Rebirth from the Ashes

Severely injured, Fu Hannian breathed his last not long after he arrived at the island due to the low temperature and loss of blood.

Shen Xi and Fu Qingye exchanged glances while heaving a sigh of relief. It was an accidental death rather than a homicide. This was great news.

Qingli may seem callous, but he was actually a sentimental man, especially when it came to family. He saw Fu Hannian as family and taking the life of a family member would kill him.

Fu Handing clutched against Shangguan Yanqiu's hand without a word, albeit the weight on his shoulder was lifted.

He had been worried that Hannian was killed by Qingli. Regardless of the reason, Qingli would carry the guilt with him if he had laid his hands on Hannian.

"I see." Great-uncle nodded amid tears as he stared at Fu Qingli. "Qingli, get some rest. I understand. It's not your fault. Hannian has himself to blame. He deserved what he got."

Not only did the heartless monster feel no regret about harming Xixi and Handing, but he tried to kill Qingli too.

Hannian was dead now, and he got it coming.

Still, Hannian was his son. Regardless of how bad he was or what evil he had done, Hannian was his son.

"Qingli, Handing, I have a request." Great-uncle sighed and looked at them in guilt and anguish. "I want to take away his corpse."

As for the funeral, it would be unnecessary. Since Hannian lost the right to be buried in the family plot, Great-uncle intended to just find somewhere else to bury him. Either way, he had to lay his son to rest.

Fu Qingli nodded silently with his eyes closed. His pale face reflected his exhaustion.

It may be for the best that Fu Hannian died this way. At least, Fu Qingli did not have blood on his hands. To this day, Fu Qingli had no idea if he had the courage to end Fu Hannian's life.

Fu Hannian's body was taken away by Great-uncle and Fu Hanji. There was no funeral, but it was made known to the public that he died a sudden death and would not be buried in the family plot.

Fu Hannian's incident did not affect the New Year celebrations. It was lively all the same.

The excitement rose to new heights on New Year's eve upon Fu Junqiu's return with her boyfriend.

On airport-fetching duty, Shen Xi and Li Yuan were joined by Song Wenye who insisted on coming with them, and poor Shen Tang who was dragged into this.

The girls froze when they saw the boyfriend was Qi Xiu. Jesus. No way! Were they together? When did it happen?

Fu Junqiu looked at the lot and gave one a noogie. "What are you looking at? He's your uncle!"

Qi Xiu smiled amiably as he nodded at the bunch. All in all, he behaved more maturely than Fu Junqiu.

"You?" Shen Xi took a while to absorb that she had a new uncle. "When did you two get together?"

Qi Xiu was her company's top producer as well as an influential idol and singer!

"What's with all the nonsense?" Fu Junqiu knocked on her head. "Young Lady, you're pretty nosy to snoop into the elders' affairs."

After giving Shen Xi an earful, Fu Junqiu intimately clung onto Qi Xiu's arm. "Darling, let's go."

She then left the suitcases to the lot.

Feeling a little abashed, Qi Xiu whispered, "I can carry them."

"Well, you outrank them now. You're the elder, so you should act like one too. They should be carrying our luggages." Fu Junqiu opened his mind to a newfound fact.

Qi Xiu looked tenderly at her as he smiled helplessly. "Xixi is my boss."

"And I'm the boss' aunt. That makes you the boss' uncle-in-law." Fu Junqiu earnestly reminded him. "Remember, you don't have to fear anyone when we get home. Other than my brother and sister-in-law, we're the oldest."

Following behind, Shen Xi let out a cough.

Fu Junqiu gave her the stank eye. "What? Do you have a problem? Spill if you do."

Shen Xi quickly shook her head. "No. I don't!"

"Don't pick on her." Qi Xiu was feeling the pressure. Despite bracing himself, Qi Xiu was letting his nerves get the best of him due to the huge change of status.

Pulling a straight face, Fu Junqiu did soften her voice as she talked to him. "I'm not picking on anyone. I'm making her see reason."

Shen Xi sobbed. It was blatant abuse in broad daylight!

Song Wenye turned into a fraidy cat and was too afraid to say anything.

Shen Tang tried hard not to laugh. Aunt Junqiu's temper was something else.

Gazing at the girl's pouty look, Li Yuan murmured in her ear. "Do you want me to bully her back?"

Shen Xi bit her lip. "She's my aunt."

Li Yuan sighed.

It was an undeniable and irrefutable fact, so there was no way to bully her back.

Fu Junqiu had long informed the family that she was bringing her boyfriend home for the New Year. It never occurred to anyone that her boyfriend was Qi Xiu.

Unless the family never paid attention to the music scene, they should know who Qi Xiu was.

Fu Handing and Shangguan Yanqiu were happy that Fu Junqiu was bringing her boyfriend back. They had begun preparations on things like accommodation and his favorite food the moment she mentioned it.

This was the first time Fu Junqiu was bringing someone home. As her brother and sister-in-law, they must warmly welcome him and check him out.

Fu Handing and Shangguan Yanqiu were having a conversation with Qi Xiu while Fu Junqiu had his back all the way in case anyone was mean to him.

Pulling Shen Xi aside, Fu Qingxuan asked about Qi Xiu in hushed tones.

Fu Qingye sized up his future uncle-in-law who was younger than him. He fit the bill for Aunt Junqiu's criteria for men. Qi Xiu was tall, good-looking, attractive, and a talented music producer.

Fu Qingli walked in with the kids in tow when he saw Qi Xiu sitting next to Fu Junqiu. That must absolutely be the boyfriend. Handing the kids over to someone else, he went over to see if Qi Xiu made the cut.

Shen Zhangqing and Yun Jinping were there too. However, they were familiar with Qi Qiu since he came to his house for dinner before. He was a good kid.

Shen Zhanglin and his wife also knew Qi Xiu. The boy had driven their daughter home every once in a while. He was the music producer of Xixi's company.

There was a time they thought Qi Xiu was in love with their daughter. Seeing that he was nice and capable, it was not a bad idea for them to be together.

Nevertheless, Shen Zhanglin and his wife had not seen Qi Xiu since Qiubai came into the picture. Qi Xiu must have taken the role of a driver to help out their daughter and keep her from harm's way. He was a boy with a heart of gold.

Happiest of them all, Yu Qiubai had popcorn ready to watch the show.

He bore a grudge. Qi Xiu the b*stard had once pretended to be a couple with Tangtang to trick him. Yu Qiubai even got into a fight with Qi Xiu after finding out the truth.

Well now, the b*stard was taken by Aunt Junqiu. With a temper like hers, Aunt Junqiu would have Qi Xiu eating out the palm of her hands.