Luring Her to Take the Bait - Chapter 10.1

In the end, Pei Wenjin still found an opportunity to scoop up little Shi’an, rubbing her cheek against the girl’s frantically. Despite having already washed her hands and changed her clothes, little Shi’an still reached out a pleading arm toward Fu Su, her big eyes blinking rapidly.

“Auntie Su, make Little Auntie hug you instead, okay? You’re supposed to hug your wife.”

Shi’an was only a little over four years old. Even though she had read many books, she had absolutely no interest in matters of love and romance, and naturally didn’t understand the underlying reasons why Pei Wenjin and Fu Su had married.

She only knew that Little Auntie had a wife now, which meant there was finally someone who could keep her in check—because Mommy always listened to Mama.

“Shi’an~”

Shi’an’s feet left the ground as she was jostled a few times. Pei Wenjin pulled her into an embrace, rubbing her nose against the girl’s cheek with a wronged expression, whimpering like a needy puppy. “Shi’an~ I already washed my hands and changed. Give me a hug~”

Shi’an took a breath, dodging her movements, and said calmly, “Little Auntie, you are a person with a wife.”

“…” Pei Wenjin pouted, glancing at Fu Su. Her arms tightened slightly as she offered a weak rebuttal: “There’s no connection between those two things.”

“There is a connection.” Shi’an was very knowledgeable, her face a portrait of truth as she analyzed: “If you hug me, Auntie Su will be jealous.”

At those words, Pei Wenjin froze. She peered at Fu Su, who remained unruffled, her expression calm as she watched them.

Unexpectedly, Pei Wenjin directly thrust little Shi’an into Fu Su’s arms. Fu Su instinctively reached out to catch her, her eyes meeting the large blue ones. Shi’an blinked; Fu Su blinked back.

The child was very light, yet Fu Su’s arms suddenly felt as if they no longer belonged to her.

The body was so soft, carved like fine jade, like a plump peony flower.

Having no experience holding children, she didn’t know where to put her hands. She just stood there stunned, supporting her. For the first time, Pei Wenjin saw those sexy lips of hers falter, like a beauty who had stepped on and broken a high heel, limping with helplessness.

Meanwhile, little Shi’an gripped the fabric of Fu Su’s shoulder tightly, her small face also tense.

Pei Wenjin began to laugh mercilessly, collapsing onto the sofa and clutching her stomach. “Help, why are you two so funny? Susu, relax a bit. Shi’an, are you that afraid of falling? You’re gripping so hard, hahaha…”

Shi’an’s face turned red, and her fingers curled back shyly, scratching lightly at Fu Su’s shoulder. Despite her blushing face, she didn’t forget to whisper, “Auntie Su, control Little Auntie. She’s making fun of us.”

Fu Su let out a soft chuckle. When that low, raspy voice laughed, it sounded like a vintage, old piano—as if a soft brush had swept across rusted strings, entering the essence of spring.

The loud “giggle-giggle” laughter suddenly screeched to a halt, but unexpectedly, the jealousy jar tipped over.

Pei Wenjin looked at Fu Su as if she had seen a ghost. Suspecting she was hallucinating, she raised her hand to rub her eyes and then lowered it again.

As it turned out, Fu Su was still smiling, and her gaze was so gentle and doting.

Susu just laughed?!

Susu smiled so gently at Shi’an?!

Why didn’t Susu ever smile at her that gently!

She knew Susu loved cleanliness, so in order not to let Susu dislike her or divorce her, she had seriously washed her hands twice! Twice!

Usually, she just gave them a quick rinse, so why wasn’t she being smiled at so gently?!

Fu Su had no idea what she was thinking. She remained smiling, her arm supporting Shi’an’s bottom as she adjusted her posture. Her tone was equally maddening to Pei Wenjin, even if it was an unnatural, soft coaxing: “Don’t laugh.”

Though she spoke to her, she didn’t even spare her a glance.

Pei Wenjin suddenly rushed toward the bathroom. Fu Susupported little Shi’an’s back, glanced at her retreating figure, and asked softly, “Does this feel uncomfortable?”

Shi’an just shook her head. “It’s not uncomfortable, Auntie Su.” She pressed her palm against Fu Su’s shoulder with a bit of strength. “Put me down; hug me again next time.”

Fu Su only let go of Shi’an once she had crouched down. Shi’an held onto her index and middle fingers, her fingertips enveloped by the soft palm. Shi’an spoke clearly and gave her instructions quite seriously. “Auntie Su, Little Auntie always likes to hug me when she gets home. I don’t want her to, but she will cry, so I have no choice but to coax her and let her hug me once.”

“But Little Auntie always forgets to wash her hands and change her clothes. So in the future, when Auntie Su is here and you come home together, Auntie Su must first take Little Auntie to wash her hands and change her clothes, and then you can both hug me.”

The solemn, cold little milk-bun clearly amused Fu Su. “How can Shi’an be sure she will go wash her hands and change with me?”

“She definitely will.” Shi’an nodded with great importance. “Auntie Su is Little Auntie’s wife. She has to listen to her wife.”

Fu Su tapped her fingertip against the girl’s palm. Though she didn’t quite understand, she still nodded in agreement. “Okay. When we get home, I’ll take her to wash her hands first.”

Fu Su’s first time coaxing a child was clearly a success. Little Shi’an nodded as if a great burden had been lifted. “Thank you, Auntie Su.”

“You’re welcome.”

In truth, Fu Su was doubtful. Would Pei Wenjin really listen to her and obediently go wash her hands?

Just as she stood up, rapid footsteps approached. A flash appeared before Fu Su’s eyes, and someone pounced into her arms, hooking onto her neck. Two fair, slender hands were thrust in front of her eyes one after the other, waving back and forth.

“Susu, I washed them several times with hand soap. They’re very clean!”

“I can hug you too, right?!”

The fragrance of roses drifted into her nose—the scent of the hand soap.

Fu Su blinked slowly. In her line of sight was Pei Wenjin’s face, tinged with pink, her eyes reproachful. A faint electric current pulsed through Fu Su’s body as she gave an extremely soft “Mm.”

Pei Wenjin hugged her neck with both hands. With a turn of her head, her curly hair cascaded across Fu Su’s face. Fu Su’s breath hitched; her chest was pressed against, her ears grew hot, and her throat moved. She tried to shrink her body to reduce the presence of the person across from her.

However, a certain someone was completely oblivious, continuing to press closer.

“Shi’an, didn’t you say you can’t hug other people’s wives? That people would get jealous.”

Shi’an asked, “Is Little Auntie jealous?”

“I am not!”

Pei Wenjin’s face flushed red. She opened her mouth, and only after a long pause did she say, “Why would I be jealous? I’ll hug whenever I want. It’s only natural for me to hug my own wife!”

Fu Susuddenly pushed Pei Wenjin away, her voice a bit heavy: “Alright, I’m going to the kitchen to help.”

Coincidentally, Fu Chi’s voice came from the dining room, telling them not to just stand around and to come set the table.

Pei Wenjin watched that tall figure gradually walk away, then suddenly pinched her fingers and licked her lips.

She thought that perhaps Susu was like her—both of them were allergic to the word “wife.”

Fu Su had a thin, snow-white complexion; even a tiny bit of red was very obvious, spreading to the corners of her eyes.

The cold and aloof Fu Su was actually very easy to embarrass.

A hug would make her ears turn red; calling her “wife” would make her whole face follow suit.

Such a cold person would turn pink; it was truly cute and interesting.

She wanted to see more of a different Susu.

—

The dinner table was very quiet. The person who usually liked to talk was exceptionally silent today.

Pei Wenjin buried her head and ate her meat, not daring to speak. Susu looked like the type of person who didn’t talk while eating.

Susu’s acceptance of her touch didn’t mean Susu accepted her talking during a meal.

If she spoke, wouldn’t she be running straight into the muzzle of a divorce?

Better to just gnaw on bones.

Picking up another piece of beef short rib, she peeked quietly at Fu Su’s bowl. It contained half a bowl of rice and a few stalks of water spinach; the rice was stark white, not stained at all by the colors of the stir-fry.

Why wasn’t she eating meat?

Pei Wenjin’s brow furrowed, and her bone-gnawing slowed down. Her tongue flicked against a bone splinter. When she had hugged her just now, she felt she was thin as a rail. Did she not like eating meat?

Or was she too embarrassed to reach for it? Should she use the serving chopsticks to give her a piece?

While she was agonizing over this, Fu Su, on the other hand, was wondering why Pei Wenjin wasn’t talking.

She remembered when the two of them had chatted as online friends; Pei Wenjin had mentioned her family, saying the discipline was very strict and they weren’t allowed to talk during meals.

But Pei Wenjin was rebellious—if she wasn’t allowed to talk, she would do it anyway.

But today…

While both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, it was Pei Yanhui—the one who set the rule against talking—who spoke up to ask: “Xiaojin, Xiao Su, did you two hold a wedding abroad?”

In passing, she served a bowl of soup for Pei Xu and placed it by her hand.

Pei Wenjin was startled and shook her head while holding a bone in her mouth.

Fu Su looked directly at Pei Yanhui. “No.”

Pei Yanhui gave a knowing tilt of her chin, then served a bowl of corn and pork rib soup for Shi’an. Her eyelids lifted, sweeping over the empty space between their fingers, her tone unruffled. “It’s fine not to have a wedding, but no rings either?”