Chapter 155: Chapter 155

"Fu Jichen, my shoes are soaked." Shen Jianian slowed her pace.

Fu Jichen stopped, looking down at her feet. She was wearing a pair of off-white flat, wide-mouth leather shoes. The rain had splashed up, drenching the shoes’ surfaces.

"What should we do then?" Fu Jichen was also at a loss, "Shall I carry you over?"

Shen Jianian was quite troubled at first, but hearing his suggestion, she slightly curled her lips into a smile, "I’ve got an umbrella, how could you carry me? Forget it, they’re already wet, let’s not mind it."

"I told you to wait for me at the restaurant entrance, but you didn’t listen."

"I didn’t expect my shoes to get wet either."

When they reached the parked car, Shen Jianian’s shoes were completely soaked. Fu Jichen opened the car’s passenger door. As she sat inside, he stood outside the door and spoke tenderly, "Take off your shoes, don’t catch a cold."

Shen Jianian followed his advice and took off her shoes.

The car’s light was on, and in the warm, white light, her fair feet were wet. Her heels rested on the seat’s edge, not daring to step fully on it for fear of dirtying the seats.

Fu Jichen frowned, reached into his trouser pocket, and pulled out a clean handkerchief. Holding an umbrella in one hand, he bent down to wipe her feet.

Caught off guard by his gesture, Shen Jianian instinctively retracted her feet but was softly stopped by him, "Don’t move."

The rain poured harder, its sound audible on the umbrella. Shen Jianian stared at him blankly, her breath stilled, forgetting to blink.

The man’s eyes were deep, and with his head lowered, he gently wiped the water off her feet.

He was clearly a germaphobe...

Realizing this, Shen Jianian felt as though warm water flowed through her heart, leaving her with a cozy feeling and a desire to rely on him for a lifetime.

After wiping her feet dry, Fu Jichen folded the handkerchief with one hand and casually wiped the stains off her small leather shoes.

Fu Jichen put away the handkerchief and walked around the car to the driver’s seat, closing the umbrella and sitting inside, shutting out the torrential rain.

In the enclosed space, it seemed as if only the two of them remained in the world.

Fu Jichen removed his suit jacket, which had some rain on the shoulders and back but hadn’t soaked through. He spread it over Shen Jianian’s legs, covering her feet as well.

"Aren’t you cold ?" Shen Jianian looked at him in his thin white handmade shirt, with his broad shoulders and firm arms supporting its crisp outline.

"Take care of yourself. I’m in better shape, I won’t catch a cold." Fu Jichen locked his gaze on her, leaned over, and fastened her seatbelt.

He didn’t immediately retreat. They were close, their breaths mingling, her unique fragrance wafting into his nostrils, stirring his heart in such an atmosphere.

Without much thought, Fu Jichen lowered his head, finding and kissing her soft, pink lips.

Late at night, the rain poured, and he kissed her tenderly and passionately, leaving them both mesmerized.

Shen Jianian’s body trembled slightly as she raised her arms to wrap around his neck.

Receiving her response, Fu Jichen’s breath suddenly became heavy. He unlatched the seatbelt, encircled her slim waist with his arm, and applied a bit of force to pull her from the passenger seat onto his lap.

The suit jacket slipped off, and in the next moment, Shen Jianian was sitting on his lap, her knees on either side of the seat.

The windshield was blurred with rain, like a natural barrier, separating the inside from the outside into two worlds as they kissed passionately.

Time passed, and Fu Jichen reluctantly pulled away, leaning back against the seat, lifting his head to catch his breath.

Shen Jianian’s moist eyelashes fluttered, her eyes landing on his Adam’s apple moving up and down, with a thin sheen of sweat on his cool, pale neck, inexplicably alluring.

After calming themselves for a while, Fu Jichen lowered his gaze, looking at the person nestled against his chest, exuding a soft, serene aura.

His chin touched the top of her head, his eyes still swirling with emotion, as he felt an urge to linger here forever.

"Aren’t we going back?" Shen Jianian’s voice broke the silence in the car.

Fu Jichen held her without moving, his voice slightly hoarse, "We’ll go back in a while."

Feeling something, Shen Jianian didn’t speak again or move around. As she drifted drowsily toward sleep, Fu Jichen’s hand on her waist gave a gentle squeeze before placing her back in the passenger seat.

He bent down to pick up his suit, shook it off, draped it over her again, and re-fastened her seatbelt.

Turning on the windshield wipers, they swept back and forth, clearing away the accumulated rain on the windshield.

Fu Jichen’s view gradually cleared, revealing the street with its soft, faint lights, as if he had returned from a dream to the human world.

Steadying himself, Fu Jichen started the engine and slowly drove out, heading toward home.

It was already 2 a.m. when they got home, and Shen Jianian, leaning against the seat, had fallen asleep.

The car stopped under the porch, sheltered from the rain. Fu Jichen got out, gently carrying her out with his suit jacket wrapped securely around her to guard against the temperature difference between inside and outside the car, preventing her from catching a cold.

As they entered the elevator, the slight sensation of weightlessness awoke Shen Jianian. She squinted at his face for a while, her consciousness still hazy, before speaking: "Are we home?"

The elevator door opened on the third floor.

Holding her, Fu Jichen stepped out, his footsteps echoing softly in the corridor, his voice naturally gentle: "Mm, you can keep sleeping."

"Put me down, I can walk myself." While speaking, Shen Jianian couldn’t help but yawn.

Fu Jichen didn’t comply. His arm around her waist tightened slightly as he carried her to his bedroom and placed her on the couch: "Do you want to take a shower?"

"Yes," Shen Jianian tried to keep her eyes open, attempting to stay awake.

Though she hadn’t been caught in the rain, she’d been busy at the grand theater all day and felt dirty, unable to sleep in bed without a shower. She didn’t share Fu Jichen’s fastidiousness but couldn’t tolerate this either.

When Shen Jianian came in, she wasn’t wearing shoes, stepping barefoot on the floor as she prepared to find her pajamas.

Fu Jichen glanced at her delicate toes, said nothing, but in action, he was irresistible, bending down, picking her up, and striding toward the bathroom.

Shen Jianian yelped, her voice a bit loud: "What are you doing?"

Fu Jichen replied, "Shower together, to save time."

Shen Jianian’s face turned bright red. Though they’d been unclothed together before, the thought of taking a shower together embarrassed her, and she hesitantly refused: "No... you wait until I’m done."

Fu Jichen did not insist, a faint smile on his lips. He placed her on the absorbent mat by the bathroom door and turned to fetch her slippers and pajamas, reminding her, "Don’t take too long, be careful not to catch a cold."

Shen Jianian slipped on the slippers, cradling her pajamas as she closed the bathroom door.

Passing by the washstand, she glanced back at herself in the mirror, eyes filled with smiles, evoking words like happiness, warmth, and sweetness.

She took a quick shower, too tired to perform her skincare routine diligently, merely patting some toner on her face before slipping into bed.

Fu Jichen left a soft orange wall light on for illumination and took his pajamas to the bathroom.

Not long after, he emerged from the shower, toweling his wet hair dry, his deep, dark eyes fixed tenderly on her in bed, his gaze utterly soft.

He left the bedroom, went to the outer bathroom to dry his hair, and returned inside.

Shen Jianian was not sleeping deeply and sensed it when he lay down, turning to snuggle into his embrace. Fu Jichen naturally held her fragrant, soft body, his hand resting gently on her smooth shoulder, lightly caressing, as if coaxing a child awake at night back to sleep.

He wasn’t very sleepy, contemplated having a cigarette at this moment, merely considered it without picking up the cigarette pack and lighter within reach on the bedside table.

Once the person in his arms was deeply asleep, Fu Jichen raised his hand to turn off the wall light, plunging the room into darkness.

He slightly lowered his head, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, devoid of any lust, only a deep sense of cherishing and nostalgia.

That night, nothing transpired, yet both body and soul felt an unprecedented fulfillment.

The next day, Shen Jianian awoke to find Fu Jichen no longer in bed.

Today she didn’t need to visit Teacher Yan’s villa, so last night, Shen Jianian didn’t set an alarm, allowing herself to wake naturally.

With her eyes closed, she reached for the pillow, intending to check the time.

Not finding her phone, Shen Jianian slowly opened her eyes. The bedroom curtains were only half-drawn, revealing the gloomy sky outside; it wasn’t raining, just overcast.

Finally locating her phone on the nightstand, Shen Jianian picked it up and lit up the screen, which displayed the time as 10:28 a.m.

Covering her face with one hand, Shen Jianian was impressed with herself for sleeping so long.

Just then, the phone vibrated. She removed her hand and glanced at the caller ID—Bai Changxia was calling.

Shen Jianian pressed the green answer button, putting the phone to her ear: "Hey, Xiaxia."

Bai Changxia paused upon hearing her groggy voice: "You—you just woke up, didn’t you?"

Shen Jianian mumbled in acknowledgment: "Still in bed."

Bai Changxia was speechless for a moment, then said, "My lady, did you know you’re in the news? Or rather, you probably didn’t." She paused for two seconds, then exclaimed with a mixture of admiration, "Really, though I knew Boss Fu treated you well, I didn’t expect him to go to such lengths in private."