August flipped over into September, and the temperature carried slight traces of autumn, though it was still very hot during the day.
After her nap, Shen Jianian was practicing the cello by the window. The car Fu Jichen had left in that morning slowly pulled into the yard, and Qu Mo stepped out of the driver’s seat with a box taken from the car’s back seat.
Qu Mo pressed the doorbell, and Cheng Jin ca to answer.
Soon after, Cheng Jin brought the box to the third floor to find Shen Jianian.
Shen Jianian placed the cello back in its case, laid the bow on the nearby table, and listened to Cheng Jin say, "Qu Mo just ca by, saying that at Mr. Fu’s instruction, he’d picked up a customized cheongsam from the shop to deliver here, and also to inform you that Mr. Fu has engagents this evening, so he won’t be dining at ho."
Cheng Jin placed the box on the long sofa at the foot of the bed, curious about the cheongsam’s style, and smiled as he asked Shen Jianian, "Do you want to try it on?"
With nothing else to do, Shen Jianian nodded and said, "I’ll try it then."
She unlocked the box, revealing a card inside with small script detailing how to wash the cheongsam. Underneath the card were two layers of tissue paper. She pulled open the tissue paper to unveil a pink jacquard dust bag made from the sa material as the cheongsam.
Cheng Jin watched from the side as Shen Jianian unwrapped it layer by layer like a gift, unable to hold back his praise, "The packaging is exquisite."
With a gentle smile, Shen Jianian opened the dust bag, took out the neatly pressed cheongsam, and went to the wardrobe to put it on.
Because it was made to asure, it fit well everywhere—shoulder width, chest, waistline, even the sleeve openings and the hem circumference were all comfortably and appropriately sized.
Standing before the full-length mirror, Shen Jianian turned left and right, finding no dissatisfaction except for the color, which was a bit more tender than she had envisioned. When she had chosen the fabric in the shop, she found the light pink bamboo-patterned fabric appealing without considering if it suited her.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Shen Jianian exited the closet, spun around once for Cheng Jin, and truthfully asked, "Does it not match ?"
"No way," Cheng Jin imdiately retorted. "It looks pretty good to ."
"Don’t you think it’s a bit youthful?"
Cheng Jin paused, then laughed heartily, "How old are you? It’s the perfect ti to wear sprightly colors. Just wait till Mr. Fu returns tonight; ask him yourself, and I bet he’ll say it looks good too."
"I’ll go change out of it." Shen Jianian returned to the bathroom, mumbling to herself while undoing the frog buttons, "Who cares what he thinks anyway."
After returning the cheongsam to its box, Shen Jianian intended to resu her cello practice.
Cheng Jin asked her, "Is there anything specific you’d like to eat tonight? When the chef arrives, I’ll let him know."
Deciding what to eat for three als a day was also a challenge, and Shen Jianian couldn’t think of anything at the mont. She told Cheng Jin, "You decide; I have no idea either."
Cheng Jin said, "The driver brought back two pounds of live shrimp; would you prefer blanched shrimp tonight, or would you rather have them braised?"
Shen Jianian’s hand, which had just picked up the bow, paused slightly. She recalled the day after her vaccination, when she had dined out with Fu Jichen. Soone had ordered a plate of blanched shrimp, and just as she grabbed one and placed it in her bowl, Fu Jichen had snatched it away. Since then, they often ate shrimp at ho.
"Blanched shrimp," Shen Jianian said.
"Alright, got it."
Cheng Jin didn’t disturb her any further and went downstairs to tidy up.
*
At seven in the evening, Fu Jichen was hosting foreign clients for dinner at the Junshan Group’s hotel.
After a few rounds of drinks, his phone rang from inside his pocket. He glanced at the call—it was from Fu Feibai—and pressed to decline it, placing the phone face-down on the table. He continued discussing business matters with the clients.
An hour later, the dinner was nearing its end, and next, they were to take the clients to a club for so leisure ti. Fu Jichen wouldn’t be accompanying them; he’d arranged for a product manager and Song Fang to do so instead. They could also discuss product details with the clients as they went.
Fu Jichen stood up, adjusted his suit jacket, and prepared to go ho. He picked up his phone from the table and saw a ssage from Fu Feibai, sent forty minutes earlier.
"Bro, are you at Mandiri? Co to room 2307; I encountered a situation here and need your help, waiting for you."
Fu Feibai had recently planned to return to acting. An actor’s golden period only lasts a few years—miss it, and it’s gone forever.
He thought he could balance it, acting while finding ti to visit Wei Ronghua in the hospital. Wei Ronghua’s illness required long-term hospitalization and wasn’t curable—only relieved by chemotherapy. Visiting every day wouldn’t accomplish much beyond so conversation, which invariably turned to persuading him to work at Junshan.
Fu Jichen thought, Fu Feibai might be in trouble, otherwise he wouldn’t send such a ssage.
Fu Jichen hurried to the elevator and dialed Fu Feibai’s number. The phone rang for a long ti, but no one answered. Fu Jichen took the phone away from his ear and pressed the button for the 23rd floor.
This floor was filled with luxury suites, a total of eight rooms.
Room 2307 was the second to last. Fu Jichen walked over and knocked on the door.
After waiting a mont with no one answering, Fu Jichen tried to twist the door handle. If that didn’t work, he would have to call the hotel staff to bring a spare key card to open the door.
Fu Feibai hid his identity when he entered the entertainnt industry. Few people knew he was a young master of the Fu Family. With his current status in the circle, he didn’t need to attend ssy drinking parties. Fu Jichen couldn’t figure out what kind of trouble he might be in.
Perhaps anxiousness leads to recklessness. The mont Fu Jichen unlocked the door, he didn’t think much and walked straight in, passing through the suite’s living room and heading directly inside.
Turning past the second door, before he could see the scene inside, he was suddenly struck hard on the back of his head, and his vision went dark as he fell. The burly man behind him dropped the club in his hand and caught Fu Jichen’s falling body just in ti.
The burly man shouted into the air, "It’s done."
The man was hired and had been lurking in the suite for nearly two hours. The young miss instructed him to knock out the man who entered the room. He would then receive a fortune.
The request sounded simple, so he naturally didn’t refuse.
The young miss just wanted to sleep with a man; what could happen? n care about their reputation; probably, he wouldn’t even dare to pursue the matter afterward.
As his voice faded, a woman erged from the bedroom. Her hair was hanging wet, and she wore a lavender robe with black lace trim, with a slip dress underneath, exuding the scent of rose-scented shower gel.
She bent down to pick up a bag from the sofa, fingers painted with nude pink nail polish pulled a check from the bag and handed it to the burly man, her gaze falling on the unconscious Fu Jichen’s face, her heart pounding.
After tonight, she had no idea what the outco would be, yet no matter what judgnt ca, she didn’t care, because it wouldn’t cost her life.
"He won’t have any aftereffects being knocked out like this, right?" Fu Yuling asked worriedly.
She couldn’t bear for Fu Jichen to suffer the slightest harm. If she could get to his als, she wouldn’t have chosen such a forceful ans.
The burly man pocketed the check and laughed, "Don’t worry, miss. I was careful. He’ll wake up refreshed, as if nothing happened."
"Put him on the bed, be careful."
Fu Yuling pointed to the white bed behind them, scattered with rose petals, the night outside the window thick and inky, the scene brimming with ambiguity.
The burly man used both arms to lift Fu Jichen onto the bed, inwardly chuckling at the unconscious man’s predicant, guessing that the young miss had prepared sothing else.
He clicked his tongue quietly, lanting the misfortune of being favored by the young miss.
He had attacked from behind earlier, so the burly man didn’t know what the man looked like. Wanting a glimpse, the bedroom lights were off, showing only a blurred face that seed sowhat familiar, though he couldn’t recall where he’d seen it before.
"Still here?" Fu Yuling frowned coldly, her voice impatiently urging.
The burly man rubbed his chin, snorted a laugh, and quickly exited the suite.
Fu Yuling followed him, locking the door after he left. She then returned, drawing the curtains closed with a remote and turning on two wall lamps, admiring Fu Jichen’s sleeping face under the light, her gaze growing infatuated.
Even if she couldn’t have his heart, she must have his body.
Fu Yuling went to the bathroom to dry her hair, shed her outer robe, leaving it on the bench at the foot of the bed, and walked barefoot to the bedside, picking up the contraceptive pills on the nightstand, pressing one out to swallow.
If not for her heart condition preventing her from having children, she would have loved to carry his flesh and blood. She dared not take the risk; the doctor had said that with her health condition, there was a high chance of dying on the operating table during childbirth, and she cherished her own life more.
Fu Yuling sat at the bedside, never having been this close to him in solitude, savoring the feeling.
She removed his shoes and unbuttoned his suit jacket, went to the bathroom to wring out a towel to wipe his face.
While doing these things, she imagined herself as his woman, a sweet smile appearing on her face, her voice gently speaking, "Clearly, we’re the closest people. Why can’t you look at a little more? What’s so good about Shen Jianian, whether the one from before or the one now? They don’t love you like I do. When will you understand that in this world, I’m the one who loves you most."
Fu Yuling looked at his face and hesitated, "When you wake up, how will you treat ? Will you hate ? I don’t want this either; you’ve pushed to it. You never offer a smile, and I don’t ask you to love like I love you. Why even withhold a brother’s affection towards a sister? Fu Jichen, you’re too heartless. But what can I do? I still love you deeply, so much that I can’t break free. I’m willing to stain my hands with blood for you."
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