Chapter 244: Chapter 244

Before executing the plan, Shen Jianian looked around; the gardener responsible for tending the garden hadn’t come yet. From her observations over the past few days, she noted the gardener usually arrived after nine. Cheng Jin was ironing clothes, and wouldn’t be coming out for a while. The guard in the security booth was far away and typically wouldn’t notice this area.

If she didn’t escape now, then when?

Shen Jianian took out a roll of nylon rope hidden behind the flower stand, which she had secretly pocketed yesterday while helping Aunt Cheng clean the storage room.

It was her first time scaling a wall, and it’d be a lie to say Shen Jianian wasn’t nervous. She took a deep breath, convinced she could do it. She then tied the rope to the gaps in the back of a wicker chair and threw the other end over the top of the wall with force.

Wearing slippers, she moved especially cautiously, first stepping onto the chair, then using her arm strength to climb to the top of the wall with difficulty. Follow current novels on noⅴelfire.net

One of her slippers fell off. Despairing, Shen Jianian closed her eyes. She couldn’t jump down to retrieve it, so she had to stand on the wall with one foot bare and glance outside. A rush of dizziness immediately overcame her.

Previously unperturbed, she only realized once she stood up there that the wall was much higher than she had imagined.

Swallowing hard, Shen Jianian knew she couldn’t back down now that the arrow was strung. Following her plan, she pulled the rope with effort to lift the wicker chair from below.

She had mulled over this method for days; if she could successfully place the chair outside the wall, she would be able to land perfectly using the chair’s height.

However, executing the plan was not going as imagined.

Shen Jianian struggled to place the chair outside the wall, but she faltered, scared to jump down, fearing the chair might overturn if she landed unstably.

She wobbly stood on the wall, her pant legs billowing in the wind, amidst the heat that wrapped around her, sweating profusely on her forehead and drenched on her back, indecisive about taking a gamble or abandoning midway.

Gambling had two possible outcomes: land safely and gain freedom, or break an arm or leg and end up hospitalized.

Before She could weigh out the result, a slightly anxious voice suddenly came from her ear: "Shen Jianian, what are you climbing so high for, get down for me."

In the middle of pondering, Shen Jianian was startled upon hearing Fu Jichen’s voice, causing her body to sway, and the other slipper on her foot also fell outside the wall.

Following the sound, she saw Fu Jichen, who had already left for the company, had somehow returned, standing not far away in a black custom-tailored business suit, his sleeves revealing a sliver of white shirt, the platinum cufflinks reflecting a beam of shattered light under the sun that dazzled her eyes.

Fu Jichen took three steps turning into two and walked to the base of the wall, extending his arms toward her: "Come down."

From his angle, the sun was so glaring it made it difficult to open his eyes wide. Fu Jichen squinted slightly, gently furrowing his brows, his impeccably styled hair slightly disheveled from his anxious walk over.

Seeing Shen Jianian unmoving, Fu Jichen softened his tone, gently coaxing: "Don’t be afraid, jump down, I’ll catch you."

Having endured the taste of breaking a limb before, Shen Jianian carried lingering psychological scars, making her hesitant and indecisive once she stood on that wall.

Fu Jichen stepped closer: "Listen to me, come down."

Shen Jianian, heart pounding like a drum, closed her eyes and jumped down. Fu Jichen caught her steadily, not letting her feet touch the ground, carrying her back inside, his heart equally restless.

"Do you not know how dangerous wall-scaling is? What if you fall?" Fu Jichen contained himself from snapping at her, but his tone carried weight, "If something happened, what would I do?"

Still shaken, her heart racing, Shen Jianian couldn’t hold it in upon hearing this: "If it wasn’t for you confining me, restricting my freedom, would I risk danger to scale the wall?"

He was the real culprit, so why was he scolding her.

Hearing the argument, Cheng Jin turned off the iron and came out, surprised to see Fu Jichen returned, and then noticing Shen Jianian’s angry face, not comprehending.

Shaking off Fu Jichen’s embrace, Shen Jianian stood barefoot on the floor.

Fu Jichen, at a loss with her, pressed his hand at his brow, went to the shoe cabinet to fetch her a pair of slippers, lifted his wrist to check the time, knowing he’d be late if he didn’t get to the company soon. This morning’s meeting was crucial, with a bunch of board members waiting and he could not stand them up.

"Aunt Cheng, keep an eye on her, don’t let her run around or tamper with dangerous things."

After hurriedly instructing, Fu Jichen took the elevator upstairs, shortly coming down with a document in hand.

He had left a crucial document at home, making the driver turn back to retrieve it, coincidentally witnessing Shen Jianian unstable on the wall, scaring him to nearly a cardiac arrest. He underestimated her, after three years apart, she had the nerve to scale a wall, where before, she’d complain about walking too far.

Before leaving, Fu Jichen gave Shen Jianian a profound look, trying to keep his tone soft to avoid angering her: "Wait for me to come back, we’ll talk it through then."

As the main door shut, silence engulfed the room.

Shen Jianian put on slippers, threw herself onto the sofa, and secretly fumed for a while. After gulping down a large glass of plain water, she still felt uncomfortable all over.

Fu Jichen isn’t some CEO; he’s practically a tyrant! A bandit! A robber! A scoundrel! He’s domineering, overbearing, unreasonable, and autocratic!

Shen Jianian couldn’t believe she used to like him; it must have been because he forcibly tied her to his side, just like her current situation, or she was brainwashed.

Cheng Jin saw her face flushed with anger and embarrassment and didn’t know what to say for a moment. After she calmed down a bit, she tried to ask the reason: "What happened between you and Mr. Fu?"

For the past week, Fu Jichen had been taking time every day to stay home with her, and their relationship seemed to be improving. Why did they suddenly have a fight?

Facing Aunt Cheng’s concerned gaze, Shen Jianian suddenly couldn’t speak. Was she really supposed to say she got caught by Fu Jichen while trying to escape over the wall?

Cheng Jin knew better; since Shen Jianian wasn’t willing to talk, she didn’t press further.

After Shen Jianian went upstairs to rest, Cheng Jin learned the whole story because the gardener, while tending to the plants in the garden, mentioned that the rattan chair under the flower rack was missing. He searched and found a single slipper.

Cheng Jin glanced at the slipper; it was the one Shen Jianian had worn before and asked the gardener where he found it.

The gardener pointed to show her, saying it was at the base of the wall.

Cheng Jin went there and couldn’t find the other slipper.

They both rounded the exterior of the villa’s wall and saw the missing rattan chair and the other slipper. A nylon rope was tied to the chair’s back, and the rope was quite long.

Cheng Jin looked up to gauge the height of the wall and mentally reconstructed the scene of Shen Jianian using the chair to climb over the wall. She must have been caught red-handed by Mr. Fu, who had returned to fetch something, leading to a confrontation.

When Fu Jichen left, he said they would talk properly when he got back, and Shen Jianian waited all day.

At 8 p.m., Fu Jichen returned to Yunding Palace.

He was very busy today; besides meetings, there were some unresolved issues from the previous days that needed to be dealt with intensively.

He had called Cheng Jin in advance, instructing her to tell the chef to prepare dinner for Shen Jianian alone and not to save any for him since he’d be eating at the company.

The first thing Fu Jichen did when he got home was to ask Cheng Jin, "How did she eat dinner?"

Cheng Jin was accustomed to it and answered meticulously: "Her appetite was good. She drank a small bowl of old duck with winter melon soup half an hour before dinner. The chef made steamed eggs with green peas and shrimp, stir-fried celery and beef, and spinach salad. She tried a bit of everything and drank a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice." After a pause, figuring the gentleman might care about more than that, she added, "Afterwards, she took a walk, seemed in fair spirits, and then returned to her room."

Fu Jichen replied with an "Mm" and walked into the elevator.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, carried it over his arm, and loosened the Windsor knot at his collar. After a busy day, he let himself relax, unable to hide the fatigue on his face and in his posture. Leaning against the elevator wall, he slightly tilted his head back, undoing two more buttons at the top of his shirt.

When he reached the third floor, Fu Jichen straightened, back against the elevator wall, and stepped out toward his own bedroom.

Shen Jianian had showered and was sitting on the sofa watching a movie. When she heard the knock on the door, she didn’t respond; knocking at this hour wasn’t likely to be Aunt Cheng.

Regardless, whether she granted permission or not, if he wanted to come in, he would come in.

Sure enough, without waiting for her response, Fu Jichen pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing her, the weariness between his brows seemed to lessen. He walked over, casually draping his suit jacket over the back of the sofa and perched sideways on the armrest next to her.

The man’s presence was powerful, his aura enveloping Shen Jianian entirely.

"Let’s talk." Dressed in a white shirt, Fu Jichen spoke as he unbuttoned his cuffs, exposing a wrist adorned with a watch and wrapped with a golden chain.

Just right, Shen Jianian also wanted to talk to him. She picked up the remote control to turn off the TV, and the room suddenly fell silent. She wanted to stand up and put distance between them, but the man’s hand gripped her shoulder: "You’re not going anywhere; we’ll talk right here."

"Just tell me, what do I have to do for you to let me go?" Shen Jianian had no choice but to sit down, turning slightly to face him, her face tense and resolute.

The defiant look was exactly like when he first met her.

Fu Jichen had anticipated her words and had already thought of a plan. As soon as she asked, he replied, "One month. Stay here for one month."

Shen Jianian stared at him blankly. Was he joking?

Fu Jichen’s eyes darkened, his gaze fixed on her face: "If at the end of the month you still don’t like me and insist on leaving, I’ll let you go."