Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 290 - 272: Cooking for Her

After chatting with Bai Changxia, Shen Jianian secretly deleted the post praising the "neighborly aunt" from her social media. Although her feed was set to be visible for only three days, after which others wouldn’t see it, she didn’t want to leave evidence of her foolishness.

Just as she was about to fall asleep on the sofa, there was a knock on the door from outside.

Dragging her lazy body to the hallway, Shen Jianian squinted through the peephole with one eye and saw Aunt Cheng, wearing a maroon hat, full of smiles.

Shen Jianian sighed and opened the door.

Cheng Jin’s face, full of smiles, suddenly turned awkward. She felt it wasn’t quite ethical to keep Jianian in the dark along with Mr. Fu, and seeing her, she now realized the embarrassment.

"In such cold weather, why did you come in person?" Shen Jianian bent down and pulled out a new pair of women’s slippers from the shoe cabinet for Cheng Jin.

She hadn’t expected Fu Jichen to be serious.

"It’s not that cold." Cheng Jin put on the slippers and came in, again smiling brightly, "I made breakfast at the villa, and the driver drove me over."

Shen Jianian closed the door, turned around, and looked at her, "Have you come like this the last few times too, cooking and then coming over by car?" That seemed too troublesome for her.

"The kitchen next door is fully equipped. After I come over, I cook there and then leave it at your door." Since Jianian had already seen through Mr. Fu’s tricks, she didn’t hide it anymore.

Cheng Jin added another sentence, "It was Mr. Fu who told me not to tell you. He said if you knew it was from him, you definitely wouldn’t eat it."

Now it was Shen Jianian’s turn to look awkward, touching her nose.

Cheng Jin poured out the food she brought, packed in a thermos, and laid it on the dining table: "Come eat quickly. There’s your favorite pan-fried dumplings; they won’t be crispy if left too long."

While Shen Jianian was having breakfast, Cheng Jin tidied up the living room. She didn’t touch other areas since she hadn’t received permission.

"Aunt Cheng, why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit?" Shen Jianian said, eating seafood porridge and turning to the busy figure.

"Oh, sure." Cheng Jin responded verbally, but her hands didn’t stop, "Actually, there’s not much to do all day at Yunding Palace’s villa, especially after you moved out. Mr. Fu doesn’t live there much either. When I’m too free, it feels uncomfortable all over."

Shen Jianian didn’t reply, and Cheng Jin continued speaking on her own accord: "On the night you left, I got up to drink water in the middle of the night, heard the dog barking in the front yard, went out and took a look, saw the light was still on in Mr. Fu’s room on the third floor. It was past three in the morning then. The next morning, when I went up to clean, the ashtray was full of cigarette butts; he smoked a whole pack in one night, as if he didn’t want to live..."

She wouldn’t dare say these words in front of Fu Jichen.

Holding the spoon, Shen Jianian paused but still didn’t respond.

"After you left, Mr. Fu moved to an apartment closer to the company, occasionally going back to Yunding Palace." Cheng Jin, folding the blanket on the sofa while chattering, "That morning he called me, sounding anxious, asking me to come cook. I was puzzled why he had changed places again. He instructed to cook some light and nutritious food for a patient, I thought he was sick. After asking, I found out you were living next door, he moved because of you."

A bowl of seafood porridge, by the end, had lost its flavor in her mouth, Shen Jianian pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth and leaned back in the chair in a daze.

*

At six in the afternoon, Fu Jichen returned, came out of the elevator, didn’t go back to his place, and went to knock on Shen Jianian’s door.

Since he’d already been discovered, there was no need to continue hiding.

Shen Jianian saw it was him outside the door and didn’t open it.

Fu Jichen knew she was home, knocked twice more, cleared his throat, and said, "Open the door, let’s talk."

Through the door, Shen Jianian replied, "We have nothing to talk about."

Fu Jichen not only wasn’t discouraged, but felt like laughing; her demeanor was like that of a sulking child, how could he take issue with her?

Compared to her being alive, everything else was secondary. Even if one day she caused a huge fuss, he’d think it wasn’t a big deal, he could bear it.

Fu Jichen held one hand on the door, compromising: "If you insist on talking to me like this, so be it." He nodded to himself, his handsome face accompanied by a lazy smile, adding a touch of a rakish and uninhibited demeanor, quite different from his usual stern manner.

"Have you had dinner?" He maintained this posture, engaging in casual chat with her.

Shen Jianian, for some reason, suddenly opened the door. Fu Jichen, caught off guard, leaned forward, stumbling in. Shen Jianian took a step back to avoid being caught in the commotion.

Fu Jichen barely steadied himself, his expression slightly teasing: "Deliberate?"

Shen Jianian really didn’t do it on purpose; who knew he’d be leaning his weight on the door.

"Fu Jichen, what exactly do you want? You can live next door if you want, I’ll just consider it as having an extra neighbor, but can’t you be a bit more aware as a neighbor?"

"What awareness should a neighbor have?" Fu Jichen was confused, seeking her advice humbly, "Is this neighbor not good to you? Bringing you three meals a day when you’re sick..."

"Shut up, shut up." Shen Jianian’s voice was anxious, her face turning red.

"Shen Jianian, why are you still asking what exactly I want to do?" Fu Jichen followed her lead and stopped mentioning her illness, instead answering her other question, "I’ve made it very clear to you, and I’ve said it many times. I want to pursue you. Whether you agree or not is up to you."

Shen Jianian: "No one pursues people like you."

"Then how should I pursue you?" Fu Jichen was about to burst into laughter, "Teach me."

Shen Jianian really wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn’t. She just secretly took a deep breath, then calmly said, "We’ve talked enough. You can leave my house now."

Fu Jichen had no intention of leaving: "Have you had dinner?" He circled back to the original topic, glancing down at his watch.

"No." Shen Jianian didn’t know why she answered him instead of using a broom to chase him out.

Fu Jichen took off his coat: "What are you planning to eat?"

Shen Jianian widened her eyes, watching him step familiarly into her living room and head towards the kitchen after asking the question.

Before reaching the kitchen, Fu Jichen suddenly realized something, stopped in his tracks, and looked at the floor: "Was the floor just mopped?" He retraced his steps, opened the door, and told Shen Jianian, "Wait a moment."

To prevent Shen Jianian from locking him out, he took off his watch and placed it on the cabinet in her entryway.

Fu Jichen went next door to his own place, brought over a pair of slippers, changed into them, and strutted around her home with ease.

"What are you doing?" Shen Jianian watched him wide-eyed as he not only took off his coat but also his suit jacket in her home.

It was cold; Fu Jichen was wearing a vest under his suit, and the shirt was dark gray with subtle stripes, a very gentlemanly attire. He unbuttoned his cufflinks, folded up his sleeves neatly, and opened the two doors of the refrigerator, giving it a quick scan.

"Wait a moment." Fu Jichen said again, then went next door and brought back two steaks and some fresh vegetables from his own fridge.

Shen Jianian planned to cook a packet of instant noodles for dinner, maybe add a fried egg and a few slices of luncheon meat, and this development was beyond her expectations.

She realized Fu Jichen’s intention: "Are you going to cook here?"

Could he even cook?

Looking at his pampered demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who could cook.

He wouldn’t blow up her kitchen, right?

This was a rented house, and blowing up the kitchen would be a big problem.

"Fu Jichen, can you please leave my house?" Shen Jianian repeated her request.

Fu Jichen ignored her, washed his hands, poured olive oil over the steaks, sprinkled black pepper, and left them to marinate on a plate. It seemed like he knew what he was doing.

He actually couldn’t cook, otherwise he wouldn’t have called Aunt Cheng to come over that day.

But he could pan-fry steak.

The only skill he wanted to showcase in front of Shen Jianian.

Only eating steak seemed a bit plain, so Fu Jichen turned to ask Shen Jianian, "Bring me the iPad."

Shen Jianian brought the iPad from the living room sofa to him. He searched in the browser for how to make Bolognese spaghetti and creamy mushroom soup. Shen Jianian remained expressionless; what was the difference between him and her following a recipe? He might even be worse than her.

"Are there tomatoes in the fridge?" Fu Jichen hadn’t looked carefully just now.

Shen Jianian found two tomatoes from the fridge for him. The next second, she realized something was wrong. Why was she even listening to him: "Fu Jichen, if you want to cook, why don’t you go back to your own home?"

Fu Jichen reviewed the tutorial and placed the iPad on the counter, convenient for checking the steps at any time: "Do you want to eat at my place?"

Shen Jianian was annoyed: "Don’t twist my words, I had no such intention."

Fu Jichen leaned back against the counter. He was tall, and his head touched the hanging kitchen cabinet. He looked at her with bright eyes, hiding a playful smile, the kind of smile that teases people: "Last time you brought food you made to a neighbor, reciprocation means as a neighbor, I should let you taste my cooking."

Shen Jianian wanted to shove the tomatoes into his mouth. Can’t he stop bringing that up?

Will it ever end?

"Shen Jianian, I’ll say it one last time. I’m serious about pursuing you." Fu Jichen took her arm, pulling her into his embrace. The moment their eyes met, his heartbeat quickened, "You’re not entirely indifferent to me, right? Your behavior of resisting my closeness only proves that I matter to you. Only those who truly don’t care remain unmoved."

Shen Jianian frowned, wanting to pull away. She felt that as long as she got close to him, there was a sense of danger, a kind of impending loss of control.

Fu Jichen only tightened his grip around her waist, lowered his head, and kissed the center of her forehead with a cherished intent: "Don’t push me away, try to let things happen naturally, okay?"