Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 283 - 265: The One I Love

Shen Jianian didn’t want to waste food, so she had to eat the crab meat in her bowl. It was cooked just right, taken out from the clear soup pot, not stained by butter, preserving the original taste of crab meat, very delicious.

But Fu Jichen’s question ruined her appetite.

She also asked herself, why?

Why can she calmly accept her relationship with Yan Qiusheng, but not accept her relationship with Fu Jichen? The answer is actually quite simple.

The student-teacher relationship is simple and pure, not complicated, unlike a relationship between a man and a woman.

"Jianian, what’s your plan next?"

Yan Qiusheng’s question happened to relieve Shen Jianian’s predicament.

Shen Jianian successfully shifted her focus, pursing her lips and pondering for a moment, she replied: "I haven’t thought about it yet. I plan to settle down in Beicheng first, then decide."

Fu Jichen paused, glanced at her, was she really planning to settle down in Beicheng?

Yan Qiusheng nodded: "The tour was indeed exhausting, you need to rest well and adjust your state. If there’s anything you need afterward, just tell your teacher, I will help as much as I can."

Shen Jianian curved her lips into a smile, grateful inside: "Thank you, teacher."

Fu Jichen picked up the teacup beside his hand and drank it all in one gulp, with a kind of boldness akin to drinking wine.

The band members at the two nearby tables were either eating or gossiping, their eyes glancing sideways at Shen Jianian’s table, gathered in groups to exchange information.

Eventually, they couldn’t arrive at a conclusion, and started asking Yan Hong.

"Mrs. Yan, about Jianian and that person..." they didn’t dare to directly refer to Fu Jichen by name, gesturing with their mouths towards Fu Jichen’s direction, "what kind of relationship do they have? I remember Jianian has a boyfriend, doesn’t she? Wasn’t the previous one her boyfriend?"

Yan Hong glared at them: "Can’t even keep quiet while eating, don’t gossip about other people’s private matters."

Everyone shrank their necks.

Yan Hong took a cup of tea to the neighboring table and expressed her gratitude to Fu Jichen: "Mr. Fu, I have to take them back later, it’s inconvenient to drink alcohol, I’ll use tea instead, thank Mr. Fu for the hospitality tonight."

Fu Jichen politely replied: "It’s me who should thank Manager Yan for taking care of Jianian."

Shen Jianian was stunned, what was he saying, making it seem like he was someone close to her...

Yan Hong was stunned too. Fu Jichen’s words undoubtedly placed him as someone close to Shen Jianian, because only someone close would be in a position to say such things.

The relationship between these two seemed even more intimate than she imagined.

"Manager Yan, just in time, I have something I want to discuss with you." Shen Jianian put down her chopsticks and stood up, taking the opportunity to change the topic, "Let’s go talk over there."

Yan Hong nodded: "Alright."

On the other side of the private room was a leisure area, connected to a semi-circular balcony. It was cold outside, so the two didn’t go to the balcony but sat on the sofa in the leisure area. Yan Hong spoke first, with a smile on her face: "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Shen Jianian clasped both her hands together, didn’t think for long before frankly saying: "I’ve decided to resign from the orchestra, I won’t be going back to Jiang City with everyone this time."

Yan Hong was surprised, the smile on her face faded: "Why so suddenly?"

Shen Jianian felt quite sorry towards her: "I thought about it before the tour, but didn’t mention it to you, wanted to wait until everything was over to let you know."

"May I ask the reason?" Yan Hong couldn’t accept it, "Is it dissatisfaction with the treatment or do you have other..."

"No, no." Shen Jianian replied repeatedly, "It has nothing to do with the orchestra, it’s my personal reasons, I want to stay in Beicheng more. Originally, it was out of necessity... Anyway, I’m very grateful you were able to pull me into the orchestra, I’ve had a very wonderful time here."

The contract she signed with the orchestra wasn’t a long-term one, she wanted to change her mood and find her former state, only agreeing to join the orchestra after repeated persuasion from Yan Hong.

Yan Hong saw her determination and didn’t persuade any further, her tone slightly regretful: "Alright, I respect your choice." She tilted her head slightly, a bit helpless, "Actually, back when I accidentally saw you playing the violin and invited you to join the orchestra, I had a premonition that it wouldn’t last long. Since you have decided, I wish you better development."

"I’m really sorry."

"Sorry for what, since you joined the orchestra, you’ve brought me quite a lot." Yan Hong lightened the mood with a joke, making it less heavy.

The two exchanged a knowing smile, it was settled.

After resolving the major issue on her mind, Shen Jianian returned to the dining table feeling light, looked down to see the plate filled with cooked food she loved—beef, already peeled shrimp, marinated bones, accompanied with some green vegetables—chrysanthemums, even the dipping sauce had been changed, since she almost finished the previous one.

No words were needed to say who had done this.

"I can’t eat so much." Shen Jianian frowned slightly, holding her chopsticks unsure where to start, "It’s very wasteful."

Fu Jichen: "Eat as much as you can, I’ll take care of the leftovers, so you don’t have to worry about waste."

Shen Jianian muttered, "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

Fu Jichen looked at her. She had taken off her down jacket indoors, removed her scarf, leaving only a soft white wool sweater. For convenience, she tied her hair in a low ponytail, some loose strands falling around her cheeks.

Shen Jianian felt frustrated, talking to him felt like playing a lute to a cow, only leaving her exhausted in heart and mind.

She resigned to her fate, picking up the shrimp meat and eating it all in one bite. Then she put on disposable gloves, grabbed a large bone, marinated then boiled to tenderness, and started to gnaw at it slowly with her head down. Eating something like this meant abandoning any image concerns.

Fu Jichen noticed a strand of hair stuck at the corner of her mouth. He reached out to tuck it behind her ear, but when he withdrew his hand, he noticed people at two other tables were watching him. The moment he realized it, they all pretended not to have seen, awkwardly looking up or down to shift their eyes.

Shen Jianian froze; his fingers had just touching the corner of her lips. By the time she realized, he was already calmly picking up the teapot to pour some water.

She couldn’t do anything but accuse him with her gaze.

Shen Jianian looked at the others, but they were all eating their own food as if they hadn’t noticed a thing.

The gathering ended, and several cars were set to take them back to the hotel. Yan Qiusheng’s driver came to pick him up to return to the Half Mountain Villa, which wasn’t the same way as theirs. Bai Changxia and Zhu Qisen decided to visit a home furniture store and left as well.

Shen Jianian only realized when she got in the car that besides the driver, it was just her and Fu Jichen.

"I’ll squeeze in with the others, so you can go straight home without wasting time back and forth." Shen Jianian used the excuse of thinking about him as a reason to escape the car.

But before her hand could touch the car door, another hand grabbed hers tightly. Fu Jichen held onto her, not letting her go, "You should know that being with you is never a waste of time."

Shen Jianian’s heart skipped a beat, trying hard to keep calm, "You, you let go first."

Fu Jichen released her hand just as the car started moving, making it impossible for Shen Jianian to get out now.

"Where are you heading?" Fu Jichen asked.

"Xiting Hotel."

"You said you wanted to settle down in Beicheng, do you have a place? Planning to stay in a hotel forever?"

"I will find a place, no need to trouble you with that."

"Qu Mo," Fu Jichen called out.

Qu Mo understood, and at a red light, he stopped and took a file folder from the glove compartment to pass back. Fu Jichen took it and handed it to Shen Jianian.

"Don’t tell me you’re giving me a house." Shen Jianian refused to take it.

"Don’t rush to refuse." Fu Jichen placed the folder on her lap, nodding with his chin, "Open it first before deciding."

Honestly, Shen Jianian didn’t want to open it, knowing how deep and calculating Fu Jichen was, she was no match. Who knew what trap he had set for her this time.

"Open it and take a look," Fu Jichen repeated.

Unable to refuse him, Shen Jianian opened the file folder, pulled out the documents inside, and sure enough, it was a property purchase contract. The address of the property was all too familiar — the old Shen Family villa.

"Your former home, I bought it." Fu Jichen rubbed the jade on his wrist, "Whenever you’re ready, we’ll do the transfer, and that villa will still be your home."

Shen Jianian’s eyes felt warm, and she quickly turned her face away, looking out the car window. With family gone, what was the point of her staying there alone?

She stuffed the contract back into the file folder and returned it to Fu Jichen, "You bought it, so it’s yours, I don’t want it."

The hotel arrived quickly; the snow fell heavier, covering the ground with white.

"Thank you for bringing me back." Shen Jianian got out, carrying a violin case on her shoulder, leaving the bouquet on the seat.

Fu Jichen followed her out, calling her name, "Shen Jianian."

He rarely called her "Jianian," nor did he call her "Little Nian," but even saying "Shen Jianian" with all three characters sounded intimate from him.

Shen Jianian stopped, just as several other cars pulled up at the hotel entrance. The orchestra members came down one by one, craning their necks to look at the two of them. A rebuking word from Yan Hong sent them scurrying inside, some persistently twisting their heads a full 180 degrees to look back.

Fu Jichen wore a black coat, with patches of snow particularly visible on his shoulders. He grabbed the ends of Shen Jianian’s scarf, pulling her into his embrace.

"Letting you go free doesn’t mean ending this relationship." He enunciated each word clearly, "No matter if you admit it or not, to me, you are still my girlfriend, the one I love."

Shen Jianian wondered if other men were like Fu Jichen, able to easily express love without sounding insincere or cheap, because his eyes were filled with genuine affection.

"Wait a moment." Fu Jichen said, releasing her, turning back to the car, bending over to grab a single flower from the bouquet inside, then came back and handed the pale pink rose to her, "A whole bouquet is hard to carry, just take one."

If you find my love too heavy, I won’t force you to accept it all; taking just a bit is enough.