Chapter 79: Chapter 79

On the way back, it was very quiet. Shen Jianian curled up in the wide seat with her shoes off.

Her ankle throbbed faintly, her body and heart were exhausted, and those scattered emotions receded like the tide, rendering her drowsy, her head nodding off to sleep.

The drive wasn’t long. When they arrived at Rose Manor, Shen Jianian didn’t let Fu Jichen carry her; she slipped into her slippers and got out of the car by herself.

The hospital had prescribed her a bottle of iodine and instructed her to apply it to the wound two to three times a day until it healed. She carried the small bag upstairs to her room, heading to the bathroom to take a shower first.

"Jianian, I’m coming in."

The voice outside was Zhou Rongzhen’s.

Shen Jianian had just finished her shower and dried her hair. She responded upon hearing this.

The door was pushed open, and Zhou Rongzhen came in with some food. A bowl of steaming hot duck soup, a portion of pan-fried dumplings sprinkled with green onions and white sesame seeds. Next to it, a small dish held a dip, fragrant and tangy with vinegar.

"The gentleman asked me to bring you a late-night snack." Zhou Rongzhen found a place to set down the tray, lingering for a moment before leaving.

Shen Jianian had eaten some things at the dinner party earlier and wasn’t hungry, but she didn’t want to waste Aunt Zhen’s goodwill, so she nodded, saying, "I’ll eat it later."

She unscrewed the cap of the iodine, pinched a cotton swab to dip it, and applied it to the wound. The dark brown medication not absorbed dripped down, threatening to ruin the sofa beneath her.

Shen Jianian hurriedly tried to manage, fortunately grabbing a tissue from Zhou Rongzhen, who had offered it in time. She wiped away the liquid that almost reached her soles, sparing the expensive sofa from disaster.

Zhou Rongzhen brought a trash can closer for her to throw things away, abruptly saying, "The gentleman still cares about you."

Shen Jianian looked up with clear eyes at her but said nothing.

Zhou Rongzhen continued, "When you turned away earlier, he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window smoking several cigarettes. He was in a particularly bad mood."

Shen Jianian, unafraid of her mockery, mocked herself, saying, "Maybe to him, I’m more like his personal property. He just doesn’t like others coveting his possessions."

"How can you think that way, Jianian?" Zhou Rongzhen said incredulously.

Shen Jianian shook her head, not bothering to explain more.

Some things Aunt Zhen didn’t know, but she was clear on them herself.

Zhou Rongzhen realized saying those two sentences was out of line; the first rule of being a servant is to say less and do more. She smiled and changed the subject, "Just leave it there when you finish eating. I’ll clean up in the morning. Go to bed early."

"Mm." Shen Jianian understood Aunt Zhen’s intentions. She was looking out for her and for Fu Jichen as well. "Thank you, Aunt Zhen. You should rest early too."

Now alone in the room, she tied up her hair and sat at the table to eat the late-night snack.

She ate three of the pan-fried dumplings and drank a little more than half of the soup. She couldn’t eat any more, resting her cheek in her palm with a vacant stare.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, "thud thud," twice.

Shen Jianian put down her chopsticks and went to open the door, already guessing who it was.

Fu Jichen, having taken a shower, stood outside in a soft-textured, light gray home outfit. His hair was slightly wet, and his deep eyes resembled those one would imagine in a sunless, primeval rainforest.

They hadn’t spoken since leaving the hospital, and reconciliation wasn’t necessary, nor did they seem to have intense conflict.

Shen Jianian held the door handle with one hand, stepping aside to let him in.

Fu Jichen’s nose slightly twitched, catching the scent of food: "What are you eating?"

"Isn’t it the late-night snack you had Aunt Zhen bring?" Shen Jianian closed the door behind him, following him inside, "Or was Aunt Zhen lying to me?"

Fu Jichen: "I was the one who told her to bring it."

"Oh." Shen Jianian nodded and pointed to the half-left meal on the table, casually asking him, "Do you want some? I can’t finish it."

Fu Jichen stopped in his tracks and turned back, looking at her as if to say, "Do you want to hear what you’re saying?" Shen Jianian realized belatedly what she had said, actually offering Fu Da her leftovers. How bold of her.

"I was just joking." Shen Jianian gave an awkward laugh.

Fu Jichen’s gaze lowered, glancing at her slender ankle: "Does the wound still hurt?"

"I applied the medication, it’s much better."

Shen Jianian removed the hair tie, letting her jet-black hair fall loosely, draping over her front and back. Because she had tied it up just after drying, the hair retained slight impressions from the tie, loosely curling like large waves and resembling seaweed.

Fu Jichen sat in the chair she had just vacated, tapping the chopsticks on the tray and aligning them before picking up a pan-fried dumpling to take a bite.

Shen Jianian was stunned for a few seconds. He had a cleanliness obsession, so why was he eating her leftovers?

Fu Jichen finished the few pan-fried buns on the plate, but didn’t touch the soup in the bowl.

Shen Jianian suddenly realized that she knew this man’s cleanliness obsession couldn’t just disappear into thin air; she had drunk the soup, but the buns didn’t matter because she hadn’t touched those few left.

"I’ll have someone deal with the stray cats and dogs in the garden later." Fu Jichen put down his chopsticks, pulled out a napkin to wipe his mouth, "Be more careful when walking in the future."

"No way!" Shen Jianian firmly disagreed.

Fu Jichen couldn’t help but furrow his brows: "Haven’t learned your lesson yet?"

"That little dog didn’t bite me on purpose." Shen Jianian said, "I accidentally kicked it first, even rabbits bite when they’re anxious. Besides, I hadn’t seen that little dog before, it’s probably new and doesn’t know me. The other dogs in the manor are still very obedient and don’t bite."

The manor currently had two dogs, a black and white one named Miao Miao, and a yellow one named Benben. The black dog they encountered today was probably a stray from nearby, sneaking in when no one was watching for food.

Fu Jichen was too lazy to argue about such trivial matters with her: "Suit yourself."

He got up and headed in the direction of her room’s bathroom, casually saying: "Go to my room and bring a set of clean pajamas over, just leave them at the door."

Shen Jianian was puzzled: "Didn’t you already take a shower?"

"I ate something, got a smell on me."

With that, he went into the bathroom, the glass door closing with a bang.

Shen Jianian tugged at her collar and sniffed the clothes, there wasn’t that much of a smell, right?

She quickly became at ease, you can’t compare cleanliness with someone who has a cleanliness obsession, you can’t win.

She had eaten something, would rinse her mouth later and then go to sleep, unlike him who just finished a shower and would take another.

Shen Jianian randomly thought of some unproductive things, then went to Fu Jichen’s room to get the clothes, found a set of pajamas in the cloakroom and held them in her arms, just in time to hear the phone ringing on the table.

Fu Jichen’s phone was charging.

Shen Jianian unplugged the charging cable, took the phone back to her own room, placed the pajamas on the low stool by the bathroom door, knocked lightly, and said: "Someone’s calling you."

The water stopped in the bathroom, and Fu Jichen’s voice came through clearly: "Who is it?"

Shen Jianian glanced at the caller display, it seemed to be a lady, without a surname remark, only a two-character name, very intimate.

Fu Jichen wrapped a towel around himself and pulled open the door a crack, his fair and muscular waist and abdomen faintly visible in the gap, then reached out an arm. Shen Jianian was about to hand him the phone, but he only took the pajamas from the stool: "Answer it for me."

Shen Jianian: "Are you sure?"

She didn’t know who this person was or what to say?

While she hesitated, the ringing ended, and Shen Jianian inexplicably let out a sigh of relief, now she didn’t have to answer it.

Unexpectedly, less than three seconds later, the other party called again.

Shen Jianian furrowed her brows slightly: "How should I talk to her?"

The bathroom water resumed, and Fu Jichen’s voice came through the layer of water vapor, somewhat distorted: "Say whatever needs to be said."

Shen Jianian was extremely helpless, and nervously answered the call: "Hello, hello."

The person on the other end of the call was dumbfounded.

"Who are you? Why is Fu Jichen’s phone with you?"

"Oh, I see, he’s at a dinner party, and you deliberately answered his phone to make me misunderstand. Let me tell you, I’ve seen many women who play tricks like you."

"Do you think I’ll swallow my pride and cry in silence? Don’t dream about it; I’ll tell Fu Jichen soon, saying you not only touched his personal items but also answered his private calls, you’re finished!"

Shen Jianian didn’t say a word and was labeled as ’playing tricks’ by Miss Yu Ling, she was speechless.

The other party saw her silence and got more and more aggressive.

"Are you scared now? I advise you to hand the phone over to Fu Jichen while you can, or you’ll be in trouble, hmph!"

Even through the screen, Shen Jianian could feel that woman’s arrogant and domineering demeanor, she didn’t know the lady’s identity, didn’t dare to offend her easily, so she followed Fu Jichen’s request and said what needed to be said.

"Fu Jichen is showering, call him later."

Before Shen Jianian’s finger pressed the hang-up button, she heard Miss Yu Ling’s unfinished accusation: "I am his fiancée, how dare you treat me ..."