Chapter 196: Chapter 196

Fu Jichen received a call from the old house’s landline just as he was in a meeting at the company.

He told the attendees, "Hold on," picked up the phone with its screen lit up, and walked out of the meeting room.

Lately, it’s been a season of troubles, both Junshan Group and the Fu Family are shrouded in a layer of gloom, and everyone present knows it to some extent.

Standing in the quiet hallway, Fu Jichen answered the phone. On the other end was Fu Yuling’s charming voice, laced with affection: "Brother, are you busy?"

Fu Jichen replied coolly, "What’s the matter?"

"Can’t I call you if there’s nothing?" Fu Yuling just wanted to talk to him more, deliberately meandering, not speaking directly.

Fu Jichen always disliked answering her calls, so she used the old house’s landline, knowing he would think there was a family issue and would answer.

"If you don’t talk, I’ll hang up."

Fu Jichen wasn’t joking with her; he said this as he took the phone away from his ear, about to hang up.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute." Fu Yuling knew he was serious and hurriedly stopped him loudly, "I’m calling on behalf of Mom! She wants you to come back to the old house after you’re done working."

Fu Jichen hesitated for a moment and asked, "What’s the matter?"

Fu Yuling said, "She didn’t tell me. Just asked you to come back."

"Got it." This time, Fu Jichen didn’t hesitate. He hung up the phone, glanced at the screen for a few seconds, turned around, and went back to the meeting room to resume the meeting.

Around six in the afternoon, Fu Jichen finished his tasks at hand and left the company to return to the Fu Family’s old house.

Even if Wei Ronghua didn’t specifically instruct him, he often returned to the old house lately. The reason was nothing but the old man’s bad health and mood; having someone nearby was a comfort, even if nothing was done.

When Fu Jichen entered the house, Wei Ronghua was sitting in the living room wearing a light coffee-colored silk dress, unadorned, which appeared slightly austere compared to before. Her face had a delicate makeup, hiding a bit of weary and gloomy look.

"Did you need me for something?" Fu Jichen asked as he approached her, bowing his head.

Since the last time, the mother and son had a dispute on the second floor terrace because of Shen Jianian, they hadn’t sat down for a proper talk. Even before that, the scenes of intimate conversations were rare.

Coupled with Fu Zhengjun’s fatal car accident, the estrangement between mother and son deepened, reaching an icy point.

Wei Ronghua closely observed his brows, eyes, nose, and mouth, finding hardly any resemblance to herself or Fu Zhengjun.

She had never given it much thought before, but now, with constant concerns on her mind, she felt that his eyes seemed familiar. But where had she seen them? Perhaps they resembled his late grandmother? Apparently, not...

Perhaps due to her illness, her mind was really not functioning well; she could only grasp bits and pieces of many things without recalling the entire picture.

Wei Ronghua’s thoughts wandered endlessly, yet her face showed no anomalies, displaying a smile to him as always, gentle and loving: "It’s nothing serious. I’ve been sick for the past few days and avoiding family contact, but today I’m feeling better and wanted to cook a few dishes myself. Asked your sister to bring you back. Hope it didn’t interrupt your work?"

Fu Jichen spoke succinctly, "It didn’t."

"That’s good. It’s getting late. I’ll go to the kitchen to prepare, you can rest first, I’ll call you when the meal is ready." Wei Ronghua coughed twice as she got up, covered her mouth, and headed to the kitchen.

The housemaid had already prepared various ingredients, ready to put in the pot. Wei Ronghua donned a mask and began cooking.

Fu Jichen didn’t linger long in the living room. He went upstairs to his room, having nothing else to do but stand by the window smoking. When smoking the second cigarette, he received a call from Jiang City.

The caller stated that the police had interrogated the truck driver multiple times, using all standard procedural methods, but the driver’s statement remained unchanged, insisting it was a driving error and that no one approached him.

The driver’s various bank accounts didn’t show any unexplained deposits either.

The case is already in trial, barring unexpected developments; the initial verdict will sentence the truck driver to two years and six months for committing a traffic offense. Considering the driver’s situation, should he appeal, the second trial might impose a lighter sentence.

However, the driver’s lawyer conveyed the client’s intent not to appeal, so the final sentence is two years and six months.

After discussing the case, the man paused for a few seconds, seemingly unsure how to broach the next matter.

Fu Jichen was calm: "How’s Xu Ting’s situation?"

The man was about to talk about this, and upon hearing, he sighed softly: "The reward that Mr. Fu provided was considerable. Captain Xu, with his team, searched along the downstream Songli River beyond Jiang City, reaching Sui City, but still couldn’t find... Miss Shen’s body. Captain Xu says there’s no point in continuing the search."

Every word coming out felt so arduous.

Fu Jichen pressed the phone to his ear, oblivious to when the call ended. Only when the cigarette ash lengthened and burnt his finger did he regain his sense, took the phone away, tossed it onto the adjacent wooden table, and extinguished the cigarette butt.

After having dinner at the old house, Fu Jichen prepared to drive away when Wei Ronghua called him.

"Stay here tonight." Wei Ronghua urged him, "Your grandfather often can’t sleep at night; playing chess and chatting with him will make him feel better. Tomorrow morning, I’ll make some hand-rolled noodles for you. I remember you liked them a lot when you were little."

Just then, the butler came and said, "The old master calls for you, young master."

Fu Jichen nodded, put the car keys back in the cabinet, and went to the old master’s bedroom.

That night, Fu Jichen didn’t return to Yunding Palace, chatting with the old master until after ten, staying overnight at the old house.

Early the next morning, Wei Ronghua was up and busy in the kitchen, doing everything herself from mixing the dough, rolling it, to simmering the broth. When Fu Jichen woke up and came downstairs, the water in the pot had just started boiling, and Wei Ronghua was putting in the noodles.

The housemaid passed by the living room and spoke to Fu Jichen, who was drinking water, "Madam really cares for you. She’s not fully recovered yet but was up at 5:15 and busy until now."

Fu Jichen glanced at the kitchen, where Wei Ronghua was working behind the counter. There was no ripple in his eyes.

Other family members got up one after another; Fu Yuling, rarely seen at this hour, emerged from her room, sleepily wandered to the dining room, sat down beside Fu Jichen, and inhaled, "Smells delicious."

The hand-rolled noodles paired with tender beef sauce, along with bamboo shoots and tofu strips, were mouth-watering upon smelling.

Even while eating, Fu Yuling couldn’t be silenced, chattering away with irrelevant talk, occasionally asking Fu Jichen something which he didn’t respond to, silently finishing his breakfast, took his car keys, and drove to the company.

After he left, Fu Yuling crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and pouted discontentedly: "Brother is getting less talkative, like a cold stone."

Wei Ronghua, having been busy all morning, felt slightly unwell, ate a few bites of noodles, and went upstairs.

She didn’t go to the bedroom on the second floor but headed straight to the third floor, pushing open the door to Fu Jichen’s room where a housemaid was cleaning, the sheets and duvet covers had been removed and put into a dirty laundry basket.

Fu Jichen rarely spends the night at the old house; usually, after he stays over, the bedding must be cleaned and kept away, only laid out for his next stay.

"Madam, why have you come?" The housemaid, holding a rag, asked as she stood up.

"I’ll tidy up; you can leave now." Wei Ronghua said.

"How can that be?" The housemaid seemed startled, "Your health isn’t well yet; I’ll take care of it. You should go rest."

Aside from being startled, the housemaid was perplexed. Madam had never proactively offered to clean the young master’s room before. Although she favored him, cleaning rooms was trivial, unnecessary for her.

"Lying around for days stiffened my body. I wanted to move around a bit and work up a sweat, so I can sleep well tonight." Wei Ronghua patiently explained to the housemaid to prevent suspicion.

"Well then... alright." The housemaid hesitated and left, "If you feel unwell, do call me."

Watching the housemaid leave, Wei Ronghua closed the door, emptied the sheets and duvet covers from the laundry basket, searching through them without finding what she wanted, and bundled them into a heap, putting them back.

She hurriedly went to the bathroom and eventually found several hairs with follicles on the floor, put them into a transparent plastic bag, and quietly left the room.

She didn’t forget to tell the housemaid, "Tidied up a bit, feeling dizzy, you handle the rest."

Wei Ronghua returned to her room, leaned against the door, took a deep breath, pulled out some of her own hair, placed it into another plastic bag, and then dialed a phone number.

For someone of her status, it’s not difficult to find people to do favors.

After ten in the morning, Wei Ronghua, wearing a wide-brimmed bucket hat and sunglasses, went out.

She didn’t use the family driver but arranged for her own car, met someone at a café, handed over the items to the person doing her bidding, offering no further instructions but merely saying, "Keep it confidential." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs noᴠelfire.net

The person assured her, "You can rest easy."