Chapter 142: Chapter 142

When Shen Jianian woke up the next morning, Fu Jichen was not in bed.

Shen Jianian slowly opened her eyes, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. It took her a moment to remember that she had fallen asleep in the resting room of Fu Jichen’s office last night.

The aftereffects of climbing the mountain emerged after a night, and Shen Jianian felt soreness in her waist, aching in her back, and stiffness in her legs. Even turning over required conserving energy.

Shen Jianian’s gaze wandered, and she found her phone charging on the bedside table, most likely plugged in by Fu Jichen after she fell asleep.

She unplugged the charger, and the screen automatically lit up, displaying the time as 9:24 AM.

Without looking at the time, she thought it was still early.

With one hand on her forehead, Shen Jianian was flooded with a sense of fatigue.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind: before falling asleep last night, she had asked Fu Jichen if he had a bad relationship with his mother. He hadn’t answered, nor did he seem angry, instead bowing slightly to kiss her forehead.

After that... she fell asleep and was unaware if he said anything else.

Shen Jianian, lost in thought for a moment, dragged her aching body to the bathroom, opened a new set of toiletries, and brushed her teeth and washed her face in front of the mirror.

There wasn’t any skincare product for women here, so she picked up a bottle of men’s moisturizer and used a bit of it.

After changing into her clothes and grabbing her phone, Shen Jianian opened the rest room door.

Just as the door opened slightly, she heard someone speaking outside, seemingly delivering a report.

"The technical department worked overnight to fix the fault. We should be able to progress smoothly now. I’ve booked a flight at 2:10 PM this afternoon to Geneva, transferring in New York. It’s the earliest and fastest option..."

Song Fang stopped mid-sentence, eyeing Mr. Chen’s back as the door opened halfway, revealing a hesitant figure, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Guessing the situation, Fu Jichen calmly turned his head toward the rest room’s doorway: "Awake?"

Shen Jianian tightly gripped the edge of her phone case, overcoming her embarrassment, and walked out slowly, nodding gently to Song Fang, though her face couldn’t hide her awkwardness.

Song Fang nodded back with a smile.

"You can go now," Fu Jichen said.

Song Fang, holding some documents, stepped out of the office, coincidentally bumping into a male colleague from the secretary’s office. In a kind gesture, he stopped him: "Don’t go in for now."

The colleague said: "There’s a contract that requires Mr. Chen’s signature."

"It would be best to have it signed before the president goes abroad."

"Come an hour later, then."

The colleague curiously asked: "Is the president meeting a client?"

Song Fang shook his head mysteriously, and before the colleague could ask more, he told him directly: "It’s someone more important than a major client."

The colleague couldn’t guess who it was, but upon hearing this, he didn’t dare interrupt, and returned to the secretary’s office with the contract.

Inside the office, Fu Jichen pulled Shen Jianian by the hand to come closer, picking up a paper bag from the table with the other: "Timed it right for your awakening. I’ve ordered breakfast for you."

Shen Jianian’s thigh pressed against his knee as she glanced at him: "Are we eating in the office?"

Fu Jichen laughed, leaning back against the chair and leisurely watching her: "Where else would you like to eat?"

"I mean if someone comes here afterward to report work, it wouldn’t look good..." Shen Jianian interacted with his smiling eyes, suddenly unable to finish her sentence.

Fu Jichen took out a sandwich and soy milk from the brown paper bag: "Relax, Song Fang will communicate properly; no one will disturb us for the next half-hour. Take your time eating."

He really did understand his subordinates well.

Shen Jianian took the breakfast, planning to eat at the coffee table opposite, but was caught by the waist. She looked down at the large hand nestled at her waist and abdomen, fingers proportionate and long.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice was soft and sticky, with a hint of reproach, but to Fu Jichen, it sounded like she was being spoiled.

"Just eat here." Fu Jichen said.

With a flight at 2 PM, it wouldn’t be long before he had to leave, unwilling to let go of her.

Since discovering her hidden affection for him, the atmosphere between them had shifted. No matter what insincere words she said, he could interpret her true intentions.

This is probably what it feels like to be in tune with each other’s hearts.

"Eat while standing?" Shen Jianian seemed a bit speechless.

Fu Jichen’s hand around her waist exerted a bit more force, pulling her onto his lap, teasingly asking: "Satisfied with this seat?"

Shen Jianian felt extremely uncomfortable, wanting to get off, but he held her firmly in place.

"I arranged a seat for you, and you don’t want to sit?" Fu Jichen maintained a smile in his eyes as he spoke to her.

She couldn’t out-talk him, nor overpower him, so Shen Jianian could only surrender, taking a big bite of the sandwich. The sandwich contained tomato slices, scrambled eggs, ham, chicken breast, lettuce, pickles, and so forth. There were so many ingredients that it was hard to take a complete bite without them falling out.

Not only did her skirt suffer, but also Fu Jichen’s trousers.

Shen Jianian picked a small leaf of lettuce off his pants, recalling his cleanliness obsession, and worrying that his brows would furrow now, she cautiously looked up, only to find him smiling, full of helplessness.

Thinking back to when she ate cookies in his bed, even just a few crumbs on the bedsheets annoyed him so much he wanted to throw the bed away.

Fu Jichen brushed off a breadcrumb from her lips playfully: "Didn’t grow a chin? How do you eat like there’s a hailstorm, scattering everywhere."

Chewing thoughtfully, Shen Jianian waited until she swallowed all the food in her mouth to speak: "You insisted on making me sit here."

"Oh, so it’s my fault." Fu Jichen feigned seriousness.

Shen Jianian didn’t reply to him, spending a long time finishing half the sandwich, though she drank all the soy milk. Fu Jichen dealt with the remaining half of the sandwich.

Only then did she think to ask: "You hadn’t eaten breakfast?"

Fu Jichen said: "Just had a cup of coffee."

Not knowing what to say to him, Shen Jianian reluctantly advised him: "Remember to eat properly in the future, try to have three meals a day on time."

Fu Jichen cleaned up the trash on the table, throwing it into the bin, lighting a cigarette, and looked at her with meaningful eyes.

Considering for a moment, Shen Jianian added: "Smoke less too." With the pressure from his work, he probably needed cigarettes to relieve stress, quitting might be impossible.

Fu Jichen snorted lightly; whether he took it to heart or was merely appeasing her was unknown.

Around 10:30 AM, after signing a contract, Fu Jichen changed into formal attire and set off for the airport.

Shen Jianian accompanied him to see him off.

Sitting in the car, Fu Jichen held one of her hands, not playing with his hand toys, instead, he stroked her fingers all the way, being particularly fond of her ring finger, touching it for quite a while at its base.

Nearing the airport, Fu Jichen murmured with affection: "Might as well pack you in the suitcase and ship you along."

Shen Jianian felt momentarily distracted, another voice sounded in her mind—it was Pei Che’s.

Back when he was leaving for New York to study, she saw him off at the airport. He caressed her face, eyes full of reluctance, telling her he wished he could pack Little Nian in his suitcase and take her to New York.

Recalling the past, the pain in her heart faded a bit; even though every detail was remembered clearly, the feeling from then couldn’t be recaptured.

Looking at the man beside her, Shen Jianian reversed her hold on his hand, speaking softly: "Take care of yourself abroad."

Fu Jichen met her gaze, and after a moment, lifted his lips: "If you are so reluctant to part with me, why not go to Switzerland with me?"

Shen Jianian knew he was joking; a visa would require time to process, it wasn’t something that could spontaneously happen.

After seeing Fu Jichen off, Shen Jianian took a deep breath, feeling that the past two days had been chaotic and hurried. She looked around; all she saw were passengers either preparing to depart or just arriving in Beicheng, rushing about.

As she stepped out of the airport, her eyes caught an all-too-familiar face in the bustling crowd. A girl in a fashionably chic floral short skirt paired with a brown cropped leather jacket and knee-high boots, a silver chain bag slung over her side, with wave-curled hair styled into a fluffy fishtail braid cascading to her right.

The girl noticed her too, casting a glance filled with malice.

It was the girl from the other day at the western restaurant, who had come over to greet Fu Jichen—the second young miss of the Xu Family.