Chapter 110: Chapter 110

After arriving home, Shen Jianian washed up early and lay down to rest.

Starting tomorrow, she needs to get up early to take a two-hour car ride to Yan Qiusheng’s villa for music lessons, stay there for lunch, and return in the evening.

It’s a bit like her past experience of commuting to school.

Shen Jianian pulled the blanket up to cover the lower half of her face, yet couldn’t suppress the smile on her lips. Her mind was a bit too excited; she couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to. It felt like a dream, Yan Qiusheng actually became her mentor, personally guiding her.

Yan Qiusheng had never taken on a student before; she was now his only apprentice.

Shen Jianian felt so vain, being happy for this reason alone.

Past midnight, Fu Jichen finished his work in the study, turned off the lights, and prepared to go to bed. Seeing light leaking from Shen Jianian’s room, he thought for a moment and went to her room.

Opening the door, he found Shen Jianian half-lying on the bed reading a book, looking quite energetic.

"Why aren’t you asleep at this hour?" Fu Jichen approached and glanced at the book she was holding, an English novel, already halfway through.

Shen Jianian instinctively moved over to make space for him: "I can’t sleep."

Fu Jichen lifted the blanket and got in; the spot where she had lain was warm, enveloping his slightly cool body. He knowingly remarked: "Is it because Yan Qiusheng agreed to take you as his student?"

With someone to talk to, Shen Jianian couldn’t focus on her book, so she placed a bookmark on the page she was reading, closed the book, and put it on the bedside table. She slid under the blanket, only her head visible, eyes bright as she looked at him and said: "He’s been my idol since childhood. Do you understand that feeling? A moon that usually hangs in the sky suddenly seems so close, within reach, and you have a connection with it."

Fu Jichen frowned slightly, his dark eyes revealing displeasure: "I don’t understand."

Shen Jianian’s desire to share was doused with cold water, losing interest in continuing: "Forget it; I knew you wouldn’t understand."

"Do you like him that much?" Fu Jichen asked abruptly, his tone a bit odd.

Shen Jianian turned her face to him, wary of misunderstanding: "What kind of liking are you talking about?"

"What do you think?" Fu Jichen countered.

"I think you’re overthinking it," Shen Jianian found it utterly absurd. How could he think like that? "I only have admiration and respect for Yan Qiusheng."

"And for me?" Fu Jichen naturally followed up, asking without thinking.

He wanted to take it back, but once words were spoken, they were like water spilled on the ground, impossible to retrieve.

The soft yellow light of the lamp enveloped them; although not very bright, they could see each other’s expressions clearly. Shen Jianian saw his serious demeanor, devoid of any playful banter, and a ridiculous thought suddenly cropped up.

"Fu Jichen, could you be..." jealous?

She held back the remaining words, afraid of being mocked as delusional.

But Fu Jichen seemed to grasp her mind, leisurely waiting for her, and after a while, when she didn’t continue, he smiled faintly and asked, "Could you be what? Why didn’t you finish?"

Shen Jianian felt flustered and turned away from him in an act of escape, whispering: "I’m sleepy."

Fu Jichen leaned closer from behind, his large hand tightly clasping her waist, his breath like a hot fire, searing the skin on the back of her neck. In the calmest voice, he exposed her poor lie: "You were so energetic just now, how could you be sleepy so soon? Didn’t even draft before lying."

Shen Jianian was embarrassingly flustered, her ears turning red. Feeling his increasingly bold teasing, she could only plead: "Stop... I have to get up early tomorrow."

Fu Jichen’s voice was low and gentle: "Were you going to say I might be jealous?"

He spoke with a compelling, lazy tone, magnetic like a hook plucking the heartstrings.

Shen Jianian pressed her lips, too afraid to respond, but he admitted himself: "You already noticed. The way you behave around Yan Qiusheng indeed made me jealous."

As these words settled, Fu Jichen turned her head and kissed her lips. She could even hear the sound of his Adam’s apple moving, indescribably sexy.

The driver responsible for taking Shen Jianian was the same one as before, one of the bodyguards Fu Jichen hired for her, even more formal than Qu Mo, and stayed silent throughout the trip.

Sitting in the car, Shen Jianian fell asleep soon after it started due to lack of sleep.

Awoken by a phone ringing, she took it out to see it was a call from Fu Jichen.

Seeing the name, Shen Jianian felt her ears heat up, and let the ringtone go on for a long time without answering. Even the driver in front was puzzled as to why she didn’t pick up the phone, glancing at her several times through the rearview mirror.

As the ringtone was about to end, Shen Jianian exhaled, calmed her unsettled thoughts, and upon answering the phone, heard the man’s deep voice, tinged with a smile: "Why didn’t you answer the phone for so long, what were you doing?"

Shen Jianian’s heart raced: "I was sleeping in the car, what do you need from me?"

"I heard from Auntie that you didn’t dress warmly when you went out this morning, just wanted to remind you to keep warm. It’s going to rain and get colder in the afternoon, don’t catch a cold."

Fu Jichen left home earlier than she did. After arriving at the office, he remembered an important document he had left at home, so he asked Song Fang to drive over and fetch it. Afterwards, he called Cheng Jin to ask her to go to the study ahead of time to find the document, and to check if Shen Jianian had already left.

Cheng Jin said Jianian had left twenty minutes ago, dressed lightly, and she hadn’t had the chance to remind her before Jianian rushed out to get in the car.

Hence this phone call.

Listening, Shen Jianian felt warm inside and her tone softened unconsciously: "There’s a blanket in the car, I won’t be cold."

The weather changes drastically just after the Chinese New Year, and Shen Jianian doesn’t have the habit of checking the weather forecast, she dresses quite casually.

Fu Jichen: "Just make sure to take care of yourself."

"Alright." Shen Jianian said, "I’ll hang up then."

"Study well and don’t just focus on following idols." Fu Jichen thought for a moment and added another sentence.

Shen Jianian recalled him admitting he was jealous last night, curved her lips into a smile, didn’t respond, and hung up the phone.

Two hours later, the car drove onto the winding mountain road, getting closer and closer to Yan Qiusheng’s villa. Shen Jianian didn’t sleep anymore, gazing at the lush trees outside the car window, her mood tranquil and peaceful.

Yan Qiusheng had informed the gatekeeper beforehand, so the car could enter without registration.

Shen Jianian knocked on the door and entered the house, seeing the same scene play out before her — Yan Qiusheng held a cup of water and medicine, coaxing the frail Mrs. Yan to take her medicine.

"I really don’t want to eat it." Mrs. Yan clasped her hands together on her lap, her expression stubborn.

Standing aside, Shen Jianian couldn’t interfere in other’s family affairs, but looking at Yan Qiusheng’s worried face, she couldn’t remain indifferent either. After some consideration, she tentatively spoke up: "Teacher, please give it to me."

She reached her hands out towards Yan Qiusheng.

Yan Qiusheng looked at her, a hint of hesitation in his gaze, could she handle it?

Shen Jianian said: "I’ll give it a try."

Yan Qiusheng had no other option, so he handed the cup of water and the box of medicine to her, throwing a glance at his emaciated mother, sighing silently in his heart, and temporarily retreated to the kitchen.

Normally harmonious, the mother and son acted like enemies when it came to taking medicine.

Shen Jianian squatted beside Mrs. Yan’s legs, slightly raised her head, seeing her eyes red and moist, guessing she didn’t want to anger her son either. Shen Jianian softly asked: "Why don’t you want to take your medicine?"

Mrs. Yan wiped the corner of her eye, facing this unfamiliar little girl, she spoke without much hesitation: "Taking this medicine every day, my hands and feet have become so stiff they can’t move." She extended a hand towards Shen Jianian, "In the morning, even making a fist is difficult, I feel like a useless person."

"Have you mentioned this phenomenon to your son?"

"He knows and has consulted with doctors." Mrs. Yan’s voice choked, "But the doctor said that to preserve life, it’s necessary to keep taking the medicine, and other patients have the same reaction."

Shen Jianian felt distressed, held her hand, and said, "Your son definitely hopes you’ll stay with him longer."

"But I don’t want to be a burden to him." Mrs. Yan lowered her head and cried, tears falling onto her pant legs, leaving patches of water marks, "He has already sacrificed too much for me, hasn’t taken on any performances these years just to have time to care for me wholeheartedly. He is a musician, yet has been dragged down by me like some unknown farmer."

Qiusheng knew her character well, aware that if they hired a caregiver, she wouldn’t follow the doctor’s orders and take medicine on time, so he personally watched over her.

"You can’t think like that." Shen Jianian couldn’t help but empathize, her eyes a bit sore, she sniffed, and spoke softly, "If my mother were alive, no matter what she became, I’d be willing to stay by her side. It’s only when parents are present that I feel I’m a child with a home, which no one else can replace."

Mrs. Yan gazed towards her, stunned — she’s so young, yet her mother is gone?

"The truth is, my father is gone too." Shen Jianian tried to maintain composure, yet found it difficult, her throat choked, "You raised your son alone, to him you’re everything, more important than a thousand times his career. If you’re not here, no achievement could make him feel less lonely."

Mrs. Yan looked at her quietly for a while, then reached out and embraced her: "Good child..."

Shen Jianian smelled the clean, warm scent on her, so similar to her own mother, and finally couldn’t hold back, tears rolled out, soaking into her clothes.

Yan Qiusheng returned from the kitchen, seeing his mother obediently take her medicine, he picked an orange from the fruit plate, slowly peeled it, removed the white fibers, broke it in half and offered one part to Shen Jianian.