Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase
Chapter 32 - 29: Cookies

Chapter 32: Chapter 29: Cookies

In a daze, Zhu Yilan suddenly heard the deep voice of the man in the back seat: "Stop the car."

Beside them was a large supermarket, not yet ten o’clock, brightly lit, with few people coming and going.

It was inconvenient to park at the entrance, so Qu Mo drove forward a short way, looking for a suitable parking spot. The car finally pulled up under a camphor tree ten meters ahead.

Zhu Yilan sat upright: "Mr. Chen, do you want to buy something?"

Fu Jichen, too tired to speak, fastened his coat and got out of the car, striding towards the supermarket they had just passed.

Zhu Yilan reacted a second late and, coming to her senses, quickly unbuckled her seatbelt to chase after him, managing to walk swiftly even in her high-heeled shoes.

"Mr. Chen, what do you need? I can help you buy it." Zhu Yilan ran so quickly that she was slightly out of breath.

Fu Jichen didn’t stop and seemed to quicken his pace: "I’ll go myself."

Did he mean he didn’t need her to follow? Zhu Yilan felt a lump in her throat. Even such a trivial matter was hard for her to ignore.

Since when had she lost control of her heart?

Watching him enter the supermarket, Zhu Yilan retraced her steps back to the car, looked up at the starless, moonless night sky, took a deep breath, feeling a heaviness in her chest that was hard to dispel.

"Hey, Qu Mo, where did that Shen Jianian come from?" Zhu Yilan asked the man squatting on the roadside, smoking, "Who is she?"

Qu Mo was Mr. Chen’s personal driver, always by his side, and no one knew better than him when Shen Jianian appeared.

The man questioned showed no expression, glanced at her from under his eyelids, flicked his half-smoked cigarette away, stubbed it out with his foot, and ignored her words, as if they had scattered like the wind.

Feeling ignored, Zhu Yilan was displeased: "Qu Mo, didn’t you hear me talking to you?"

Qu Mo picked up the extinguished cigarette butt and threw it into the nearby trash can, his expression lacking, his voice bland: "You’ve gotten bold, daring to inquire about the boss’s private matters."

Zhu Yilan’s intentions were none of his business, but he wasn’t so indiscreet as to utter a word where he shouldn’t.

Zhu Yilan felt defeated and her face turned a little sour. However, with Qu Mo’s reminder, she realized that her emotions were somewhat out of control, causing her to forget her status, appearing indiscrete.

The night’s cool breeze eased her gloomy and restless emotions slightly. Zhu Yilan turned her head, seeing Fu Jichen coming out, now with a white shopping bag in his hand.

Zhu Yilan unconsciously stood straight, and as he approached, she couldn’t help but glance at the plastic bag. Inside the semi-transparent bag were... condoms, and a box of cookies.

Did she see that right?

Did he go to the supermarket just to buy these two things?

Was it for Shen Jianian again? He bought the cookies for Shen Jianian to eat, and the condoms to use with Shen Jianian, right?

Zhu Yilan deeply felt the sensation of heartache turning to numbness, as if someone had stabbed a dull blade into her heart, the pain fading until she felt nothing.

Unfortunately, the person knew nothing of her feelings, walking past her like a gust of wind, not even sparing her a glance, bending down to get into the car.

Zhu Yilan headed to the passenger seat, but lost in thought, her toe hit the car body when getting in, the pain almost bringing her to tears, taking a long while to compose herself.

*

When they reached the Rose Manor, after the car came to a halt, Fu Jichen got out, carrying the shopping bag. Under the streetlamp, his figure was tall and straight, his body proportions superior, as if painted with precision by the world’s greatest artist.

Through the car window, Zhu Yilan gazed firmly at him, determined to fight for herself this time, even if the consequences would be beyond redemption, she was willing to bear them.

"Have you moved to Huajing Garden?" Qu Mo turned the car around, driving out of the gate and asked.

Zhu Yilan came back to her senses and glanced at him, mmm-ing, "Thanks."

Qu Mo didn’t respond. As it was late, it wasn’t easy to catch a taxi, so sending her back was only natural, not a hassle.

Behind them, the Rose Manor was isolated by dense shadows of trees, like a secluded utopia far from the world. _{free.w e bn.ov(e)l(.)com}

During the elevator ride up, Fu Jichen took off his suit jacket, draped it over his forearm, loosened his tie, and fished a cigarette pack out of his trouser pocket with one hand, flicking a cigarette to his lips and pulling out a lighter.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the third floor, not having had time to light it, exiting the elevator with the cigarette still in his mouth.

No one came up in the evening, the long corridor was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, only the click of leather shoes on the floor as he stopped outside Shen Jianian’s room.

Fu Jichen glanced at his watch, it was past ten; he didn’t know if the person inside was asleep.

He didn’t knock, turning the doorknob to enter, the room pitch black, the only light source coming from the streetlamp outside, veiled by a thin curtain, casting a pale glow like the moon obscured by clouds.

In such dim light, Fu Jichen still saw the person lying on the bed.

She lay on her side, back towards him, looking frail under the covers.

Wary of disturbing her rest, Fu Jichen didn’t linger in the room, quietly placing a box of cookies on the bedside table, making as little noise as possible, then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

He recalled seeing her eating those cookies while taking medicine during the day, with only one piece left.

The footsteps faded outside the door, and on the bed, Shen Jianian opened her eyes, turning over to face the outside. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, noticing the extra tin box on the bedside table.

There was one before, now there were two, identical.

*

The next day, after several days of good weather, it began to cloud over, temperatures dropping as if overnight leaping from summer to winter.

One couldn’t tell how many more times this weather would oscillate before winter truly set in.

Shen Jianian’s body was still weak; she slept in naturally, not planning to go to the office, knowing Fu Jichen’s real intention wasn’t for her to act as some assistant to the president.

After resting most of the day in her room, there was a knock on the door: "Miss Shen, may I come in?"

A young female voice, probably one of the household’s maids. Shen Jianian reclined on a chaise by the window, a blanket covering her legs, her voice light with a tinge of laziness: "Come in."

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Shen Jianian looked up to see a cheerful familiar face, having seen her before, she recalled Zhou Rongzhen calling her Xiao Ai.

Xiao Ai was followed by several women in professional attire, little silk scarves tied around their necks.

"Miss Shen." Xiao Ai was exuberant, her voice bright with excitement, "The temperature’s dropped and sir sent new autumn and winter outfits for you, including matching jewelry and handbags! I’ve scanned them briefly, there’s so much nice stuff! Come see which you don’t fancy so I can have it exchanged."

Shen Jianian didn’t show the reaction Xiao Ai expected, pausing slightly, showing some awkwardness: "Miss Shen?"

"Just leave them."

Shen Jianian picked up a magazine beside her and started flipping through it, entirely indifferent.

Xiao Ai stood there dumbstruck, those behind her from luxury brand stores didn’t dare to move around, each holding several exquisite paper bags, like human coat racks.

The air was silent for a moment, Xiao Ai sighed helplessly, taking the initiative to lead the others to the walk-in closet, categorizing the items and putting them away in the cabinets.

The store staff left one by one, while Xiao Ai hesitated to approach Shen Jianian, asking with a concerned expression, "Are you unhappy?"

Shen Jianian’s mood was indifferent, but it wasn’t aimed at her: "No."

Xiao Ai pursed her lips, she said no, yet her expression clearly showed she was not happy.

Xiao Ai didn’t understand, opened her mouth to ask something, then abruptly heard familiar footsteps approaching, and she shrank her neck and closed her mouth, looking back, indeed, it was the sir approaching.