Shen Jianian tactfully declined, "I don’t have the ingredients and tools for baking at ho, it might not be convenient."
"No problem, I have them at my place," Ni Yiqiong persisted. "I’ll go get them now."
With that, she left the kitchen. As she passed through the living room, she stole a glance at the man, worried about being caught peeking, but he didn’t even look at her.
He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, talking on the phone, with his back to her. One hand held the phone to his ear, the other was in his trouser pocket. His voice was low, and it was impossible to hear what he was saying, but he seed serious.
Even just a back view was captivating, making her heart race uncontrollably.
Ni Yiqiong took a deep breath, withdrew her gaze, and put on her shoes to leave temporarily.
In the kitchen, Bai Changxia finally didn’t need to restrain her volu and curiosity, rattling off questions to Shen Jianian like firecrackers: "Who is that? How co I’ve never seen him before? Where did you et such a peculiar person? He takes three turns to say a sentence."
Shen Jianian pointed downwards with her index finger and said softly, "A resident on the 20th floor, nad Ni Yiqiong."
"A resident?" Bai Changxia mumbled, suddenly rembering sothing, eyes widening, she gasped, "Isn’t she the one who brought pastry for Fu Jichen?"
She had heard Shen Jianian ntion it before and had a vague impression, but had never t her in person.
Shen Jianian nodded, "It’s her."
Bai Changxia covered her mouth, "Wow, is this a love triangle scene or what?"
"What? What are you guys talking about?" Zhao Shunyi hadn’t understood a word, feeling she missed sothing important and eagerly needed to catch up.
Bai Changxia pointed a few tis in the air, outlining the relationship between Ni Yiqiong, Fu Jichen, and Shen Jianian: "Simply put, she likes him, he likes her, and as for her, it’s not clear if she likes him yet."
Zhao Shunyi’s eyes swiveled following Bai Changxia’s fingers, successfully getting dizzy: "Can you say sothing that humans can understand?"
Bai Changxia had to be more direct, "Miss Ni likes Boss Fu, Boss Fu likes Jianian, whether Jianian likes Boss Fu or not, I don’t know, got it?"
Zhao Shunyi finally sorted it out, agreeing with what she said earlier, "It is indeed a love triangle scene."
Not long after, Ni Yiqiong returned, even pushing a four-tier cart over, moving all the necessary tools to Shen Jianian’s ho at once, including various flours, molds, piping tips, and such.
"I studied with a professional baking teacher overseas for more than two years. I initially wanted to open a dessert shop, but later worried it would be too troubleso and tiring, so I gave up," Ni Yiqiong spoke with a smile, "Being able to benefit friends and family sowhat makes up for the effort I put into learning."
Shen Jianian wasn’t good at making small talk, so she just gave a slight smile, "Your friends must be really honored to have such a skilled friend like you."
Ni Yiqiong wasn’t afraid to reveal her thoughts, sighing, "It’s a pity that I haven’t had the chance to let the person I most want to taste my skills."
Shen Jianian didn’t know how to respond.
Bai Changxia smirked, giving Shen Jianian a aningful look, as if saying: "She has made it this obvious, don’t you get it? She’s trying to steal soone from you!"
Shen Jianian wasn’t as sensitive as Bai Changxia; she and Fu Jichen had nothing going on right now, and she had no right to interfere if soone else liked him and wanted to pursue him.
Saying there wasn’t even a slight uncomfortable feeling would be unrealistic; it wasn’t about feelings, she just didn’t want to be a stepping stone in soone else’s pursuit.
If Ni Yiqiong wanted to pursue Fu Jichen, she could do so openly and legitimately; it wasn’t right to be making moves on her once-a-year birthday celebration.
Ni Yiqiong could sense the subtle shift in the kitchen’s atmosphere after her words but chose to ignore it, plugging in the electric mixer to whip the egg whites.
She thought for a mont and broke the silence: "That gentleman outside, he shouldn’t have a girlfriend, right?"
Bai Changxia played dumb, Zhao Shunyi pretended not to hear, so it was up to Shen Jianian to answer her question, "Probably...not."
Ni Yiqiong’s face briefly showed joy; it didn’t matter what that man’s thoughts were, as long as he was single, it would be manageable, whether she could win him over depended solely on her own efforts.
Shen Jianian’s gentle nature wasn’t her match.
"Jianian, I have a question I want to ask you, don’t take it the wrong way." Ni Yiqiong turned off the mixer, her voice clearer, and looked aside at her, "Previously, you said you hadn’t t your neighbor, so how did he co to celebrate your birthday? Do you guys have a good relationship?"
Shen Jianian pursed her lips, what she had said before was true, she indeed hadn’t t the neighbor, it was not lying to Ni Yiqiong, but her questioning tone made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Jianian didn’t lie to you, she always thought her neighbor was an aunt and even told that the aunt was nice, once leaving food at her door when she was sick," Bai Changxia couldn’t stand soone making snide remarks at Shen Jianian, "They only t in person later."
Ni Yiqiong was an outsider, she couldn’t possibly explain everything between Fu Jichen and Shen Jianian to her, so she could only provide such an explanation.
"I see, then I misunderstood." Ni Yiqiong’s expression was awkward, and she didn’t continue this topic.
Bai Changxia inwardly sneered, "Don’t you recognize him?"
"Who? You an that gentleman outside?" Ni Yiqiong gave a wry smile, "I still don’t know his na."
No wonder, Bai Changxia thought secretly.
If she knew who Fu Jichen was, hardly any woman would have the guts to pursue him; the re disparity in family background was enough to deter people.
Fu Jichen finished his call in the living room, his expression darkening as he gazed at the increasingly dimming sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was a call from Los Angeles; perhaps due to the approaching New Year, Fu Yuling couldn’t bear being shut in the empty house alone, went crazy at ho, and cut her hand with a knife, just sent to the hospital.
He reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a cigarette pack, and suddenly, Shen Jianian’s words popped into his mind: Can you not smoke at my place? It’s all smoky.
Fu Jichen put the cigarette pack back and entered the kitchen. The four won were all busy, leaving him the only idle person.
"What can I do?" He self-consciously positioned himself behind Shen Jianian.
Ni Yiqiong’s body stiffened; earlier in the living room, it was hard to even hear him say a word, she couldn’t let this chance slip: "I still don’t know how to address you, can you help slice so strawberries? I plan to add them to the cake."
Bai Changxia, who was handling scallops, washed her hands under the faucet at the sound of that, "I’ll do it; it’s not proper to have Mr. Fu do it."
Bai Changxia’s subtly relentless targeting led Ni Yiqiong to think she too was interested in the man, "Does Miss Bai have a boyfriend?" she asked indirectly.
Bai Changxia pulled out a fruit-cutting board and began dicing the clean strawberries, smiling as she replied, "I’m married, held the wedding this National Day holiday."
Ni Yiqiong was taken aback and then saw the wedding ring on her ring finger, dispelling her suspicions.
Fu Jichen took over Bai Changxia’s spot, standing beside Shen Jianian, pulling out a scallop from the bucket, imitating her actions.
"I’ll do it myself, don’t ss it up," Shen Jianian shot him a sideways glance, not thinking she hadn’t noticed him giving a light squeeze to her pinky as he grabbed the scallop.
"Can’t dine for free." Fu Jichen placed the cleaned scallops on a plate, "What are you planning to make with these? I can help."
"I’m curious," Bai Changxia craned her neck, "Boss Fu, you want to cook?"
"Hmm," Fu Jichen affird.
Bai Changxia had only heard from Shen Jianian about Fu Jichen’s cooking feats, never seen in person, obviously anticipating, "Jianian, why not let Boss Fu show his skills?"
"Garlic vermicelli stead scallops, can you make them?" Shen Jianian asked, neither warm nor cold.
"Never made them, I’ll try," Fu Jichen slightly tilted his head, whispering in her ear, "Can you get the iPad? I’ll look up a tutorial."
Like last ti, he planned to learn on the spot, Shen Jianian said, "Forget it, don’t trouble yourself, we’ll handle it ourselves."
Fu Jichen insisted, "How is this trouble? Today is your birthday, making a few dishes for you is the least I can do."
The kitchen was so small that even though Fu Jichen lowered his voice when speaking, Ni Yiqiong still caught it, feeling a little choked. Also, Bai Changxia alternately calling him Mr. Fu and Boss Fu, left her confused about his identity.
Seizing the opportunity, she approached Zhao Shunyi, who seed more approachable, to ask, "Which company owns that gentleman?"
While taking tissues in the living room, Zhao Shunyi didn’t expect Ni Yiqiong to follow her, she hugged a pack of tissues, and told her the truth, "His na is Fu Jichen, you can Google it."
After Zhao Shunyi left, Ni Yiqiong frowned slightly, took out her phone, and opened Google. She didn’t know which three characters corresponded to "fujichen," worried she might search the wrong person, but when she typed the pinyin, the input thod automatically suggested "Fu Jichen" as the first option.
The search results appeared.
She read line by line, her heart rate suddenly speeding up.
Ni Yiqiong thought that living in this building, the man was at most so high-level executive in a company. However, as it turned out, he was the president of Junshan Group.
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