Chapter 67: Chapter 67
"Jianian, look quickly!"
Bai Changxia nudged Shen Jianian’s shoulder, holding the phone up to her face.
The news was accompanied by a photo of the T3 terminal at Beicheng International Airport. A tall man dressed in black casual wear, wearing a fisherman’s hat, sunglasses, and a mask, was pushing two identical-sized suitcases.
Just as the text described, he returned home discreetly.
His identity was the sole heir of the Beicheng Pei Family. No matter how low-key his appearance when traveling, he would still be recognized, photographed, and posted online to gain traffic.
There were many onlookers in the comments.
"Is the Pei Family’s Crown Prince really this handsome? I would’ve thought he was some popular young idol."
"He didn’t even show his face, how can you tell he’s handsome?"
"You just don’t understand, a handsome guy has an aura about him."
"Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, such a perfect head-to-body ratio, I have my dream material for tonight."
"Pei Che, ah, I remember when we were in high school, someone submitted his photos, and it went viral. He was said to be the most handsome among the second-generation rich kids."
"Many second-generation kids in the Beicheng circles haven’t shown their faces. Whether he’s the most handsome remains to be seen."
Bai Changxia looked at Shen Jianian, who was in a daze, with a complex tone: "Who would’ve thought he’d really finish his studies early and return home?" Probably because after inquiring from many sources, he still couldn’t reach Shen Jianian, so he couldn’t stay overseas to study with peace of mind.
Judging by the time Pei Che took for his doctorate, he hasn’t graduated yet. His rush to return home could only be for Shen Jianian. Now that Bai Changxia knew about the conflict between Shen Jianian and the Pei Family, she felt Pei Che’s return would make things tricky.
He and Jianian grew up together as childhood sweethearts, their feelings were extraordinary. With new grudges and old feelings, what would Jianian choose?
No matter what choice she made, Jianian would be the one hurt.
Even though Bai Changxia wasn’t directly involved, she felt extremely conflicted. Imagining herself in the same situation, she wondered what she would do.
The answer was she didn’t know.
Shen Jianian didn’t express any opinion about Pei Che’s return, her gaze shifted indifferently from the phone screen: "Let’s sleep, I have work tomorrow morning."
Bai Changxia stayed in Yicheng for two days, Shen Jianian urged her to return.
"I’m very busy with work and don’t have much time to spend with you. I’d feel bad knowing you’re always staying in the hotel." After work, Shen Jianian came to help her pack, "As you can see, I’m doing quite well."
She bought some local specialties from Yicheng and packed them into Bai Changxia’s suitcase.
"You sit and rest, I’ll do it." Bai Changxia couldn’t argue with her, as Shen Jianian was now quite stubborn, almost unyielding, different from the obedient and cute Shen Jianian she used to be.
Shen Jianian put things down and sat on the sofa, watching Bai Changxia neatly fold clothes and stuff them into the suitcase.
"I can go back, but you must promise to keep in touch with me often." Bai Changxia made this demand.
Shen Jianian agreed without hesitation: "I promise."
Only then did Bai Changxia smile.
After checking out, Shen Jianian arranged for the hotel’s business car to take Bai Changxia to the airport. They talked a lot on the way, purposefully avoiding that name.
After watching Bai Changxia pass through security, Shen Jianian put her hands in her down jacket pockets, turned around, walked out of the airport, and looked up at the gray sky, taking a deep breath of cold air.
Just as an empty car drove by, she waved it down and got in.
With the year-end approaching, everyone at the company was exceedingly busy. As the assistant to the president, she was no exception.
The taxi headed towards Rose Manor. Shen Jianian pulled out her phone from her pocket, using the spare time to check the work group chat to avoid missing important messages.
It was rare to see gossip in the group chat created by the secretarial office. Shen Jianian saw the name she deliberately avoided in her conversation with Bai Changxia.
"Have any of you seen this morning’s trending topic? The chairman of the Pei Group announced that his son, Pei Che, will take over as president. That onboarding photo has gone viral online."
"I can’t find that trending topic anymore, send the photo for me to see."
"What’s up, this domineering president looks kind of easy to bully."
"Hahaha, he may have the looks, but not the authority. Our Mr. Chen is still awesome!"
Coming back to her senses, Shen Jianian had already opened the picture sent by someone in the group.
In front of the Pei Group building was a brand new black Bentley. The man had just gotten out, with the car door still open. He wore an expensive suit, adjusted his wristwatch with one hand, his face fair and flawless in the golden sunlight, his eyelids slightly drooped, unsharp, his overall aura gentle and crisp. Just one look would reveal he hadn’t been tempered by society.
The photo was candidly taken by a passerby. The angle wasn’t even good but felt real, explaining why others perceived him as easy to bully.
He seemed like the campus heartthrob from one’s youthful days, wearing a white shirt and riding a bicycle, only with a change of outfit.
Shen Jianian pressed the lock screen button, closed her eyes briefly, then turned her head to look out of the car window.
"Driver, please stop here."
Not far from the main entrance of Rose Manor, a previous taxi driver mentioned it was inconvenient to turn around ahead, so he dropped her off here. This time, she asked to get off before the driver could mention it.
The car pulled over, Shen Jianian paid the fare, and walked along the road covered with fallen French sycamore leaves.
Recently, there were frequent strong winds, sweeping the leaves repeatedly, yet every few hours, they were layered again. The sole of her boots rustled over them.
The tree trunks were bare; once cleaned, there might not be any leaves left to fall.
Another gust rose, swirling dust and stones, blurring Shen Jianian’s vision.
She stopped, rubbing her eyes. Without a mirror, she couldn’t see clearly, and could only rely on feeling, rubbing several times, though the sandy feeling in her eyes persisted.
A car horn suddenly honked behind her, startling Shen Jianian.
Qu Mo found it quite amazing that, whenever driving here, they would bump into Shen Jianian walking by the roadside.
Shen Jianian squinted with one eye to look over and saw it was a familiar car. She opened the door and sat in the back. The faint smell of alcohol filled the cabin, indicating Fu Jichen had probably just returned from a social engagement, resting against the seat with closed eyes.
Feeling someone sit beside him, Fu Jichen opened his eyes, seeing Shen Jianian covering one eye.
He pinched her chin, turning her face towards him, just as a tear fell from her eye, rolling down her cheek, her eye red.
"What’s wrong?" Fu Jichen’s breath exuded a denser scent of alcohol.
Shen Jianian, embarrassed to admit that sand got into her eyes, pushed his hand away, rubbed the inner corner of her eye, blinked a few times, feeling much relief as if the grit had been expelled from her eyes.
The car drove into Rose Manor as they got out and went inside.
It was past dinner time. Busy sending Bai Changxia to the airport, Shen Jianian hadn’t had a chance to eat. Fu Jichen, occupied with business talks at a dinner event, hadn’t eaten much either.
After inquiring, Zhou Rongzhen had the chef prepare some light late-night snacks.
Sitting in the dining room, Shen Jianian’s phone rang twice. While eating, she opened it, forgetting she hadn’t exited WeChat earlier. Once unlocked, a picture occupied most of the screen.
Hastily, she tapped to back out.
But it was too late; Fu Jichen had already seen it. The man’s features in the photo were clear, ones he had seen in the investigative report.
Fu Jichen sipped his soup, sneering with a faint smile.
"Are you weeping over the enemy’s son, or mourning the loss of your past feelings, Jianian?"