.

Shi Nuan bit her lip and said with a wry smile, “I was at work so I didn’t hear it ring. What are you calling me for, mother?” No matter what, this woman was her mother; Shi Nuan couldn’t deny that Jiang Yu had raised her.

Hearing Shi Nuan’s words, Jiang Yu merely scoffed, “Is your work more important than me? It looks like I’m becoming more and more insignificant to you, Shi Nuan.”

“That’s not true,” Shi Nuan said. “I really was busy with work. What’s the matter?”

“Am I not allowed to talk to you without a reason?” Jiang Yu said bitingly, “Look at what you’ve become. I’m your mother, but you never take the initiative to contact me, and I always have to be the one calling you. How pompous can you be?”

Jiang Yu sounded extremely harsh and mean. Her tone was nothing like how a mother would talk to her own child.

But no matter how hurt she felt, there was nothing Shi Nuan could say. “I’ve been quite busy with work. I…”

“Being ‘busy’ is always your excuse. Your elder sister is a huge celebrity; are you saying that you’re busier than her? You’re just unfilial. No matter how busy your sister is, she would drop by or call to ask how I’m doing. And you? Not only did you move out, you refuse to even visit us! How could I have given birth to such a heartless creature like you!?”

Shi Nuan’s grip on the phone tightened as felt a twinge in her heart. She closed her eyes and took a moment to calm down. “Mother, are you not aware of the reason I never return home?”

“You…” Jiang Yu thought her daughter was being a pushover as usual when Shi Nuan did not respond initially. She didn’t expect Shi Nuan to refute her this time. “What do you mean by that, you brat?”

“Do you really not know what I mean, mother?” Shi Nuan smiled bitterly. “What are you calling me for?”

Shi Nuan was well aware of Jiang Yu’s character. Her mother would never call without a motive. Since Jiang Yu was now proactively approaching her, there must be something important.

“Come back and visit!” Jiang Yu said petulantly. “Don’t forget that this is your home. Your grandpa treats you so well, yet you…”

“I’m really busy recently!” Shi Nuan immediately said. It was true that her grandfather treated her well, so she certainly would want to see him. However, the old man was also very considerate of her and naturally wouldn’t force her to return. Shi Nuan easily saw through Jiang Yu schemes – she was using the old man as an excuse to persuade Shi Nuan to go home.

“Sure, you’re busy,” Jiang Yu spat through gritted teeth. “What can you be so busy with, you brat? You only work for others. I’m warning you: if you don’t come home today…”

“What will you do?” Shi Nuan cut her off. “I’m your daughter too, mother. But if you could just be more thoughtful sometimes, I wouldn’t be so opposed to the idea of returning to my home.”