Chapter 127: A Chance Encounter with Chief Steward Mu

Chapter 127: An Unexpected Encounter with Steward Mu

Watching Fu Ziqing enjoy each crayfish with a sip of beer to wash it down, Chu Fei could not help smiling happily.

He had thought Fu Ziqing would never be able to tolerate the atmosphere here. He had even deliberately teased her earlier. Yet although the first crayfish had left her gasping from the spice, she seemed to become addicted after that. One after another, she kept eating without Chu Fei needing to urge her on. Before long, more than half a plate of crayfish had disappeared into her stomach, while Chu Fei had barely eaten any.

“Boss, bring us two more plates of spicy crayfish!”

Chu Fei turned toward the lame young man by the stove and called out loudly.

“Coming right up. Please wait a moment.”

The young man answered loudly. Before long, he came over carrying two plates of spicy crayfish that were still sizzling. He set them on the table but did not leave at once. Instead, he gave Chu Fei a simple, good-natured smile.

“How are they? The crayfish here are authentic Sichuan-style. Pretty good, aren’t they?”

“Good? They’re far more than good—they’re fantastic. I’m going to come here every day from now on.” Chu Fei laughed as he praised them.

“Good. Next time you come, I’ll give you half off.”

The young man appeared simple and honest, but he spoke with great generosity. As he talked, he glanced at Fu Ziqing, secretly winked at Chu Fei, and then walked back.

“You know him?” Fu Ziqing asked curiously after the young man had gone. She had clearly seen him wink at Chu Fei.

“No.” Chu Fei shook his head with a smile and lifted one of the plates of crayfish to place in front of Fu Ziqing.

The gesture made the corners of Fu Ziqing’s mouth instinctively curl upward, but her eyes remained suspiciously fixed on Chu Fei.

“I really don’t know him.” Seeing that she did not believe him, Chu Fei explained with a bitter smile, “He only struck up a conversation with me because of you. There isn’t a woman in this food stall who’s as beautiful as you. Maybe he was deliberately trying to attract your attention.”

“Is that so?” Fu Ziqing’s lips curved slightly. She stopped paying attention to Chu Fei and lowered her head to pick up another crayfish.

Although the crayfish looked large, each one contained only a little meat in its tail. Once peeled, there was hardly much left.

“Tasty, isn’t it?” Chu Fei asked with a smile as he picked up one himself.

“Mmm. It’s delicious.”

Fu Ziqing made no attempt to hide her feelings. She put the peeled crayfish into her mouth and chewed it gently, then quickly lifted her beer and took another sip. She ate with such relish that she seemed completely absorbed in it.

“You know, if I filmed a little video of us eating crayfish together and uploaded it to East Sea’s main news portal, do you think all those admirers and devoted followers of yours would go crazy?”

Chu Fei suddenly asked with a grin.

“I don’t know whether they’d go crazy, but they’d definitely kill you.”

Fu Ziqing looked up, bit her lip, and glared at him. She was clearly trying to look threatening, yet the expression only made her seem irresistibly alluring.

Chu Fei froze for a moment before realizing that Fu Ziqing was not exaggerating. The scene before him completely shattered her goddess-like image. If it were spread around, who knew how many men would have their hearts broken? Some of her crazed admirers might truly come looking for him with murder in mind.

Fu Ziqing, however, paid him no further attention. She continued her serious assault on the crayfish before her, inwardly admitting that Chu Fei had not deceived her. The flavor really was excellent. Especially when paired with beer, it was impossible to stop.

It was simply too delicious.

She ate only the crayfish, however, and would not touch any of the shellfish.

Just then, a large crab with its back shell pried open appeared in front of her, revealing a rich mass of golden roe inside.

“Eating only crayfish is too heating. Have some crab to cool yourself down.”

Chu Fei’s gentle voice drifted into her ears.

Eating crab could cool one down?

Fu Ziqing raised her head and gave Chu Fei a strange look.

“You do know that crab is considered a cooling food, don’t you?” Chu Fei said with a smile.

“Uh… thank you.”

Fu Ziqing softly expressed her gratitude. Looking at Chu Fei’s handsome face, filled with gentleness, she suddenly felt a little moved.

She did not know what had come over her. Somewhere deep within her, something had been lightly touched.

Although she had always regarded Chu Fei as her fiancé and even believed that she would certainly marry him, he had still been only half a stranger to her. Aside from a few scattered fragments from childhood memories, she knew almost nothing about him. The only information she possessed came from one-sided written reports.

Yet this brief time spent together tonight had given her a far more vivid and complete image of him.

This man, who seemed so incompatible with her, could always stir something deep within her with an offhand remark or an unintentional gesture.

What was happening?

Fu Ziqing herself found it inexplicable. No man had ever been able to do this to her, yet Chu Fei had somehow managed it.

Even now, his casual act of kindness—and even his gentle smile, which was clearly somewhat feigned—had still touched her.

This was ridiculous.

Could he have slipped her some kind of love potion? Otherwise, why would she be reacting so strangely?

Fu Ziqing was completely baffled.

“It’s only a crab. You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m not going to poison you.”

Chu Fei felt his skin crawl under her sudden stare. What was wrong with her?

“I’m sorry. I suddenly thought of something.”

Fu Ziqing came back to herself and apologized.

“Uh.”

Chu Fei was speechless. He lowered his head and picked up another crab, prying it open, when Fu Ziqing suddenly asked, “By the way, what happened between you and Sister Xiao Jing today?”

“What do you mean?” Chu Fei looked at her blankly.

“How did you offend her?” Fu Ziqing asked bluntly.

“Why does it have to be me who offended her? Couldn’t she have offended me?” Chu Fei retorted, feeling that her question was biased.

“Sister Xiao Jing is such a good person. She never picks fights with anyone.” Fu Ziqing spoke with complete seriousness.

No one understood Xiao Jing’s temperament better than she did. Xiao Jing was the typical example of someone who was cold on the outside but warm within. Everyone assumed she was icy and unapproachable, but Fu Ziqing knew that was not the truth. Xiao Jing was actually very gentle at heart. Her outward demeanor was the result of having once suffered a devastating emotional wound.

Under Fu Ziqing’s gaze, Chu Fei surrendered. He answered casually, “It was nothing, really. I just played a joke on her. Who knew she’d be so petty?”

Since the matter had been brought up, he no longer concealed anything. He told her everything, beginning with how Xiao Jing had left him on the elevated highway. After all, even if he did not tell Fu Ziqing, she would eventually hear the story from Xiao Jing.

Fu Ziqing’s little mouth fell open in a perfect O.

“Don’t you think that woman was being too petty? It was several kilometers of elevated highway! I had to run all the way down, for more than half an hour. I nearly died of exhaustion.”

Chu Fei ended with an aggrieved expression.

“What exactly did you say to make Sister Xiao Jing so angry?”

Fu Ziqing ignored his complaints and instead asked with even greater curiosity. She genuinely wanted to know what he had said that could have provoked the normally gentle and understanding Xiao Jing into doing something so unreasonable.

“I…”

Chu Fei was puzzled himself. It had only been a joke, yet Xiao Jing’s reaction had clearly gone too far. It was hardly something an adult should do, and it was completely at odds with her usual image.

He was just about to tell Fu Ziqing the truth and ask her to help him analyze the situation when he suddenly fell silent. In disbelief, he stared at a white car that had just come to a stop.

The white Mercedes sedan stood out sharply in the darkness, especially amid a chaotic roadside food stall like this one.

Who would drive an expensive car to eat at a street stall? Wasn’t that ridiculous?

But what truly shocked Chu Fei was not the car. It was the person who stepped out of it.

He was a tall, slender man—the only man Chu Fei had ever felt could genuinely be described as sexy.

Mu Feixue.

Although he was still some distance away, Chu Fei recognized him at a glance. Mu Feixue was a powerful and influential figure in East Sea.

As though sensing his gaze, Mu Feixue turned his head and looked over. He spotted Chu Fei immediately. Then, under Chu Fei’s astonished gaze, he walked directly toward them.

He was not alone. Beside him was a fashionable beauty with a stunningly delicate face and a hot, seductive figure. Every inch of her radiated a womanly sensuality, and she looked perfectly matched with Mu Feixue.

“Chu Fei, what a coincidence.”

Mu Feixue approached and greeted him with a broad smile.

“Mr. Mu, good evening.”

Chu Fei hurriedly rose and returned the greeting with a smile.

He felt an instinctive reverence toward this seductive man. It was not fear, but it was definitely awe.

Fu Ziqing also stood up. She stared at Mu Feixue in astonishment. She was not unfamiliar with him; in fact, she knew him fairly well. The Fu family’s business maintained certain close, unbreakable ties with the East Sea Alliance.

Precisely because she knew him, she was even more shocked.

Chu Fei actually knew Mu Feixue?

How was that possible?

In Fu Ziqing’s mind, Mu Feixue was an existence far above ordinary people. Even she sometimes felt compelled to look up to him. How could Chu Fei know him? And judging by the way they interacted, they seemed quite familiar.

Mu Feixue nodded to Fu Ziqing as well. Then, when the lame young man came over, he said, “There’s no need to clear another table. I’ll sit with my brother Chu Fei.”

Without waiting for a response, he sat down beside the table and looked at Chu Fei with a smile.

“Brother Chu Fei, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not. It’s my honor to sit with you, Mr. Mu.”

Chu Fei smiled too, though the expression looked rather insincere no matter how one viewed it. Inside, he was completely bewildered.

What was Mu Feixue up to? Were they really that familiar?

Mu Feixue merely laughed heartily, pretending not to notice. Instead, he turned to the seductive beauty beside him and explained, “Jiaying, this is the Chu Fei I told you about. I wasn’t exaggerating, was I? Handsome, isn’t he?”

“He’s incredibly handsome—much more handsome than you.”

The woman covered her lips and laughed. Then she turned to Chu Fei.

“Chu Fei, your big brother has praised you in front of me more than once. I thought he was just boasting, but it turns out he was telling the truth. You’re even more handsome than he described. Hee hee!”

She finished with a string of laughter that made the hearts of those listening sway.

Chu Fei’s expression immediately turned strange.

What exactly was going on?

First she called him Chu Fei, then he became Brother Chu Fei, and now he had suddenly become the big brother. Wasn’t this change of address happening a little too quickly?

I really don’t know you that well!

Chu Fei was utterly bewildered.

Fu Ziqing’s expression was even more exaggerated. The look she gave Chu Fei became complicated and unfathomable.

This man did not merely know Mu Feixue—he was even on such intimate, brotherly terms with him?

[The third update is here. Now I’m going to work on the fourth!]