Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 389 - 2: Mid-Autumn Gift

After waiting for about five minutes, Shen Jianian hadn’t come out yet, so Bai Changxia started knocking on the stall door again: "What’s taking so long? I remember the instructions said it only takes one to five minutes to get the result, right?"

The person inside didn’t respond.

Bai Changxia hugged her arms, leaning against the stall door, her knuckles resting on her chin: "Could it be that you’ve made a blunder like me? Don’t be embarrassed, such mix-ups are common. Come out first, I promise I won’t laugh at you..."

The word "de" hadn’t even left her mouth when the stall door suddenly opened from the inside. Bai Changxia was caught off guard, leaning inside the door and almost falling in, luckily Shen Jianian caught her in time.

Bai Changxia steadied herself and eagerly asked, "What’s the situation?"

Shen Jianian looked at her, her lips slightly pressed together, but she didn’t speak.

Bai Changxia pressed, "Is it positive or not?"

Shen Jianian still didn’t speak.

Bai Changxia assumed it was a misunderstanding, with an unconcerned expression, she patted Shen Jianian on the shoulder, comforting her, "I understand that feeling. Initially, there wasn’t any particular expectation to have a child disrupt the current life. One day, you suddenly guess you might be pregnant, check with mixed feelings, and find out you’re not, somehow you feel a bit disappointed, isn’t that strange..."

"No," Shen Jianian interrupted her endless chatter, paused, and told her seriously, "Bai Changxia, congratulations, you’re going to be a godmother."

Bai Changxia’s mind was still stuck on "this is a beautiful misunderstanding." Suddenly hearing Shen Jianian’s words, her brain hadn’t processed it, wondering what’s there to congratulate.

After two seconds, she froze, grabbed Shen Jianian’s arms with both hands, and asked wide-eyed, "What did you just say? A godmother?"

Shen Jianian smiled and repeated, "I said, congratulations, you’re going to be a godmother." Seeing Bai Changxia might still not get it, she clarified, "I just tested, and it showed two red lines."

"You!" Bai Changxia realized she had been tricked, angrily raising her hand to slap her arm, "Well, Shen Jianian, you fooled me! That look you had just now, was it all an act?"

Shen Jianian turned to dodge but couldn’t avoid her attack, begging for mercy, "I didn’t do it on purpose. Honestly, I was a bit taken aback myself."

How did a child just appear out of nowhere?

She doesn’t even know when a life started growing inside her body. It’s a small life formed from her and Fu Jichen’s blood and bones. She can’t describe her feelings, besides anticipation, more of it is nervousness, along with unfamiliar emotions she can’t find the right words to express.

Bai Changxia gently rubbed Shen Jianian’s arm, trying hard to suppress her excitement: "I forgot, you’re pregnant now, I can’t beat you."

"It’s not that exaggerated," Shen Jianian said with a sly smile.

The two processed this news; realizing they’d been gone for too long, they would appear rude if they didn’t return soon. They collected themselves and left the restroom, heading towards the private dining room.

Just as the private room door opened, Shen Jianian heard a familiar voice inside: "I’ve already eaten at home, I’ll just have tea, no need for extra plates and cutlery."

Taking a step back, Shen Jianian looked towards the source of the voice. It was Fu Jichen dressed in casual attire, with an added chair next to her seat. He leaned against the chair back, and among the group of elders, his presence was formidable; though he appeared laid-back and leisurely, his innate nobility couldn’t be erased. Wherever he sat, he was the focal point.

Sensing something, Fu Jichen lazily turned his head to glance at the door, and upon seeing Shen Jianian enter, his eyebrows and eyes immediately softened with a smile.

He had just arrived and didn’t see her in the room. When he asked, someone told him she went to the restroom with Bai Changxia.

Yan Qiusheng said from the side: "We’ve only just started eating, it’s not polite to make you sit and wait, have a few bites at least, accompany Jianian."

With that, Yan Qiusheng called over a waiter to set additional plates and cutlery.

Fu Jichen nodded slightly, appreciating the politeness.

Shen Jianian still had a secret on her mind, and seeing Fu Jichen here, her emotions were understandably stirred. After sitting beside him, she softly asked, "Why did you come so early?"

"There’s a card game at the old house, and with nothing else to do, I came early to see you." Fu Jichen replied while holding a small teacup, sipping on Pre-Ming Dragon Well tea.

The waiter quickly brought a set of plates and cutlery, placing them in front of Fu Jichen.

Fu Jichen washed the utensils himself, picked up a shrimp and put it in a bowl, worn disposable gloves, and began to peel the shrimp. In a few swift moves, he had a plump shrimp ready, placing it in Shen Jianian’s bowl as he talked to Yan Qiusheng beside him.

An elder from the art circle across the table couldn’t help but witness this, jestingly saying, "I’ve always heard Mr. Fu loves his wife, and today I finally saw it."

Fu Jichen replied with a faint smile, "I’ve heard from everyone that Senior Wu and his wife met when they were young and are praised as a perfect couple; even an amateur like me knows your story. If anyone understands loving a wife, it’d be you."

The elder who spoke earlier laughed heartily, "Too bad my wife isn’t here today; she’s off on vacation."

As they talked, Shen Jianian ate the shrimp Fu Jichen peeled for her, then ate a few green vegetables to mask an unpleasant taste. Seeing Fu Jichen was about to peel more, Shen Jianian quickly pulled her hand under the table, avoiding everyone’s gaze, and lightly tugged on his suit hem.

Fu Jichen felt his clothes being tugged down, glanced over, and with a subtle rise in his tone, he hummed "hmm," indicating he was asking what’s up.

"I’m not eating shrimp anymore, don’t peel them." Shen Jianian said softly, afraid he wouldn’t hear, tilting her head slightly towards him, "I’m not very hungry."

Fu Jichen stopped peeling the shrimp: "Didn’t you say the rehearsal was tiring? Why no appetite?"

Shen Jianian licked her lips, wanting to wait until they were alone to tell him about her pregnancy, not intending to say it now, so she made up a reason: "I ate something before you came."

Fu Jichen didn’t suspect, continued peeling the shrimp, ate it himself, and then took off the disposable gloves to serve her a bowl of light soup: "It’s getting colder recently, and the weather is dry, drink a little soup to warm your stomach."

Shen Jianian didn’t refuse this, drank the soup while chatting with others, and at a certain moment, her gaze met Bai Changxia’s, who raised an eyebrow.

As someone in the know, Bai Changxia overheard the conversation between Shen Jianian and Fu Jichen, and almost wanted to laugh. Jianian was the worst at lying, probably if Fu Jichen asked a few more questions, she would spill the truth.

Someone at the table was pouring wine, when it was Shen Jianian’s turn, she quickly declined: "I don’t drink alcohol, thank you." Luckily, she hadn’t drunk a drop since she found out she was pregnant.

Yet Fu Jichen, unaware, said: "Today is a holiday, a bit of alcohol is fine, I’m here, no need to worry about getting drunk."

Bai Changxia suppressed his laughter so much his stomach hurt, if Boss Fu knew Jianian was pregnant, he would definitely regret saying that.

The person pouring the wine joked: "I thought Mr. Fu was strict and didn’t let Little Shen drink. Since Mr. Fu said so, Little Shen should have some."

"I..." Shen Jianian was at a loss for words.

The person poured her half a glass of red wine.

Everyone raised their glasses to toast, wishing for a happy Mid-Autumn Festival reunion. When it came to drinking, Shen Jianian’s lips touched the rim of the glass, pretending to drink, but didn’t actually take a sip.

The dinner ended past ten, stepping out of the restaurant, the chill of autumn greeted them.

Shen Jianian raised her hand to tuck the hair blown across her face behind her ear, looked at Bai Changxia standing at the bottom of the steps in a shoulder-baring dress with her arms crossed: "How are you getting back? Want to take our car?"

"It’s not on the way, no need to take me." Bai Changxia waved her phone, "I’ve called a car, it will be here in three minutes, you go first, don’t you still have something to tell Boss Fu?"

After speaking, Bai Changxia gave Shen Jianian a look only they could understand, her smile carrying a deeper meaning.

Fu Jichen looked slightly confused, glancing at Shen Jianian. She had something to tell him? How come he didn’t know?

"Message me when you get home." Shen Jianian said to Bai Changxia.

Bai Changxia gave an "OK" gesture, waved her hand urging her to leave quickly.

Shen Jianian bent over to get in the car, Fu Jichen followed. As the car started and drove off, Fu Jichen asked: "Bai Changxia just said you had something to tell me, what is it?"

"Nothing." Shen Jianian feigned ignorance, leaning against the seat with a yawn, finally relaxing after a busy day, her body feeling the fatigue catching up.

"Really?" Fu Jichen studied her face.

Shen Jianian continued to feign calm: "Nothing."

Fu Jichen continued to stare at her suspiciously, she might not know how easy it was for her to be exposed when lying, especially when pretending to be serious.

But when she’s acting, her performance is truly exceptional, showing no signs of pretense... she’s really a contradictory person.

Thinking of her acting, a light bulb went off in Fu Jichen’s mind, guessing: "Did you get nominated for the Best Newcomer at the Golden Awards?"

He knew the director of "Western Palace Banquet," Wang Kelun, was from Hong Kong, aiming to enter this film for awards. Mid last month, Wang Kelun visited Beicheng and had a meal with Shen Jianian, mentioning she has a chance to win the Best Newcomer award for her role as Ruoyu.

Shen Jianian: "The shortlisted names won’t be out until February next year!"

Fu Jichen lost his way, giving up on guessing further.

As they neared home, Shen Jianian couldn’t hold back any longer, fidgeting in the car, touching her shawl, picking at the seat cover, finally giving up the struggle, leaning over Fu Jichen’s shoulder, whispering in his ear: "Actually, what I wanted to tell you is, I have a Mid-Autumn gift for you."

Fu Jichen indeed looked surprised: "Prepared a gift for me on Mid-Autumn Festival? Oh no, I didn’t prepare anything."

"It’s all right." Shen Jianian was amused by his tone, her laughing eyes full of light, "Anyway, I have a gift for you."

"What is it?"

Fu Jichen showed an expectant expression, looking her over thoroughly. When she went out today, she only carried a small palm-sized bag, aside from fitting a phone, it couldn’t hold anything else, not at all like she bought a gift.