Chapter 218: Chapter 218

The housekeeper aunt carrying fruit out of the kitchen was startled, nearly flinging the fruit platter, and greeted Fu Jichen nervously standing in the foyer, "Young Master."

Fu Jichen nodded and walked straight to Mr. Fu.

The housekeeper put down the fruit platter, silently took the cleaning tools and went to clean up the broken porcelain pieces on the floor, sighed silently; this tea set was not cheap, it was newly acquired by Mr. Fu last week and he loved it very much. He must have been very angry to smash it like that.

Fu Jichen sat down on the sofa, leaned over, poured himself a cup of tea, and joked, "This tea cup is a set, with one broken, the others are just decoration now."

Mr. Fu snorted coldly without beating around the bush and directly questioned, "Was it you who did that to the second Miss of the Xu Family?"

The sudden news spread widely and stirred up quite a fuss, impossible without someone behind it pushing it. Though Mr. Fu is old and doesn’t understand the internet intricacies, he grasps the basic strategies.

"Just for this matter, you called me back at noon?" Fu Jichen was thirsty, and unlike his usual leisurely sipping of tea, he quickly finished a cup in two or three gulps and poured himself another.

"Do you think this is a small matter?" Mr. Fu placed a hand on his knee, turning to gaze at this rather capable grandson.

Fu Jichen wasn’t afraid to meet his gaze, his tone steady: "If I said that before you called me, I had no idea about this matter, would you believe me?"

Mr. Fu fell silent, scrutinizing his face back and forth.

Fu Jichen continued, "Do you really think your grandson would ruin a woman’s reputation just to break off an engagement?"

"Was it really not you?" Google seaʀᴄh n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net

Actually, Mr. Fu had believed him when he started explaining, but he didn’t want to admit to his misunderstanding of him, his tone somewhat awkward.

Fu Jichen clearly told him, "No, it wasn’t."

Mr. Fu’s expression softened, changing the subject, "Have you eaten?"

"Don’t speak of eating, I haven’t even had a drop of water all morning."

Fu Jichen didn’t intend to complain, but aimed to emphasize that he was so busy he had no time or energy to deal with other things, henceforth for such matters, don’t suspect him.

Mr. Fu saw him sit down and drink three cups of tea, noticed his poor complexion and evident fatigue, spoke with concern in his tone, "No matter how busy work is, you must balance work and rest, don’t take your body lightly because you’re young. Since you’re back, rest after eating at home before leaving."

Fu Jichen did not object.

The dining table was mostly filled with dishes Fu Jichen liked. As the housekeeper brought the last dish of soup to the table, Fu Yuling returned home with a newly purchased designer bag, her mood as bright as the sun outside.

Seeing Fu Jichen at home made Fu Yuling even happier; she ran to the bathroom to wash her hands and sat beside him, "Brother, why did you come back to the old house at noon?"

Fu Jichen didn’t look at her, focused on serving himself food, and replied vaguely, "Came back for some matters."

The housekeeper brought a set of tableware and placed it in front of Fu Yuling. She used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of rib for Fu Jichen, "Eat more, work is so hard."

Fu Jichen glanced at her, and Fu Yuling met his gaze, her heart thumping, bending her lips into a smile, "Why are you looking at me, eat."

Mr. Fu looked at the elegantly dressed Fu Yuling and asked about his hospitalized daughter-in-law, "How’s your mother’s health lately?"

Fu Yuling pressed her lips and said nothing.

She occasionally visited Wei Ronghua in the hospital, bringing her soup made by the housekeeper, chatting to keep her company.

Knowing she wasn’t Wei Ronghua’s biological daughter, her mindset hadn’t changed much towards Wei Ronghua. After all, she was raised by her alone, and she knew nothing of her birth parents, but Wei Ronghua treated her differently than before.

Wei Ronghua hadn’t said anything harsh, nor revealed she wasn’t her daughter, but her eyes and actions showed estrangement, even disdain.

After repeatedly facing coldness, over time, Fu Yuling became less willing to seek discomfort near her.

Seeing she couldn’t answer, Mr. Fu immediately frowned to express his discontent, "That’s your mother, she’s ill, you should care more about her, not just play around all day."

Fu Yuling didn’t retort against Mr. Fu on this matter, obediently nodded, "I know, Grandpa, I’ll frequent the hospital to accompany Mom."

Mr. Fu felt slightly comforted, ate a few more bites, sighed, and said to Fu Jichen, "Given the scandal of that Xu family, it’s absolutely impossible for her to enter our Fu Family’s door. As I’ve always said, you shouldn’t dislike hearing me; you’re turning thirty-three next month, it’s time you settle down. Do you have any favored ladies from distinguished families?"

Mr. Fu completely dispelled the notion of marrying into the Xu Family, implying for Fu Jichen to choose a marriage partner himself, yet still confining the criteria to "ladies from distinguished families."

Fu Yuling’s chewing slowed, glanced at Fu Jichen beside her and heard him answer "No," secretly feeling joy.

Mr. Fu didn’t let the matter rest and asked, "What type of girl do you like? Grandpa will help you watch out."

Fu Yuling clenched the chopsticks, her ears perked up, afraid to miss a word.

Fu Jichen said, "Long hair, big eyes, fair skin, beautiful, a stubborn personality, quiet when needed, argumentative when temperamental, plays the cello, not great at cooking, likes to adopt stray cats and dogs, doesn’t like to act coy."

He added in his heart: But when occasionally showing a coy side, she is particularly captivating, making one want to bring all the world’s beautiful things before her.

It was the first time he heard such a long list of criteria for a partner, Mr. Fu was stunned, speechless.

Fu Yuling’s rapidly beating heart gradually cooled when she heard the words "plays the cello", realizing he was talking about Shen Jianian.

He still couldn’t forget her.

Shen Jianian has been dead for three years! Why can’t he let go!

Fu Jichen took a napkin to wipe his mouth, signaled he was done eating, got up to push the chair back, picked up the suit jacket hanging on the chair and draped it over his arm: "Grandpa, enjoy your meal, I’m heading to the office."

Fu Yuling watched his leaving figure, anxious at heart; some matters couldn’t wait any longer. Waiting around would only lead to news of his engagement to a family’s heiress again.

Handling those women, after all, was treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

She wanted to have him, wanted to be with him.

Shen Jianian wasn’t the gossiping type. She happened to hear the internet news when other orchestra members were gossiping.

After five in the evening, Pei Che finished work and drove over to pick her up.

Shen Jianian placed her cello in the back seat, went around to sit in the front passenger seat, and buckled her seatbelt while mentioning to Pei Che: "Did you hear about the Jun Mountain leader’s fiancée’s intimate photos with another man being circulated online?"

When she mentioned "Jun Mountain leader", Pei Che’s heart tightened, he turned to look at her: "I haven’t heard, where did you learn this?"

"The orchestra members were chatting gossip; I eavesdropped a few sentences." Shen Jianian remembered seeing that rumored Jun Mountain leader on TV news before, and her tone inevitably showed sympathy for him, "Seems like his name is Fu something Chen, with that family background, looks and charisma, yet his fiancée still dared to cheat on him."

Pei Che started the engine; his fingers resting on the steering wheel were slightly cool and didn’t respond to this.

He was very clear about his fear, afraid she would mention that person’s name, talk about things related to him, afraid the more she mentioned, the more he might remember something.

The way home was somewhat silent; Shen Jianian sensed the atmosphere was off but couldn’t figure out why.

In Jade Heaven’s villa, Zhou Ruo prepared a sumptuous meal, baked a fragrant cake and uncorked a bottle of red wine. Candles were lit on the silver candelabra, casting warm, swaying light, projecting a tender and moving shadow on the wall.

Seeing this scene, Shen Jianian was momentarily stunned, her eyelashes fluttered as she carefully recalled everyone’s birthdays: "It seems today is nobody’s birthday..."

She turned back to ask Pei Che behind her; somehow, Pei Che, who had been following her inside, was gone.

Zhou Ruo stood smiling nearby and didn’t answer her question.

Pei Che reappeared, holding a bouquet of roses, walking slowly towards Shen Jianian, his handsome face carried a smile, albeit a bit nervous.

Seeing this, Shen Jianian immediately understood what was happening, feeling a bit at a loss; she looked at Zhou Ruo, then at Pei Che.

Last night in the car, Pei Che said to her: Let’s get married.

At that moment, she paused for quite a while, not rejecting marriage itself, just finding it sudden, responding plaintively to Pei Che: "Who proposes ?"

Pei Che followed her words and asked: "What kind of proposal does Little Nian want?"

Shen Jianian said, "There should be a candlelit dinner and flowers, with one knee on the ground, preferably witnessed by family. But not in a public place; I would feel uncomfortable."

In the end, she was just an ordinary girl, unable to break from convention.

Pei Che had listened, and so quickly put it into practice, planning a candlelit dinner tonight, bought flowers beforehand and hidden them at home, with Zhou Ruo as a family witness.

Under Shen Jianian’s gaze, Pei Che knelt down on one knee, his graceful features filled with deep affection in the candlelight.

From the pocket of his suit pants, he took out a dark blue velvet box, gently opened it, revealing a diamond ring lying on the velvet cloth.

"Little Nian, I’m so thankful that after all these years, we’re still by each other’s side." Pei Che said his first sentence with tears in his eyes, yet persisted in saying what he wanted to, "You’ve suffered a lot, whether physically or mentally, even if you don’t speak of it, I know how difficult these three years have been for you. Fortunately, everything has passed with time, and we’re still fine. My eighteenth birthday wish was to always be together with you, to care for you, protect you, make you the happiest girl in the world. Little Nian, would you marry me, spend the rest of life together with me, growing old together?"