Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “Hello, Lin Nuan, I’m Fu Huai’an’s grandmother…”


  As soon as she heard this, Lin Nuan immediately put herself together and unconsciously straightened her back and said, “Hello!”


  Yet she couldn’t bring herself to call her “grandmother”—it crossed her mind, but she couldn’t say it out loud.

  Lin Nuan was never the type of girl who was slick with words.

  She was a bit nervous as to why his grandmother was calling.

  She said that she was coming down to the Haicheng Broadcasting Building to tidy up some matters this afternoon. She would be finished by lunch and decided to eat with Lin Nuan, who agreed politely and respectfully.

  Lin Nuan hung up the phone as she walked out of the elevator. Bai Xiaonian pulled her over to a remote place seriously and said, “Why does something feel off with her inviting you for lunch? She should invite the both of you together, right?”


  “She said she had to settle something at the broadcasting building and had just enough time to dine with me. Are you overthinking the situation? She’s just an elder who wants to have lunch.”


  Lin Nuan met her previously at Tianfu Bay. Even though she was of old age, one could tell that she was once a savage, strong woman who made her own way.

  Lin Nuan could sense that she wasn’t unsatisfied with her that day. A woman like her would certainly be unwilling to waste time having a meal with her if she wasn’t pleased.

  Hence Lin Nuan was willing to see her lunch invitation as a simple meal between a grandmother and her granddaughter-in-law.

  By the time Lin Nuan finished recording her show, it was eleven o’clock. She immediately began removing her makeup and changing her clothes so she wouldn’t be late.

  Bai Xiaonian saw that Lin Nuan’s clothing wasn’t formal enough this morning, so she traveled all the way to her rented place to bring over a more formal outfit for the lunch meeting.

  A pale V-neck shirt, long black pants, a striped black and white suit top with white heels. Lin Nuan looked mature and elegant without appearing too uptight.

  Lin Nuan put on some light makeup. Bai Xiaonian advised her to let down her mildly curly hair, though Lin Nuan still tied her hair into a ponytail in the end out of habit.

  “Do you need me to send you off?” Bai Xiaonian asked.

  “No need…” Lin Nuan bent over and applied her lipstick. “A driver is picking me up!”


  Lin Nuan then glanced at her watch. It was five minutes to the time she agreed to meet Uncle Hu to pick her up.

  “I’ll be going down first…” Lin Nuan put her lipstick in her bag and left the makeup room in a rush.

  Bai Xiaonian felt something was odd. She leaned against the mirror and gazed at the lipstick Lin Nuan put down. She hesitated whether she should call Lu Jinbei and let him tell Lu Jinnan to notify Fu Huai’an.

  She then thought maybe she was overthinking the situation. Perhaps the elder only randomly decided to meet for a simple meal.

  If there was nothing to be worried about and Bai Xiaonian had informed Fu Huai’an through Lu Jinbei, it would complicate things. Fu Huai’an would call his grandmother, and she would think that Lin Nuan wasn’t “presentable” enough that she had to ask her husband to back her up for a simple meal.

  Bai Xiaonian thought long and hard before she got a call from the hospital. She then rushed over.

  …


  When Lin Nuan reached the restaurant, she told the waiter the room number, who then led the way politely.

  Lin Nuan went inside and saw that Old Madam Fu had already arrived. Her assistant was carrying a laptop and discussing something with her. When they saw the waiter enter, they both looked up.

  “Lin Nuan has arrived, please take a seat…” Old Madam Fu nodded and gestured for her to sit in the seat facing her.

  Lin Nuan nodded and smiled as she sat down and put her bag at her side.

  Because she was her elder, Lin Nuan didn’t dare to act loose.

  Once they were finished discussing work, Old Madam Fu gestured for her assistant to leave the room. She poured the tea for Lin Nuan herself.

  Lin Nuan respectfully took the tea and thanked her.

  “I know it’s sudden to ask you for a meal out of the blue…” Old Madam Fu smiled at her and said, “Have a sip of this tea. I asked my assistant to bring it from my home—I could never get used to the tea outside.”


  Lin Nuan nodded and thought about whether she meant more than she said.

  Just as Lin Nuan was going to ask what Old Madam Fu’s taste preferences were, her assistant came in again and passed Old Madam Fu her personal phone, which was still ringing. He leaned over and said, “It’s your husband…”


  Old Madam Fu’s face changed, and she glanced at the phone screen harshly. “You answer it and tell him to wait until after my meal, even if it’s something urgent.”


  “Noted!”


  After the assistant left, she passed Lin Nuan the menu. “I already ordered a few dishes according to my taste since I don’t know about yours yet. You can see if there’s anything you like here…”


  She called for the waiter. After Lin Nuan asked what dishes she ordered, she added one soup and closed the menu. She then said, “How about we eat first and order more if it’s not enough, what do you say?”


  Seeing how Lin Nuan was against food wastage, Old Madam Fu nodded.

  Despite being a host, Lin Nuan wasn’t as talkative in life as she was on the show.

  Plus, the fact that Fu Huai’an didn’t tell her much about Old Madam Fu left Lin Nuan with no idea what to talk to her about.

  Old Madam Fu’s phone kept ringing while the dishes were served. She was assertive and even aggressive in dealing with him. Lin Nuan was awkwardly listening and kept taking sips of her tea to hide her unease.

  Despite being of old age, Old Madam Fu still had a clear head and gave out assertive instructions…


  Lin Nuan looked down at the appetizing soup and felt that she could never become someone like her.

  When she finally hung up, she put the phone aside and looked towards Lin Nuan, who was sitting silently before her. She smiled and said, “Apologies… there are a lot of matters to settle with him!”


  Lin Nuan smiled and nodded.

  She continued, “Today, I invited you for lunch to discuss some matters. If anything mentioned offends you, I hope Miss Lin will be understanding…”


  Lin Nuan felt her heart sink when she heard “Miss Lin.”


  Old Madam Fu just discreetly put distance between them.

  By right, she should be referring to Lin Nuan by her name or a more intimate nickname like Nuan Nuan since she was married to her grandson.