Chapter 245: Chapter 245

Shen Jianian didn’t feel this deal was to her advantage. Staying in this villa for a month, a full thirty days, facing Fu Jichen every day, just thinking about it was unbearable.

Fu Jichen’s attitude was also very clear, leaving no room for negotiation: "If you don’t want to agree, then forget it, we’ll just maintain the status quo."

Hearing this, a nerve in Shen Jianian’s brain twitched.

If she agreed, she would have to get along with Fu Jichen for a month. If she didn’t agree, she would be with him until the end of time. No matter what she chose, she was not satisfied. Yet she had no choice but to choose.

"Fine, a month it is," Shen Jianian compromised, clenching her jowls. "But I have three rules."

"Let’s hear them," Fu Jichen raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes full of indulgence.

"You are not allowed to enter my room without permission, not allowed to take advantage of me, not allowed to force me to do things I dislike," Shen Jianian rattled off her three "not allows," feeling it was not enough to restrain Fu Jichen’s behavior, and added another one after thinking, "Also, if necessary, I want to be able to go out. You can have someone follow me. Rest assured, if I promise not to run away, I will keep to it."

Fu Jichen asked her teasingly, "You call this three rules? There are four altogether."

"If you don’t agree, forget it, we’ll maintain the status quo," Shen Jianian retorted with his earlier words, then switched her tone sarcastically, "But I will think of every way to escape from here. There will always be times when you’re not vigilant, and I don’t believe I can’t escape."

Fu Jichen chuckled lightly. The reason he proposed this deal with her was that he was afraid she would find ways to climb over the wall again or do something else dangerous. If any mishap occurred, he would be too late to regret it.

"You agree?" Shen Jianian looked at the faint smile at the corner of his mouth and couldn’t quite discern his thoughts.

He was always enigmatic, sometimes appearing as a gentle and polite gentleman, other times seeming unreasonable and insidious.

Like now, she wasn’t actually sure if his words were credible. If he refused to let her go after the month was up, she would have no recourse.

Fu Jichen met her gaze, his voice low, rich, and magnetic, like aged strong wine: "I’m considering your conditions. What kind of behavior would count as taking advantage?"

Shen Jianian’s throat caught. After a long pause, she awkwardly said, "Physical contact counts."

The last time he fed her porridge, mouth-to-mouth... left her with a shadow, and she had to emphasize this point to prevent him from catching her off guard again.

Fu Jichen mused aloud, "Holding hands is not allowed either?"

Shen Jianian didn’t even think about it, absolutely resolute: "No." Check latest chapters at NoveI-Fire.ɴet

"Shaking hands, a normal social interaction, how did it become taking advantage in your eyes?" Fu Jichen said helplessly, "Shen Jianian, I’m your boyfriend, is it appropriate for you to be so strict with me?"

Hearing the words "boyfriend," Shen Jianian’s scalp tingled with discomfort. She just wanted to retort: "You’re not..."

Before she could finish, Fu Jichen pressed two fingers to her lips, not wanting to hear her hurtful words.

He could understand her not remembering their past, but he was human too and could feel vulnerable. Every time he heard her say something hurtful, his heart felt uncomfortable. Over time, he worried his heart would have issues.

"Allow me to remind you, we didn’t break up three years ago, so I’m still your boyfriend," Fu Jichen said, "In recent days, you probably learned a lot about our past from Aunt Cheng. Whether I’ve been lying to you or not, you’re the clearest in your heart. I just regret not dragging you to the Civil Affairs Bureau back then to get a marriage certificate, giving you the chance to disassociate from me now."

Shen Jianian pushed his hand away, blinking, unable to utter a single word.

She always thought she’d seen Fu Jichen at his most shameless, yet he continuously refreshed her perceptions. Now he could even calmly say things like dragging her to get a marriage certificate.

Fu Jichen said, "Three rules are three rules. The no taking advantage one is removed, so it’s exactly three rules."

Shen Jianian was adamantly opposed: "No, it has to be done my way." To give in now would be giving him an opportunity, she wasn’t that foolish.

The negotiation between the two was akin to bargaining. One retreated as the other advanced, neither wanting to lose.

In the end, it was Fu Jichen who gave in, agreeing to her: "Fine, I won’t take advantage of you."

Shen Jianian felt much more at ease, her tightly pressed lips subtly curving upwards, celebrating her victory.

Fu Jichen raised his hand, palm facing her: "High five to seal the agreement."

"Fu Jichen, you’d better keep your word, or else..." Shen Jianian drawled, realizing she didn’t have anything to threaten him with. How could she control the CEO of Jun Mountain easily? "Or else I’ll make your household restless."

Fu Jichen held back his laughter, pretending to believe her earnestly: "Hmm, I’ve noted that."

Shen Jianian raised her right hand, palm to his, clapping lightly, marking the agreement’s effectiveness.

Fu Jichen suddenly said, "Today is almost over, so it doesn’t count. The one-month period starts tomorrow."

To this, Shen Jianian didn’t dispute with him: "Alright."

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Jichen grasped her hand firmly, his gaze openly revealing his affection for her. Shen Jianian widened her eyes, trying to pull her hand out but unable to resist his strength: "What are you doing?! Let go."

"We agreed the arrangement starts tomorrow, so today doesn’t count," Fu Jichen stated naturally.

Shen Jianian’s heart rate spiked instantly, wondering if it went over a hundred and thirty. She was well aware it wasn’t because of being moved, but from anger. Fu Jichen, true to being a businessman, knew how to exploit loopholes.

"Fu Jichen, can you stop being unreasonable."

"Although I agreed to your conditions, honestly, your requests seem quite unreasonable to me," Fu Jichen remarked, "We have done the most intimate things before, and now you ask that I can’t hold your hand, can’t hug or kiss you?"

"Fu Jichen!" Shen Jianian was furious and embarrassed, her cheeks burning as if they were set ablaze.

No matter what he said, she couldn’t imagine having done such things with him.

Seeing he had irritated her, Fu Jichen’s gaze surrendered, verbally conceding: "Alright, I’ll stop talking about it." He gently squeezed her fingers in a placating gesture.

Looking at the hand he held in his palm, Shen Jianian took a deep breath and decided to talk properly: "Can you let go of me first?"

"It’s still early, let’s talk about something else," Fu Jichen didn’t let go but changed the topic, "What else do you want to know about the past? Whatever Aunt Cheng doesn’t know, I do. I’ll tell you."

Shen Jianian indeed had a stomach full of questions but wasn’t in the mood to talk to him now: "There’s nothing I want to ask, please leave my territory, I want to sleep."

Fu Jichen switched the hand holding her and showed her the watch on his left wrist: "It’s not even nine o’clock, sleeping so early?"

Shen Jianian: "Is that not allowed?"

Fu Jichen sighed helplessly. Since she said she wanted to sleep, he definitely couldn’t stop her from sleeping.

"Remember to cover yourself with the quilt when sleeping with the air conditioner on at night. Don’t catch a cold again." Fu Jichen released her hand, stood up, picked up the suit jacket draped over the sofa back, looked down at her, his heart slightly swaying, and with a large hand cupped the back of her neck, he lowered his head and planted a light kiss on her forehead, "Goodnight."

Before Shen Jianian could react, Fu Jichen had stepped back.

It took Shen Jianian a second to process, and then rage surged to her head. She grabbed the throw pillow on the sofa and hurled it at him, shouting, "You rascal."

Fu Jichen caught the pillow with one hand, placed it back, his lips curling slightly, showing he was in a good mood: "Next time, use some different words to scold me."

Shen Jianian’s face turned red and hot. She felt that in front of Fu Jichen, she was like a rabbit, no matter how she flailed, in the end, she couldn’t escape his grasp.

The "Three Rules" took effect the next day.

Fu Jichen went to the company in the morning and came back in the afternoon to accompany her. Shen Jianian had been too angry to sleep last night, hiding in her room and refusing to see him—one of their agreements was that Fu Jichen was not allowed to enter her room without permission.

Fu Jichen had said yesterday that her requests seemed quite unreasonable. Shen Jianian didn’t think so at the time, but later she realized it was pretty unreasonable. The whole villa was his, including the room she was staying in, which was his bedroom, yet she demanded he couldn’t enter his own bedroom.

But she factually needed a relatively private space. Without freedom already, if she also had no privacy, it might not take long before she went crazy.

Her daily activities could be summed up in one sentence: eating, sleeping, taking walks, watching movies, reading books.

Sometimes she also worried, whether Pei Che hadn’t received her news and was anxious and worried because he couldn’t find her. What about the symphony, her manager couldn’t reach her and was probably frantic.

After three in the afternoon, while Shen Jianian was reading in her room, there was a knock on the door, followed immediately by Cheng Jin’s voice: "Jianian, it’s me."

After many days of observation, Cheng Jin already confirmed she was indeed the Jianian from before. Even if a person’s appearance changed or memories were gone, some habits wouldn’t change, and with enough time, recognition would naturally come.

Shen Jianian lifted her eyes from the book: "Come in."

Cheng Jin pushed the door open and said to her, "Bai Changxia is here to see you. She’s in the downstairs living room, talking with Mr. Fu."