Mr.CEO, Please Sign the Divorce Agreement
Chapter 243: Susu, Happy New Year

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Susu, Happy New Year

The rest of that night, under Su Shiyue’s instigation, Su Mu and Fu Shinian took many photos together. He wasn’t someone who liked to be photographed, but that night, he indulged Su Shiyue’s antics.

After the photography session, Fu Shinian, on a whim, wanted to set off fireworks in the courtyard. Su Shiyue, upon hearing this, was instantly excited, eagerly wanting to join. The elderly lady repeatedly cautioned them to be careful, to which Fu Shinian responded with an acknowledgement. Before stepping out, he turned to look back at Su Mu:

"Do you want to join in?"

Su Mu shook her head.

He didn’t press her, instead heading out on his own.

The four people inside gathered in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, prepared to watch the fireworks. Su Mu quietly stood beside the elderly lady, gazing at the bustling pair in the yard, her lips always curling into a faint smile. It seemed like the first time she saw Fu Shinian acting so childlike.

This was the third Spring Festival they had spent together, and yet it was the warmest, even though they both harbored secrets.

After setting up the fireworks, Fu Shinian stood still and lit a cigarette, dressed in a black sweater and casual pants, almost blending into the night. Only the spark in his hand was flickering as he stepped towards the fireworks. Before igniting them, he stopped and turned back to look at the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze meeting Su Mu’s precisely.

The distance was too great for anyone to interpret the meaning behind that look, and Su Mu couldn’t either; she simply watched.

She watched him watching her, watched him turn around, watched him crouch to light the fireworks, watched him casually move on to the next, watched the fireworks rocket up and violently burst in the night sky.

The firework display lasted for a long time, so long that Su Mu thought it might never leave the night sky.

The firework feast was also beautiful, so beautiful that Su Mu wished she could freeze time at that moment forever.

Unfortunately, she had no magic.

She could only record it all with a camera.

When the fireworks ended, Fu Shinian came back inside. Because Su Mu was walking to the living room with the elderly lady, she could clearly feel the chill from his body. The elderly lady frowned slightly and reprimanded:

"Don’t even know to put on a coat."

Fu Shinian gave a slight smile: "Not cold."

Auntie Wang and Auntie Lin busied themselves in the kitchen again, while the elderly lady and Su Mu settled in the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala. After washing his hands, Fu Shinian also sat beside them. As for Su Shiyue, she found it all too boring and went upstairs to chat on the phone with her classmates.

Everything was just right.

The first skit began, and the live audience pre-empted Feng Gong’s classic line, "Dear audience, I missed you guys," leaving Su Mu with a curved smile, so engrossed that she didn’t notice her phone’s screen lighting up. Instead, Fu Shinian, sitting on the other side of their grandmother, picked up the phone from the table and handed it to Su Mu:

"Phone call."

Su Mu took it, surprised—it was Wen Han.

She glanced at Fu Shinian, who must have seen the caller ID when he handed her the phone, but he still passed it to her impassively, was it indifference, or did he trust that she wouldn’t answer?

Su Mu hadn’t intended to answer, nor did she see any need to. So she let the phone’s screen gradually darken, until it lit up again, this time showing a WeChat message. She opened it, seeing the message in the dialog box:

—Sister Su, it’s Wen Shaoyuan.

Seeing such a message, Su Mu couldn’t ignore it; she rose from the sofa and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to call back Wen Han. Barely had the call connected when Wen Shaoyuan’s babyish voice came through the phone into Su Mu’s ear:

"Sister Su, Happy New Year."

Su Mu’s smile deepened as she looked up at the twinkling stars overhead, "Happy New Year."

Since Su Mu had stood up, Fu Shinian’s gaze had also left the TV screen. He was never interested in it to begin with, just accompanying his grandma, just accompanying her.

Fu Shinian saw the incoming call clearly. He passed the phone to Su Mu not because he believed she wouldn’t answer it, but because he thought it wouldn’t matter if she did. Both were discreet and restrained individuals—it would be nothing more than an ordinary New Year’s greeting. What else could there be?

Fu Shinian thought she would answer, but Su Mu did not. Rather, it was the subsequent WeChat message that sparked in her the desire to call back. It wasn’t hard to guess that the caller was probably Wen Shaoyuan.

The old lady was engrossed in the TV, but that didn’t mean she missed certain things. Now, seeing Fu Shinian’s distracted demeanor, she hummed lightly:

"Are you still bothered by it?"

Fu Shinian came back to his senses, his gaze returning from Su Mu’s direction, and he smiled faintly:

"You noticed?"

"A phone passing right in front of me? You think I’m blind?"

Fu Shinian: "..."

"Just a phone call, do you need to be so nervous? If you are still bothered by this at this stage, I would advise you to take a break from Susu for a while. Don’t wear down the already scarce affection between the two of you over this matter."

Fu Shinian smiled lightly:

"No, it’s all in the past now."

"Really?" The old lady glanced at him skeptically.

Fu Shinian wore a helpless smile:

"Really, the incident itself wasn’t Su Mu’s fault. Both of them certainly didn’t want such a thing to happen more than anyone else."

"Good that you know."

Later, after Susu had finished her phone call, she returned to the old lady’s side. Around nearly eleven o’clock, Auntie Wang and Auntie Lin had finished wrapping the dumplings and called them over. Su Shiyue, as if she had a sensitive nose, ran down before they even went up to call her, and together they enjoyed this meal of dumplings celebrating togetherness.

It wasn’t until midnight, counting down with the Spring Festival Gala hosts, that the year truly passed. Su Mu hugged the old lady:

"Grandma, Happy New Year."

With a beaming smile, the old lady hugged her back: "Happy New Year, Susu."

The old lady shouldn’t have stayed up this late, and if it hadn’t been for the New Year, she would have already rested by now. But after midnight, with everyone urging her, the old lady went back to her room to rest. Auntie Wang and Auntie Lin were also getting on in years, and Fu Shinian stopped them when they started cleaning up the dining room:

"Clean up tomorrow, go rest now."

Neither Auntie Wang nor Auntie Lin demurred, and they retired to their own rooms. Su Shiyue also made an excuse and left. The once lively living room was now left with just the two of them.

Su Mu’s sleep schedule had been completely reversed in the past few days. This was the time when she was most awake. She didn’t pay Fu Shinian any heed and poured herself a cup of tea, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and took a seat under the flickering fairy lights.

Fu Shinian followed her and sat down on another rattan chair. Most of the lights in the living room were turned off. At this moment, the twinkling colorful lights danced across Su Mu’s face. Watching her lowered eyes and smiling face as she replied to text messages, Fu Shinian felt a profound sense of peacefulness.