Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 288 - 270: The Man Next Door

Shen Jianian was in a hurry, and she entered the elevator without waiting for the woman to knock on the door next door.

At 6:45, Shen Jianian arrived at the hotpot restaurant where she had made an appointment with Zhao Shunyi. She had booked in advance online, so there was no need to wait for a seat; she was led directly into a private room by the waiter.

Zhao Shunyi had a special status, making it unsuitable to dine in the main hall.

At seven o’clock, Zhao Shunyi arrived right on time, rushing in with a hat, mask, sunglasses, and scarf, wrapping herself from head to toe without revealing a thing.

"When did you get here?" Zhao Shunyi asked, panting as she took off her "gear," "I’m not late, right?"

Shen Jianian pulled out a chair for her and smiled, "No, right on the dot of seven."

Zhao Shunyi plopped onto the chair, her face flushed red from the heat, "I drove here myself, the GPS led me the wrong way, and I had to make a loop to find the place."

Shen Jianian poured her a glass of plum juice, which she drank in one go, "Let’s order food."

The waiter brought the menu, and Zhao Shunyi rolled up her sweater sleeves and ordered all she wanted without the usual actress’s awareness of dieting to maintain her figure.

Shen Jianian glanced at the dishes she ordered; their tastes were quite similar, "Let’s go with these, if it’s not enough we can order more."

The waiter left, leaving only the two of them in the private room. Zhao Shunyi pulled out a hairband from her bag to tie up her hair. She was completely bare-faced today, just for the convenience of eating hotpot without the hassle of her makeup ruining from sweating.

"Did you know that the movie ’命中旋律’ is coming out on Valentine’s Day?" Zhao Shunyi said as she finished tying up her hair and poured herself another glass of plum juice.

"I saw the message in the group."

The director had mentioned the main creative team in the group chat, reminding them to free up their schedules for the upcoming promotional activities for the movie. Shen Jianian was just doing a cameo, with a pitifully small role, and didn’t need to participate in the promotional work.

Zhao Shunyi put down her glass, swallowed the plum juice in her mouth, and revealed some insider news, "I heard my agent talking today, Director Wu Heng thinks you have a good image and temperament, and wants you to participate in some shows, maybe attract some fans and add heat to the movie, but that lecherous investor put pressure on him, not only refusing to let you participate in the show, but also forbidding even the mention of your name." Saying this, Zhao Shunyi couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose and purse her lips, "That old pervert really holds grudges."

The lecherous investor referred to Boss Dong, who tried to coerce Shen Jianian but ended up being doused with wine by her instead.

Boss Dong wanted to remove Shen Jianian on the spot and make her experience the consequences of opposing him. Later, after much persuasion and considering that replacing her would be costly, along with the fact that the male lead Gu Chongli had already joined another group and had no available schedule to reshoot, Boss Dong had to compromise and keep Shen Jianian’s scenes in the movie.

But Boss Dong made it known that no crew should ever use Shen Jianian again, effectively blacklisting her.

Fortunately, since Shen Jianian had no aspirations in the entertainment industry, this had no effect on her future development.

Bringing this up, Zhao Shunyi felt regretful, resting her chin on her palm, "My agent even mentioned you, saying the industry is missing someone like you. If you came to my company, you’d definitely be popular."

Shen Jianian always felt like laughing when she heard her speak, perhaps because Zhao Shunyi had shed her glamorous celebrity facade and was essentially a cheery person, "What kind of someone like me?"

"Hard to say," Zhao Shunyi gave her a once-over, roughly summing up, "A delicate appearance with a noble and cold demeanor, the strong contrast is very mysterious, making you unique in the industry, bound to become famous sooner or later."

"Thank you for the kind words." Shen Jianian almost laughed out loud.

Zhao Shunyi huffed, "I’m not joking with you, I’m serious. If you want to enter the industry, our company can even stand up to that Boss Dong a bit. Does he really think the entertainment industry is his realm to dominate?"

The waiter came in with a cart, bringing in all the dishes they ordered, and the two chatted as they ate.

Zhao Shunyi was a chatterbox and couldn’t keep her mouth idle, sharing various entertainment industry gossip with Shen Jianian, finally circling back to Gu Chongli, "We were chatting on WeChat today, he knows I’m coming to have hotpot with you and is super jealous. He’s filming a historical drama, jumping into a lake several times in temperatures of minus seven to eight degrees, haha, how miserable."

She paused, biting her chopsticks as she looked at Shen Jianian, "Has Gu Chongli contacted you?"

"He sent a lot of messages before, but I was busy and didn’t reply, and he’s quieted down lately." Shen Jianian said honestly.

During that time, she was at the Yunding Palace, and Fu Jichen had taken her phone. Gu Chongli sent her messages almost every day, sharing things happening in the crew, but she hadn’t replied to a single one, so eventually, he waved the white flag.

Zhao Shunyi: "I almost forgot to mention, what were you busy with at the end of August and beginning of September? You didn’t reply to my messages, and I was worried something happened to you. After a long time, you finally replied, and I was relieved."

Shen Jianian chewed on a squid, her eyelids lowered, obscuring her expression, "Just a little personal matter."

It’s not that she didn’t trust Zhao Shunyi, but the situation between her and Fu Jichen was too hard to explain, and not something that could be summed up in a few words. Even she sometimes felt it was surreal.

Zhao Shunyi assumed she wasn’t comfortable sharing, so she didn’t press any further.

The two ate until nine o’clock before parting ways. They took a stroll nearby, where the Christmas spirit was everywhere, with twinkling Christmas trees, Santa Clauses hanging on walls, and Christmas songs drifting from who knows where, full of joy and bustle.

"The year went by so fast, soon it will be New Year’s Day." Zhao Shunyi spread her arms wide on the street, looking up to the sky and sighing, "What have I even done this year? It feels like I’ve done nothing at all."

As Shen Jianian watched her, she couldn’t help but think that her own year had indeed been rich with experiences, particularly in the recent few months, her life had undergone a dramatic transformation.

After feeling sentimental, Zhao Shunyi bounced back with full vigor, energetically asking Shen Jianian, "How do you plan to spend New Year’s?"

Shen Jianian just mentioned spending it with friends, coinciding with a birthday celebration.

"When’s your birthday?" Zhao Shunyi’s eyes sparkled.

"December 31st."

"That’s such a coincidence!"

Shen Jianian looked surprised, "Is your birthday on that day too?"

"Not exactly." Zhao Shunyi laughed, "I mean, it just happens to be right before New Year’s."

Shen Jianian looked slightly speechless.

Zhao Shunyi turned his head and continued to chuckle, "Can I join you guys?"

Shen Jianian welcomed him. Anyway, it was just her and Bai Changxia, and Bai Changxia was an outgoing person, so he wouldn’t have trouble getting along with Zhao Shunyi. Maybe they could even become friends.

Zhao Shunyi gave her a hug, "It’s decided then."

To familiarize himself with the route in advance, Zhao Shunyi insisted on driving Shen Jianian home. In the end, the navigation led them the wrong way, taking them down an unfamiliar road, and it was half-past ten when they finally arrived at Shen Jianian’s residential complex.

Before they parted ways, Shen Jianian sincerely suggested to him, "Don’t drive yourself next time."

Zhao Shunyi nodded obediently from the driver’s seat and then turned the car around and left.

Shen Jianian took out the cat food she had bought earlier from her bag and went to feed the cats at the flowerbed, then happily headed home.

The elevator stopped on the 20th floor, and the woman she had met once before entered, holding a plate of fragrant Western pastries. She looked the same as before, in a black long dress, flesh-colored stockings, high heels, with smooth black hair, red lips, white teeth, and a fragrance of bergamot around her.

"What a coincidence." Upon seeing Shen Jianian, the woman smiled and voluntarily explained, "I came to find your neighbor at six o’clock. She wasn’t home, so I came by again to try my luck."

Shen Jianian smiled back and casually replied, "She works very hard."

"Did she tell you that?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"Didn’t you say you’ve never seen her before?" The woman’s gaze turned peculiar.

Shen Jianian paused, unsure if it was her illusion or if the woman suddenly showed a trace of hostility towards her. She instantly lost the desire to continue the conversation.

The elevator reached the 26th floor, and the woman stepped out first, ignoring Shen Jianian, walking straight to the door and knocking gently.

Shen Jianian slowly walked to her own door, fumbled in her bag for a while, found her key, and turned it twice in the lock until the door opened.

There was still no response from next door, which Shen Jianian had gotten used to.

The woman, however, wasn’t used to it, facing two closed doors in a row. She was a bit annoyed and turned to ask Shen Jianian, who was about to enter, "When does your neighbor usually get off work?"

The last time she ran into that man in the elevator was after ten, and now it’s past ten-thirty. No way he wasn’t back yet.

"I don’t know." Shen Jianian didn’t lie; she still hadn’t figured out her neighbor’s schedule.

"Well..." The woman’s brows furrowed as she awkwardly asked, "But you must know whether he’s living alone or with his girlfriend, right?"

She had observed last time that the man wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but whether he had a girlfriend was unclear.

Girlfriend?

Shen Jianian ran those three words through her mind, unsure if it was her or the woman who’s mixed up. Shen Jianian pointed to the tightly closed gray door next door, looking astounded, "Isn’t my neighbor an aunt?"

The woman’s expression was even more astonished than hers, "How is that possible? I clearly saw a man... Wait, have you actually seen your neighbor?"

Shen Jianian: "No."

The woman rolled her eyes, never having had such a hard time communicating with someone before, wondering if the girl had some kind of issue, "Forget it, I can’t explain this to you."

Shen Jianian entered her home in a daze, locked the door, and leaned against the door panel to think over the woman’s words.

She wasn’t mistaken; the woman said she saw a man with her own eyes.

The person living next to her wasn’t an aunt, but a man?!

This was a bit unsettling.