Chapter 5: Half-Cooked or Well-Done?

Pujiang.

Lin Wanbai was keeping Lin Zhaowei company as he played chess. Most of the black pieces were already off the board, and Lin Wanbai tossed the black piece in her hand aside. “I’m done. It’s no fun. I always lose.”

They had been playing for a full two hours, and she hadn’t won a single game.

“Do you know why you lose?” Lin Zhaowei placed his piece down. The black side was utterly defeated.

Lin Wanbai took a sip of tea. “Grandpa, if you have something to say, just say it. Don’t go around in circles—I don’t want to guess.”

“Is there even a need to guess?” He snorted, his face stern and intimidating.

“I’m just messing around.” She wondered who had gone to her grandfather to tattle about what she’d done at Kahuang. If she found out, she’d make sure that person regretted wagging their tongue.

“I raised you myself. Don’t I know your temperament? Tell me, did Fu Juxing do something to push you too far?”

Lin Wanbai licked her lips, glanced at him, then grinned and nestled up beside him, hooking his arm and wheedling, “Grandpa, I’m a married woman now. Don’t you think you’re meddling a bit too much? I was just having a little spat with him, nothing serious. Next time, if you have something to say, call me first, not him, okay?”

“Hmph, I just don’t want you to be wronged. Sometimes that boy needs a reminder, so he doesn’t forget his place.”

“You know better than anyone that your granddaughter would never allow herself to be treated unfairly. And he’s always been dutiful—he’d never forget who he is. You know that perfectly well, even if I don’t say it.” She leaned closer, resting her head on his shoulder and gently rubbing against him.

Her grandfather was the one who loved her most in the world, someone who would always trust her unconditionally and stand behind her, her greatest pillar of support.

“Marrying him is already a grievance for you!”

She pouted. “Grandpa!”

Lin Zhaowei sighed and softened his tone a bit, patting her leg. “A few days ago, Old Fu came to play chess with me. Between the lines, he was hinting that you two should have a child. Fu Juxing isn’t the legitimate heir, so no matter how things are arranged, he’d never inherit the Fu family. But after marrying you, the situation changed. The Fu family’s affairs are complicated. I was against your marriage from the start, and besides, he never…”

Lin Wanbai fixed her gaze on him.

He paused, then skipped over the topic on his own. “I don’t think you two should rush into having children. You’re still young, you should enjoy a few more years of freedom—make sure you’re certain before you decide. And you and Fu Juxing—what’s the situation between you two now, really?”

Lin Wanbai remained silent, her eyes downcast, playing with a strand of her hair. She never liked discussing her relationship with Fu Juxing in front of her elders.

“Just be honest with your grandpa. That theory you told me once, about boiling a frog in warm water—what stage are you at now? Is he just starting to warm up, half-cooked, or already done?”

Hearing her grandfather use those words made Lin Wanbai want to laugh. She chuckled, saying, “Grandpa, are you joking with me?”

“Who’s joking? I’m being serious.” Lin Zhaowei looked severe, speaking in all earnestness. “It’s already been three years. If he’s still not ‘cooked’ by now, maybe he’s made of stone. I’ll say it again—if you’re not happy, just get a divorce. There’s no need to force yourself. The initiative in this marriage is still ours.”

“What kind of grandfather keeps encouraging his granddaughter to get a divorce? If Mom knew, she’d definitely have something to say to you.” Lin Wanbai was still smiling.

“Your mother is just as unreliable. You and she will be the death of me.”

As they were speaking, a servant knocked and entered. “Sir, Mr. Fu has arrived.”

“Show him to the hall.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lin Wanbai immediately grabbed her grandfather’s sleeve. “No more of this. And don’t scold him. Whatever’s between him and me, please don’t interfere—I know what I’m doing.”

Lin Zhaowei glanced at her, tapped her nose, and sighed. “You, you… you’d better really know what you’re doing. Don’t lose your head.”

She stuck out her tongue. “Don’t you trust your granddaughter?”

He merely grunted and said nothing more.

The two of them left the tearoom.

Fu Juxing sat in the living room, his back straight as a rod. He accepted the tea the servant brought him and thanked her politely. Catching sight of them from the corner of his eye, he turned, smiling lightly. “Grandpa.”

Lin Zhaowei nodded. “You’re here.”

“Yes.”

Lin Zhaowei took a seat.

Lin Wanbai sat beside Fu Juxing, took his teacup, and drank a sip.

“The Xin Haiwan project is wrapping up, and these two months are the busiest. I hope having you over for dinner today didn’t disrupt your schedule?” Lin Zhaowei asked.

Fu Juxing replied, “Not at all. If I couldn’t even manage something like this, I’d have no right to be Wanbai’s husband.”

Lin Wanbai was busy picking out pastries. Hearing this, she glanced back at him, squinting and smiling, making a heart shape with her fingers.

Fu Juxing smiled back. “On my way home, I passed Hexin and bought your favorite molten cheese tarts.”

Just then, the servant brought them in. He picked one up and fed it to her.

Lin Zhaowei’s gaze swept between the two of them. After instructing the servants to leave, his expression turned serious, and he rapped the table.

Catching this out of the corner of her eye, Lin Wanbai knew a lecture was coming. She wiped her mouth and glanced at Fu Juxing. He set his half-eaten cheese tart aside.

Together, they turned to face Lin Zhaowei, ready to listen to his admonition.

Lin Zhaowei had been a teacher for several years in his youth and was an expert at scolding people.

This time, his target was Lin Wanbai.

“You—stand over there.” Then he turned to Fu Juxing. “Go to the study and bring me my ruler.”