Yun Li was doing something like this for the first time. Breathing lightly, she asked him, "Will someone come?"
Fu Shize: "No."
Their current position gave Yun Li a sense of control over everything. Nearly losing her senses, she scattered kisses at the corner of his lips and asked with the last shred of her rationality, "Did you bring that?"
Fu Shize chuckled: "No."
"..."
Yun Li felt the air freeze.
She met his gaze, letting out a disappointed "Oh," before realizing why he was so calm.
Feeling that he had deliberately avoided mentioning this earlier, Yun Li burned with frustration, a strong urge for retaliation rising in her.
After his words, instead of retreating, she pressed forward, lifting his shirt halfway and lightly biting his Adam's apple. Fu Shize's breathing grew uneven, but his tone remained amused: "That's too much."
Yet he allowed her to continue.
This made Yun Li relish the process of 'provoking' him under such unthreatening circumstances.
Deliberately at an agonizingly slow pace, she unbuttoned his shirt one by one, listening as his breathing gradually grew heavier. Smiling, she said, "You're the one who tempted me."
"You'll have to take responsibility," Fu Shize replied lazily, still leaning against the edge of the sofa.
"I'm willing to take responsibility," Yun Li said solemnly.
Her attitude seemed sincere, but in truth, it was somewhat mischievous—knowing full well he couldn't do anything about it, she deliberately said such things.
Fu Shize let out a low, husky laugh. Having indulged her long enough, he gripped her waist, his expression unruffled.
"I lied earlier."
"..."
...
After showering, the two took their clothes to the laundry room in the basement. Yun Li followed him downstairs. With the heating on indoors, Fu Shize wore only a short-sleeved shirt, revealing his lean, toned arms.
It was these very arms that had held her earlier...
While whispering in her ear, "You said you'd take responsibility," and "Sit still."
Yun Li's legs felt weak.
Fu Shize turned on the light, glancing at the lingering allure in the corners of her eyes before gently ruffling her hair. He started the washer-dryer combo, tossed their clothes inside, and threw the socks into a smaller machine next to it.
The sound of the spinning drum filled the laundry room—a noise just loud enough to be present but not bothersome, far better quality than the one in her home. The wash and dry cycle would take two hours, so Fu Shize took her around for a look.
Yun Li murmured, "Your house is a little big..."
Fu Shize: "If you like it here, you can come stay whenever you want. I’ll have my parents set up a separate room for you."
"That's not what I meant." After a long pause, Yun Li spoke bluntly, "I probably can’t afford a place this big."
She strongly suspected his standard of living would plummet because of her.
Fu Shize tilted his head, reminding her, "I can’t afford it either."
"..."
Fu Shize continued, "Don’t look down on it."
Sometimes, Yun Li was left speechless by his words. He should have clearly seen that she was the one feeling inadequate, yet he turned it around to tease her.
Bringing up the topic, Yun Li asked conventionally, "Do you plan to stay in West Fuling from now on?" As if afraid he might change his mind, she added a condition: "With me."Fu Shize didn't respond, and Yun Li realized she'd said something unnecessary. Clearing her throat, she spoke seriously, "Then I want to buy a house in West Fuling as soon as possible. The money I've saved should be enough for the down payment. If you're willing, we could buy one together."
Suddenly unsure, she told Fu Shize, "Wait a moment," then lowered her head to recalculate on her phone.
Finished, she nodded at Fu Shize as if confirming, "Yes, it's enough."
After a long pause, Fu Shize said directly, "I have some savings. Should I buy one for you?"
His tone was the same as when he'd gifted Yun Ye a drone.
Yun Li was stunned. It made sense that she had income, but Fu Shize...
"...Where did you get the money?"
"About a million from competition prizes."
"..."
"?"
Fu Shize: "Scholarships from undergrad and PhD studies totaled over a hundred thousand."
"..."
"Childhood New Year money and red packets add up to several hundred thousand. If that's not enough, my grandparents on both sides left me properties and money."
"..."
Fu Shize didn't avoid discussing these matters with Yun Li. Indifferently, he said, "I can cover the house. I'll have income after starting work. Keep your stash for buying things for yourself."
Yun Li insisted firmly, "No one's money comes easily. I can earn my own—I don't want to take advantage of you."
Because of the disparity in their family backgrounds, she was even more unwilling to let others think she was after Fu Shize's wealth or that she needed to rely on him to buy a house or car.
Fu Shize smiled, "Didn't you just take advantage?"
"..."
"Also, you're mistaken." He pulled her closer. "Everything I have is yours."
Before bed, Yun Li asked Fu Shize to read to her again. The book contained some note cards he'd made, reminding her to ask, "Why is the handwriting on those postcards different from yours?"
Fu Shize: "I wrote them with my left hand."
"Oh." Yun Li's eyes curved as she smiled. "I knew it—your handwriting is so beautiful." Not sparing her praise, she kissed his cheek. "You're this handsome too."
Fu Shize's lips quirked slightly as he continued flipping through the book.
"Didn't you ever think of telling me during that time?" Yun Li hugged him, murmuring, "I feel so guilty. For that year and a half, only you were there for me."
Fu Shize countered, "You were there for me too."
He was a fragile person. Whenever he wanted to give up, seeing her again always made him feel—deep down—that he could still be strong.
Thinking he was comforting her, Yun Li pressed further, "Did you come to England to look for me during that time?"
She hoped his answer would be no.
Fu Shize didn't respond. Seeing her eyes reddening, he touched the corner of her eye and lightly pinched her nose. "No, I was very busy that year and a half—no time."
Yun Li sighed in relief. Noticing this, Fu Shize tightened his embrace and took her hand to continue reading.
...
After returning to West Fuling, Yun Li and Yun Ye retrieved the drone, which had a small chipped corner. Unskilled at repairing such dents, she searched online for tutorials but had to set it aside temporarily due to her studies.Apart from going to work, Yun Li spent most of her time with Fu Shize working on her graduation thesis. Secretly, she had contacted Fu Zhengchu to form a small team and participate in EAW's VR game development competition, hoping to finish a gift for Fu Shize by his birthday.
Under Fu Shize's supervision, Yun Li managed to submit her thesis in the first batch.
If all went well, she would graduate in March.
Fu Shize had already completed his doctoral dissertation. While they studied together, he was usually writing or revising English papers for submission.
After that, Yun Li began looking at houses in West Fuling.
She had discussed this with Fu Shize before. He had offered to pay the full amount, but Yun Li refused, insisting that they split the cost equally.
With this plan in mind, Yun Li informed Yun Yongchang at the dinner table: "Shize and I are planning to buy a house in West Fuling. We’ll go check out some places soon."
Over the past few months, Yun Li had regularly brought Fu Shize home for meals, and both sets of parents had already met. Hearing about the house purchase, Yun Yongchang wasn’t surprised, only asking, "Where are you looking?"
Yun Li listed a few new developments.
Seeing his brows gradually furrow, she tried to reason with him gently, "I’ve already contacted an agent. These properties have good locations and reasonable prices. We’ll go see the show flats later."
Yun Yongchang took a few bites of rice and made a firm decision: "Just buy the building next door. It’s close to home."
"..."
His forceful attitude only reinforced Yun Li’s belief that living in the same neighborhood—let alone the adjacent building—would be worse than death.
"This neighborhood is already quite old, and it’s a bit far from my company..." She still tried to make him understand, but at her words, Yun Yongchang’s expression darkened. "Didn’t you grow up here? Now you’re looking down on it? If you live next door, your mom and I can help if anything happens."
Yun Li found it baffling. Since she and Fu Shize were paying for it themselves, why was Yun Yongchang being so domineering?
She didn’t back down either, saying bluntly, "Don’t interfere. I’m buying it with my own money."
"What do you mean by that?" Yun Yongchang grew angry. "Now that you can earn money, you won’t listen to me at all, is that it? Who raised you?"
The once-harmonious dinner turned tense because of their argument.
Yun Ye cut in impatiently, "Dad, stop it. It’s her house—let her decide."
"Stay out of this!" Yun Yongchang glared at him. "Your sister doesn’t know how to deal with people. For something like buying a house, we should handle it. What good place could she possibly pick?"
"..."
Yun Li could hear the condescension in his words. She set her chopsticks down on the table and went straight to her room.
Yun Ye lowered his gaze, silently wiping his lips with a napkin.
Inside the room, Yun Li sat on the bed, hugging her knees. When Yun Ye followed her in, her eyes were slightly red as she complained, "Why does he have to be like this?"
For so many years, Yun Yongchang had never once acknowledged her.
Just when she was thrilled about being able to buy a house, he always had to pour cold water on her excitement.
Both of them knew Yun Yongchang’s temperament well.
Yun Ye didn’t know how to comfort her, so he just sat beside her, silently fiddling with the rabbit plushie on her bed. After hesitating for a moment, he still ended up telling Fu Shize about the incident.Ever since Fu Shize started staying at Yun Li's house, almost every week when she picked up Yun Ye, she would bring Fu Shize along as well.
Yun Ye could clearly see that Yun Yongchang was quite fond of and satisfied with Fu Shize.
After Yun Li and Yun Yongchang had another argument at the dinner table, the two remained at a stalemate at home for a long time. Yun Li would leave early every morning, either to study or to work.
Yun Yongchang felt she was giving him the cold shoulder and treated her with extreme hostility every day. But this didn’t make Yun Li back down—she simply stopped talking to him altogether.
Yang Fang, being soft-natured, was caught between father and daughter, unsure of how to mediate.
Just as Yun Yongchang was deeply troubled by this situation, Fu Shize called him, wanting to have a meal alone with him.
They arranged to meet at a private room in a restaurant outside.
After they met, they didn’t discuss Yun Li’s matters. Yun Yongchang, as usual, asked about Fu Shize’s studies and work, and Fu Shize answered truthfully.
As they talked, Yun Yongchang noticed Fu Shize’s phone playing one of Yun Li’s videos.
Yun Li had been a content creator for six or seven years.
Yun Yongchang had once tried to understand her work but didn’t know how to operate the software.
Before, he thought Yun Li being a content creator was frivolous and had mocked her for it. Too proud to ask his children for help, he had never actually watched any of her videos.
After a moment of silence, he asked Fu Shize, “What is this?”
Fu Shize switched back to Yun Li’s homepage and handed the phone to Yun Yongchang.
Scrolling through the screen, Yun Yongchang saw that after returning to West Fuling, Yun Li had updated a series of videos on car structure and emergency troubleshooting. She had previously borrowed a car from a driving school and sometimes asked him odd questions about it.
Yun Yongchang had assumed she wasn’t doing anything serious, so after answering her questions, he never inquired further about her work.
“This ‘Xian Yun Di Da Jiang’ is Lili,” Fu Shize pointed to the numbers and explained, “This is the view count.”
“How much is this?”
“This symbol stands for ‘ten thousand,’ so it’s three million views.”
“…So three million people have watched this?”
Fu Shize simplified his explanation: “You could say that.”
From memory, Fu Shize clicked on the last video of Yun Li’s series and opened the comments section. “These are comments from other people.”
There were tens of thousands of comments, most expressing admiration and appreciation for the creator.
One of them read:
[How is my wife so amazing!]
Xian Yun Di Da Jiang replied:
[My dad used to tell me often—like father, like daughter haha ^^]
At this, Yun Yongchang fell silent. After a long pause, he muttered, “How can this person call my daughter that…”
Noticing Yun Yongchang’s obvious softening, Fu Shize showed him some of Yun Li’s other metrics. Seeing her follower count, Yun Yongchang asked, “What does this mean?”
Fu Shize patiently explained, “These one million-plus people are all following Lili. Whenever she posts a new video, they’ll see it.”
Fu Shize played a video for him. Yun Li spoke confidently, and even when she flubbed her lines, she just laughed it off.
His daughter had long shed the childishness and shyness of her youth.
Yun Yongchang sank into a long silence before asking, “Whose idea was it to buy the house—yours or Lili’s?”
“Lili’s. She’s more decisive than I am.” Fu Shize answered without hesitation, candidly adding, “My parents suggested we pay in full and put the house under Lili’s name, but she insisted on paying half.”Yun Yongchang could picture Yun Li defiantly widening her eyes, unwilling to let others look down on her.
"My daughter has always been like this," Yun Yongchang said after a pause.
Getting to the main point, Fu Shize said solemnly, "Lili has mentioned you many times in front of me. She has always respected you deeply and holds strong feelings for you."
He paused before continuing, "But she feels you almost always make decisions on your own. Her own thoughts have been consistently overlooked and not respected by you, which is why she's always had conflicts with you."
Had it been earlier, Yun Yongchang might have blurted out that the girl was just introverted, and he was only trying to protect her from being bullied.
But just days ago, he had had another argument with Yun Li.
Or rather, every time they spoke, it turned into an argument—there was never a moment of peaceful interaction.
Yun Yongchang could still remember Yun Li as a child, clinging to his neck and calling him "Daddy" with such affection and intimacy.
But after her left ear was diagnosed with problems, after being called to school several times when teachers told him classmates had written offensive words like "deaf" on her clothes and backpack, after learning Yun Li was isolated by her peers and gradually became introverted and withdrawn—Yun Yongchang, while protecting her, had unconsciously come to believe that this was just who Yun Li was.
A child with little capability and stubborn opinions.
Yun Yongchang was obstinate by nature, rarely willing to reflect on his own actions, and took it for granted that everything he did was for his daughter's good.
Strangely, though, he actually listened to these words from a third party.
In daily life, no matter how Yun Li tried to communicate with him, he never took her words to heart.
After returning home, Yun Yongchang went to his room and clumsily opened the app. Following Fu Shize's instructions, he began watching Yun Li's videos.
He watched for hours, his face breaking into smiles the whole time. In just those few hours, he forwarded the videos to all his relatives and friends, proudly telling them his daughter had over a million followers.
After sending them all, he heard the door open. Peeking out, he saw Yun Li had just brought Yun Ye home. Without even glancing at him, she went straight to her room.
Yun Yongchang felt a chill run through his entire body.
He stood there for a long while before finally going to knock on Yun Li's door.
"Yun Li!"
Hearing his booming voice, Yun Li felt a surge of irritation. She buried her head under the blankets, refusing to acknowledge him.
Yun Ye sensed the tension and tried to mediate, "Dad, stop knocking..."
Yun Yongchang ignored him and kept pounding on the door. From inside the room came the sound of Yun Li jumping off the bed and stomping toward the door.
She yanked it open violently.
The person before her wore a dark expression, and Yun Li instinctively braced herself for another scolding. "Dad, haven't you had enough?" she snapped, unable to take it anymore.
Hearing her tone, Yun Yongchang reflexively retorted, "How can you talk to me like that?"
After days of stalemate, Yun Li couldn't understand why her father always had to be so domineering. She threw caution to the wind. "Why can't I talk to you like this?"
Yun Yongchang fell silent.
"I feel so miserable—all these years—" Yun Li's voice cracked with emotion. "I've tried so hard. Since I was little, I wanted to prove to you that I'm not that useless, that the gap between Yun Ye and me isn't that big.""I may not be as good a student as Yun Ye, but I can still manage studying abroad on my own. I haven't taken a single penny from you, and I've even gained over a million followers as a content creator."
"But in your eyes, your daughter seems to only have flaws and shortcomings. You think this is caring for me, loving me, but have you ever considered—"
"That you're constantly destroying my confidence and dignity."
"Dad, sometimes I really don't know what to do." Yun Li couldn't hold back her tears. "I know you're afraid I'll suffer, I know because of my hearing, you've always wanted to protect me. Precisely because of this, it's also painful for me. You love me in the wrong way, but because you love me..."
"I don't know how to handle the problems between us anymore."
She couldn't bring herself to cut ties with Yun Yongchang completely. She couldn't ignore his feelings.
But she was in agony.
Yun Yongchang remained silent, his face tightly drawn.
Yun Ye, who had been standing in the corner, could hear Yun Li's sobs even through his headphones. He stepped forward and pulled at Yun Yongchang's shoulder, saying, "Dad, let's not argue."
Yun Yongchang didn't move. Yun Li spoke haltingly, "I'll take you to see the place once I've picked it out. Just support me this once, affirm my decision, okay?"
Seeing her tears and recalling the videos he'd been watching lately, Yun Yongchang sighed and got up to return to his room.
Yun Li felt a wave of despair. Dealing with Yun Yongchang seemed to drain all her methods and emotions to no avail. Dazed, she stood up, only to see Yun Yongchang silently return to the living room.
Yun Yongchang wasn't one to keep up with the times. As electronic banking evolved rapidly, he still clung to using passbooks. He placed an old passbook on the table and said flatly, "The money inside is all for you."
Yun Li, still sniffling, didn't process it immediately and refused outright, "No need, save it for Yun Ye."
Yun Yongchang's tone was firm. "Yun Ye has his share, and so do you. Besides, this boy should know how to earn his own money by now. No need to leave yours for him." After a long pause, he struggled to add, "...If he doesn't know, let him learn from you."
"..."
Holding the passbook, Yun Li was still in shock as she numbly retreated to her room.
Not long after, Yun Ye came in wearing his headphones, looking incredulous. "Is there something wrong with my ears? Or is it my headphones?"
Yun Yongchang had almost never acknowledged Yun Li, let alone admitted she was better than Yun Ye at anything.
Feeling that her efforts tonight had borne fruit, Yun Li was torn between crying and laughing. She opened the passbook and was stunned by the amount.
With no intention of using the money, she stuffed the passbook into a drawer.
Reflecting on what had just happened, Yun Li's emotions shifted quickly, and she couldn't help but feel a bit smug, gloating at Yun Ye, "Hear that? Dad told you to learn from me."
"..."
Yun Li added, "See? I can actually persuade our dad now!"
Yun Ye suddenly realized that Fu Shize might have said something to Yun Yongchang. He glanced up, seeing her relieved expression, and chose not to reveal the truth, simply smiling along with her.Yun Yongchang stopped interfering with Yun Li's house selection, but he repeatedly emphasized details like lighting and layout to her. Although Yun Li found him nagging, she noticed his attitude wasn't as rigid as before, so she usually just responded with a noncommittal "Hmm" to get by.
After scheduling an appointment with the agent, Yun Li and Fu Shize went to check out properties near their workplace. Yun Ye, who didn't have classes on the weekend, tagged along behind them for fun.
Noticing Yun Li repeatedly looking at apartments around 80-90 square meters, Yun Ye asked her, "Sis, are you planning to buy a three-bedroom?"
"..."
Having no experience in buying property, Yun Li only looked up at Fu Shize after hearing Yun Ye's question: "How many rooms do we need?"
Fu Shize shifted his gaze from the brochure, thought for a moment, and asked her, "How many do you want?"
Yun Li pondered, "Three?"
Fu Shize replied, "Then let's pick a five-bedroom."
Yun Li: "..."
It took her a moment to realize Fu Shize was asking how many children they should have. Her face flushed as she replied sheepishly, "Two is enough."
Yun Ye, overhearing their conversation, frowned and said, "Two isn't enough, is it?"
"Kids shouldn't meddle in grown-up matters," Yun Li shot Yun Ye a glare.
Unfazed by the scolding, Yun Ye pretended to be indifferent. "Hey, sis..."
He hesitated for a long while, prompting Yun Li to urge impatiently, "Spit it out if you have something to say."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Yun Li froze, noticing Fu Shize's glance in her direction.
Damn, could she take back that crude remark?
Yun Ye snickered gleefully, but Yun Li ignored him, trying to salvage her image with a gentle tone. "What I meant was, if you have something to say, hurry up. Your sister will listen."
Yun Ye grinned, revealing his little canine teeth and dimples, his tone full of negotiation. "Can you save a room for me?"
Yun Li was speechless. "What for?"
"..." Yun Ye insisted, "Just save me a room!"
Yun Li gave him a sidelong glance and replied impatiently, "Fine, fine." There were many floor plans on the brochure, and Yun Li lingered on the larger ones. Having been out for a while, she spotted a milk tea shop and casually said, "Yun Ye, go buy us some milk tea."
Yun Ye: "Oh, what do you want?"
Yun Li and Fu Shize often ordered milk tea during study sessions. Without hesitation, Fu Shize answered, "Hot matcha latte, no sugar. Hot Ovaltine, no sugar, with ice cream."
Yun Ye blinked, repeating the order in his head before darting off to the nearby milk tea shop.
Watching his tall figure—the boy who used to be shorter than her now towered over her—she noticed how he had shed his former restlessness, standing calmly in line with his hands in his pockets. After a while, he took out his phone and tapped a few times.
Yun Li's phone vibrated.
Yun Ye: [WTF, hot Ovaltine, no sugar, with ice cream? Hot? With ice cream? Did I get it wrong?]
Reading Yun Ye's typical questioning style, Yun Li suddenly understood why he wanted a room.
Emotions welled up inside her.
She looked up at Fu Shize and asked, "Can we save a room for Yun Ye?"
It was only then that Yun Li felt a pang of sadness.
It wasn't until the reality of buying a home loomed before her that she truly realized she was entering a new phase of life—one where she would gain a lifelong partner.
But at the same time, the hardest part was knowing there would inevitably be some distance between her and Yun Ye, whom she'd grown up with.
Though Yun Li had been away for school most of the time, both she and Yun Ye knew that once the holidays came, she would return home. They would see each other, even if they didn't speak all day. Memories flashed through her mind—since her freshman year, Yun Ye's boyish grin as he frequently asked, "When are you coming home?"
Fu Shize understood and reassured her, "We’ll see your brother often."
Her phone buzzed again.
Yun Ye: [42 bucks.]
Yun Li sent him 10 cents.
The slight melancholy dissipated.
...
Following that train of thought, she began thinking about their marriage.
Fu Shize had once mentioned wanting to get engaged right after graduation, but Yun Li had refused. He hadn’t brought it up again.
But now, their graduation theses were already submitted.Yun Li pondered how to subtly remind him. She had previously declared with certainty that she wanted to date for two or three years before getting married, and now she somewhat regretted that impulsive rejection.
She glanced at Fu Shize, who occasionally looked up at her with a faint smile in the corners of his eyes.
Yun Li carefully weighed her words.
—When are you going to propose to me?
No, too direct.
—Would this house work as a wedding home?
Not much different from the last one.
—You mentioned getting engaged after graduation—does that still count?
That would be a blatant backtrack.
After agonizing for a while, Yun Li opted for extreme subtlety: "This house... we bought it together, right?"
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