I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 180

Su Shaoqing was surprised to hear what Shi Nuan said. "Then you are really..."

"What?" Shi Nuan looked up at him. Su Shaoqing's eyes sparkled for a moment as he broke out into a smile. "Nothing much, I just feel that you are really thoughtful!"

Shi Nuan laughed. "I just don't want to burden him. All these will just become an unnecessary distraction for him."

Shi Nuan knew her family very well. If they knew about their relationship, they would certainly try to take advantage of it. It would put Fu Chengyan in a difficult spot and their relationship would lose its simplicity. She wasn't keen to let that happen.

Su Shaoqing shrugged his shoulders and didn't continue with that topic. "Where would you like to eat?" Since Fu Chengyan was not around, he was now responsible for taking care of her. If Fu Chengyan found out that they left her hungry, it would be very difficult for him and Li Heng to explain themselves. There was nothing he could do about it. Both of them always deferred to Fu Chengyan due to what happened in the past.

Shi Nuan didn't know what Su Shaoqing had in mind. She wondered what was so important that the Fu clan had called Fu Chengyan back so urgently. She was worried that it could be something serious. As Fu Chengyan's wife, there was no way she could help shoulder his burden. The only thing she could do was to not be in his way.

"What would you like to eat?"

Su Shaoqing smacked his lips as he recalled, "I can still remember how delicious your cooking was."

Shi Nuan smiled when she heard his compliment. "Are you asking me to cook? It's not a problem for me. I'm just worried if that's acceptable to Li Heng. We do have to take his opinion into account!" "I'm fine with anything!" Li Heng's voice suddenly surrounded the car and gave Shi Nuan a fright.

Shi Nuan looked around in surprise. "How can he hear us?"

Su Shaoqing grinned as he took out a walkie-talkie. "I'm sorry. I think I forgot to turn it off just now."

Shi Nuan, "..."

Su Shaoqing chuckled. "I hope you don't mind!"

Shi Nuan eye's twitched. "No, no I don't. By the way, what would both of you like to eat?"

"Hotpot? It's a great choice under this weather. But it's kind of weird for us to eat together like that!" Su Shaoqing pointed out. Shi Nuan understood what he meant immediately. She smiled in response. "If both of you don't mind, I can invite two of my friends. I think you might know them!"

"Song Rongrong and Su Yian?" Su Shaoqing remembered them because of Shi Nuan. Or else, it's not like him to remember anyone that isn't really related to him.

Shi Nuan nodded. "They are both my best friends and are pretty nice too."

"It's settled then!" Su Shaoqing and Li Heng liked the idea so Shi Nuan gave both Song Rongrong and Su Yian a call. The two of them had just finished work. Song Rongrong's work required her to work everyday while the teahouse that Su Yian ran was open daily.

They readily agreed when Shi Nuan invited them to dinner.

Shi Nuan went to the mall to shop for ingredients with the two men. Once they returned to her home, she went straight into the kitchen and started preparing for dinner.

Li Heng and Su Shaoqing sat in the living room and chatted. When they started talking about Shi Nuan, they paused for a moment. "It looks like Fu Chengyan is serious this time?"

"That's what I said!" Su Shaoqing had met Shi Nuan before Li Heng did. Hence, he had a better understanding of what was going on. "It's just that I'm a little worried!"

"What are you worried about?" Li Heng raised his eyebrow. "Worried if the other woman returned?"

Su Shaoqing nodded. "You were there when it happened and saw for yourself how serious the incident was. Ever since then, Fu Chengyan's disposition became more gloomy." Su Shaoqing recalled what had happened then and felt melancholic about it. "Everyone was sure they would be together then!"

Su Shaoqing noticed that Li Heng was looking in the direction of the kitchen when he finished. "What are you thinking about?"

"I think it might not be the case!" Li Heng grinned. "Shi Nuan is different from her. Although Fu Chengyan loved that woman a lot, it probably wasn't as much as you thought!" Li Heng didn't think that she would be a threat to Shi Nuan.

Su Shaoqing didn't agree. "Just wait and see! I just feel that it would become a real issue unless she doesn't come back at all. Or else Chengyan might...I'm just not optimistic about it. However, I do feel Shi Nuan is an amazing person and they do complement each other very well. Ever since they got together, Chengyan's disposition improved a lot."

Su Shaoqing had a good opinion of Shi Nuan, probably because he had met her a few times already. Ever since she got together with Fu Chengyan, she did not seem to have any other motive.

Li Heng furrowed his brows. "This is not something that you should be worrying about." He paused. "But..."

"But what?" Su Shaoqing couldn't help but be intrigued. "Are you now worried about something else?"

Li Heng shook his head. "When both of you asked me to investigate her background, I found something." Li Heng rubbed his forehead with his long fingers.

That was the reason why he had appeared at the equestrian club. He wanted to meet Shi Nuan himself since she could cause the workaholic Fu Chengyan to fall for her.

He finally understood why after meeting her today. She was someone that was gentle on the outside but tough on the inside. Although they had only interacted for a short time, he felt that she was someone extraordinary after observing how well she carried herself both in terms of speech and behavior. Most importantly, she knew where she stood and managed to replace some sort of balance with Fu Chengyan. "What did you replace?" Su Shaoqing was intrigued. "Both Chengyan and I replace that her family's attitude toward her to be strange. Both she and Shi Wei are their daughters. However, the treatment that their parents gave them was at opposing ends. Jiang Yu herself had tried to harm her daughter multiple times. I really don't understand her motive."

"It's easy. Perhaps Shi Nuan isn't Jiang Yu's daughter; however, Shi Jingzheng doesn't treat Shi Nuan well too. Hence, she may still not be an illegitimate child of his. There's one other explanation left; Shi Nuan is not related to them by blood."

Something clicked in Su Shaoqing's mind. "Do you mean that Shi Nuan may not be Jiang Yu and Shi Jingzheng's child?" It makes more sense that way. But there was one other thing. "Shi Yunsheng treated Shi Nuan as his own and so was Jiang Shizheng. Unless they didn't know the truth. Or else why would they be so nice to her? They both treated her a lot better than normal grandparents would."

"True, I replace that strange too. I can only try to replace out more." Li Heng said. "I have not informed Chengyan about this yet. I'll tell him once I know more!"

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Shi Nuan rushed out of the kitchen but saw that Su Shaoqing had beaten her to the door. "Let me get the door while you continue with the food!"

"Sure." Shi Nuan smiled and turned to see Li Heng approached her. "Do you need help?"

Shi Nuan was stunned for a second before she replied, "Oh, there's no need. I can manage on my own!"

"No worries. We're the ones that are being a nuisance. You shouldn't need to be polite with us!" Li Heng took off his jacket and walked into the kitchen. Shi Nuan gasped as she saw Li Heng getting down to business. She didn't stop him but she was surprised at how fast he was with his hands when preparing the food. "I was surprised to see Yan cook, but you too?"

Li Heng nodded. "Yes, I lived overseas since I was young and had to do a lot of things myself. After some time I just got used to it." As he spoke, he finished washing the vegetables and brought out the mushrooms. He asked, "I'm surprised that you know how to cook too. As a daughter in the Shi family, I expect you not to have to do any chores."

Shi Nuan's expression darkened. "One must learn how to be independent. I'm sure you must have heard that before!" Shi Nuan smiled "I moved out on my own when I was young and stayed in the hostel with my friends during my university days. So I had to cook for myself all the time."

Li Heng furrowed his eyebrows. "No wonder!" He asked, "Do you need these mushrooms to be cut?"

"Oh? Just leave them there. I'll do it myself!"

"Please don't treat me like a stranger. You should treat me the same way as you treat Shaoqing."

Shi Nuan felt that Li Heng was actually someone that was quite affable. She wondered if she had misunderstood him previously and had the impression that he was not approachable.

The fact was that Shi Nuan's first impression was correct. Li Heng was indeed hard to get along with. What she didn't know was that he was seldom friendly with any other women. After so many years, the only person he was nice to was Pei Huan. The reason he was being friendly to Shi Nuan now was so that he could replace out more about her background.

When Song Rongrong and Su Yian were stunned when they saw Su Shaoqing opened the door. It was Song Rongrong that was the first to recover her senses. "Oh, didn't Nuan invite us for dinner? Are you here to join the party too?"

Su Shaoqing squinted his eyes. "It seems that you don't welcome me."

Song Rongrong pouted. "No I didn't. You are misunderstood."

"Hello!" Su Yian greeted Su Shaoqing politely before tugging at Song Rongrong's sleeve. "That's enough!"

Song Rongrong walked past Su Shaoqing reluctantly as she entered the living room. "Nuan, where are you?"

Shi Nuan was busy in the kitchen when she heard Song Rongrong's loud voice. She couldn't help but look at Li Heng awkwardly. Li Heng narrowed his eyes and said, "You should go out and entertain your friends. I've got this!"

"Are you sure?" Shi Nuan looked worried but Li Heng nodded. "There's nothing that I can't handle."

Shi Nuan left the kitchen after he had put her mind to ease. When she saw Su Yian holding Song Rongrong's hands, she motioned them not to be too loud. "I'm here!"

"Nuan, it's been such a long time since we met and I missed you!" Song Rongrong rushed over excitedly. Shi Nuan was caught by surprise and fell two steps back before she could regain her balance. She was so happy that she wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. "Rongrong, don't exaggerate! It hasn't been that long since we saw each other!"

"How dare you didn't stay in touch for such a long time. You invited us for dinner and yet you brought him too?" Song Rongrong touched her nose as she said it. "Where's my brother-in-law? Is he in the kitchen?" Song Rongrong rushed into the kitchen and yelled, "Brother-in-law, it's very nice of you to treat us to dinner today."