“What?!”
Ji Shulan exclaimed in surprise.
She had only been thinking of introducing someone to her daughter, but she hadn’t expected Fu Nanzhi to already be in a confirmed relationship.
“Who? What’s his name? How did you meet? How long have you been together?”
Ji Shulan fired off questions like a rapid-fire cannon.
It was no wonder she was so shocked. Fu Nanzhi had never shown interest in anyone before, and now she was already in a relationship.
“His name is Shen Yi. We met at Tiancheng Corporation. We’ve been together for... a while.”
Fu Nanzhi chose her words carefully.
“An employee at Tiancheng Corporation?”
Ji Shulan gave Fu Nanzhi a skeptical look. It wasn’t that she was against office romances, but Fu Nanzhi had only been at Tiancheng Corporation for half a month. How could a relationship develop so quickly?
“How long is ‘a while’?”
Ji Shulan pressed further.
Fu Nanzhi knew this question was coming, but there was no avoiding it. She hesitated before answering,
“Three... three days.”
“Three days?!”
Ji Shulan felt lightheaded, almost fainting, and immediately questioned,
“You’ve already confirmed your relationship after just three days? How much do you really know about him? What kind of person is he? What’s his family like?”
“Nanzhi, have you lost your mind? Could you be getting scammed?”
With that, she put down her chopsticks and kicked Fu Yuanyu under the table, saying,
“Old man, how can you keep eating? Say something!”
Fu Yuanyu appeared much calmer. He cleared his throat and said,
“Your mother isn’t trying to interfere with your personal life, but as the saying goes, ‘You can know a person’s face, but not their heart.’ You need to be cautious when it comes to relationships.”
Fu Nanzhi knew it wouldn’t be easy to get her parents to accept this right away, but she was confident she could convince them.
“I understand. He’s been very good to me and takes care of me. I’m clear-headed and won’t misjudge him.”
Ji Shulan couldn’t listen any longer and frowned, saying,
“But the time is just too short. How can you fully understand someone in just three days?”
It wasn’t unreasonable for Ji Shulan to be skeptical. In their past life, Fu Nanzhi and Shen Yi had been together for over a year, and the parents had gradually come to accept the relationship.
At first, there had been some resistance, but as time went on and Fu Nanzhi’s personality improved, they had genuinely approved.
Now, with all those steps skipped, it was no wonder Ji Shulan was losing her composure.
Fu Nanzhi couldn’t argue back, as she couldn’t exactly tell her mother the truth—that she had been reborn. That would only scare them.
She could only stick to her guns, leaving no room for negotiation.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’ll bring him over to meet you both when I get the chance.”
Seeing Fu Nanzhi so resolute, Ji Shulan’s suspicions only grew.
“It’s like you’ve been bewitched...”
She then turned to Fu Yuanyu and said,
“Yuanyu, should we call Cheng Tianwei? How could one of his employees act like this?”
Fu Yuanyu glanced at her. He wasn’t senile yet.
“What would we even say? Is he supposed to help us break up our daughter’s relationship? Nanzhi is in a free relationship. Don’t let your concern cloud your judgment.”
Of course, he also felt a sense of emptiness. His daughter’s changes made her seem unfamiliar to him.
“What do you mean there’s nothing to say? We could ask about what kind of person this Shen Yi is. What if he’s after her money or her looks?”
Ji Shulan’s words were harsh.
Hearing this, Fu Nanzhi was displeased. She didn’t like her mother speaking so poorly of Shen Yi, so she said frankly,
“He’s not after my money or my looks. It’s all my own choice.”
Ji Shulan’s heart skipped a beat, catching onto certain key words.
“What do you mean by that? You... you’ve given him everything?”
“Yes, we’re living together.”
Fu Nanzhi was shrewd. She had no illusions that her parents would understand right away, so she decided to drop a bombshell.
By making it a done deal, they would have no choice but to accept it, even if reluctantly.
Seeing Fu Nanzhi admit it so openly, Ji Shulan’s hands trembled as she pointed at her, saying,
“You... you... you just gave yourself to him?”
At this point, even Fu Yuanyu couldn’t maintain his composure. He choked on his soup and started coughing violently.
Fu Nanzhi stood up and walked over to her father, patting his back to help him catch his breath. Without a hint of shyness, she nodded and said,
“I was the one who initiated it.”
Ji Shulan was utterly stunned, as if she was meeting the daughter she had raised for over twenty years for the first time. She stood frozen, her expression shifting rapidly.
“You... I... Oh, old man, I can’t take this anymore.”
Ji Shulan, who had always been gentle and dignified, completely lost her composure and started wailing at the dinner table.
Fu Nanzhi’s heart ached for her mother, but this was a hurdle they had to overcome. She steeled herself and held her ground.
In their past life, Shen Yi had actually gotten along quite well with her mother. Fu Nanzhi was confident that once her mother got to know Shen Yi better, she would accept him.
Fu Yuanyu had no choice but to step in and mediate. He had seen it all before and wasn’t as emotionally charged as Ji Shulan.
He walked over to his wife and quietly comforted her, calming her down and sending her upstairs to rest.
Before leaving, he said to Fu Nanzhi,
“Wait for me in the study. We need to have a proper talk.”
No matter what, he needed to separate mother and daughter so they could both cool down before continuing the conversation.
Keeping things balanced was the wisdom of life.
Fu Nanzhi silently apologized to her mother in her heart, then calmly went upstairs to the study.
She picked up a book from the shelf and started reading, quietly waiting for her father to arrive.
Soon, Fu Yuanyu entered and sat down.
He boiled water and started making tea.
“Why did you have to be so confrontational? You really upset your mother.”
Fu Nanzhi replied seriously,
“Don’t treat me like a child anymore. I’ve decided that he’s the one for me.”
Fu Yuanyu didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded in agreement and said,
“It seems like the past half month at Tiancheng Corporation has really changed you. Is it because of Shen Yi?”
When she nodded, Fu Yuanyu continued,
“Nanzhi, there are things I didn’t say before because I knew you wouldn’t listen. But now I can say them.”
“You’ve always been self-conflicted, living in a state of constant tension. What you thought, what you said, and what you actually did never aligned, so you were always exhausted.”
“You always aimed for success and perfection, setting such high standards that failure was inevitable.”
“You used to live a life that was too fake and too exhausting, and you’d easily trap yourself in a dead end.”
Fu Yuanyu poured a cup of tea and handed it to her, his expression earnest.
“The you now makes me very proud. You’ve become more self-assured and clear-minded.”
Fu Nanzhi held the cup, a happy smile spreading across her face as she said with emotion,
“Dad, I understand your and Mom’s concerns. I know you’re only looking out for me.”
“I have the ability to discern right from wrong. Meeting him is my good fortune, and I want to spend my life with him.”
Fu Yuanyu felt comforted by her words.
“Stay true to yourself. No matter what you choose, your father supports you!”
“But with your mother, you’ll need to be gentler. It’ll take time for her to accept this. No matter how you try to persuade her...”
He took a sip of tea and advised,
“Be mindful of your approach.”