Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 277 - 259: Important People

Fu Jichen was smoking in the study when he received a call from Zheng Yi. He extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray and focused on listening to the person on the other end.

"Miss Shen is at Villa No. 12 in Jade Heaven and hasn’t left the house in the past few days. Yan Hong, the manager of Shixin Orchestra, visited this afternoon, stayed for half an hour, and then left." Zheng Yi reported in detail, "Mr. Pei went to the company at eight o’clock this morning. According to his subordinates, he’s handing over his work. A new head of administration has been found for the branch in Jiang City to take over Mr. Pei’s position. Additionally..."

Zheng Yi paused, worried about affecting his boss’s mood, his tone slightly hesitant: "Mr. Pei is applying for a visa to Switzerland."

Fu Jichen was silent for a moment, staring at the ashtray piled high with cigarette butts, and said hoarsely: "Understood."

Zheng Yi waited for a long time without the other party hanging up, and out of courtesy, he couldn’t hang up first, so he waited.

After about three minutes, Zheng Yi finally heard his boss’s voice: "Keep watching and report any situation to me promptly."

The call was terminated.

The sky had already darkened outside, and Fu Jichen lit another cigarette, got up, walked to the window, put one hand in his pocket, and looked at the pitch-black night. Tonight’s moon was very bright, not obscured by clouds, its outline clear.

At this moment in Jiang City, Shen Jianian was looking at the same moon.

When the phone rang, her gaze shifted from the window to the bed. She walked over and picked up the phone from the bed, the screen displaying an unfamiliar number, its location from Beicheng.

Shen Jianian hesitated for two seconds, then answered the phone: "Hello, who is this?"

There was no sound from the other side. She heard a slightly fluctuating breathing sound and frowned: "Hello, who is this? Did you dial the wrong number?"

Just as she was about to hang up, a familiar male voice came through: "It’s me."

Shen Jianian’s breath froze for a second. Of course, she recognized it as Fu Jichen’s voice. Gripping the phone tightly, she tried to remain calm and asked: "Is there something you need?"

She wasn’t surprised that Fu Jichen could get her phone number.

Fu Jichen’s voice was low: "Not really."

He just wanted to ask her if she planned to go abroad with Pei Che, away from this land that held him. From now on, he’d hear news about her only from a distance a hundred or a thousand times farther than now.

But when the call connected, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Shen Jianian pressed her lips together, listening to his voice. It was hard not to recall that night; she never realized her memory was so good, remembering every detail, including the rhythm of his breathing.

Shen Jianian closed her eyes: "If there’s nothing, just hang up."

"Shen Jianian," Fu Jichen said humbly, "Do you truly believe that our past relationship no longer exists?"

They once had a child together.

In these three days, whenever he thought about it, his heart ached to the point where he couldn’t do anything, his mind consumed by her. It wasn’t her beautiful image, but her lying on the operating table. He hadn’t seen that scene, relying completely on imagination. The more detailed he imagined, the more his heart hurt, trapped in a vicious cycle.

He promised not to force her anymore, to give her the freedom she wanted. But when she was truly out of his sight, he regretted it.

The decisive Fu Jichen became indecisive, unable to move forward.

Shen Jianian hung up the phone, her heart unable to settle for a long time.

The phone rang again. Without looking, she answered, her breath rushing: "Stop calling me again." He had already let her go; couldn’t he be more thorough?

"Uh, Jianian, what are you talking about?" Bai Changxia’s tone was a bit hurt. Jianian actually told her not to call her anymore.

Was she planning to end their friendship?

Shen Jianian brought the phone to her face, saw the caller ID was "Bai Changxia", and rubbed her forehead, confused by Fu Jichen’s anger.

"Not talking about you." Shen Jianian steadied her emotions and changed her tone, "I didn’t see the caller ID just now; I thought it was someone else calling."

Knowing she left Yunding Palace and returned to Jiang City, Bai Changxia followed her words and guessed: "You thought it was Fu Jichen calling, didn’t you?"

Shen Jianian changed the subject: "Why did you call?"

"Speaking of which, have you forgotten about my wedding on National Day?" Bai Changxia sighed, "I went dress shopping for the ceremony today and no one was there to consult me; my fiancé’s taste is really off. Every one he picked, I found unattractive. In a few days, I have to choose the bridesmaid dress too; you’ll come, won’t you?"

Bai Changxia’s wedding was a big deal; Shen Jianian didn’t want her to have any regrets: "You name the day, I’ll come."

She’s free now, going wherever she wants.

Bai Changxia laughed, touched by her decisiveness: "With your word, I feel at ease. So it’s settled; you’ll help me choose a dress for the ceremony today. Didn’t have much luck picking one."

Shen Jianian agreed with her.

Bai Changxia hesitated: "You and Fu Jichen..."

"It’s all in the past." Shen Jianian said,

Bai Changxia found it a bit regrettable. Their feelings were so good before, but she could also understand Jianian. She didn’t remember, emotions are accumulated over time, not something obtained through a few words from others. Didn’t Jianian accumulate her feelings for Fu Jichen little by little before? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

She couldn’t expect herself to quickly fall in love with someone else.

"And you and Pei Che..." Bai Changxia continued hesitantly.

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Jianian’s mood was somewhat downbeat: "He’s planning to take Aunt Zhou abroad to relax." Not planning to take her.

"Then, what about you?" Bai Changxia was shocked to the point of stuttering.

Shen Jianian’s breathing was heavy: "He said, stop deceiving myself; he said, I no longer have the same affection for him as before; he said, my dependency on him for so long made me unwilling to part from him, or maybe the familial bond accumulated over three years made me unable to leave him, with everything except love."

Bai Changxia: "Is it really what he said?"

Shen Jianian had felt that her feelings for Pei Che had changed for a long time. She couldn’t tell what was different, but when Pei Che said it, it seemed that’s how it was, yet she was unwilling to admit it.

Her entire being was conflicted and tangled.

"I don’t know." Shen Jianian avoided the topic.

"What are your plans next?"

"The orchestra’s manager came to see me today; I’m planning to finish the tour in October and November first." She suddenly disappeared before, causing the orchestra’s manager to panic, fearing not having a cellist for the upcoming tour.

When the tour ends, she might find a new direction, no longer lost.

"Alright, if you need anything, call me anytime." Bai Changxia respected all her choices. Again, whether it was Fu Jichen or Pei Che, her happiness was what mattered most, "When is your orchestra’s tour? Does it clash with my wedding?"

"Starts in late October, doesn’t clash."

"That’s good."

The two chatted about other things, agreeing to meet in a few days.

Shen Jianian put down the phone, just as a knock sounded outside. She went to open the door, and Pei Che returned, dressed in a suit and shirt, with a bag of food in his hand: "Your favorite pan-fried buns. I saw they were still selling while passing by and got you a box."

"You aren’t eating? I can’t finish it by myself." Shen Jianian looked at him, noticing he was busy with work early and late these days and had grown thin.

"Then... together?" Pei Che suggested tentatively.

The two went to the terrace, the takeaway box placed on the small round table, a pair of chopsticks each.

The meat filling of the buns came with soup; one had to bite a small opening first to suck out the soup, or it would splash everywhere.

The two finished the whole box of buns, and once words were exchanged, the atmosphere changed.

Pei Che handed her a tissue: "I heard from my mom that the orchestra’s manager came home to look for you today?"

"Yes, he came to talk about the tour." Shen Jianian took the tissue and wiped her mouth full of oil, "I’ll go to Beicheng in a few days. Xiaxia is getting married on National Day, and I’ll help her pick out a dress. After attending her wedding, I’ll focus on preparing for the tour."

"Bai Changxia is getting married?" Pei Che’s tone was unexpectedly filled with a little reflection, "Unfortunately, I probably can’t go; convey my congratulations on my behalf."

Shen Jianian asked: "What about the orchestra’s tour? You’re not coming?"

Pei Che’s Adam’s apple rolled as he looked at her face in the moonlight: "I might have to be absent. Little Nian, I wish your first tour every success."

Shen Jianian choked up a bit, tilting her head back to pretend to admire the moon that wasn’t anything special before her eyes turned red.

Departure is inevitably sad.

To her, Pei Che remains someone very important in her life.