Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 284 - 266: Becoming Neighbors

Shen Jianian, carrying her cello and holding a pink rose, took the elevator to the room she was staying in on the eighth floor.

The room was booked by the orchestra, a standard room, which she shared with another girl.

When Shen Jianian went in, the girl who played the violin had changed her clothes, wearing a black mohair sweater with one shoulder exposed, paired with a sparkling sequin skirt, and was spraying perfume on her wrists, rubbing them together and then behind her ears.

"We’ve decided to go sit at the bar downstairs, do you want to come?"

Coming to Beicheng wasn’t easy, and by noon tomorrow they’d have to head back to Jiang City. The celebration banquet was not enough to satisfy everyone, so they planned to party all night. Naturally, this plan was kept secret from Yan Hong.

Shen Jianian was a bit tired, and she wasn’t much of a drinker, so she declined, "You all go, I’ll soak in the bath."

She placed the rose casually on the table, set down her cello, and stretched her arms.

The girl turned her head to look at her, blinking her big eyes a few times, probing with interest, "Is there something going on between you and that guy with the last name Fu?"

Shen Jianian wanted to say no, but she estimated the girl wouldn’t believe it.

Fu Jichen’s series of actions tonight weren’t subtle; anyone who wasn’t blind could see it.

"I get it." The girl smiled meaningfully, taking Shen Jianian’s silence as an admission, and lightly patted her on the shoulder, "I’ll take the room card so I don’t have to bother you to open the door when I get back."

After the girl left, the room was left with silence, so quiet she could hear the soft sound of snow falling outside the window.

Shen Jianian walked to the window, pulled aside a corner of the curtain, and the streetlights shone on the swirling snow, as beautiful as little fairies.

She gazed at it quietly for a while, then, holding her pajamas, went to the bathroom. While the bathtub was filling, she tied her hair up at the sink and removed her makeup, sinking into the water once it was full.

The phone on the bath rack suddenly chimed.

Shen Jianian wiped the water droplets from her hands, picked up the phone, and saw a friend request on WeChat. The words "Fu Jichen" flashed clearly into her sight.

He had found her through her phone number.

Shen Jianian couldn’t figure out what he wanted, the words he said when getting off the car still echoed in her ear. He said, whether she admitted it or not, in his heart, she was still his girlfriend, the one he loved.

As domineering as ever, promising to let her go free, yet unwilling to truly let her go.

Shen Jianian set the phone down, and after about half a minute, it rang again.

This time it was a call from a number both strange and familiar.

Shen Jianian didn’t have the best memory; Fu Jichen had called her once after she returned to Jiang City. She couldn’t remember his number, but it felt familiar.

She furrowed her brows a little and pressed the answer button, "What’s up?"

"I sent you a friend request on WeChat, why didn’t you accept it?" Fu Jichen’s voice sounded relaxed, almost pleased, though she couldn’t understand what he was so happy about.

Shen Jianian pressed her lips together and said nothing. Is there some rule in this world that says she must accept friend requests sent by others on WeChat?

"Accept it, I’ll send you some photos," Fu Jichen said.

Shen Jianian asked first, "What photos?"

"You’ll know when you see them, you’ll definitely like them."

Fu Jichen didn’t explain over the phone. After saying this, he hung up, quicker than ever, just to pique her curiosity.

Shen Jianian returned to the WeChat interface, thought for a long time, and tapped "accept." She wanted to see what photos Fu Jichen would send her. If he dared to lie to her, she’d... she’d block him.

The top of the screen popped up with "typing," and after a while, Fu Jichen sent her five photos.

They were of the cats and dogs at Yunding Palace. With the cold weather, they were dressed in flashy sweaters, looking quite amusing. Especially Lai Fu, with its dark fur and green sweater, looking both ugly and funny. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Shen Jianian couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile.

Fu Jichen: "Aunt Cheng knitted them."

Shen Jianian unwillingly typed back three words, "Very nice."

Fu Jichen: "They always sneak to the third floor to find you."

Shen Jianian didn’t reply to this one.

To make her believe, Fu Jichen sent her a video. Shen Jianian opened it, showing the dogs sitting in a row outside the door of the room she used to live in on the third floor, howling at the door.

After the video finished playing, Shen Jianian went back to watch it again, feeling a little sore inside.

Fu Jichen was definitely intentional; he knew her even better than herself, accurately guessing that she couldn’t bear to part with these little animals.

She knew very well that those animals were eating and drinking well in the villa, and Aunt Cheng would take good care of them, so they’d be fine without her. Yet, she still missed them, missed her morning walks with them in the villa, and missed them circling around her.

Fu Jichen finally played his trump card: "When will you come to see them?"

Shen Jianian’s brain, softened by the cute animals, cleared up a bit. She secretly sighed with relief, nearly falling into the trap: "We’ll see."

She stopped looking at her phone and soaked in the bathtub for a while longer, closing her eyes, tilting her head back, her mind replaying that chaotic night like a revolving lantern.

Here it comes again.

Almost fifty days had passed, and just as she was about to stop thinking about it, because she ran into Fu Jichen tonight, she started recalling it again, like a curse.

Shen Jianian scooped water onto her face, held onto the edge of the bathtub to stand up, rinsed off the foam under the shower, put on her pajamas, and went out.

The delicate rose lay alone on the table. The room was warm, the water droplets on the petals evaporated, making it look like it could wither at any moment.

Shen Jianian found an empty plastic water bottle, went to the bathroom to fill it halfway with water, and placed the flower inside.

*

The next day, the snow stopped. There was not the imagined silver-white world. Most of the snow on the road had melted, with only thin layers remaining on the tree tips and shaded areas, making it feel like last night’s snow was truly real.

The members of the troupe, led by Yan Hong, returned to Jiang City. Shen Jianian remained at the hotel. She didn’t check out, extended her stay for two more days, and began searching for a house.

Having not much money on hand, Shen Jianian only considered renting.

A few days ago, she started looking at houses and selected several. Today, she focused her search and finally settled on four options, called the agent, and arranged viewing times.

She viewed all four houses by the afternoon. Shen Jianian chose the last one, a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment, 120 square meters, with large floor-to-ceiling windows, on the twenty-sixth floor, a new house no one had lived in before.

The next morning, Shen Jianian signed the rental contract, checked out of the hotel, threw her suitcase and cello into the rented house, didn’t have time to tidy up, and booked a flight back to Jiang City.

The villa at Jade Heaven was empty, not a single person. Walking up the stairs, Shen Jianian could hear her footsteps echoing.

She pushed open the door and didn’t let herself indulge in past memories. She started organizing her things, categorizing them into corrugated boxes, preparing to send them back to Beicheng the next day.

That night, sleeping alone in the villa, Shen Jianian didn’t feel scared.

From now on, she would only have herself for many tasks.

Before leaving Jiang City, Shen Jianian went to the troupe, formally completed her resignation procedures. With that, she was saying goodbye to everything in Jiang City.

As she sat on the plane to Beicheng, looking at the clouds outside the window, she felt incredibly calm inside.

At 4:35 in the afternoon, the plane landed. Shen Jianian put on a thick down jacket and disembarked with the other passengers, not feeling the cold. Instead, she took a deep breath of the chilly air, feeling reborn.

When she turned on her phone, there was a missed call from Bai Changxia. Carrying a small shoulder bag, Shen Jianian called her back.

Once the call connected, Bai Changxia said, "Do you need me to come help you organize your place? Can you manage alone? Don’t push yourself."

This was Shen Jianian’s first time living alone, naturally causing some concern.

Walking among the crowd, Shen Jianian was very optimistic: "I’m fine. Don’t worry, I won’t hesitate to ask you for help if I need it."

Exiting the airport, Shen Jianian took a taxi back to the rented house.

It was a mid-range community. She liked it mainly because there was an enormous garden downstairs, akin to a small forest, with excellent greenery.

The elevator reached the twenty-sixth floor. Outside her door at unit 2602, large and small delivery boxes were piled up. The items she sent from Jiang City hadn’t arrived yet; these were all household goods she purchased online in the past few days.

Even if the place was rented, it should at least feel somewhat like home.

Shen Jianian opened the door, placed her bag on the cabinet in the entryway, shed her down jacket, and began moving the packages.

At this moment, the elevator chimed, and two strong young men carrying a large box walked out, dressed in blue work uniforms.

Shen Jianian’s packages were a bit in the way in the hallway. She hastily kicked them in with her foot, not caring whether they contained fragile items.

The two workers passed by her and went into the house next door.

Shen Jianian, holding a box, stood frozen. Had someone moved in next door so quickly?

The floor plan of this building was one staircase for every two units. That day, she specifically asked the landlord if he knew who lived next door, as the character of neighbors sometimes needed considering in a rental.

The landlord told her that no one lived next door; the apartment was listed online for sale.

Shen Jianian felt at ease. It was better with no one living there, avoiding possible troubles.

Previously, she heard from a girl in the troupe that her rental apartment next door had a family of three who fought often. The couple shouted and cursed at each other while their child cried, giving her headaches, yet she didn’t dare to remind them.