The plane was out of the question; Shen Jianian refused to cooperate, and before she could enter the airport lobby, she was already calling for help from passersby, claiming she was being kidnapped.
Passersby cast curious glances; a strikingly handso man holding a woman in a wedding dress—no matter how one looked, it didn’t seem like a kidnapping but rather young people playing at sothing whimsical.
With a darkened face, Fu Jichen picked her up and stuffed her back into the car, choosing another path: "Drive back."
Qu Mo and Zheng Yi heard his words and got into the car one after the other.
Qu Mo started the car without a word, glanced at the fuel gauge, turned on the navigation, inputted the destination, and planned to fill up the tank first nearby.
Driving from Jiang City back to Beicheng would take at least fourteen hours.
Shen Jianian yelled at Fu Jichen without caring about her image: "You’re out of your mind! I’m telling you, this is kidnapping! Don’t give a chance, or I’ll definitely report you and have you thrown in jail!"
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Zheng Yi felt like laughing. He used to pick up and drop off Shen Jianian at Yan Qiusheng’s Half Mountain Villa for piano lessons, and although he spent quite so ti with her, he had never seen her lose her temper. She was always calm and composed, gentle and dignified. Now, seeing her so frantic, it was clear she had been pushed to her limits.
Fu Jichen listened to her threats, his expression unchanged, leaning back: "Go ahead and report ."
"Give my phone!" Shen Jianian extended a hand toward him, full of anger.
Fu Jichen glanced at her, wanting to know how long she intended to punish him before acknowledging him. Until then, he wouldn’t let her go free: "No."
"You’re really sick." No matter how furious she was, Shen Jianian could only hurl these sa insults.
Fu Jichen held her hand, pulling her closer: "Aren’t you thirsty after saying so much?"
"Let go of !" Shen Jianian slapped his hand.
Fu Jichen kept hold of her hand, his knuckles reddening from her hits. He seed unfazed by the pain, using his other hand to open the car’s mini fridge, taking out a bottle of pure water, placing the bottom on his lap, unscrewing it with one hand, and held it out to her: "Drink so water."
Shen Jianian didn’t buy his gesture. Just seeing his face made her angry, making her wish she could break the car window and jump out.
"Drink so; your mouth must be dry." Fu Jichen pushed the bottle of water closer to her.
Shen Jianian swatted it away, causing water to spill over him, staining his black suit with wet patches and also splashing on his pants.
Shen Jianian’s breath caught.
The mory of Fu Jichen hitting Pei Che lingered in her mind, making her fear he might retaliate in anger.
However, Fu Jichen rely glanced down at the ss on him, his expression unchanged. He screwed the cap back on the bottle, returned it, undid his suit buttons, removed it carelessly, tossed it by his legs, his white shirt underneath outlining his broad shoulders and slender waist.
Next, Fu Jichen unfastened his shirt cuffs, rolling them up his forearms.
Shen Jianian noticed a flash of gold on his pale wrist. Upon closer inspection, he was wearing a thin gold chain, adorned with a small, delicate pendant. With his hand moving around, she couldn’t make out what the pendant was.
She had only seen n wear beaded bracelets; such a bracelet on a man was rare and drew her attention.
Shen Jianian subconsciously reached out to her own wrist, the thin chain grazing the pads of her fingers. She didn’t want to admit it, but the bracelet Fu Jichen wore looked very similar to hers.
Fu Jichen could never guess what was on her mind, slowly tidying up the other sleeve, and glanced at her with a calm voice, not the slightest bit angry: "Let know if you’re thirsty."
Shen Jianian no longer argued with him, knowing whatever she said would go unheard. He would still control her according to his own will. It was better to save her energy and think about what to do next.
The madman surnad Fu was taking her back to Beicheng. He couldn’t possibly keep her tied by his side forever; there would always be a chance to escape.
Shen Jianian subtly moved toward the car door, distancing herself from him, facing the window, and closed her eyes.
As she cald down, a wave of exhaustion washed over her, though she dared not sleep with three strange n in the car, she couldn’t feel safe.
Curling herself up in the seat, she remained still for a long ti. Fu Jichen, thinking she had fallen asleep, picked up his suit, unfolded it, and covered her with it. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder wedding dress, her shoulders exposed in the air-conditioned car, easily catching cold. Fu Jichen tugged the lapels of the suit higher to shield her bare shoulders.
Shen Jianian hadn’t fallen asleep; she was aware of everything Fu Jichen did. The suit over her body was notably more comfortable than her skin directly eting the cold air.
She couldn’t quite understand her feelings; Fu Jichen was like a bundle of contradictions, both stern and gentle at the sa ti.
After covering her with the suit, Fu Jichen didn’t imdiately withdraw his hand but let it linger at her jawline, fingers tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, his gaze fixed on her profile.
Shen Jianian’s body went rigid, her breathing a bit disrupted.
After a long pause, Fu Jichen made no further move, but let out a low sigh.
That sigh held much resignation, perhaps other deep anings that Shen Jianian couldn’t decipher.
Shen Jianian rembered what Fu Jichen just told her, he had been searching for her for a long ti. Once he is certain she is not the one he is looking for, will he let her go?
With this thought, the unease in Shen Jianian’s heart slightly lessened, but it could not be completely eliminated.
*
Qu Mo and Zheng Yi took turns driving. A little after three in the morning, they finally arrived in Beicheng.
In those dozen hours, Fu Jichen hadn’t closed his eyes, and his gaze never left Shen Jianian’s face for a mont. Even though she deliberately turned her back to him, from his angle he could only see a small portion of her profile.
That was enough for him.
In the middle of the journey, Fu Jichen asked Shen Jianian if she was hungry or thirsty. Shen Jianian seed to have found a new way to confront him—refusing to eat, drink, or talk to him.
When they passed a service station and she went to the restroom, Fu Jichen stood guarding outside, grabbing her hand the first mont she ca out, not giving her a chance to escape.
It was Zheng Yi who was driving at the ti, and in a low voice, he asked Fu Jichen which residence to return to.
In the three years Shen Jianian was gone, Fu Jichen spent half of his ti living in a high-end apartnt near the Junshan Headquarters.
"Return to Yunding Palace," Fu Jichen’s voice resonated in the silence of the car.
Shen Jianian, whose mind was muddled from drowsiness, was startled into alertness upon hearing this. "Yunding Palace" sounded like the na of a residential area. She did not know what Fu Jichen intended to do by taking her there and had to remain on guard.
In sumr, the sky brightens early. When they returned to Yunding Palace, the horizon was emitting a faint gray-white light.
The dogs raised at the villa heard the commotion and started barking wildly, waking the lightly sleeping Cheng Jin. She ca out from the servants’ quarters and saw through the floor-to-ceiling windows that a car had parked in the yard, and the headlights had just gone out.
Cheng Jin went back to her room, threw on a thin coat, and opened the front door.
Three dium-sized dogs squeezed out through the crack of the door, barking and running.
The car’s rear door opened, and Fu Jichen got out first. The three dogs recognized their master and stopped barking, wagging their tails enthusiastically at Fu Jichen. It had been a while since they had seen him, and the three dogs were particularly excited, jumping up towards his trouser legs.
Several paw prints appeared on the dress pants.
Fu Jichen scolded softly, and the three dogs behaved, stopping their pouncing, though still very excited, their tails wagging non-stop and making whining noises.
Cheng Jin walked over; she had gone to bed early and didn’t feel tired after waking up. She opened her mouth to ask Fu Jichen if he wanted to eat sothing before resting but found there was another woman in the car, and for a mont, her words stuck in her throat, unable to co out.
Yunding Palace had only ever housed one Shen Jianian. The gentleman had never brought another woman to stay over, so seeing a scene like this was inevitably surprising for Cheng Jin.
However, the real surprise lay ahead; the gentleman bent down to carry the woman out of the car with utmost gentleness.
The woman had long disheveled hair and wore a white satin gown, exquisite and luxurious. Although it was called a gown, to Cheng Jin, it looked more like a wedding dress.
Fu Jichen took steps toward the house without changing his shoes and headed straight for the elevator.
Cheng Jin, bewildered, followed him in, hearing the gentleman instruct her just before entering the elevator: "Cook sothing, according to Jianian’s previous tastes."
With a belly full of confusion, Cheng Jin responded, "Alright."
The elevator reached the third floor. Fu Jichen walked out and, looking down, asked the person in his arms, "Do you want to stay in your old bedroom or mine?"
Shen Jianian pursed her lips and ignored him. Having been inexplicably brought from Jiang City to Beicheng and to this villa, she was too angry to have any temper left.
This seed to be his private place. She really couldn’t figure out what he intended, locking her up here perhaps?
Seeing her not speaking, Fu Jichen followed his heart and carried her into his own bedroom.
The dark-thed decor ca into view, and it was impossible for Shen Jianian not to feel nervous. A bedroom is such a private place, her anxiety multiplying exponentially.
Fu Jichen placed her on the bed, and Shen Jianian imdiately crossed her arms over her chest, pushing against the mattress with her feet to retreat, looking at him defensively.
After being repeatedly hurt by her words and actions, Fu Jichen’s heart was already in tatters. He quietly watched her for a mont before heading to the walk-in closet.
In the wardrobe were Shen Jianian’s old clothes, which Fu Jichen had not allowed the maid to put away, only doing a dust-proof treatnt.
He found a set of ho clothes, bent down to take intimate apparel from a storage box underneath, and as he ca out of the closet, he saw Shen Jianian jump off the bed, sneak towards the door, trying to leave while he wasn’t around.
"Where are you going?" Fu Jichen’s voice was faint.
Shen Jianian hadn’t expected him to co out so quickly. Her hand hadn’t even touched the door handle. Standing barefoot on the carpet by the bed, she looked startled.
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