Married to a Millionaire

Chapter 9

Zhen Bao saw a movie for the first time, and for the first time saw such a glamorous blue dress and crystal shoes.

She also saw people kissing in the movie theater for the first time.

The front row seats were also couple seats. At first, the boy put his arm around the girl's shoulders, then the girl leaned in, and at that point Zhen Bao was already too embarrassed to keep watching. But then the two leaned in closer and closer to each other...and actually kissed!

Zhen Bao quickly lowered her head.

The ambiguous atmosphere was infectious, and Fu Ming Shi casually rested his left leg on his right, his expression calm and distracted.

The movie ended after 10 pm, and the night breeze was refreshing and felt especially nice on the face.

"Did you like it?" Fu Ming Shi asked, sitting in the driver's seat and looking at her.

Zhen Bao nodded.

Fu Ming Shi smiled. "After you finish your exam, I'll take you to see another one."

Zhen Bao was tired. She covered her mouth as she yawned. She was used to going to bed early. During this month of exam preparation, she had gone to bed by 10 pm at the latest.

Fu Ming Shi put on some soothing music.

Zhen Bao leaned back in her seat. As she listened to the music, she fell asleep.

An hour later, the Maybach stopped in front of the villa. Fu Ming Shi undid his seatbelt and looked over at her.

The seat was comfortable, and Zhen Bao was sleeping very soundly without any sign of waking up. She had studied very diligently this past month, even dreaming about doing exam questions and taking tests. Going to the movies tonight was the first time she truly relaxed, body and mind. So she was sleeping more deeply than usual.

Fu Ming Shi sat in the car for almost three minutes before going around to the passenger side. He slipped one hand between Zhen Bao and the seat, and used his other hand to lift her legs. Carefully, he carried her out of the car. He turned around and saw the glaring light coming from the living room of the villa. Fu Ming Shi looked down at Zhen Bao in his arms, and quietly instructed Mrs. Wang, "Turn off the lights."

Mrs. Wang had learned from Master Fu that the two were going to be engaged. At first she assumed Fu Ming Shi was being forced into it by the old master and was unwilling, which was why he hadn't been around for a month. But just now, seeing how carefully Fu Ming Shi carried Zhen Bao out of the car, like he was holding a precious treasure, Mrs. Wang finally understood the feelings in this young Master Fu's heart.

She hurried to turn off the lights, leaving just one lamp on.

Only then did Fu Ming Shi carry Zhen Bao inside. He steadily climbed the stairs, all the way up to the third floor. Zhen Bao's bedroom was right next to his. Fu Ming Shi used his shoulder to push open the door. The light from the street lamps outside shone in, clearly illuminating the furnishings of the room. Fu Ming Shi slowly approached the bed, then carefully bent down to lay her on it.

Feeling the soft bed beneath her, Zhen Bao let out a comfortable murmur. She turned over, stretching out her left leg and drawing up her right leg, sleeping very freely. Fu Ming Shi smiled as he stood by the bed watching her. As he gazed at her, he recalled the passionate kiss he'd seen that couple share at the movie theater.

Fu Ming Shi suddenly had an urge to kiss her.

He had never felt this way before meeting Zhen Bao.

But Fu Ming Shi held back. Her college entrance exam was coming right up. Before that, he didn't want to distract her.

After helping to draw the curtains closed for her, Fu Ming Shi silently left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

~

Zhen Bao slept in very late, not waking up until after 10am.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the now-familiar bedroom. Zhen Bao only remembered going to see the movie with Fu Ming Shi last night, then falling asleep in his car. She couldn't recall anything after that. After laying in a daze for a bit, Zhen Bao got up, showered and changed into shorts and a T-shirt. Refreshed, she went downstairs and saw Mrs. Wang scratching the dog Hei Dan's belly.

"Miss is up. I was just about to go up to get you," Mrs. Wang said with a smile.

"Where's Master Fu?" Zhen Bao looked puzzledly towards the villa exterior.

"Master Fu left for the company at 7am. He said he'll come by this afternoon to pick you up."

Since he was already gone, Zhen Bao scratched her head in confusion. Mrs. Wang could guess what she was thinking about and eagerly jumped in to sing Fu Ming Shi's praises. "Miss studied so hard you fell asleep in the car last night. Master Fu couldn't wake you up, so he carried you upstairs and had me turn off the living room lights in case they bothered you."

Zhen Bao stood there in shock, unconsciously glancing towards the stairs. From the first floor to the third floor, so high up...Fu Ming Shi had actually...

Yet she didn't have any memory of it at all!

She'd slept so deeply, how embarrassing.

After sitting a while, she ate lunch with Mrs. Wang. Afterwards, Zhen Bao went through the things she needed to bring for the college exam tomorrow with Mrs. Wang, making sure she had her admission ticket in particular. She was still a little nervous about such a big exam, and couldn't concentrate on studying either. Zhen Bao decided to just take the dog Hei Dan out for a walk and visit the seven big white geese living in the pen in the backyard.

In the mid-afternoon, Fu Ming Shi came to pick her up. The villa was too far from the exam location, so Fu Ming Shi had booked a hotel near the test center.

"Do you have everything you need?" Fu Ming Shi stood by the car in a suit, one hand in his pocket, looking at the suitcase in Zhen Bao's hand as he asked.

His composure made Zhen Bao nervous. Mrs. Wang urged her to check her luggage again, so she opened the suitcase to confirm.

She had everything. Fu Ming Shi picked up her suitcase and headed for the back of the car, signaling for her to get in first.

The heavy test atmosphere made Zhen Bao forget to ask about what happened last night.

Fu Ming Shi didn't say much. The car pulled up to the hotel and he pointed to a man dressed in a black suit standing outside. "Do you recognize him?" he asked her.

Zhen Bao looked in the direction he indicated and immediately recognized Fu Ming Shi's driver from when they went to the village to get her.

"His surname is Li. He's your grandfather's bodyguard. These next three days he'll be taking care of you. If you need anything, just tell him. And before leaving your room, you have to call him first to come upstairs and get you." Seeing that Zhen Bao didn't fully understand, Fu Ming Shi nodded towards the parents and students continuously entering and leaving the hotel. "The hotel is full, all exam candidates and their parents. Everyone's on edge and could easily get into conflicts."

Now Zhen Bao understood.

"Some people here might recognize me, so I'll stay in the car for now. I'll come get you on the 8th after your last exam," Fu Ming Shi added.

Zhen Bao nodded again. "Then...I'll go first?"

Fu Ming Shi looked at her. He suddenly felt a little anxious too, wanting to encourage her to relax but also worried it would add pressure.

"Call me if anything comes up," he said, leaning in next to her ear as he opened the car door for her.

The man's warm breath grazing her earlobe made Zhen Bao's heart inexplicably beat faster. She gave a perfunctory "Mm" and immediately got out of the car.

Fu Ming Shi watched her in the rearview mirror until Zhen Bao entered the hotel with the Li bodyguard, before slowly driving away.

~

Zhen Bao's hotel room was extremely luxurious. She walked all around, and with nothing to do, took out her textbooks to do some last minute review since the language and literature exam was tomorrow. Maybe she'd get lucky and run into some of the poetry lines she had to memorize.

After reviewing poetry, eating dinner, and lying in bed reading some more, it was almost 9pm when she got a message from Fu Ming Shi asking if she'd gone to sleep yet.

Zhen Bao: Going to sleep now.

Fu Ming Shi clearly didn't believe her, but he didn't call her out on it. He searched online for a picture of a green onion and two eggs, sending it to her.

These types of internet memes were very common, but it was Zhen Bao's first time seeing one. She laughed out loud and replied: 150 points?

Fu Ming Shi photoshopped four more eggs around the first egg in the original picture.

Zhen Bao laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She replied: Hahaha.

Fu Ming Shi also laughed: Go to sleep early, good night.

Zhen Bao: Mm, good night.

Looking at their chat again, Zhen Bao turned off her phone and once again had a sound sleep.

On the 7th she had the language and math exams in the morning, and the afternoon session. After finishing the afternoon exam, the Li bodyguard escorted Zhen Bao back to the hotel. Returning to her room, Zhen Bao took out paper and pen and recalculated some questions she wasn't too sure about. Two were right but one was definitely wrong. Feeling a little discouraged, Zhen Bao lay in bed for a while before taking out the science exam papers to prepare for tomorrow.

That night Fu Ming Shi messaged to say good night an hour earlier than the previous night, so Zhen Bao went to bed early too.

On the morning of the 8th she had the science exam, and English in the afternoon.

Zhen Bao knew a lot of the vocabulary words and her grammar was solid, plus writing was her strength. But her listening comprehension was weak, and the listening portion was a one-time thing with no chance to even go back and check answers. As she handed in her exam paper, Zhen Bao counted the number of listening questions she wasn't certain about, and the more she thought about it the more upset she got.

On her way out, she heard other students discussing the answers, and it sounded like she'd gotten those uncertain questions wrong. Now Zhen Bao felt even worse. She was so distracted she forgot Fu Ming Shi said he was coming to pick her up today. Out of habit, she looked around for the Li bodyguard after leaving the classroom building.

"Zhen Bao," someone called her name from the left.

Zhen Bao turned and nearly bumped right into the person. Looking up, she saw it was Fu Ming Shi, tall and straight in his black suit, looking like the most handsome bodyguard.

After not seeing her for two days, Fu Ming Shi felt she looked thinner, and her complexion wasn't great either. One look at her furrowed brows and he knew the last exam likely hadn't gone well.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" Fu Ming Shi naturally draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her towards him.

Students were streaming out and parents crowding in, making it very congested. Zhen Bao assumed Fu Ming Shi just wanted to shield her from getting jostled, so she obediently let him put an arm around her shoulders and listlessly responded, "Anything is fine."

She hadn't tested well, so she had no appetite.

"Then let's go eat skewers," hearing how despondent she sounded, Fu Ming Shi gently squeezed her shoulder.

Zhen Bao pursed her lips. No matter what he suggested, she couldn't get excited about food.

"We'll go to the mall after eating." Fu Ming Shi tried to think of something she enjoyed doing.

Zhen Bao had already bought a lot of clothes last time, she didn't feel like she needed anything else.

But this time Fu Ming Shi took her to high-end brand stores. Zhen Bao didn't recognize any of the brand names. She saw a handbag she thought was nice, and sneaked a peek at the price tag. Seeing the five-digit figure, she was stunned. How could a bag be more expensive than a computer?

"Do you like this one?" Fu Ming Shi picked up the pink bag on the counter. Although he found it a bit childish, it suited her.

"I don't want it..." Zhen Bao grabbed the bag and put it back, pushing him towards the exit. It was too expensive, she really couldn't accept it.

"I have money," Fu Ming Shi grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

"You can't just spend money recklessly even if you have it," Zhen Bao continued exerting force to get out.

"Inflation means it loses value if you just keep it," Fu Ming Shi's large hand held her small one firmly as he called the salesperson over.

Unable to win against him, when Fu Ming Shi paid and held the bag out to her, Zhen Bao still didn't take it. She walked ahead by herself. Fu Ming Shi suddenly became the bag-carrier, the tall, straight-postured man in a fine suit, holding a dainty pink handbag, attracting countless eyes.

Zhen Bao soon noticed the attention they were getting and hurriedly snatched the bag away.

Fu Ming Shi still wanted to buy her other things, but Zhen Bao was frightened by the prices here. She insisted they leave, riding the escalator down. Back in the car, Zhen Bao kept examining the handbag in her hands, repeatedly mumbling, "Why is it so expensive? It looks about the same as the one I bought last time..."

"But doesn't it seem like you like this one more?" Fu Ming Shi helped her with her seatbelt, smiling as he asked.

Zhen Bao couldn't deny it.

Fu Ming Shi gazed at her rosy lips, gently coaxing her, "You didn't test well, so getting a bag you like will help cheer you up, right? Let's not be unhappy anymore after this, okay?"

Zhen Bao's eyelashes fluttered. So his reason for giving her such an expensive bag was just to comfort her?

"I like seeing your smile." As she raised her head, Fu Ming Shi started the car, eyes fixed ahead, his profile serene.

Zhen Bao silently drew her gaze back.

She didn't know if it was because of the bag, or his words, but she truly didn't care anymore about messing up the listening section.