Chapter 47: Just Who Is It?

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Just Who Is It?

Tao An was comfortably ensconced in the driver’s seat, watching *Cub Observation Diary* on his phone, cackling with laughter one moment and drooling hungrily the next.

If his awe of Mr. Lu wasn’t carved into his very bones, he really would have wanted to follow him over for a look—and better yet, get a taste of that Golden Egg Fried Rice to see if it was as delicious as it looked on the show!

CLICK.

The car door was pulled open.

Tao An, who had been slouched over, instantly shot bolt upright and scrambled to turn off the video blaring from his phone...

It took a full few seconds before the car, filled with boisterous music and piercing laughter, fell silent once more.

But Tao An’s heart was anything but calm. His thoughts were a tangled mess:

’I’m done for!’

’I’m definitely going to lose my job this time!’

"Sorry, Sir. I didn’t know you’d be back so soon..."

Tao An immediately fell silent, filled with regret.

That sounded far too much like an excuse, which Mr. Lu never tolerated.

"I’m sorry!"

Tao An anxiously awaited his sentence.

But unexpectedly, Lu Shixu’s mind wasn’t on that at all.

He asked, "What about the matter I asked you to arrange?"

Tao An perked up and answered hurriedly,

"It’s mostly handled. The online PR team is ready to act immediately! However, Sir, they said the situation has changed. With Mr. Fu Chao’s involvement, the media backlash is now completely focused on him, so Miss Nan Zhi..."

Before he could finish, Tao An caught sight of Lu Shixu’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

They were as deep and dark as an ancient well, and a chill began to spread silently through the car.

The sight was so startling that goosebumps erupted all over Tao An’s skin!

"My apologies. I’ll have the team proceed."

"Mm."

Lu Shixu retracted his sharp aura. His eyelids drooped slowly, his expression tinged with a heavy gloom.

His entire silhouette was swallowed by the ink-black shadows, making him seem like an unfathomable, towering mountain.

Tao An could feel it...

Mr. Lu was in a very bad mood!

This both confused and surprised him—

Mr. Lu was supposed to be on a business trip in the neighboring city today, with his return scheduled for tomorrow.

But in the afternoon, when he learned Miss Nan Zhi was in trouble, he immediately had a flight path cleared and rushed back to Yanjing on his private jet.

Then, without a moment’s rest, he had come to this very night market in person.

Although Mr. Lu claimed he was just buying a late-night snack, Tao An knew better.

Mr. Lu’s self-discipline was absolute and rigorous. He only ever ate natural, organic ingredients from his private farm, prepared by a team of professional chefs. His meals, planned by nutritionists, were balanced down to the very gram. Late-night snacks were completely out of the question for him!

So, "buying a late-night snack" was just an excuse. To put it bluntly, Mr. Lu had come to see Miss Nan Zhi!

Although he didn’t know what kind of charm this Miss Nan Zhi possessed to make the notoriously aloof, proud, and indifferent Mr. Lu fall for her...

But that was okay!

Tao An had already imagined a million-word, cliché romance novel in his head: *The Female Celebrity and the Overbearing CEO!*

However, Tao An realized he had still underestimated Miss Nan Zhi’s influence over Mr. Lu.

It had been less than ten minutes, yet Mr. Lu’s mood had already shifted so dramatically!

’Impressive!’

Tao An let none of this show on his face. Remaining calm and composed, he asked,

"Sir, should we head back now?"

Lu Shixu slowly turned his head to look out the window.

He said, "Let’s wait a bit."

They waited until Nan Zhi and the others came into view, pushing the food cart on their way home.

Lu Shixu watched Fu Chao volunteer to push the food cart.

He watched Nan Zhi tilt her head as she talked and laughed with Fu Chao.

He watched the two children walk with their heads down, focused only on eating their little cakes.

The atmosphere was joyful and lighthearted. Bathed in the dim yellow glow of the streetlights, the scene looked like an oil painting filled with love and warmth. It was a sight that would make anyone smile.

...Anyone except Lu Shixu.

He found the scene incredibly jarring.

It was as if a thick, suffocating gloom was growing rampantly from every corner of his body.

It devoured his reason and tormented his soul.

Making him uncontrollably...

...want to destroy everything.

Lu Shixu violently clenched the Sandalwood Beads wrapped around his wrist!

The sandalwood beads, polished to a glossy patina from years of handling, were suffused with a faint, woody fragrance that slowly spread in wisps throughout the enclosed car.

It was as if the scent cast an invisible net, shackling and suppressing the vicious beast beneath Lu Shixu’s cold exterior, preventing it from breaking free to wreak havoc on the world.

After a long while, Lu Shixu finally recovered from the overwhelming wave of negative emotions, only to find himself slightly stunned—

’I...’

’What in the world is wrong with me?’

Back in his youth, his grandfather had deemed him "innately too aggressive" and sent him to a rigid, austere Daoist Temple to have his nature tempered. After enduring a dark, sunless period of his life there, Lu Shixu had learned self-control.

But now, just from seeing Nan Zhi and Fu Chao walking side-by-side, he had nearly lost control. He wasn’t acting like his usual self at all.

Lu Shixu loathed this feeling of being so uncontrollably out of order!

’Nan Zhi.’

’Nan Zhi.’

’Who are you, really?’

Lu Shixu took one last look into the distance—

Nan Zhi’s group was disappearing into a narrow alley of the shantytown...

Pressing his throbbing temples, he gave a cold command,

"Let’s go."

Tao An, who had been holding his breath in fear, quickly complied.

He then drove away.

-

Not long after the black Bentley had turned around and departed,

Fu Chao emerged from the mouth of the alley, leading his young nephew, Qing Xi, by the hand.

He stopped and peered curiously for a few moments in the direction the Bentley had gone.

Qing Xi’s eyes lit up, thinking his uncle had changed his mind.

"So does this mean I can stay and have a sleepover with little brother Yiyi and the pretty auntie?"

"Of course not!"

Fu Chao gave Qing Xi a light rap on the forehead.

Qing Xi glared at him indignantly.

Fu Chao paid him no mind, muttering to himself instead,

"That car looked familiar... No, it couldn’t be. Why would *he* come all the way out here?"

Fu Chao shook his head, then pulled the reluctant Qing Xi along as they slowly walked away.

-

Nan Zhi stood at the window, lifting the sheer curtain to peer outside.

It wasn’t late, and the soundproofing in the shantytown was poor.

So, as Nan Zhi stood there, she could clearly hear the surrounding clamor without even trying—

The couple next door was arguing about money.

Two doors down, a mother was scolding her unruly son.

The old man across the hall was listening to a warbling opera channel.

...

’But Lu Shixu was gone.’

’Did he leave?’

"Mama!"

Nan Yi suddenly appeared behind her.

He was becoming more and more natural at calling her "Mama."

Probably curious about what his mother was looking at, Nan Yi tiptoed over, strained to get on his tiptoes, and pressed close to the window.

Nan Zhi let the sheer curtain fall, then turned and picked him up.

"It’s nothing, don’t look. Are you tired?"

Nan Yi’s attention was easily diverted.

"Not tired!"

Even though he was being held in Nan Zhi’s soft, warm arms, his entire body was stiff with awkwardness and shyness.

Yet he insisted on acting nonchalant, not realizing his back was completely rigid.

"Mama’s the one who’s tired!"

Nan Yi said this from the bottom of his heart.

Nan Zhi’s heart melted with warmth and contentment.