Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 390 - 3: Becoming a Dad

Shen Jianian opened her mouth, but didn’t know how to tell him the news.

After a few seconds, not seeing Shen Jianian take anything out, Fu Jichen’s expectation turned to gentle amusement, and he proactively asked, "Where’s the gift you prepared?"

Shen Jianian grabbed his right hand and placed it on her lower abdomen. She had already changed out of her performance dress and was now wearing a soft off-white knitted sweater and a cashmere shawl.

The man’s broad palm, separated by a thin layer of fabric, could feel the warmth of her skin, yet he didn’t think much of it: "Did you tuck the gift in your clothes?"

No wonder he didn’t notice, it turned out she hid the gift under the shawl.

As he finished speaking, Fu Jichen attempted to explore but didn’t find anything; instead, his fingers touched her smooth and firm belly.

Shen Jianian sighed inwardly, wondering how someone usually so intelligent could be so slow when it came to serious matters.

"Are you messing with me?" Fu Jichen was sure he didn’t feel anything and assumed she was joking. His thin lips curled up as he laughed along, "Quite creative."

Shen Jianian: "..."

In this short moment, the car drove through the gate of the Yunding Palace Villa and stopped under the porch.

Qu Mo sensibly got out of the car, a cigarette in his mouth, and walked away. The two clearly had something to say, and he didn’t want to be a third wheel.

Only the two of them were left in the car, and it was so quiet that even the sound of the wind rustling the leaves in the courtyard seemed distant.

Shen Jianian placed her hand over Fu Jichen’s on the back of his hand, resisting the urge to call him an idiot: "I wasn’t teasing you, I really do have the gift with me."

Upon hearing this, Fu Jichen turned his whole body around, even turning on the car’s reading light. The warm yellow glow illuminated her face, making her expression clear.

What’s going on? She seemed a bit... nervous and a little shy?

Fu Jichen thought he must have been mistaken. She was just giving a gift, why would she be nervous or shy?

"You’re so clueless." Shen Jianian waited a moment, ran out of patience for him to figure it out himself, pushed his hand away, her bright eyes like stars, and said softly, "You’re going to be a father. The gift I’m talking about is our child; he’s coming."

In an instant, Fu Jichen seemed to be under a freezing spell, his whole body stiffened, motionless, gazing blankly at the person before him, but his mind was the opposite of his blank expression, a chaotic mess repeatedly pondering Shen Jianian’s words.

It wasn’t difficult to understand, yet he kept thinking about it for a long time.

Did Jianian say he was going to be a father?

They have a child?

When did this happen?

How long has it been?

Why didn’t he know before?

...

Countless questions filled Fu Jichen’s mind like cotton, leaving him unable to recover for a long time.

Before Shen Jianian revealed this news, she had imagined many possible reactions Fu Jichen might have, but his actual reaction exceeded her expectations.

Wise and steady Mr. Fu suddenly appeared as foolish as ever, even his gaze seemed to lack intelligence.

"Did you hear what I said clearly?" Shen Jianian couldn’t help but break the quiet atmosphere in the car.

It was supposed to be joyful news, but Fu Jichen’s response was somewhat amusing.

Seeing he was still unresponsive, Shen Jianian raised her small hand and waved it back and forth before his eyes, laughingly saying, "Sir, are you a wooden man?"

Fu Jichen’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, his Adam’s apple moved a couple of times, and the hand that had been pushed away once again touched her lower abdomen, which was still flat and felt no different from before. But since she said their child was inside, he felt differently.

The feeling was novel, something he had never experienced before. The little life connecting him and her was growing inside her, bit by bit, and in a few months would be born, growing up to call him daddy and her mommy.

At this moment, Fu Jichen was abruptly reminded that it wasn’t his first time becoming a father; he and Jianian once had another child. However, by the time he knew of that child’s existence, it was already gone, leaving him with endless sorrow, regret, and remorse.

That regret was lifelong, something he could never make up for.

Shen Jianian noticed that Fu Jichen’s expression gradually turned odd; the joy in his eyes was somehow replaced by sadness and pain, as if recalling something sorrowful.

She was about to ask him what was wrong, but in the next moment, she clearly saw his eyes turn red, so the words she had prepared remained unspoken.

Shen Jianian still didn’t know that she had once lost a child, so naturally, she didn’t understand why Fu Jichen was sad. She didn’t ask, thought alone for a long time, and guessed he might have been reminded of his own past.

She threw herself into his arms and hugged him, offering comfort: "No matter what happens, you have me, and our baby."

Fu Jichen didn’t explain the reason for his loss of control, nor could he. He wrapped his arms around her back, buried his face deep into her shoulder, closed his eyes tightly, and hot tears rolled from the corners into Shen Jianian’s dark hair.

The two embraced silently, unsure how much time had passed, as the wind outside the window gradually grew louder, and there seemed to be a pitter-patter sound, like water droplets striking the leaves.

Shen Jianian lifted her head slightly from Fu Jichen’s embrace, looked out of the car window, and frowned: "It seems to be raining again."

An autumn rain brings a chill; after this rain, the temperature would drop again. Shen Jianian hated the cold air, especially in winter, yet she liked the snow.

"Let’s go inside." Fu Jichen said hoarsely, "You’re tired from the day, let’s rest early." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Fu Jichen’s emotions returned to normal, showing no signs of having secretly shed tears. Once the redness in his eyes faded, he was still the rational and calm man he always was.

As he pushed open the car door, a gust of cold wind hit them. Fu Jichen tightened the shawl around Shen Jianian, holding her as they entered the house.

Usually, at this time, Cheng Jin would have gone to bed. Upon hearing the car stop from the servant’s room, she put on a robe to take a look.

She sat alone waiting in the living room for a long time, and just as she was about to return to her room to sleep, the door opened.

The two greeted Cheng Jin. Fu Jichen had initially planned to give instructions the next day, but since he met Aunt Cheng now, he took the opportunity to inform her of what he could think of: "Tomorrow, find a few more people to clean the entire villa thoroughly. Wrap the sharp corners with soft materials. Put down rugs and ensure proper heating facilities are in place. Also, spend the next few days screening and hiring an additional nutritionist, preferably one skilled in preparing pregnancy nutrition meals."

After a pause, Fu Jichen spoke softly: "That’s all for now. If there’s anything else to add later, I’ll let you know."

Afraid of forgetting, Cheng Jin concentrated fully, and upon hearing the words "preferably skilled in preparing pregnancy nutrition meals," she finally understood the reason for his late-night instructions.

Cheng Jin turned her gaze to Shen Jianian, who was wrapped up like a dumpling, eyes full of joy: "Jianian is pregnant?"

Shen Jianian blushed, since they hadn’t received a confirmed test result yet. She cautiously replied, "We haven’t gone to the hospital for a check-up yet. We used a pregnancy test today."

Fu Jichen, reminded by her words, immediately took out his phone and made a call, arranging the hospital visit for the next day in a few words.

"If the pregnancy test shows it, it must be right," Cheng Jin said with a smile. "That’s wonderful. Our home will be livelier with another member."

It was getting late, and it wasn’t convenient to say more, so Fu Jichen took Shen Jianian upstairs to rest.

"When did you find out?" Lying in bed after showering, both of them were slightly sleepless, so Fu Jichen decided to chat with Shen Jianian.

"I’ve had a poor appetite recently; I thought it was due to fatigue. Today it felt particularly strong. I barely ate anything at the station at noon and thought I’d eat well after the performance during the dinner, but felt nauseous after just a few bites." Shen Jianian was a bit excited, spoke more than usual, and described in detail, "Xiaxia accompanied me to the restroom, and she was the one who suspected it first, asking when my last period was. That’s when I remembered it had been about ten days late, and she happened to have a... pregnancy test on her, so I tried it, and it showed two lines."

Shen Jianian stuck her hand out from under the blanket, making a V sign, emphasizing: "Two very clear lines."

Fu Jichen grabbed her hand and tucked it back under the blanket, smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist, adjusted the grip from too tight to too loose, until he found a comfortable position.

"You’ve been busy with rehearsals lately, so we’ve had little time to eat together. Otherwise, I would have noticed." Fu Jichen felt a bit afraid, thinking it was good they found out early and nothing serious happened, "Oh no!"

His sudden exclamation startled Shen Jianian, and her expression became serious immediately: "What is it?"

"At the dinner table, did you drink wine?" Fu Jichen suddenly remembered this, becoming tense.

Someone had poured her wine, and she declined. At the time, he wasn’t aware of her pregnancy and had said a little wine was fine, even joked about her getting drunk and him taking care of her...

She was pregnant; how could she drink alcohol!

Fu Jichen furrowed his brows, his face full of regret. Bai Changxia had guessed right: if he had known Jianian was pregnant, he would regret those words.

Shen Jianian clicked her tongue lightly, the tension in her body dissipating: "I thought you were going to say something else, scared me for a moment. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink a drop of that wine. It’s not like I don’t know pregnant women shouldn’t drink. Of course, I’d be careful."

She stuck her hand out of the blanket again, shaped it into a hollow fist, and mimicked bringing it to her mouth: "When I pretended to drink the wine, I was just sipping air, my lips didn’t touch the wine, you get it?"

The heavy stone in Fu Jichen’s heart fell away, and he pinched her chin, praising: "You’re so clever."

"Of course." Shen Jianian was wide awake, becoming more energized as they talked, her black and white eyes rolled half a circle, "Do you think everyone is as clueless as you? I was hinting so much in the car, and you didn’t catch on. I was mentally calling you an idiot at the time."