Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 279 - 261: Attending the Wedding

"Why did you run when you saw him?" Bai Changxia panted heavily, trying to move her legs, "Doesn’t this just make you seem more guilty?"

Shen Jianian pulled her into the elevator and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Changxia placed one hand on her waist and the other on the rail inside the cabin, "I really don’t understand you."

"I don’t want to see him." Shen Jianian’s voice was muffled.

Fu Jichen slowed his steps as he looked towards the direction of the elevator, eventually coming to a complete stop.

In the morning, Zheng Yi called him to report that Shen Jianian had arrived in Beicheng and returned home with Bai Changxia. Three hours ago, Zheng Yi called again, saying Shen Jianian and Bai Changxia were at a branded store in Baolong Mall picking out dresses.

Half an hour ago, Zheng Yi called once more, saying Shen Jianian and Bai Changxia were in a coffee shop on the first floor of the mall, chatting while drinking coffee.

Unable to suppress his desire to see her, he thought of a legitimate reason in the shortest time possible and gathered his subordinates for a work inspection at the mall.

Fortunately, Baolong Mall belongs to Jun Mountain.

The scenario Fu Jichen imagined for their meeting was that Shen Jianian would pretend not to know him, calmly brushing past him without giving him a second glance.

In reality, she fled, hastily fled.

Was it necessary to panic so much upon seeing him?

Was she afraid he might capture her again and lock her up like before?

He wouldn’t do that again.

Fu Jichen felt a bit regretful, as he hadn’t even gotten a good look at her before she disappeared from his sight. He restrained himself from impulsively chasing after her. If he chased her, it would appear deliberate, and she would only flee farther.

"Mr. Chen?" A subordinate noticed the boss stopping and called out softly.

Fu Jichen snapped back to reality, glanced at his watch, and realized it was almost dinner time. He had never inspected the mall at this hour before, leaving everyone guessing his intentions.

That was indeed the case.

Upon hearing that the group president unexpectedly came to inspect the mall, the manager was so nervous he broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn’t received any prior internal news and assumed there was some violation inside the mall, bombarding the work group chat with dozens of messages instructing everyone to perform checks; if anything violated the rules, they shouldn’t come tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Shen Jianian went upstairs and arbitrarily hid in a store without noticing it was a lingerie shop. She stood facing the racks filled with bras and panties, causing the staff to look at her several more times: "Ma’am, would you like any assistance?"

Bai Changxia stifled her laughter until it practically caused internal damage; she’d never seen Shen Jianian avoid someone like a mouse seeing a cat after knowing her for so many years.

Shen Jianian smiled at the staff, "No need for an introduction right now, I’ll take a look myself," and then shot Bai Changxia a warning look.

The staff made a "please proceed" gesture and quietly walked away.

Bai Changxia squeezed next to Shen Jianian and whispered, "Why are you hiding here? The mall is so big, how’s it possible to run into him again?"

It can’t be said for certain; Shen Jianian saw Fu Jichen on the first floor, with a group of elite men in suits clearly inspecting the mall, and perhaps they’re still on the first floor. If they went down now, they might bump into them.

Sometimes things are just that coincidental, and it’s hard not to believe it.

If not, how did she run into Fu Jichen on her first day in Beicheng?

Bai Changxia suggested: "If you don’t want to see him, we can take the elevator to the underground parking lot and leave from there to avoid running into him."

Shen Jianian blinked, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that. Maybe she was too flustered for her mind to work.

"Excuse me, could you please find these two sets in the right size?"

Shen Jianian stayed in the store for a good while and felt embarrassed leaving empty-handed, so she called over a staff member and bought two sets of lingerie, giving one set to Bai Changxia.

The two took the elevator to the basement level and exited the stuffy parking lot, breathing in the fresh air outside. Shen Jianian felt a sense of renewal, but the next second, Bai Changxia revealed a harsh truth: "Don’t you think Fu Jichen appeared here for you?"

Shen Jianian looked at her, puzzled by her reasoning.

"Things aren’t that coincidental," Bai Changxia glanced at her phone for the time, "What boss comes to inspect work at six in the evening?"

Shen Jianian: "Couldn’t he have finished inspecting other malls and arrived here at this time by coincidence?"

Bai Changxia was swayed by her words.

*

The wedding was set for October 4th, at five in the morning, Bai Changxia got up to wash and was seated by the stylist at the dressing table for makeup. At ten past eight, the groom arrived with his party to pick up the bride.

The sole bridesmaid was Shen Jianian; there wasn’t an overly complicated door-blocking ritual, but Shen Jianian discussed with Bai Changxia the night before to create a questionnaire for the groom to answer on-site. He needed a score of ninety out of a hundred to open the door.

Every question was related to Bai Changxia, mainly to test how well the groom knew the bride, and indirectly verify if he cared about her.

The door opened a crack, and Shen Jianian handed the test paper out.

Twenty minutes later, the groom finished the test, knocked on the door, and Shen Jianian opened it, holding a red pen, and publicly started grading the paper.

Even though the door was open, the groom and his groomsmen waited outside like gentlemen, not noisily barging in.

Shen Jianian finally wrote a big 98 points on the paper, and Zhu Qisen craned his neck, feeling unconvinced for not getting a full score, "Mr. Shen, may I know where the two points were deducted?"

"Xiaxia said, even if you got them all right, two points should be deducted, fearing you’d get too proud, so you can maintain humility," Shen Jianian answered seriously.

Several groomsmen laughed.

Zhu Qisen nodded with a smile, looking humbly receptive to the advice.

Shen Jianian stepped aside, letting them in, "Go fetch Xiaxia."

Zhu Qisen successfully met Bai Changxia, knelt on one knee, and put the wedding shoes on her. Bai Changxia took the opportunity to ask him, "How much did you score on that test? Not just barely enough to meet the door-opening standard, right?"

The door-opening standard was ninety points.

Zhu Qisen looked up, proudly said, "Wasn’t it you who said two points should be deducted from my score?"

Bai Changxia smiled gently, it seemed he had scored full marks.

After offering tea to the father-in-law, Zhu Qisen carried Bai Changxia, and a group of people grandly headed to the hotel for the wedding banquet.

In the banquet hall, the place was packed with people, both families had many relatives, with over thirty tables fully arranged.

Bai Changxia had previously told the host not to set up any emotional segments; she wanted a romantic and calm atmosphere, not wanting to watch wedding videos later and see herself crying with smeared makeup.

The music started, Bai Changxia, wearing a white veil, walked down the long red carpet holding her father’s hand.

Shen Jianian sat at the best spot, watching with tears in her eyes. She had once fantasized about her wedding, with her dad in a handsome suit, smiling and leading her to her other half.

The wedding was as Bai Changxia had hoped, romantic and beautiful, without tear-jerking segments, or nonsensical humor, and both the couple and the guests enjoyed it immensely.

Shen Jianian delivered the wedding rings, her eyes still glistening with tears, and said to Bai Changxia, "Be happy."

Bai Changxia hugged her and replied, "You too."

When it was time to toss the bouquet, Bai Changxia directly handed over the beautifully arranged bunch of white roses to Shen Jianian, winking at her.

Shen Jianian held the bouquet, turned away to wipe her tears, both crying and laughing.

About to open the dinner, Bai Changxia went to the room upstairs to change into her toasting dress, Shen Jianian followed her, bringing a bunch of food so she wouldn’t get weak from hunger while walking around later.

Bai Changxia seized every moment to fill her stomach, eating egg dumpling after egg dumpling, her cheeks puffing up: "No wonder, it’s the menu I personally tested, truly delicious. You must eat more later." The egg skin was soft and resilient, with minced meat mixed with lotus root inside, giving it a crispy and rich taste.

Shen Jianian laughed beside her, still holding the bouquet, white roses matching perfectly with her pink satin gown.

After a short break, Zhu Qisen came to knock on the door, Bai Changxia was still eating, so Shen Jianian went to open it. Zhu Qisen’s expression was a bit subtle when he saw her.

"Xiaxia will be ready soon, you can wait a bit," Shen Jianian didn’t notice his odd look.

"Um, just to let you know, an important guest has arrived outside, you..." Zhu Qisen scratched his head, not knowing how to continue.

They had come to offer their congratulations; he couldn’t possibly turn them away, not to mention, he didn’t have the courage to do so.

Junshan Group had business dealings with his company, and he was just a VP at the company, unlikely to have enough of a connection to make the head of Junshan come to his wedding.

He was aware of the affair between his wife’s best friend and the head of Junshan; it was obvious they had come for her.

On one hand, there was an intimidating guest he couldn’t afford to offend, and on the other, his wife’s best friend, leaving Zhu Qisen very troubled.

"What important guest?" Bai Changxia heard from the room, lifted her skirt and walked barefoot to the door, still with an egg dumpling in her mouth.

Zhu Qisen glanced at Shen Jianian’s face and said, "The one from Junshan Group."

Bai Changxia choked slightly, "Fu Jichen? What’s he doing here?"

Zhu Qisen licked his lips: "Already in the banquet hall, and I’ve arranged a seat at the main table."

Bai Changxia’s eyes darkened, the main table had a seat, one she had specifically reserved for Jianian.