Chapter 72: Chapter 72

January 1st, the first day of the new year, still during the holiday, Shen Jianian was able to sleep until noon and woke up in Fu Jichen’s bedroom, which had long become a habit.

The curtains were drawn, making the room slightly dim.

Shen Jianian rubbed her heavy head and found that her clothes were gone. She had slipped into one of Fu Jichen’s shirts, ash gray with metal buttons, expertly tailored and crafted with excellent materials and fit.

The shirt was long enough to be worn as a dress, so she wasn’t wearing pants, and her fair, smooth legs peeked out from under the blanket.

Fu Jichen was not in the bedroom, so Shen Jianian didn’t linger, got up, threw a blanket over her shoulders, and quietly returned to her room to change into a set of loungewear, feeling much more comfortable.

Apparently, she had gotten drunk again last night.

Shen Jianian pressed her fingers to her brow as she dragged herself to the bathroom to freshen up.

The mirror reflected her rosy complexion, and upon closer inspection, there was no sign of the usual fatigue and weariness after drinking. On the contrary, it looked like she had had a good night’s sleep.

In fact, she had slept very well last night.

She hadn’t woken up once and had forgotten all of her dreams.

As Shen Jianian brushed her teeth, she swung her arm, and the cool chain on her wrist slid back and forth. She saw in the mirror that there was now a gold bracelet on her wrist, and she was momentarily stunned.

With her mouth full of toothpaste, she raised her wrist to inspect it, thinking back carefully. It seemed like Fu Jichen had put it on her.

Her memory of last night only lingered on Fu Jichen placing the bracelet on her; she had no recollection of what happened afterward or what the two of them had said to each other.

Shen Jianian rinsed her mouth, thinking that Fu Jichen probably wouldn’t act out of line while she was drunk.

She tied her long hair up and headed downstairs with her phone in hand.

There were fewer servants in the living room as some had gone home for the holidays. Aunt Zhen was still there, putting down her sewing box and standing up to ask her, "Jianian, you’re up? What would you like for lunch?"

"Sir went to the office early this morning."

Busy on the first day of the new year, Shen Jianian admired him a bit.

"I’ll just eat something simple. I’m not very hungry," she said, sitting down on the sofa.

She had eaten too much last night, like an emotionless eating machine, so much so that she hadn’t digested it all yet.

Aunt Zhen went to inform the chef and then returned to sit beside Shen Jianian. Seeing that there was no one else in the living room, she couldn’t help but bring up what happened at the dinner table last night: "You know, you were quite bold to say such a thing to the sir."

Shen Jianian helped her thread a needle, but upon hearing this, she mismatched the thin thread with the needle’s eye and couldn’t get it through: "What did I say?"

"You don’t remember?" To help her recall, Aunt Zhen provided a detailed account, "When the roast chicken was being served, you cut off two chicken legs, gave one to me, and kept one for yourself. Sir was a bit jealous and asked what he should eat. You answered that he should eat the chicken butt."

Shen Jianian held the needle and almost pricked her finger.

Did she really say that?

She looked at Aunt Zhen with incredulity and a need for confirmation, hoping she was joking.

However, Aunt Zhen nodded in her line of sight: "You did say that. I was so scared, I was just short of covering your mouth. Sir’s temper isn’t that great. I was really afraid he’d lose his cool right there. Thankfully, he didn’t say a word, though his expression wasn’t pleasant."

Shen Jianian held her forehead, guessing that the alcohol must have gone to her head at that time, leading her to speak recklessly.

Naively, she thought her drunken memory ended with Fu Jichen placing the bracelet on her, unaware that she had already been quite inebriated by then.

No wonder her mental snapshots were so fragmented and disconnected.

The phone rang, snapping Shen Jianian out of her thoughts. She gathered herself, finished threading the needle for Aunt Zhen, and went to the side room to answer her phone.

Bai Changxia’s tired voice came through: "Jianian, what are you doing during the holiday?"

Shen Jianian absentmindedly ran her fingers over the fresh-cut flowers on the solid wood cabinet, saying, "Just resting at home."

Bai Changxia knew that the "home" she referred to was Fu Jichen’s residence, the mysterious Rose Manor in the mouths of Yicheng’s people.

"How’s Auntie’s health?" Shen Jianian asked with concern.

On the line, Bai Changxia yawned: "She’s had surgery and is still recovering. I stayed at the hospital overnight, awake till dawn. You know, I’m picky about where I sleep, and it’s hard for me to rest in a new place. But my sister is coming in from out of town today, so I might get a bit of a break."

Bai Changxia’s family was in the jade business, with several stores in Beicheng, leading a life more affluent than most and free from worries about basic needs, allowing her to pursue art as far as she wanted.