Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 311 - 292: Blushing with Shyness

The gathering that night ended after nine. The men left the dining table and set up a mahjong game, smoking with women by their sides, debating wins and losses at the table.

Fu Jichen didn’t join the game; he sat on the side with a wine glass and watched two rounds. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Shen Jianian stifling a yawn. He set down his wine glass and got up to fetch their coats.

Zhou Zhizhen glanced at him, took the cigarette from his lips with two fingers, flipped his wrist, and glanced at his watch. "Leaving so soon?"

The others looked over one after another. Fu Jichen unfolded the down jacket and draped it over Shen Jianian. "Got something to do back home."

"Come on, it’s the lunar New Year’s sixth day, everyone’s on vacation, what could you possibly have to do? You’re the busiest of us all, Fu Da, aren’t you?"

"I was even thinking after this round, you’d take over, but here you are, planning to sneak off."

"If you don’t say what you have to do, you’re not allowed to leave."

The men were talking over each other playfully, and the women covered their mouths, chuckling secretly.

Shen Jianian slipped her hands into the sleeves of the down jacket, too embarrassed to look at them, feeling their words implied something. She tugged on Fu Jichen’s sleeve, her voice so small only he could hear: "Why don’t you stay and play a few rounds with them."

Fu Jichen smiled, placing his hand over the back of hers, his voice unrestrained: "Each of them isn’t alone, so they don’t need anyone to accompany them."

While speaking, he put on his coat, held Shen Jianian’s hand, and without looking back, said to the ones at the table, "We’re going."

And then they really left, without a trace of reluctance.

After they left, the room became lively instead, and they forgot about the mahjong, discussing Fu Jichen.

"What’s Fu Da’s deal, like he’s under a spell. I think he’s totally obsessed, spoiling this girl even more than the last one."

"Did you notice how he looked at that girl at the table? It gave me goosebumps."

"Pouring tea, peeling shrimp, deboning fish, tsk tsk."

"That girl is wearing a diamond ring on her finger, what does that mean? Fu Da is serious this time!"

"Don’t be surprised, same old story. The last one and this one are the same person!" Zhou Zhizhen couldn’t stand it anymore and simply revealed the answer.

Having already left the room, Shen Jianian naturally had no idea they were talking about her and Fu Jichen. Once in the car, she leaned back against the seat and yawned widely.

She had woken up several times the previous night and hadn’t rested well. During the day she visited Yan Qiusheng and talked a lot, by evening, she felt a bit drained. Fu Jichen must have noticed her condition, which is why they left a little after nine.

"What were you talking about at the table earlier?" Fu Jichen still remembered returning to the room after his phone call, with several pairs of eyes on him, the atmosphere strange.

Shen Jianian lowered her eyes and smiled sweetly.

"Were you badmouthing me?" Fu Jichen saw the smile on her lips and pinched her cheek.

"Of course not."

"Then tell me, what was it about?"

Shen Jianian tilted her head toward him, resting it on his shoulder, a firm shoulder that gave a sense of security.

After a pause, she slowly began to speak: "That gentleman named Chen said, the pair of cups you gave me were personally made by you." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"That’s it?" Fu Jichen was skeptical.

"We didn’t talk about anything else, just that." Shen Jianian’s hand was held in his, she curled her fingers to scratch his palm, "Why didn’t you tell me you made them yourself?"

Fu Jichen’s fingers interlocked with hers, ten fingers tightly clasped: "The hand-carved piece you gave me back then was also made by you."

She taught him that sincerity meant more than money.

Rather than buying expensive diamonds or clothes, during those times he crafted cups, he thought only of her. It carried a completely different meaning.

Shen Jianian shifted her gaze to his wrist, where a black cord was wrapped around his fair wrist, hidden under the coat sleeve: "But I don’t even remember."

"As long as I remember, it’s fine." Fu Jichen had said this many times.

Shen Jianian reached out to grasp the jade handpiece under the black braided cord, a plump, two-part lotus root, the carving a bit clumsy. On closer inspection, its details were there, not overly crude, barely vivid.

Fu Jichen took off the cord from his wrist, allowing her to take her time to appreciate it.

The jade, after a long time of rubbing and nurturing, had a glossy, bright texture. Shen Jianian toyed with it repeatedly, even though she couldn’t remember a single bit of carving this handpiece, it didn’t stop her from praising herself playfully: "I’m quite amazing."

Fu Jichen curved his lips into a smile: "Mm."

It was late at night, the moon was not visible in the sky. The neighborhood still retained a New Year’s atmosphere, with large red lanterns visible everywhere.

The two leaned into each other as they entered the elevator. After the heavy snowfall on New Year’s Eve, the temperature had remained low in the following days, with no sign of warming.

The elevator doors opened, and Fu Jichen held Shen Jianian in one arm while using the other to pull out the keys to open the door.

Inside the apartment, Jixiang was patrolling around the sofa with his fluffy tail held high. Shen Jianian had put a goose-yellow knitted neck ring on him, adding a touch of cuteness to his otherwise ugly cat face.

Shen Jianian shuffled over in her slippers, picked up the cat, and took a deep sniff, "Have you been a good boy at home?"

Jixiang, with his limbs hanging in the air, flopped around a couple of times, "Meow—"

Shen Jianian laughed and put him down on the sofa.

Fu Jichen poured a glass of warm water and handed it to her, "Have you thought about moving back to Yunding Palace? Aunt Cheng can take care of you there, and I can be more at ease."

"No way." Shen Jianian refused without a second thought, took a sip of water, and continued, "I rented this apartment for a year. It’s nice living here, and I can take care of myself."

Today, she had discussed the matter of joining the symphony orchestra with Yan Qiusheng. He helped her with some advice, and she plans to prepare for the interview and assessments related to it soon.

She hadn’t mentioned any of this to Fu Jichen yet, planning to tell him once there were results.

"I was just suggesting. If you don’t want to, we’ll stay here and not move back." Fu Jichen took the glass from her hand, drank the rest of the water, put it on the coffee table, and sat down on the sofa, pulling her onto his lap, his hand resting on the back of her neck, his voice low and gentle, "But, Aunt Cheng will come by every week to make soup for you, no refusing."

With that, he silenced her with a kiss, giving her no chance to refuse.

Shen Jianian was kissed until she felt dizzy, losing her ability to think, the only sounds escaping her lips were broken notes, further fanning the flames within Fu Jichen.

He turned slightly, pulling her onto the sofa, his body following closely over hers.

The dark blue gradient sweater was tossed aside, landing right over Jixiang’s head. Startled, Jixiang jumped off the sofa, let out a meow, and ran off, retreating into the cat nest, his round eyes watching the two people on the sofa.

As time went by, the heat intensified, and the air grew thinner. Fu Jichen’s Adam’s apple bobbed several times, forcing himself to stop. He sat up straight, leaning his head back against the sofa, an arm draped over his face, looking both restrained and frustrated.

Beads of sweat hung on his prominent Adam’s apple, his fair skin turning a light shade of red, exuding a seductive allure.

Shen Jianian lay still on the sofa, her legs curled up. Her sweater was nowhere to be seen, with only a thin undershirt left, the hem hiked up, revealing a slender waist marked by a few fingerprints.

In the living room, only their varied breathing broke the silence, with tension lingering in the air.

Just short of crossing that line, Fu Jichen calmed down after a while, removing the arm from his eyes, casting a sidelong glance at the person on the sofa, his Adam’s apple moving again.

He couldn’t look too much; the fire was hard enough to control and would take even longer to extinguish if rekindled.

Fu Jichen pinched a piece of the white shirt fabric, pulling it down to cover that pale waist, and lifted her up to head to the bedroom, "Go take a shower, so you don’t catch a cold."

After sweating, it’s easy to catch a cold. When it came to Shen Jianian, he didn’t dare to relax at all, first guiding her into the bathroom, turning on the shower to heat the water, then heading to the closet to find a set of pajamas for her.

"How about a hot bath?" Fu Jichen placed the pajamas on the rack, "I can fill the tub for you."

Shen Jianian switched into the cool slippers by the bathroom door, watching him bustling around for her, feeling a soft warmth in her heart, "No need, a shower will suffice."

The water temperature rose, steam filling the bathroom, blurring the mirror. Shen Jianian pressed her nails into her fingers, building up her courage. Even after Fu Jichen left the bathroom, she couldn’t make up her mind.

Distractedly, she took a quick shower and then got into bed. Meanwhile, Fu Jichen received a phone call and went to the living room.

The call lasted nearly half an hour. When Fu Jichen returned, he noticed the lump under the blanket on the bed, with only a patch of black hair showing. He assumed Shen Jianian had fallen asleep and made sure to tread lightly as he picked up his pajamas, planning to shower outside.

Hearing the subtle movements, Shen Jianian peeked out from under the covers, "I’m not asleep yet, you can go shower."

Fu Jichen paused slightly, then turned towards the bed, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead before heading to the bathroom.

Listening to the sound of water, Shen Jianian rolled around under the covers, imagining various scenes, her face blushing deeply.

At that moment, she truly hated herself for losing her memory, unable to recall anything, and not knowing how they used to do these things.

After blow-drying his hair in the bathroom, Fu Jichen turned off the bedroom’s main light, leaving only his bedside lamp on, as he lifted the covers and leaned against the headboard, using his phone to check emails.

Shen Jianian waited for a long time, not seeing him lie down beside her. She nervously tugged on her soft pajama fabric and stammered, "Are you... busy?"

"Just checking emails." Fu Jichen placed a hand gently on her head, giving it a small rub, "Am I disturbing you?"

"...No."

Finding nothing particularly important in his emails, Fu Jichen simply put his phone down, plugged in the charger, turned off the lamp, and lay down, habitually wrapping his arm around her waist, stroking her back lightly, "Sleep."

Shen Jianian blinked, her breathing a bit tight, pushing through her psychological barrier to lift her head and kiss him. In the darkness, she miscalculated and ended up kissing his chin.

Fu Jichen froze for a moment, unsure if he imagined it, before reaching to turn the bedside lamp back on.

The lamp was covered with a linen shade; its light was warm and not too harsh. However, Shen Jianian quickly ducked her head, her soft voice squeezing out from her slightly parted lips, "Can you turn off the light..."