In the rented black Volkswagen sedan, Fu Mingshi looked at the small road ahead through his sunglasses.
It was a cement road that could barely accommodate half a sedan, winding ahead in an endless hilly basin. The reform and opening up had brought earth-shattering changes to most cities in China, but for these hilly areas, the biggest improvement was probably this narrow cement road.
Old Master had said that Zhen's family lived in a remote mountain valley. Fu Mingshi had imagined some deep mountainous area where villagers would have to climb over mountains and cross rivers or take boats to get there. But now that they were here, he realized the situation was better than he had expected. Judging from the number of bread trucks that passed by occasionally, the local residents here at least had no issues with food and clothing.
Now the car drove into a small village. A group of ducks was waddling across the road ahead of them, so they had to wait.
As his gaze swept past several local onlookers nearby, Fu Mingshi closed his eyes again.
He felt a little tired. They had set off in the morning, flown for three hours, then driven by car for five hours after getting off the plane. He was told there was still half an hour's drive to the destination. It was already past three o'clock in the afternoon. If he could not persuade Zhen Bao to return with him to the capital today, he would have to stay overnight here and continue persuading tomorrow.
His body was tired, and so was his heart.
Zhen Bao was indeed very beautiful, but she had dropped out of school after finishing junior high. What common topics could he, a woman with only a junior high education, have with him? For his marriage partner, Fu Mingshi did not have high standards, but she should at least have gone to college, right?
Speaking rationally, Fu Mingshi did not have any hope for his marriage with Zhen Bao. But Old Master's illness was urgent, and Fu Mingshi did not dare to defy him. He had to fulfill Old Master's long cherished wish. However, Fu Mingshi did not want to make a hasty decision about his own marriage...
He tapped the briefcase on his lap and slowly opened his eyes. Behind the sunglasses, the man's dark eyes were deep and calm.
Because of similar congestion caused by "ducks" on the road, it was past four o'clock in the afternoon when the black Volkswagen finally drove into an even smaller village. The village was surrounded by rolling hills, high and low. The dozen or so families were sparsely scattered about. There were some small two-story tiled houses, as well as some two-story brick houses. The local climate was damp and hot, so most residents lived on the second floor.
"President Fu, that is Zhen's house."
The driver stopped the car and pointed to the two-story brick house with some history in the northwest corner, saying, "Is Miss Zhen home?" He was also one of Old Master Fu's bodyguards. It was him who had flown here from afar and secretly taken those photos that Fu Mingshi had seen earlier. Naturally, he was here to guide Fu Mingshi this time.
Fu Mingshi hmm-ed.
The driver coughed awkwardly and explained, "President Fu, the dirt road over there is hard to walk on. We can only go over on foot."
Fu Mingshi glanced at him but did not say anything. He picked up his briefcase, pushed open the door and got out of the car.
The man's polished leather shoes shone brightly. As soon as he stepped onto the only gray cement road here, a thin layer of dust immediately settled on them. Fu Mingshi paid no attention to it and followed the driver off the cement road, walking towards their destination.
The Zhen residence had a fence made of rattan. The rattan was not even as tall as Fu Mingshi's legs. Fu Mingshi stopped at the gate and swiftly surveyed the small farm yard. Vegetable plots were planted on both sides, and a few native chickens lay scattered about the yard. Seeing them, the chickens did not panic but just turned their necks.
The door of the main house on the first floor was open, so the owner should be home.
Without Fu Mingshi saying anything, the driver called out loudly, "Miss Zhen!"
After shouting three times with no response, an old lady with white hair walked out from the yard next door. Recognizing the driver, the old lady asked in the local dialect, "Looking for Fengbao again?"
The driver, also a local, smiled and nodded. "Is Miss Zhen home?"
The old lady turned her head and pointed to the back hill, saying, "Fengbao went to herd geese just now."
The driver translated for Fu Mingshi to hear. "President Fu, why don't you go wait inside the house first, and I'll go find Miss Zhen?"
Fu Mingshi surveyed the surrounding hills, frowning slightly. It was almost dusk, yet she, a young woman, dared to go alone into the mountains. Were the local customs really so simple, or was she fearless?
"Let's go together," he said after glancing at the dim main house again. He did not want to go in and sit at all.
The driver waved goodbye to the old lady and led Fu Mingshi towards the back hill.
When they had walked some distance, Fu Mingshi asked, "Did that old lady just call her Fengbao?" He had heard those two words clearly.
The driver smiled. "Last time when I was here I also got confused. After asking around carefully, I found out that on the day Miss Zhen was born, birds from the surrounding woods all flew over and landed on the roof and in the yard of the Zhen residence. The villagers were superstitious and said that hundreds of birds had come to pay homage to the phoenix. So the Zhen family gave her the nickname Fengbao."
Fu Mingshi pulled the corners of his mouth. He did not believe it. It was probably a coincidence that some birds happened to fly over, and the story grew as it was passed around.
After climbing a small hill, they were faced with a lush green bamboo forest. At first glance, Fu Mingshi saw a woman in a white shirt sitting in the grass inside. Her head was tilted as she looked at several big white geese grazing. Her jet black long hair was braided into a long braid, same as in the photo, only this time it was draped behind her back.
"Woof woof woof!"
A small black dog suddenly burst out of the bushes and barked at them.
Zhen Bao turned around. Recognizing one of the two men in black as the photographer who had come here sightseeing last month, she was both startled and delighted. She clapped her hands and got up from the ground, then jogged out of the bamboo forest. Standing at the edge, she smiled at the driver and said, "You've come sightseeing again?"
It was already May, and the weather was hot. She wore a semi-old white T-shirt on top and knee-length denim shorts below. Set against the lush green bamboo forest behind her, the exposed skin of her arms and legs was fair, delicate and smooth. Her limbs were well-proportioned, and her calves were straight and slender, yet not in an unhealthily thin way.
And her face was even prettier than in the photo - goose egg-shaped, with elegant eyebrows and eyes, red lips that were appealing but not garish.
There were countless types of beauties, but Zhen Bao was the freshest and most elegant that Fu Mingshi had ever seen. Her smile was like a spring breeze. But after a brief glance, he looked away, and asked the driver softly, "Sightseeing?" Also, why was Zhen Bao so familiar with him?
The driver smiled wryly. As he walked towards Zhen Bao, he explained softly, "Last time I wanted to secretly take a couple photos of her. I didn't hide them well and Hei Dan found them. So I pretended I had come sightseeing."
Fu Mingshi accepted this explanation. He didn't need to guess who Hei Dan was.
"Miss Zhen, this is my boss. You can call him President Fu," the driver introduced when they reached Zhen Bao.
The two of them had looked Fu Mingshi over as they approached. Zhen Bao gave Fu Mingshi a faint smile. "President Fu." The man was very tall and his face shape was probably quite handsome too. But Zhen Bao did not like the sunglasses on his nose. She felt that people who did not take off their sunglasses even when greeting others were a bit arrogant.
"How long are you staying this time?" Zhen Bao chatted with the "photographer" enthusiastically. Last time he had taken a few photos of her and said before leaving that he would mail a copy back to her. Zhen Bao had waited for a long time without receiving anything, and was disappointed. She had forgotten all about it until now that he had come again.
Her eyes were clear. Although the driver did not know the girl was still looking forward to getting the photos, he felt bad about continuing to lie to her. Scratching his head, he looked to his boss for guidance.
"You go wait down the mountain first," Fu Mingshi said, taking off his sunglasses and looking at the driver.
Without another word, the driver immediately left.
Only then did Fu Mingshi turn to Zhen Bao. Very formally, he extended his right hand to her, his dark eyes fixed on hers. "Miss Zhen, I'm Fu Mingshi. My grandfather and your grandfather were comrades-in-arms in the same platoon during the War of Resistance. I have come to visit your family this time as entrusted by him to call on the descendants of his fellow soldier."
But as soon as Zhen Bao saw him take off his sunglasses, she was dumbstruck!
Old Lady Zhang next door had a small black-and-white TV. Zhen Bao had seen the big stars on TV, but compared to the man before her now, those stars really seemed to turn black-and-white. Only this Mr. Fu was in color, even though he wore an all-black suit. His whole body was black except for his red lips...
Ever since elementary school, Fu Mingshi had always been popular among girls. After taking over the conglomerate, even more women were attracted to his face. So he was not the least surprised by Zhen Bao's astonishment, and waited calmly for her to regain her composure.
Her calf was nudged by Hei Dan, and Zhen Bao felt itchy. Only when she lowered her head did she see that the man still had his hand outstretched. She immediately blushed and hurriedly shook his hand. The man's palm was warm, but as soon as it touched Zhen Bao's hand he jerked it back as if shocked, and put it behind him, wiggling his fingers. She was not shy around strangers, but was not used to physical contact with men.
Wait... what did he say earlier?
Expecting that she had not heard clearly, Fu Mingshi repeated what he had said, his voice low and clear, extremely patient.
Zhen Bao suddenly understood. So it turned out he was her grandfather's comrade-in-arms. When she was little, Granny often told her stories about when Grandpa was a soldier, and said he had been a platoon leader. If not for his early sacrifice, he surely would have become a high official.
"Thank you for his kind recollection of us. And thank you President Fu for taking the trouble to travel all this way. It must have been a long ride?" Thinking of her grandfather, Zhen Bao felt quite emotional. Since he was an old acquaintance, she also suddenly felt a faint sense of kinship with Fu Mingshi, and their conversation became natural.
"It was fine," Fu Mingshi said, not mentioning his own hardship. Looking at Zhen Bao, he got straight to the point, "Miss Zhen, there is another thing I must tell you." He calmly explained the situation of the two old men arranging this childhood betrothal, including Old Master Fu having liver cancer and hoping for their two grandchildren to marry.
Zhen Bao listened in puzzlement, taking a long time to point at Fu Mingshi and herself in disbelief. "The elders..."
What era was this? There was still such a thing as a childhood betrothal?
"Since we are meeting for the first time, I know this marriage will put Miss Zhen in a difficult position. But Old Master is suffering from liver cancer and needs to relax for treatment. So I sincerely ask Miss Zhen to do me a favor and pretend to be my wife for a period of time. After Old Master's health improves, or he... passes on, I will divorce you and give you your freedom back."
Fu Mingshi's tone was steady, as if discussing business. He then took out a prenuptial agreement from his briefcase and handed it to Zhen Bao, "Here is a prenuptial agreement for you to look through first. Feel free to ask me if you don't understand anything."
It was a prenuptial agreement, and also an employment contract. Her only duty was to act as his wife. Afterwards, he would give Zhen Bao a generous amount of assets as compensation for her lost youth. During the marriage, he would also not force her to fulfill the duties of a wife. The two of them would each mind their own business, with no interference from each other.
