Free Web NovelChapter 9: Chapter 9: Fiancée
CRACK-CRACKLE-POP—
Fu Juemin felt as if he could hear the crackling of dry firewood burning in a fire, or the fine, crisp sound of bamboo shoots sprouting underground on a rainy spring night.
Immediately after, he felt his thighs, calves, and arms swell slightly. His muscles bulged, having grown noticeably.
’This is the effect of a single point in Attack?’
Surprised, Fu Juemin almost subconsciously threw a punch at the training post in front of him.
BANG!
His fist landed on the post, and the entire thing shook violently. The force of this punch was greater than even a full-power strike from before, and this was just a casual blow.
After some experimentation, Fu Juemin came to a conclusion—
’My strength has increased by about thirty percent, and my speed is much faster, too... It seems the Attack Attribute is mainly linked to strength and speed.’
Gradually increasing one’s physical fitness day by day through training was a completely different experience from receiving a sudden, powerful boost.
Although it was only a one-point increase in Attack, it made Fu Juemin feel as if he had been completely transformed.
Fu Juemin had seen Wang Shuisheng train. Wang Shuisheng usually only practiced with a sixty-jin stone lock. This meant that with 4 points in Attack, the gap in pure strength between him and a Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist was no longer that significant.
’Next time we spar, we’ll see if that guy still dares to go so easy on me...’
THUD, THUD. Fu Juemin struck the wooden post, one punch after another, feeling the urge to call Wang Shuisheng back to continue sparring. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Just as he was getting into it, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Halting his strikes, Fu Juemin turned to look toward the door of the training room.
"Young Master."
A small head poked cautiously through the doorway.
"Locust Flower, what is it?"
Fu Juemin asked casually as he stretched his muscles.
Little Locust Flower replied in a small voice, "Master Xu has arrived with the two Miss Xus. The Master and Madam are asking for you."
’The Xu Family...’
Fu Juemin frowned slightly, and an image of a person quickly flashed through his mind. ’Xu Leyi?!’
...
「The Bedroom.」
Fu Juemin stood before a massive, full-length dressing mirror, slowly fastening the second frog-button on his suit vest.
The young man in the mirror had handsome features and a tall, straight posture. Compared to a month ago, he had lost some of his boyish softness and gained a more rugged, masculine beauty.
Fu Juemin was very satisfied with his current appearance.
’It’s just that after building up these muscles, my well-fitted suits are all a bit tight now. I’ll have to get them remade.’
Fu Juemin fastened his cuffs, tucked the silver revolver into his waistband, then put on his jacket and walked out of the room.
Down on the first floor, he immediately saw Fu Guosheng in the reception hall, sitting and chatting over tea with someone.
As Fu Juemin approached, the middle-aged man sitting opposite Fu Guosheng immediately greeted him warmly. The man was dressed in a Purple long gown, his hair was impeccably combed, and a silver-inlaid red sandalwood cane rested by his hand. "Lingjun, you’re here at last."
"Uncle Xu."
Fu Juemin smiled and greeted him politely.
Xu Shirong was a few years older than his father, Fu Guosheng, and was also a prominent figure in the business world of Luan River County.
The Xu Family had also started out in shipping and textiles, but their enterprise was nowhere near as large as the Fu Family’s. Many of their business dealings depended on the Fu Family’s support, so they had always been quite eager to curry favor. Over time, the two families had become "family friends for generations." freeweɓnøvel.com
Just two years ago, at Xu Shirong’s strong urging, an engagement was arranged between the two families—between Fu Juemin and Xu Shirong’s eldest daughter, Xu Leyi. In other words, the man before him was Fu Juemin’s "future father-in-law."
"Last month when I was passing through Hongzhou, I managed to acquire a twenty-year-old Profound Leaf Stone Tiger. I brought it especially for you today."
Fu Juemin had just sat down on the sofa when Xu Shirong immediately produced an exquisitely wrapped box. He handed it over with a broad smile, saying, "This herb nourishes the yin and moistens dryness. It’s excellent for recovering from injuries."
Fu Juemin glanced at Fu Guosheng. Seeing no reaction from his father, he accepted the gift. "Thank you, Uncle Xu. You shouldn’t have."
"Why be so polite with me?"
Xu Shirong waved his hand with a smile and looked Fu Juemin over carefully from head to toe. "From the looks of it, Lingjun seems even more robust than before..." he couldn’t help but comment.
"He’s been neglecting his proper duties lately, spending all day learning martial arts from the family’s Boxer..."
Fu Guosheng said lightly, blowing on the tea in his cup.
"Learning martial arts?"
Xu Shirong was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly laughed. "Learning martial arts is a fine thing. The strong body he’s building now is an investment in the future prosperity of the family business..."
"If you speak up for him like this, he’ll only become more unrestrained in the future."
Fu Guosheng shook his head and sighed softly, but Xu Shirong just let out a hearty laugh.
Fu Juemin sat with them in the living room for a while before he was quickly "shooed" away.
Carrying the Profound Leaf Stone Tiger that Xu Shirong had given him, Fu Juemin ambled over to the garden. It turned out to be the ladies’ "gathering"—the three adults were sitting and chatting at a small table in the shade of a tree, while two children were being led around by a maid, running all over the garden.
Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes and slowly walked over.
"Lingjun! Over here, over here..."
From a distance, one of the three women under the tree—a graceful lady in a qipao—stood up with a smile and waved to him.
The other two also looked toward Fu Juemin.
Fu Juemin walked up and called out "Stepmother" to the lady, then addressed the other two respectively, "Leyi, Xinyi."
The girl on the left, who had an oval face and a fashionable perm of wavy curls, quickly replied with a shy, soft "Brother Lingjun."
The one on the right, however, merely lowered the newspaper in her hands slightly and gave a cool greeting, "Young Master Fu."
—The one on the left was Xu Xinyi; the one on the right was his fiancée, Xu Leyi.
Fu Juemin paid no mind to Xu Leyi’s cold attitude. He simply smiled, sat down beside them, and then surveyed the two Xu sisters’ outfits for the day.
Xu Xinyi was wearing a carmine-red qipao-style dress, embroidered with butterflies and magnolias. Her neck and hands were adorned with all kinds of beautiful jewelry—the standard attire of a wealthy young lady.
Xu Leyi, on the other hand, had a more modern look: an ivory silk shirt paired with black high-waisted trousers. A large green bow was tied at her collar, and a gold Parker fountain pen was clipped to her chest, giving her the distinct air of a modern, female student.
Fu Juemin glanced at the newspaper that Xu Leyi had been holding the entire time...
His expression slowly turned a little strange.
’A foreign-language newspaper?’
’It’s rare enough for a woman to read a newspaper these days, let alone one filled with a foreign language...’
Fu Juemin couldn’t help but recall some things about his fiancée. It was said that Xu Leyi had once kicked up a fuss about wanting to study abroad, but failed. So she had secretly run off to Shenghai by herself and attended university for two years. She had only just been forcibly "invited" back this year by people sent by Xu Shirong.
From the looks of it, Xu Leyi had "learned" quite a lot in the metropolis of Shenghai. She was brimming with a "new air."
Fu Juemin patiently listened to Xu Xinyi and his stepmother, Lin Wanrong, chatter on for a long time in the garden about perfume, jewelry, clothes, and movie stars. He then played a few rounds of a three-person card game with them. Finding it all dreadfully boring, he suggested going to the backyard to ride horses.
"The stables in the backyard just got a few Hosie Warmbloods."
Xu Xinyi was the first to clap her hands in agreement. She seemed to quite enjoy being with Fu Juemin. Whenever they chatted, no matter what he said, Xu Xinyi was always the first one to quiet down and listen to him obediently.
His stepmother, Lin Wanrong, also smiled and agreed.
Only Xu Leyi, upon hearing they were going to do something else, didn’t even lift her head. She turned a page of her newspaper and replied coolly:
"Not interested."
