Chapter 12: Do You Want A Patron? (1)  

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

It wasn’t until the car had driven into the courtyard of a mansion that Lan Jinyao came to a sudden realisation. Fu Bainian must be up to something! Otherwise, why would he speak up for her on set for no reason?

“Where are we?” Lan Jinyao looked at Fu Bainian in horror as she firmly clutched her seatbelt, not willing to let it go.

Fu Bainian got out of the car first and opened the door on the other side. Then, he bent over to unfasten her seatbelt, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of the car. His complexion didn’t look very good as he said, “Chen Meimei, what are you pretending for? In the past, didn’t you really want to enter this house? I’ve now brought you here, yet you’re dilly-dallying and not willing to go in. Chen Meimei, playing hard to get is useless when you’re up against me!”

“Could it be that this is...”

Chen Meimei was someone who’d wanted their life to revolve around Fu Bainian at all times, so much so that she’d wished that she could stick to him like glue. What place had she really wanted to enter? Could it be that this was...

An alarming thought floated to Lan Jinyao's mind.

This was Fu Bainian's home?!

She smiled in embarrassment and said, “Haha, this is your home. Of course, I know that! But...don’t you really hate seeing me? Why would you bring me here?!”

“You think I wanted to do it?” President Fu’s face darkened. “It was my Mum’s idea; she wanted to invite you to our place for a meal!”

Lan Jinyao was puzzled. She’d heard that when their parents had proposed a marriage between the two of them, Fu Bainian was the first to object. Moreover, he’d insisted on this until the end. Now that his Mother had said that she wanted to invite Chen Meimei over for dinner, if he’d still disliked her as much as before, then logically speaking, he shouldn’t have agreed to this. She wouldn’t have expected him to actually agree instead of complaining. Besides, he even personally went to the set to pick her up and bring her home... Something smelled fishy here.

“Oh no! Why didn’t you say anything earlier? If I’d known that I was going to be coming to your house for dinner, then I would’ve brought something!”

Fu Bainian looked at her strangely. “Chen Meimei, I’m starting to realise that nowadays, you’re becoming less predictable. In the past, you would come to my house and freeload quite often while I was away!”

With this, the atmosphere became slightly awkward. Lan Jinyao laughed a couple of times to cover her nervousness and didn’t say another word.

She was praying that she wouldn’t say anything more that might let the cat out of the bag today. If by any chance she couldn't carry on, then she would just excuse herself by saying she needed to use the toilet and flee.

When they entered, they could see that the table was already set up with many dishes and that everyone else was already present. It looked like they’d just been waiting for the two of them. The moment that Lan Jinyao stepped into the room, the smile on her face nearly sank. She hadn’t expected to see Xu Jin’ge there as well. It seemed that the rumors about Xu Jin’ge wrapping herself around Fu Bainian was by no means false.

Lan Jinyao’s smile slightly froze, but the expression of the woman sitting at the dinner table turned somewhat green when she saw her and Fu Bainian walk in together, side by side.

It looked like this woman hadn’t even known that she was coming.

Fu Bainian's Father sat at the head of the long dining table. Beside him sat Fu Bainian’s Mother, with Xu Jin’ge seated next to her. Lan Jinyao subconsciously sat opposite the woman, so there was only Fu Bainian left to be seated.

Xu Jin’ge smiled at Fu Bainian and said, “Bainian, sit here!”

Fu Bainian’s Mother suddenly sighed before giving him a meaningful look. She patted the seat next to Lan Jinyao and said, “Sit here!”

Xu Jin’ge’s expression stiffened, and she didn’t utter another word after that. Lan Jinyao had the urge to laugh when she saw her like this.

It looked like Xu Jin’ge, this future daughter-in-law, wasn’t very well-liked by her future Mother-in-law! Lan Jinyao took part in the fun and tugged Fu Bainian into the seat beside her. When this tall and attractive man was pulled, he stumbled and almost fell on top of Lan Jinyao. Upon seeing this, his Mother covered her mouth with her hand and laughed; her eyes were filled with praise for Lan Jinyao.

Fu Bainian's Father abruptly spoke up, “Sit down and eat! It’s unbecoming to behave like this at the dinner table!”

After that, he withdrew his solemn expression and smiled at Xu Jin’ge as he said, “Jin’ge, go ahead and quickly eat! Tonight, the kitchen has prepared all of your favourite dishes!”

Xu Jin’ge smiled gently and replied, “Thank you, Uncle!”

Lan Jinyao rolled her eyes; she had a clear understanding of the current situation. Fu Bainian’s Father liked the delicate beauty Xu Jin’ge and didn’t like the fatty Chen Meimei. On the other hand, his Fu Bainian’s Mother didn’t like Xu Jin’ge and instead liked Chen Meimei. As for the arranged marriage, back then, it must have been proposed by his Mother. From this, she could infer that in the Fu household, Fu Bainian’s Mother had the final say. But then later, Fu Bainian himself had rejected the arranged marriage, so his Father had had a small victory as a result.

However, today Fu Bainian had brought Chen Meimei home by his own accord, so Fu Bainian probably didn’t like Xu Jin’ge. Moreover, when they were in the car earlier, he’d said that he already had someone that he’d liked since long ago, but that that person had already passed away. Thus, it was evident that Fu Bainian wanted to remain single for that person, and that to do that, he had no choice but to find a reliable shield for himself.

Besides, as Chen Meimei happened to already like Fu Bainian, he’d decided to take advantage of this fact. In any case, since the person that he liked had already passed away, it didn’t matter who he married!

However, Fu Bainian had overlooked one thing; she was no longer Chen Meimei, and was instead Lan Jinyao! A woman who was utterly unfamiliar with Fu Bainian!

Lan Jinyao felt that there was no need for her to take part in this play as she didn't want anything from Fu Bainian.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Fu Bainian had made up his mind to draw a clear line between himself and Xu Jin’ge. He used his chopsticks to pick up some cilantro, and placed them in Lan Jinyao’s bowl before looking at her with gentle eyes as he said, “Don’t you really like eating cilantro? Today, the kitchen happened to make cilantro salad, so you should eat more.”

Now, in front of her, was the pungent smell of the cilantro, while beside her was the false concern of Fu Bainian. Lan Jinyao wanted to cry.

Couldn’t she go without eating instead? Only the heavens knew why Chen Meimei had actually liked eating cilantro!

“Meimei, why aren’t you eating? Could it be that looking at this woman made you lose your appetite? Oh, but it was my son who picked it for you! Hurry and eat!” Mother Fu’s face was full of joy as she repeatedly gazed at Lan Jinyao.

Lan Jinyao was all smiles as she picked up the green cilantro with her chopsticks and slowly moved it closer to her lips. No one had noticed that although she was smiling, her hand was actually trembling.

In the end, she closed her eyes and shoved the cilantro into her mouth. Once her mouth was filled with the pungent smell of cilantro, her entire body started feeling unwell.

She tugged at Bainian's suit, shaking as she asked, “Where’s the bathroom? Hurry up and quickly take me there...”

As soon as Lan Jinyao rushed into the bathroom, she started to vomit frantically. So much so, that Fu Bainian's expression turned pitch black.

“Chen Meimei!” as he spoke, he dragged out her name. “Even though you’ve said that from now on you would no longer like me, you don't have to be like this, do you? What are you pretending for?!”

As Lan Jinyao had started feeling better, she finally relaxed and went to wash her face at the sink. When she was done, she turned around and grabbed Fu Bainian’s collar as she angrily said, “Fu Bainian, that’s enough! I, Chen Meimei, live up to my words! When I say that I don’t like you, that means I really don’t like you. So, you don't have to brood over this matter any longer.”

After that, Fu Bainian walked a few steps away in irritation. He wanted to fish out a cigarette from his pocket, but he suddenly remembered that he’d quit smoking ages ago. Due to this, his agitation rose.

“Chen Meimei, I've changed my mind! I'm willing to take you as my wife!”

Lan Jinyao stared at him for a while before she realised what he’d said. She couldn’t help but sneer. “The person you like died, so you just want to find someone random person to get married to and forget about it. Unfortunately, I'm different from you, and I won’t accept this. The person that I want to marry must be someone who loves me dearly, and simultaneously, he must be someone whom I love deeply as well.”

—I won’t accept this. The person that I want to marry must be someone who loves me dearly, and simultaneously, he must be someone whom I love deeply as well.

—Currently, I don't want to talk about love related matters. At this moment, I just want to focus on my work.

That person had said the same thing when she was interviewed on TV.

Fu Bainian looked at the plump face in front of him and became somewhat absent-minded.