Chapter 169: Tea Art

The Maybach and the ambulance brushed past each other, heading in opposite directions.

Sitting in the car, Fu Wenzhou racked his brains for what to say. With Ruan Yinyin's incident causing such a huge commotion today, it would undoubtedly spread throughout the entire Beijing social circle, and Youyou would certainly find out by then.

Rather than waiting for her to discover it herself, it was better to make a clean breast of it. Confessing honestly might just earn him a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Having made up his mind, Fu Wenzhou felt much more at ease. At worst, Youyou would just give him a thorough scolding; surely she wouldn't ignore him completely over Ruan Yinyin?

When he returned to Yalin Villa, the estate was brilliantly lit.

Knowing that Song Qingyou was back, his mood lifted pleasantly, and he strode straight inside.

As Fu Wenzhou entered the house, Song Qingyou was feeding Zhouzhou. Hearing the commotion, she turned her head and asked with mild surprise, "Why are you back so early? Didn't you have a welcome banquet?"

Fu Wenzhou took off his coat, having carried a chill from the outside. He stood by the doorway, waiting for the heater to warm up his body before eagerly rushing over to hug Song Qingyou from behind. "Something bad happened."

Dragging the tall and sturdy large dog with her to the balcony sink, Song Qingyou washed her hands, turned around, and asked him, "Go on, who did you beat up this time?"

"Fu Wenzhou paused."

He was momentarily speechless, feeling inexplicably guilty. After a long pause, he let out a muffled hum: "Ruan Yinyin."

"?"

Song Qingyou widened her eyes slightly. "How can you even hit a woman!"

Her tone was shocked, but carried no real blame.

Seizing the opportunity, Fu Wenzhou pulled Song Qingyou by the hips and walked over to the sofa, sitting down and placing her on his lap. He complained with dissatisfaction, "She kept talking trash about you. So what if I hit her?"

Although Song Qingyou was not close to Ruan Yinyin, every time they met, Ruan Yinyin always harbored deep hostility toward her. It was hardly surprising that she would badmouth her.

Therefore, she nodded without much surprise. "Mm, what did she say?"

Fu Wenzhou buried his face in the crook of Song Qingyou's neck, deeply inhaling her scent. "Terrible things, anyway. Besides, I'd warned her before that if she said another word, I'd cut out her tongue. She didn't have the sense to remember it, so who else could she possibly blame?"

Picking up the habit from somewhere, Fu Wenzhou's latter remark reeked of manipulative innocence: "I was merely fulfilling what I said I would do. What did I do wrong?"

Song Qingyou poked Fu Wenzhou on the forehead. "So you actually cut out her tongue?"

Fu Wenzhou cried out in alarm, "As if! Do you take me for such an ungentlemanly person?"

Song Qingyou breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't actually cut out, if it was just a kick or something, offering an apology to the Ruan family later should keep things from escalating into a major conflict.

However, before she could finish exhaling that breath of relief, Fu Wenzhou spoke up again.

"I just shoved a wine bottle into her mouth and smashed a few of her teeth out, that's all."

"..."

Song Qingyou's eyelids twitched. She stood up from his lap and slapped him on the head. "Shiyu just finished negotiating a few new projects with the Ruan family, and you go and knock out Ruan Yinyin's teeth right on the spot! Are you trying to get us killed, Fu Wenzhou?!"

Fu Wenzhou felt aggrieved, but didn't dare to talk back. He cautiously tugged at the corner of Song Qingyou's shirt. "Youyou, just leave this matter alone. Why stress yourself out so much over that small company collaborating with Yan Shaoqing? If worse comes to worst, the Fu Corporation can just collaborate with you instead."

Besides, he wouldn't mind going out of his way to throw money at his Youyou.

Song Qingyou glared at him in annoyance. "Aside from a few missing teeth, what else?"

Fu Wenzhou tried to recall. "Uh... her mouth seemed to split open too. Probably to the extent of mild disfigurement."

Song Qingyou closed her eyes, trying her best to look calm and collected. "Got it. Go cook, I'm hungry."

"Oh." Fu Wenzhou obediently got up and walked toward the kitchen. Reaching the doorway, he couldn't help turning back. "Youyou, are you mad?"

"No," Song Qingyou said emotionlessly.

Fu Wenzhou pressed his lips together, but still muttered, "She brought it on herself..."

Song Qingyou glanced his way, and Fu Wenzhou immediately shut his mouth, hastily closing the kitchen door for fear of another reprimand.

Song Qingyou rubbed her brow and dialed Fu Bei's number.

"Find out which hospital Ruan Yinyin is staying in, and block the news of her hospitalization. It must not be leaked."

Fu Bei paused for a moment and said, "Young Master Fu has already instructed Fu Nan to handle the cleanup. The matter won't get out for now, but it's hard to say how the Ruan family will react."

Hearing this, Song Qingyou froze for a second, feeling an inexplicable pride of watching a child grow up.

He actually knew how to handle the aftermath.

He had grown up at least a little bit.

She cleared her throat and said, "Help me prepare some gifts and send them to the Ruan family, and say it's to offer our apologies to Old Madam Ruan."

"Understood," Fu Bei replied.

The call ended, and Song Qingyou's brow furrowed tightly.

Falling out with the Ruan family was a minor issue compared to losing the project; what she feared most was the Ruan family holding Fu Wenzhou legally responsible for intentional assault.

Coupled with Old Madam Ruan...

Her phone suddenly rang, interrupting her train of thought.

A bad premonition instantly arose in Song Qingyou's mind. Lowering her gaze, she saw that it was indeed Old Madam Ruan calling.

She slowly answered, "Grandma Ruan, you..."

"Don't call me Grandma Ruan! Song Qingyou, haven't I treated you well enough ordinarily? All those Ruan family projects were introduced by me to help you through Shiyu. I treated you like my own granddaughter, and this is how you repay me?!"

"Ruan..." Song Qingyou barely got a word out before Old Madam Ruan interrupted her again.

Old Madam Ruan's tone sounded utterly furious: "Fu Wenzhou hurt Yinyin like this! The thing our Yinyin cares about most is that pretty face of hers. Now the doctors say even if she heals, her lips will remain split. What do you expect her to do in the future?! You must give me an explanation for this, or don't blame me for casting aside our old affection!"

"I'm sorry, Old Madam Ruan," Song Qingyou said in a low voice. "No one wanted to see something like this happen, but there were so many people in the private room watching at the time. My Wenzhou was indeed hot-headed, but it was your granddaughter who provoked him first; this can't entirely be blamed on him either. However, please rest assured, we won't fall short by a single penny of the compensation that is due, and we will take full responsibility for Miss Ruan's subsequent medical treatment."

"Does my Ruan family look like we're short of money?!" Old Madam Ruan burned with rage. "You people hurt someone, and now instead you turn around and blame my Yinyin for being in the wrong! Song Qingyou, my Ruan family is not going to let this rest!"

Song Qingyou stared at the hung-up phone, remaining silent.

Fu Wenzhou came out of the kitchen holding a bowl of noodles, walked over to Song Qingyou, and squatted down. He picked up a chopstickful of noodles, blew on them to cool them down, and fed them to Song Qingyou's lips. "Youyou, eat some noodles."

Song Qingyou glanced sideways at him and parted her lips slightly.

The noodles were very chewy—hand-rolled by Fu Wenzhou himself on the spot.

Song Qingyou preferred noodles with a bit of bite, so every time, Fu Wenzhou would roll the noodles by hand himself.

After feeding her a mouthful, Fu Wenzhou waited until she swallowed before feeding her another.

"How do you plan to handle this matter?" Song Qingyou suddenly asked.

She was quite curious to hear what Fu Wenzhou had in mind.