Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 146 - I’ll Find Someone for You and Make Sure You Have a Happy Family
Qu Bixin had never had such an awkward blind date experience. She wore a light green dress that made her skin look fair and youthful. The fabric was soft and clung gently to her figure. Carrying her handbag, she stood quietly under the streetlamp, looking every bit like the sweet girl next door.
The “Hotel Prince,” who arrived in a luxury car, was easily captivated. He displayed impeccable gentlemanly manners, taking the initiative to open the car door for her. The driver set off smoothly, and along the way, Qu Bixin listened as he enthusiastically expounded on his business philosophy.
If she had been a strong, career-driven woman herself, she might have been interested.
Unfortunately, while Qu Bixin had impressive academic credentials, she knew nothing about running a company. She had to suppress the urge to yawn.
“I just returned to the country to inherit the family business. I’m not very familiar with Jiangcheng yet. Thanks to your brother for introducing me to many people in the circle,” the Hotel Prince said, mentioning Qu Yanming. He then took out an exquisitely packaged gift box and handed it to her. Feeling that their lively chats on WeChat meant they had much in common and were already quite familiar, he said, “A small token of my appreciation. I hope you’ll accept it.”
Qu Bixin opened the box for a second, then quickly closed it. The diamond’s brilliance nearly blinded her. Though she loved jewelry, she wasn’t the type to accept expensive gifts from just anyone. She pushed it back. “It’s too valuable.”
The Hotel Prince carried himself like an aristocratic young master, as if the price of that jewelry set was no more than cabbage money to him.
In other words, it was treatment reserved for a girlfriend.
They had known each other for less than three hours tonight, and yet he was already offering this level of treatment. It made Qu Bixin feel somewhat “overwhelmed by favor.”
She pushed the gift back again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with her fingertips. A faint dimple appeared at the corner of her smile.
The Hotel Prince couldn’t help staring at her in a daze. “I have this feeling that we met too late. We’ve known each other for less than three hours, but it feels like I’ve known you in a past life.”
Goosebumps nearly rose on Qu Bixin’s skin. She pretended to check her phone to avoid responding.
He had first seen her photo in Qu Yanming’s social media posts. At the time, he had taken some interest. After tactfully asking about Qu Yanming’s family members several times, he learned that this delicate, well-behaved girl-next-door wasn’t Qu Yanming’s wife.
He had ordered tonight’s gift a week in advance, though he hadn’t succeeded in giving it to her.
Twenty minutes later, the car slowly pulled into the villa compound.
Qu Bixin got out, and the Hotel Prince continued to display his gentlemanly demeanor, escorting her all the way to the villa door.
He was elegant and refined. Though not the type of youthful idol seen in the entertainment industry, he could still be considered a promising young talent. Dressed in a suit and wearing a luxury watch that exuded wealth, he wasn’t unpleasant to be around.
At the doorstep, Qu Bixin had no intention of inviting him in for tea. She thanked him politely.
The Hotel Prince touched the bridge of his nose and took out two violin concert tickets from his pocket. “Are you free tomorrow?”
His speed in asking women out was no slower than his family business’s money-making speed.
Then he added, “I’d like to invite you to a violin recital—just the two of us.”
Qu Bixin froze slightly at the sight of the tickets. Before she could respond, another familiar yet low, calm male voice sounded.
“Excuse me.”
A third person had suddenly appeared in what was supposed to be a world for two. The atmosphere instantly turned subtle.
Qu Bixin looked up to see that the villa door had opened at some point. Shen Fu stood there in a simple white shirt and trousers, an apron tied around his waist, sleeves rolled up to reveal strong arms. He was holding a bag of kitchen trash.
The Hotel Prince clearly hadn’t expected a man to be “hidden” inside Qu Bixin’s home.
“And this is?”
Qu Bixin snapped back to her senses. Seeing the puzzled look on the Hotel Prince’s face, she didn’t look at Shen Fu. Biting her lip lightly, she said, “My… housekeeper.”
“Your housekeeper is this young?”
He had originally meant to ask why it was a man, but changed his wording at the last second, maintaining his gentlemanly composure and avoiding gender discrimination.
After speaking, he looked Shen Fu up and down carefully.
The clothes were plain, with no visible brand, and there were oil stains on the fabric from cooking. Wearing an apron, he looked nothing like an elite professional. Instead, with his overly refined and fair appearance, he almost resembled a kept pretty boy living off someone else.
“Recommended by a housekeeping company,” Qu Bixin replied casually. “Probably new to the job.”
The Hotel Prince easily believed her explanation. Shen Fu remained extremely calm. After stepping out to throw away the trash, he told Qu Bixin he had prepared a late-night snack for her and went back inside first.
Qu Bixin ignored him, acting like a cold and indifferent employer the entire time.
This inexplicably pleased the Hotel Prince. He stuffed the two concert tickets into her hand. “Tomorrow at seven. I’ll come pick you up.”
Qu Bixin forced a smile and watched the elegant gentleman leave.
She stood at the villa entrance for a while, letting the cool breeze wash over her. Only after touching her chilly arm did she turn and go inside.
Shen Fu had cleaned the villa inside and out. When she changed her shoes and entered, she saw him still wearing the apron, mopping the floor he had just finished cleaning. Recently, because of his presence, even the hourly cleaner had been dismissed early.
Qu Bixin placed her handbag and the two concert tickets on the coffee table, lowering her gaze to glance at the man walking toward the kitchen.
After a while, Shen Fu brought her a bowl of sweet rice dumpling soup. His expression was calm, showing no sign of concern about seeing another man escort her home. His temperament was so gentle that it made Qu Bixin uncomfortable.
She didn’t eat the dessert. With a straight face, she said, “I’m not hungry.”
Shen Fu took the ceramic bowl away and untied his apron with long fingers. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Before he went upstairs, Qu Bixin spoke up. “I don’t want to do it tonight.”
Shen Fu stopped where he stood, lowering his face slightly so his expression couldn’t be seen.
Recently, he had been visiting her villa every day, handling dinner and cleaning single-handedly—and as a bonus, accompanying her to bed at night, serving her thoroughly. If he really were a housekeeping company employee, Qu Bixin would have wanted to leave him a five-star review.
They did it every night. Tonight, she suddenly didn’t want to.
And it was after being driven home by another man.
Something dark flickered in Shen Fu’s ink-black eyes as he lifted his gaze to her.
The dress Qu Bixin wore tonight looked especially pure. The light green made her skin appear fair and youthful. With her straight black hair falling past her shoulders, she looked like an eighteen-year-old girl. Yet she sat casually on the sofa, unknowingly flaunting her beauty, revealing a pair of long, slender white legs.
After a moment of silence, his tone remained devoid of emotion. “Are you tired of the recent positions?”
Qu Bixin had the strange feeling that if she nodded, Shen Fu would study up tonight and try something even more daring with her tomorrow.
Pressing her beautiful lips together, she deliberately said, “What if I’m tired of you?”
Shen Fu seemed to ask on a whim, “Does that man make you feel something new?”
He didn’t even ask his name—just referred to him as “that man.”
Having been caught, Qu Bixin felt a little embarrassed. But on second thought, she wasn’t cheating, so why feel guilty? With newfound boldness, she said, “It is quite new. His family runs hotels all over the country. He’s a genuine second-generation rich heir—no, probably rich for several generations. We just met tonight, and he already wanted to give me a jewelry set. He’s very generous.”
She deliberately mentioned his family background, trying to read some emotion from Shen Fu’s indifferent face.
Compared to how rich the Hotel Prince was, Shen Fu was that poor.
Shen Fu’s gaze rested steadily on her provocative expression. A faint smile curved his lips. “Your brother introduced him?”
For some reason, there was a hint of something sinister behind that smile.
Qu Bixin blinked, effectively admitting it.
Shen Fu didn’t pursue the matter further. He ate the sweet soup he had prepared for her, not wasting the food. He hung the apron back in the kitchen and thoughtfully turned off the lights in the corners of the villa. Before leaving, he said to her, “I’ve put a cup of milk by your bedside. Go to bed early.”
Tonight, he left three hours earlier than usual because Qu Bixin had mercilessly canceled their nightly intimacy.
When the villa door shut completely, the surroundings grew even quieter.
Qu Bixin remained seated on the sofa. For some reason, her chest still felt stifled.
No matter how she provoked or even humiliated Shen Fu with her words, he remained unmoved—like punching cotton.
It was strangely frustrating.
She sat until nearly eleven before going upstairs to sleep.
By that time, Shen Fu had already returned to his rented apartment—a small one-bedroom place he had moved into just last month. The environment was ordinary, surrounded by late-night eateries.
Carrying a pack of beer, the hems of his black trousers dust-stained, he walked slowly into the dark stairwell.
The old residential building had sound-activated lights and no elevator. As he climbed to the sixth floor, the dim yellow lights flicked on one by one.
When he reached the sixth floor, his footsteps triggered the overhead light. His expression was no longer as calm as before. He looked up and saw an extremely slender figure crouched at his apartment door, long black hair nearly touching the ground, heedless of the trash and cigarette butts scattered in the corridor.
Beside her, his secretary had been standing guard, not daring to leave. Upon seeing Shen Fu return, he sighed in relief. “President Shen, Miss Shen insists on seeing you before she’ll leave. She’s been squatting here without eating or drinking for six hours.”
Shen Fu shifted his gaze to Shen Tingji. She happened to raise her pale face, as stubborn as ever.
The secretary tactfully retreated down the stairs.
Only the two of them remained in the dim corridor. As the light was about to go out, Shen Fu spoke in a low, indifferent tone, triggering it to brighten again. “Tomorrow, I’ll have the secretary arrange immigration procedures for you to move abroad.”
Shen Tingji tried to stand, but after crouching too long, her knees were numb and weak. She staggered and nearly fell back down.
She looked disheveled, staring urgently at the man who had raised her.
There was an almost unbelievable fragility in her eyes.
In truth, she should have recognized this fact long ago. From the moment Shen Fu gave her all his assets, she should have known.
But Shen Tingji was still living in her own world. She gestured animatedly at him: “Even if you abandon me, Qu Bixin won’t want you.”
She was truly anxious to resort to sign language to communicate.
In private, Shen Tingji rarely used sign language, as if she could never accept the fact that their parents had been murdered years ago.
Shen Fu looked at her calmly, his voice low and indifferent. “I’ll make her want me again.”
Again. Once more.
Those five words pierced deeply into Shen Tingji’s heart.
Gritting her teeth, her stiff, cold fingers continued to gesture: “You still owe me!”
Over the years, she had grown accustomed to taking from Shen Fu, to what he gave her, to hating him as if he were her enemy…
Now, for the sake of another woman, he wanted to abandon the past.
Shen Tingji was unwilling to accept it. Her eyes gradually reddened.
Shen Fu remained gentle toward her, without any malice. He extended a slender hand to help her up from the dusty floor, brushed the cigarette butts off her skirt. The gentler he was, the more she felt his cruelty.
“Jiji, I gave you twenty years…”
His voice was extremely soft, audible only at such close distance. “What I owed the Shen family has long since been repaid.”
Shen Tingji’s eyes turned completely red. She lifted her head slightly, staring fixedly at Shen Fu.
He slowly withdrew the hand that had been holding her shoulder, looking like a heartless man. “The next forty or fifty years of my life, I don’t want to hand them over to you. If you need parents, I can help you find a childless elderly couple, so you can have a happy family.”
The words “a happy family” shattered Shen Tingji’s emotions, making her whole body tremble.
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