Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase
Chapter 29 - 26: Precautionary Measures

Chapter 29: Chapter 26: Precautionary Measures

The water could only wash away Fu Jichen’s scent lingering on her, but couldn’t erase the marks on her body. Shen Jianian was wrestling with herself, scrubbing her arms, neck, and collarbone repeatedly, wishing she could peel off this layer of skin.

Half an hour passed, with hot water flowing incessantly in the bathroom, stagnant air, and high temperatures causing a suffocating sensation. Shen Jianian felt a bit breathless and finally decided to stop.

She turned off the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack.

Her fair skin looked as if it had been scalded, turning a frightening red. The towel brushed against it painfully, like countless needle pricks.

The towel swept over her flat stomach, without the slightest extra flesh, and Shen Jianian’s emptied mind suddenly tightened. She had neglected something terrifying.

Did Fu Jichen use protection last night?

Did he, or didn’t he? She wasn’t sure.

Her mind was too full of things then, too chaotic, and she even deliberately avoided focusing on this matter itself.

Just the thought of the catastrophic consequences this uncertainty might bring caused Shen Jianian’s blood to freeze rapidly, turning the steamy bathroom into a frigid ice cave.

She didn’t even feel how the clothes went on her body as she pulled the door open, only to find the culprit lounging in her room, leisurely crossing his long legs, reclining in the sofa, flipping through a magazine she’d recently read with one hand, and habitually fiddling with a piece of white jade hanging from his wrist with the other.

Fu Jichen raised his eyebrows and looked at her, his gaze lingering for a few seconds. She wore a full set of off-white loungewear, adorned with some irregular black geometric patterns, calm yet not dull.

"How’s your body feeling?" he asked without any evasion, "Anywhere uncomfortable?"

Last night, he saw a bit of redness while bathing her and wasn’t sure if she was injured.

Shen Jianian’s usually pale face still had some droplets of water that hadn’t been wiped off, her expression unprecedentedly cold: "Fu Jichen, do you want a bastard child?"

This was the first time she called him by his full name.

Fu Jichen was slightly stunned, as if struck on the head, instantly comprehending the deeper meaning behind her words, and found himself at a loss: "Last night, it happened suddenly..."

Those few words confirmed Shen Jianian’s suspicion; he indeed hadn’t taken precautions.

She put on an even colder face, saying, "Please get me some pills while there’s still time."

Shen Jianian didn’t want to hear his explanation, only remembering that emergency contraception is effective within 72 hours, with the best time within 12 hours, the sooner, the better the effect.

Fu Jichen pressed his thin lips together, reaching into his pocket to find his phone wasn’t with him. Without a word, he got up and left.

Shen Jianian’s expression remained cold as she waited for him to disappear from her sight, her mood slowly calming down. She sat on the bed, waiting quietly.

Fu Jichen took the elevator down from the house, found his phone casually placed on the dining table, swiped his finger a few times, and dialed a number.

*

The newly appointed executive assistant Shen Jianian, after only a few days on the job, dared to play hooky, causing significant discontent for Zhu Yilan.

When she learned that Fu Jichen also hadn’t shown up at the company, that bit of discontent slowly turned into suspicion, and while waiting, her suspicion turned into unease.

These two living together, with such a complex relationship, suddenly not appearing, what could be the reason? Zhu Yilan didn’t dare let her thoughts wander too deeply.

She wanted several times to call Fu Jichen to find out where he was, to adjust today’s schedule in time, but she knew full well he disliked being disturbed.

In her dilemma, the phone rang.

Looking down, Zhu Yilan saw a familiar name on the caller ID. Her tangled thoughts scattered instantly as she answered, "Mr. Chen."

Fu Jichen never minced words, his tone serious as he gave instructions: "Bring the contract to be signed to Rose Manor, and buy something from the pharmacy for me on the way."

Upon hearing "pharmacy," Zhu Yilan’s nerves tightened, and her voice involuntarily quickened, "Mr. Chen, are you not feeling well? Should I call a doctor for you?"

After last night’s social gathering, he indeed wasn’t in a good state. She should have called to check on him instead of hesitating and letting herself speculate wildly.

However, she heard him say over the phone, "Buy a box of birth control pills. Remember to consult with the pharmacist, get the best kind."

Zhu Yilan froze, her expression bewildered, as if someone had pressed the pause button on a television set, leaving the picture static for quite some time.

She didn’t even know when the call ended, standing there dumbfounded, pressing the phone to her ear, the words "birth control pills" echoing in her mind. _{free\we,bnovel.c o(m)}

Until someone knocked on the door, bringing Zhu Yilan back to reality. She didn’t hear what the person said, grabbing the coat and handbag from the rack, and hurried out.

"Hey, Secretary Zhu..."

Yao Qi’s unfinished words were cut off by the closing glass door.

She watched as the usually calm and composed Secretary Zhu halted abruptly as if suddenly remembering something, turned back to the office, grabbed several files from the desk, stuffed them into her bag, and left again.

*

Shen Jianian curled up on the bed, a small bundle, her face turned towards the window, gazing at the still leaves outside. Today’s sun shone brightly, with no wind, a few birds resting on the treetops, their sharp beaks grooming their feathers.

Staring for a long time, her eyes began to sting slightly. Just as Shen Jianian closed her eyes, she heard the sound of the door being pushed open and then steady footsteps.

Fu Jichen approached the bed, placing a box of medicine lightly on the nightstand.

Before he could remind her, the person on the bed rolled over to sit up, unwrapped the box, and took out a pill, popping it into her mouth, then picked up a glass of water that had been set aside to wash it down.

The pill stuck in her throat, refusing to go down. Shen Jianian drank a large gulp of water, and the slightly dissolved pill released a foul taste, causing her to lean over the bed uncontrollably and retch.

The dampened pill rolled to Fu Jichen’s feet.

Seeing her in such discomfort, a complicated feeling arose in his heart. He sat on the bed and helped her up, his large hand gently rubbing her back: "If you can’t swallow it, let it be."

Shen Jianian pushed him away, looking up at him with ice-cold anger in her eyes.

What was he saying? Let it be? Wasn’t he afraid of an accident, of a child popping out of nowhere?

Yes, he indeed had nothing to fear. If she got pregnant and didn’t want it, she could just have an abortion, what harm would it do to him? But for her, it was different.

Shen Jianian took a deep breath, unwilling to waste energy arguing with him, coldly getting off the bed, and picked up a few tissues, wrapping the pill on the floor, casually wiping the water-stained floor clean, and throwing it into the trash.

After washing her hands in the bathroom, Shen Jianian took out another pill, this time holding a mouthful of water before popping the pill in, swallowing it down, she immediately opened a round tin on the nightstand, took out a cookie to mask the bitterness that rose in her throat.

"Do you still feel uncomfortable?" Fu Jichen asked.

Shen Jianian ignored him, completely disregarding his presence, and sat on the sofa, distancing herself from him.

Fu Jichen wasn’t bothered, getting up and moving towards her, grabbing the hand resting on her lap: "I’m asking, do you feel uncomfortable?"

Shen Jianian pressed her lips tightly, feeling the grip on her hand intensifying, eventually, she yielded: "No discomfort."

Fu Jichen could see her resistance, releasing her hand, and instead, pinching her jaw, turning her face to face him, his expression dark and his voice low: "I don’t recall forcing you, I gave you time to think, and asked for your consent last night. Are you hating me now?"

Shen Jianian felt this gesture humiliated her, as if he was the master and she was a little bird, at his mercy, treated at will.

"No." She lifted her eyelids to look at him, retracting all the spikes she had raised, and slowly spoke.

"Mr. Chen, Wanjie Group’s President Tan can’t reach you, his assistant called me." Zhu Yilan suddenly spoke at the door, breaking the tense atmosphere between the two in the room.

Fu Jichen seemed not to have heard, his fingers gently stroking Shen Jianian’s face, his tone softening a bit: "Get some rest. If you need anything, let me know, I’ll have someone prepare it."

A slap followed by a sweet treat? Shen Jianian sneered inside.