Shu Yan did not make a point of telling the children that she and Feng Zeyu were now a couple. It was somewhat awkward saying that to the children.
She would tell them eventually and, perhaps, they would figure that out on their own over time.
Feng Zeyu brought over a bucket of water and watered the flowers and green onions planted by the children the previous day before he went back to prepare his breakfast.
"You haven't had breakfast yet? Want to have it over at my place?" Feng Zeyu looked at the two children somewhat anxiously.
Shu Yan glanced over at the old lady standing by the door and shook her head with a smile. "No, it's fine. We already have it prepared at home. JingJing, Tianbao, say bye-bye to Grandma and Uncle Fang."
"Bye, Grandma. Bye, Uncle Fang." The two children waved at them before heading home with Shu Yan.
Shu Yan needed to head into the office today. She noticed Feng Zeyu's car parked on the side as soon as she had walked out of her little district.
"We head in the same direction. I'll give you a ride." Feng Zeyu seemed a little nervous.
She had just agreed to date him yesterday and it would not make sense for her to turn him down the very next day. She let her chauffeur knew and went to sit at Feng Zeyu's passenger seat.
"Can you drive your company car every day?" Shu Yan's clothing company had added a few company cars as well now that they had grown in size. That being said, the employees would need to sign in to use any of them.
"This does not belong to the company. I bought this myself," said Feng Zeyu as he started the car and drove it skillfully.
Shu Yan was taken aback a little. Did bodyguard make that much money? He could afford to buy his own car?
Feng Zeyu knew that Shu Yan had misunderstood when he saw the look on her. A hint of regret passed his eyes. He did not elaborate on it previously.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you. It was just that it seemed sort of deliberate had I elaborated on it last time." Feng Zeyu wasn't the kind who would make a point of tell Shu Yan that the company belonged to him. He felt that was too deliberate.
Shu Yan looked at him dubiously.
"I started the bodyguard company myself. Some of my employees were my comrades-in-arms back in the days and some of them were other veterans. I never expected it to grow so much. After I got out of jail, I visited my comrades-in-arms and noticed that they were not faring very well. So I thought I could start my own company and allow them to have a stable work environment." Feng Zeyu explained the reason that he started the company seriously.
"That was a great idea." Shu Yan didn't feel that he was hiding things from her.
Feng Zeyu relaxed some and looked over at Shu Yan. "I don't smoke. I have no other vices other than drinking with my buddies from time to time. I don't spend a lot of money so I bought a few houses with my savings. The house next to mine and the one next to yours are both mine. If you want to plant more flowers, you can plant them there as well."
Shu Yan was stunned. I don't spend a lot of money so I bought a few houses with my savings? Do you have any idea how much these two houses would worth in the future?
"You don't need to tell me those." They are not married. He didn't need to share all the details with her.
"In addition, my grandparents left a house to me. That was part of the reason that my stepmother dislikes me. It was a bungalow before. When the original owner passed away, the city took the initiatives and split it up. The living room and kitchen had both been converted into bedrooms.
There were 5 rooms total, 6 on the second floor and the attic had also been converted into two rooms. My grandpa got one of the two rooms in the attic. The room was very small and could only fit one bed. My grandpa got a bunkbed and I slept on the top level. In my memories, I'd always bump my head when I got up to go to the bathroom at night."
There was a slight happiness on Feng Zeyu's face when he talked about this. "I have been buying up the other rooms over time after I started making money."
"So you own the entire building now?" Shu Yan was amazed again.
"Yes, I bought the office that my company operates out of as well. I own another unit on the 20th floor as well. That one I have rented out. And... that's about it." Feng Zeyu told Shu Yan about all the properties that he had purchased over the years.
Shu Yan was literally stunned silence. She thought he was just a noob but, as it turned out, he was a master-level player. He would become a landlord in the future!
"Did your father know that you are so well off?" Shu Yan was curious about his father's attitude toward all these.
"The money that I earned have nothing to do with them. Besides, it doesn't matter how well off I am, there is no way I will give them the house left to me by my grandparents." Feng Zeyu misunderstood what Shu Yan was trying to get it but he addressed her question anyway.
"Then we see eye to eye on that. One can only be familial when their parents are loving. My parents gave all of their love to my three brothers. My sisters and I were like stepchildren. The only reason that we were able to grow up was because we were resilient. Truth was, I had already been sold off once in that marriage.
That being said, what Lao Xia said before was right too. They were my parents after all so I can't just ignore them. Anyways, I will pay them however much my brothers do in the future. Nobody can point fingers at me that way," said Shu Yan to Feng Zeyu.
"Yep. I agree. When he aged, I will just do what was necessary over new years and holidays and that would be that."
Great. Now that they saw eye to eye on that. That problem was solved.
"You travel to City Han all the time. You have businesses over there?" His bodyguard business had already extended all the way to City Han. His company must be quite sizeable.
"I have a branch office there. It was managed by one of my comrade-in-arms. In addition to that, I have branch offices in City Jing and City Yang as well. The plan is to open up another one in City Han this year."
"How many employees are there?" Having branch offices in all the major cities like City Han, City Jing and City Yang. They were more sizeable than Yanxue.
"Close to 1,000." Feng Zeyu hadn't checked in the last few days. He didn't know the exact number.
A thousand employees? That was one big bodyguard company. That being said, was a bodyguard company that size allowed by the government?
As the two talked, they arrived at their offices without realizing it. Feng Zeyu hesitated for a little and let Shu Yan go inside first.
"What? Am I that unpresentable?" asked Shu Yan with her brows raised.
"No, it's me."
Shu Yan gave him a stare before she reached her hand out and wrapped it around his arm. "We are dating openly. There's nothing shameful about that. Let's go."
Even Feng Zeyu's ears turned red. This was his first time being so closed to a female and he could pick up Shu Yan's scent. His body went stiff.
Shu Yan was a little tired holding onto Feng Zeyu's arm that way and she asked, frowning, "How tall are you?"
After she had lost the extra weight, this body was slightly prettier than her own and it had very good skin. The problem was its height. Shu Yan was 1.65 meters but this body was only 1.58 meters. 7 centimeters of difference was a lot.
"1.82 meter," said Feng Zeyu as he turned toward Shu Yan. Smiling, he suddenly added, "It's fine. I like short girls."
Shu Yan flung his arm away and stomped away in her heels.
Feng Zeyu, still standing at the same spot, had no idea what was wrong with what he said. By the time he ran up to her, Shu Yan had already gotten inside of an elevator and was gone. He walked into his office, dazed, and didn't even realize it when he had slammed into Mao Weiping.
"What's the matter? Why are you so out of it?" asked Mao Weiping, worried.
"I think I had said something wrong." Feng Zeyu had recollected himself.
"What did you say?"
"I told Shu Yan that I like short girls. Was it wrong of me to say that? I just want to convey to her that I like her the way that she is," said Feng Zeyu with his brows furrowed.
Mao Weiping rolled his eyes. "Bro, can I call you Bro? When a girl asks such a question, they are worried that you think they are too short. You should just have told her you like her the way she is. Why did you have to add the part that 'you like them short'? You must have never been made to kneel on washboards."
"No, I haven't. It seems you do on the regular though" said Feng Zeyu as he looked Mao Weiping up and down.
"Oh, so it looks like you didn't need me to offer you any suggestions then." Suddenly, Mao Weiping looked at Feng Zeyu in shock. "Wait a minute. When did you to become close enough to say things like that to each other?"
"Oh, did I tell you? Shu Yan and I are a couple now." Feng Zeyu couldn't help but have a very blessed look on him when he said that.
"Dang, brother, that was impressive. How long had it been?" Mao Weiping was stunned speechless. He had already envisioned the hoops that Feng Zeyu had to jump through to get himself a wife. How were they a couple already?
"Yanyan said that we are not young anymore and had been through a lot so there is no need for the chasing game. And that we should be braver when we are lucky enough to run into the one that we like." Feng Zeyu was happy like a fool.
His look gave Mao Weiping toothache and goosebumps all over.
"Alright. Alright. Stop gloating. Just bring her a bundle of flowers the next time you see her. All women like flowers. And don't bring up the word 'short' again. You must say you like her how she is." Mao Weiping gave him suggestions.
Shu Yan, who had stomped into the office, wasn't really mad. She just wanted to mess around with Feng Zeyu.
"You are in a good mood today?" said Hu Ruixue with a smile when she saw the glowing Shu Yan.
"I'm in a relationship."
"Cough cough... ..." Hu Ruixue, who was drinking, choked on the water. "What did you just say?"
"I said I am in a relationship."
"With that Feng Zeyu?" Hu Ruixue wasn't as calm as she was before anymore. "Didn't you just say you want to get to know each other better? How are you in a relationship already?"
"We have been around each other more than you know. How do I say it? I had always been fond of him but we both had our own set of worries and we never talked about them. After spending more time with him, I feel that he is very reliable and he gives me a sense of security when I am around him. He is the only man who made me feel that way so I want to give it a try."
Hu Ruixue nodded and said, "Okay, as long as you are happy. I remember you told me before that he worked out of an office nearby. Which company is that? I can, perhaps, have someone do a background check on him?"
"It's alright. He is the owner of the company. I don't feel there is a need to look into him. I will just ask him if there is anything that I want to find out about him and he can tell it to me himself. By the same token, I would like him to come to me if there is anything that he wants to find out about me. I have nothing to hide." A relationship should be built on trust.
It was rare that both people would see eye to eye on that. Especially when Shu Yan had two children. If Feng Zeyu could still be open and honest with her, Hu Ruixue would root for him base on that alone.
"Why don't we have lunch together today?" said Hu Ruixue with a smile.
"Let's do it some other day. I'll have him take you out to lunch and introduce the two of you officially."
When she got off work and got to the garage, she saw Feng Zeyu waiting for her with a bundle of roses in his hand.
The stocky Feng Zeyu with a bundle of roses looked comical and it made Shu Yan want to laugh out loud.
"Whose idea was that?"
"I'm sorry about this afternoon. What I wanted to say, I like how you are. I mean, I like you regardless of how you look. No, that's not right either. What I meant to say was, I... I like you."
Shu Yan finally busted out laughing. Taking the roses from him, she said, "Okay, I know what you meant. Let's go and take me home."