Chapter 104 - The Veteran Eagle Claw General (Part 2)

Page (1/3)

Today, Old Master Fu seemed quite pleased. Upon seeing Fu Ming, he kept holding her hand and chatting, occasionally breaking into hearty laughter. Meanwhile, Chu Qitong and I sat quietly on the sofa, watching TV as we waited for dinner. During this time, we met Fu Ming’s mother. As expected, she was as beautiful as Fu Ming—an elegant and well-mannered woman, the quintessential refined mother type. After greeting us, she went upstairs to prepare the meal.

“Grandpa, I heard Fu Ming is back?” Just as Chu Qitong and I were starting to feel slightly bored, a tall, handsome man in military uniform walked in through the front door. He was about 1.75 meters tall, and if not for his uniform, I might have mistaken him for a pretty boy. In fact, compared to him, I was paler. It was almost like his whiteness was abnormal...

“What nonsense are you yammering about? This is home, not your office, you know? Always up to no good!” Old Master Fu clearly didn’t like this grandson of his. He snorted angrily right in front of us, making the man who had just entered the living room look rather embarrassed.

“Grandpa, Huiran isn’t doing it on purpose. My friends are here,” Fu Ming tried to ease the tension and then glared at her cousin. “Huiran, haven’t you greeted Grandpa yet?”

“Oh... Grandpa, good afternoon. Your unfilial grandson, Huiran, greets you respectfully,” Fu Huiran suddenly seemed to realize the situation and hurriedly knelt down to pay respects, which lightened Old Master Fu’s mood. He waved it off and paid him no more attention.

I found it rather odd. Huiran was in military uniform, yet Old Master Fu said he wasn’t at his company? Could it be that Old Master Fu was so strict that even his grandson wasn’t allowed to dress casually? It was awkward to ask Fu Ming, so I took the initiative to greet Huiran. Upon seeing me, Huiran realized I was Fu Ming’s classmate and gave Fu Ming a somewhat ambiguous look. “Little sister, I’ve never seen you bring a boy home before. Looks like this time is special?”

“Stop being silent, or no one will think you’re mute,” Fu Ming blushed and teased. “Huiran, if you keep talking nonsense, Grandpa will make you plant flowers as punishment!”

Huiran laughed and begged for mercy, but his eyes clearly held a different expression when looking at me. I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Now I understood why Old Master Fu disliked this grandson—he was a slick talker, hardly someone as upright and just as Old Master Fu.

Soon, more of Fu Ming’s cousins arrived. I learned that Fu Ming was the youngest in the family and had always been doted on like a treasure by her grandfather. No wonder her words carried such weight with Huiran. Among Old Master Fu’s descendants, besides Fu Ming’s beauty and Huiran’s personality, the rest were as serious and disciplined as Old Master Fu himself, with average looks, making it easy for me to confuse their names.

None of Old Master Fu’s children from his generation were present. Perhaps, considering Chu Qitong and me, they didn’t want too many elders around to avoid awkwardness. At this point, Fu Ming and Chu Qitong went upstairs to help her mother, and Old Master Fu retired to rest, leaving me to accompany the third generation of the Fu family. Gradually, I relaxed and chatted freely with them.

“What? You actually beat our Mingming? Wow, that’s impressive! I’ve never seen a man who could win against Fu Ming in my entire life. I’m truly amazed. Great job, kid!” Fu Ming’s eldest brother, who looked like a military captain, gave me a thumbs-up. Judging by his admiring gaze, I almost thought I had defeated all his soldiers...

Page (2/3)

“Just lucky, just lucky,” I smiled awkwardly. I couldn’t understand why everyone in Fu Ming’s family was so surprised that I could beat her. I asked, “Big brothers and sisters, was Fu Ming really invincible here before? Was she amazing at everything?”

“Oh, you really don’t know? Our sister had a nickname since childhood—‘The She-Tiger.’ She was famous in the military district! Back then, that kid Song Jie was always beaten black and blue by my sister. He was so scared of her that he hid whenever he saw her,” Fu Ming’s eldest brother recounted with enthusiasm. I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“Big brother, you just mentioned Song Jie? Is that one of the Eight Young Masters of the capital, Song Jie?” I was a bit troubled. This guy seemed like a persistent shadow following me around. Yet, since he was from the capital and Fu Ming came from a military family, it was natural for them to know each other.

“Right, have you heard of him too?” Fu Ming’s eldest brother looked at me in surprise but then shook his head. “That guy is no good now. His family has become arrogant and troublesome. But back then, he had a soft spot for our Fu Ming. Unfortunately, our young lady didn’t like those rich playboys.”

“You mean... Song Jie liked Fu Ming?” I suddenly grasped a lifeline. Coming to this dinner was definitely the right choice. At least it proved Song Jie had no interest in Su Xin.

“Big brother, you’re wrong. That was before. Now he seems to be interested in a local official’s daughter. Not long ago, he bragged in front of me about how beautiful she was and said he wanted to chase her,” Fu Ming’s eldest brother was about to continue when Fu Huiran interrupted smugly, “That guy only knows how to ruin good women, what else can he do?”

“Shut up! What do you think you are hanging out with him? How dare you speak like that in front of others? Shameless!” Fu Ming’s eldest brother snapped angrily at Huiran. But by then, I wasn’t paying attention to their quarrel anymore; my excitement had quickly turned cold. Hmph, so you want to mess with my woman? Sorry, Song Jie, you won’t even know how you die.

“I’m not hanging out with that guy, just friends. Besides, we’re both among the Eight Young Masters of the capital; you can’t just ignore each other,” Huiran looked aggrieved. I took a good look at him. Huiran was one of the Eight Young Masters too? That title must not mean much anymore.

“Anyway, stay away from those people. And don’t even mention those Eight Young Masters. Do you think that title sounds nice? If it weren’t for your grandpa and dad cleaning up your messes, you’d be in jail already,” Fu Ming’s eldest brother reprimanded Huiran coldly. I had a sudden thought: to learn more about Song Jie, I’d better cozy up to this Fu Huiran.

“Heh, judging by what big brother said, I hadn’t seen Fu Ming ever fight before.” I quickly changed the subject. Considering Old Master Fu’s skill, how could Fu Ming not have learned a few tricks? Maybe my heroic bus rescue was a bit self-important.

“Heh, now that my sister’s grown up, she’s learned to act gentle. You wouldn’t believe it, but when she pretends to be refined, no one can guess how wild she was as a kid... Uh, no, our Mingming is definitely a top beauty and definitely very gentle...” Huiran started to say casually, but suddenly changed his tone. I was curious and asked, “Hmm? Didn’t you just say...”

Page (3/3)

Hearing me, Huiran looked tense and kept signaling me with his eyes. Following his gaze, I understood why he suddenly changed his tone—his “she-tiger” mother was upstairs, watching him and his big brother closely.

“Huiran, big brother, what bad things were you just saying about me?” Fu Ming, arms linked, smiling brightly, came downstairs and scanned the group, causing Fu Ming’s eldest brother and Huiran to lower their heads sheepishly. I couldn’t help but secretly smile, feeling a bit sorry for these two brothers. They were practically exposing Fu Ming’s true nature to me—who would have guessed she used to be a violent girl? Just thinking about it was scary. Luckily, I had never taken advantage of her.

“No, we were just saying you’re the most beautiful in the Fu family,” I said, seeing how Fu Ming’s glare had disarmed them. “I just found out you’re not only the prettiest, but also quite skilled.”

“Hmph, you don’t have to speak well for them. These brothers always talk bad about me. I just haven’t been back for a few months, and they’re itching for a fight. Big brother, Huiran, which one of you wants to go first?” Fu Ming smiled charmingly, but the fists she clenched were sharp and piercing.

When Fu Ming said that, I saw the two brothers’ faces darken severely as they quickly backed down, begging for mercy. Even I got goosebumps from their flattery.

“Ming’er, you should spar with Huiran. He’s recently learned some shady moves and thinks he’s all that. You should teach him a lesson, let him know there are bigger fish in the sea!” Just then, Old Master Fu appeared from the house, smiling at Fu Ming. “I want to see if your skills have deteriorated these past few months.”

“Yes, Grandpa!” Fu Ming gave a formal salute, then raised an eyebrow at Huiran. “Grandpa said it, so I can’t hold back. Huiran, please?”

Huiran wore a sour expression but knowing Grandpa had spoken, he had no choice but to steel himself and lead the way to the courtyard. The rest of us quickly followed behind. But looking at the expressions and excitement of Fu Ming’s brothers and sisters, I thought to myself—if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought they were bitter rivals meeting with jealousy. The Fu family truly had a fierce warrior’s bloodline...