Chapter 0287: Living Together by Imperial Decree

Many times, if the person you're asking keeps evading and not answering directly, that's actually telling you the real answer is too cruel—don't keep asking.

Life is like summer flowers, blooming to the point of decadence.

Eight words, yet they cannot capture the fate of many people's entire lives.

"So, you didn't ask me to come live here?" Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng suspiciously, drinking the water he had poured for her.

She had just gotten off the train and hadn't rested long at home before Li Yuan kicked her out, claiming Zhao Fusheng felt too lonely living here alone and wanted her to keep him company.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled helplessly and shook his head: "Do you think I would make such a boring request to Auntie?"

"Yes!"

Fan Baobao nodded instinctively, then noticed Zhao Fusheng's expression stiffen.

"Ahem, I was just joking. Look at you, no sense of humor at all." Fan Baobao laughed awkwardly and said to Zhao Fusheng, "What do we do now?"

"Cold dish." Zhao Fusheng replied irritably.

He wasn't stupid. From the current situation, it was clear that his mother and Li Yuan had conspired to make this happen—probably Li Yuan brought it up first, and his mother went along with it.

Otherwise, why would Fan Baobao be sent straight to his place as soon as she got home?

Not enough rooms at home?

Zhao Fusheng thought that excuse was just too lame. His dad had been living in the staff dormitory at the mall, his mom stayed there often too, and even Li Yuan had stayed at the mall with Fan Beibei. So why, when Fan Baobao came back, was there suddenly not enough room?

"What's really going on?" Fan Baobao was completely confused; she had no idea what had happened.

According to Zhao Fusheng, her mother had set her up, pushing her and Zhao Fusheng to live together?

Zhao Fusheng looked up and smiled bitterly: "Business at the mall is good. My dad is so busy he never has time to stay home. My mom and Aunt Li sometimes even have to bring Beibei to help out there. There are definitely enough rooms at home. A few days ago, I went home and told my mom and Aunt Li that I have a place here. I don't know how they discussed it, but my mom initially objected and then agreed. They even came to check out my place..."

He recounted the whole story and finally shrugged at Fan Baobao: "And now you see the situation. We've both been set up by our own mothers."

He paused, then said with a mix of exasperation and amusement: "Or rather, this is what we call 'living together by imperial decree.'"

Fan Baobao was taken aback, then her face turned red: "Living together? Don't talk nonsense!"

Clearly, still a young girl, she was quite resistant to such things, unlike the middle-aged Zhao Fusheng, who had thicker skin.

Zhao Fusheng sighed: "Come on, stop resisting. If resistance worked, do you think I would have agreed to let you stay here?"

"What do you mean by that? What's wrong with me staying here? Am I interfering with your fun?" Fan Baobao's eyebrows shot up, her eyes wide as she stared at Zhao Fusheng: "Miss me is willing to keep you company—you should be grateful."

She would never admit that when her mother told her to come keep Zhao Fusheng company, a shy feeling had welled up inside her.

"Grateful, grateful, I'm so grateful I could cry." Zhao Fusheng said while dealing with Fan Baobao, standing up: "There are rooms upstairs and downstairs. Pick whichever you like."

"You agree?" Fan Baobao was quite surprised, looking at Zhao Fusheng in astonishment.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Even if I didn't agree, it's not like you'd leave."

He pointed upstairs: "I live upstairs. Call me if you need anything."

Since things had come to this, he couldn't say much more. After all, they had lived under the same roof since childhood. When his parents were on duty, he would go to the Fan family for meals. When he was young and afraid to stay home alone, Li Yuan would let him stay over.

Similarly, before Fan Jian and Li Yuan had their second child, Fan Baobao, who was in elementary school, had also stayed at the Zhao home.

Childhood sweethearts, basically, know everything about each other. Even things that seem inexplicable to outsiders, in Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao's dictionary, don't seem strange at all.

Watching Zhao Fusheng go upstairs, Miss Fan didn't stand on ceremony and just settled in. She had been on the train for a day and a night and was truly exhausted. All she wanted now was to sleep and rest, not think about anything else.

Zhao Fusheng naturally understood Fan Baobao's mindset, so he didn't dwell on the matter.

However, after returning to his room, Zhao Fusheng still called his father.

"Dad, do you know what Mom and Aunt Li did?" Zhao Fusheng asked directly.

"Huh?" Father Zhao seemed busy and casually handed the phone to someone nearby.

"Hello, son?" Mother Zhao's voice came through, sounding very happy.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. He found that recently he had been sighing more and more often when dealing with his mother.

"Mom, why did you let Baobao move in here?" Zhao Fusheng said.

Mother Zhao replied innocently: "It's not my fault. Your Aunt Li said to let Baobao stay with you near the school. On one hand, you'd have company; on the other, we really don't have time to take care of her at home."

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to complain. Not long ago, she had said that when Fan Baobao came back, she could take care of Fan Beibei.

But now, she would rather take Fan Beibei to the mall every day than let Fan Baobao stay at home.

Thinking about it, Zhao Fusheng felt a headache coming on.

"Oh, son, I'm busy here. Talk later, talk later." Mother Zhao seemed to know he wanted to say more and hung up without giving him a chance to speak.

Clutching the phone, Zhao Fusheng gritted his teeth.

"My own mother, definitely my own mother!"

Zhao Fusheng walked to his computer, turned it on, and started updating the websites on his navigation page.

Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would numb himself with work, as it was the only thing that could make him forget everything around him.

Time passed, and Zhao Fusheng was suddenly awakened by a knock on the door.

Fan Baobao's voice came from the doorway: "Zhao Fusheng, I'm hungry. Do you want to eat something? I'll cook for you."

She only said that one sentence. Zhao Fusheng immediately stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and said in an extremely gentle tone: "No need. I'll cook. You go rest."

Fan Baobao was startled, then squinted her eyes.

There's murderous intent!