Rose Manor

Although he had never met the abbot, he was an elder. Shen Jianian smiled and responded: "I have been ill recently, so my complexion is a bit bad."

The abbot said nothing, nodded, and prepared to leave.

But Fu Jichen stopped him because he remembered a past event and wanted to find out: "Abbott, does he still remember that Jia Nian once lived in the temple for a period of time?"

The abbot didn't know why he asked this, so he told the truth: "Remember."

Shen Jianian looked confused. Has she lived in the temple for a while?
Oh, yes, she had seen photos on Fu Jichen's phone of her copying scriptures under the eaves of the temple. He told her that she lived in the temple to pray for him.

Fu Jichen said to the abbot: "Back then, she went to see you on the day she left Tanfu Temple. Do you still remember what you said to her? I just saw you, and suddenly I remembered that she seemed to be in a trance that day. She should be talking to you. It has to do with what she said.”

The abbot's expression was stunned for a moment, and then quickly returned to normal: "How can I still remember something that happened so long ago?"

Fu Jichen: "Do you really not remember?"

The abbot shook his head: "I don't remember."

Fu Jichen: "It is said that family members do not tell lies."

The abbot did not continue to argue with him. He waved his hand and said that he had other things to do and had no time to chat with them.

Before Fu Jichen could ask any more questions, the abbot left with his pole. The afternoon sunshine covered the stone road, and occasionally a gust of wind blew, the bamboo branches swayed, and the falling shadows formed a painting.

Monks don't lie... The abbot smiled behind his hands.

He squinted his eyes and recalled, what did he say to Donor Shen at that time?
I have been frightened for half my life, and my heart palpitations are incomprehensible.

Now this sentence has come true. Looking at Donor Shen, he seems to be troubled by fear and palpitations from time to time.

Walking on the stone steps when he came, Shen Jianian shook Fu Jichen's hand and said, "Why do you want to ask the abbot what he said to me."

Fu Jichen looked at her: "I just said that I suddenly saw the abbot and then I remembered such a thing. I was curious and wanted to find out."

Shen Jianian pursed her lips: "It makes me curious now, but I can't remember."

She had long since stopped clinging to the lost memory, but now she really wanted to get that memory back.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it." Fu Jichen didn't want her to disturb herself, so he dropped the topic.

The road down the mountain was very slow. Shen Jia Nian looked at the scenery along the road, and his congested mood gradually became more relaxed. When he returned home, it was already evening.

Shen Jia Nian hadn't seen little Nian Gao for a long time. Shen Jia Nian missed him very much. He held him in his arms and refused to let go: "Little Nian Gao, do you miss your mother? Are you obedient at home?"

The confinement sister-in-law said with a smile: "But he was good. He ate and slept. When he woke up, he played with toys for a while and took him around the yard. He was fascinated by watching the gardener pruning the flowers and refused to come in."

Shen Jianian kissed Little Nian Gao on the face: "Is Little Nian Gao so good?"

Little Nian Gao hummed from her mouth, her little face was so cute, and imitating her mother, she rubbed her face with her mouth, causing her face to be drooled.

*
After more than two months of treatment, Shen Jia Nian's nightmares were much less frequent than at the beginning. Occasionally, she would still suddenly panic and desperately want to see the little rice cake.

Under the advice of a psychiatrist, Shen Jianian slowly returned to work, picked up work in the symphony orchestra, and tried to divert his attention with other things, such as exploring some hobbies and taking time to see friends.

I made an appointment with Bai Changxia to meet on Saturday night, and the location was set to be at Bai Changxia's new home.

Bai Changxia moved to a new house. It was renovated half a year ago. It has been releasing formaldehyde. He has not moved in. He just started moving recently and has almost packed it up. He asked Shen Jia Nian to come and warm the house.

Fu Jichen had a party that night, and Shen Jia Nian came to visit with a small rice cake.

She bought a set of tableware as a gift in advance, rang the doorbell, and waited quietly.

After a while, the door in front of him opened. Shen Jianian raised the hand of the little rice cake and shook it: "Tell your godmother how you are."

Bai Changxia was wearing a homely gray knitted skirt, pinched the little rice cake's cheeks, and said with a smile: "Godmother, I haven't seen you for a long time, you are still so cute. Come on, give Godmother a nice scent."

As he said that, he kissed the little rice cake on the face.

Shen Jianian smiled, lowered his head and motioned to the floor mat at the door: "I picked out a set of tableware for you. Congratulations on your move."

"Why are you being so polite to me? You just came empty-handed, why did you bring a gift?" Bai Changxia bent down and picked up the gift box, "Hey, it's so heavy, how did you carry the child up? Where's Boss Fu, didn't you come with me?" "

"Xiao Zheng brought it up for me. He just took the elevator down." Shen Jianian carried the child into the house, "Fu Jichen has an important event tonight that he can't refuse."

The range hood was humming in the kitchen, and Bai Changxia's husband Zhu Qisen was cooking. Bai Changxia put away the gift box, poured a glass of juice for Shen Jiannian, and prepared a bunch of children's toys for the little rice cake: " A few friends will come over later, two of my friends from the band, plus three of Qisen’s buddies, you’ve all met them.”

"Yeah." Shen Jianian sat down on the sofa. Bai Changxia did not go to the kitchen, but sat next to her and chatted with her.

Shen Jianian glanced in the direction of the kitchen: "Can he do it alone?"

"Don't worry, after my guidance, he can now take charge of his own cooking." Bai Changxia said, "Let's talk about our own affairs and don't worry about him."

Shen Jianian placed the small rice cake on the sofa. He held a small colorful ball in his hand. The small ball contained a bell, which jingled when it moved. Bai Changxia looked at the little rice cake pouting and shaking the ball, and couldn't help but smile: "It's so fast, it's grown so big in the blink of an eye." She looked at Shen Jianian, the smile on her lips softened a little, "What happened before Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing?"

She was referring to the kidnapping of the child by Yin Chengde and his daughter. She only found out about it recently because the verdict of Yin Chengde and Yin Shuyao was somehow made known to the media and sparked discussion on the Internet.

"I fell ill after the incident and it took more than half a month to recover. Apart from taking care of the little rice cake and recuperating from illness, I didn't think about anything else. I forgot to tell you."

Bai Changxia sighed, thinking of Yin Chengde and his daughter, and itching with hatred: "That cousin of yours has no bottom line, she can do such things." She looked at the little rice cake, "I won't let the child go, really. Very bad."

Shen Jianian didn't want to think about what happened that day: "I won't mention it anymore, it's all in the past."

"Yes." Bai Changxia touched the little rice cake's head, "I want to tell you something happy."

"What?" Shen Jianian raised his eyes.

Bai Changxia whispered something into her ear. Shen Jia Nian was stunned, then his eyes moved down to her belly, and he said with a look of surprise: "Really? How long has it been?"

"Less than two months." Bai Changxia covered her mouth and smiled, "The pregnancy test stick I bought before finally came in handy."

She originally bought several bottles, used one for Shen Jia Nian, and put away the rest. She was a little busy this month, and her period was delayed for a long time. She used one and it showed that she was infected.

As someone who has been there, Shen Jianian asked, "Have you been to the hospital for a checkup?"

"I checked, it's true." Bai Changxia took Little Nian Gao over, put it on his lap, and said to him with a smile, "Our little Nian Gao is going to be a big brother."

"Then today is a double happiness."

"So be it." Bai Changxia said, unconsciously raising the corners of his lips.

When it was time to eat, Shen Jianian's cell phone rang. She told Bai Changxia to help look after the child. She took her cell phone to the window to answer the call.

When the video call from Fu Jichen was connected, he was in the corridor of the hotel, and the lights were a little dim.

"Have you eaten?" Fu Jichen asked.

"Not yet, just about to eat."

Fu Jichen's face was half hidden in the shadows, his head tilted slightly, looking unruly, and his voice was magnetic: "Where's the little rice cake?"

Shen Jianian adjusted the camera on her phone and showed him the side of the sofa: "Xia Xia is playing with him." At this point, she changed the subject and said, "Why did you call me suddenly? Didn't you have a social event?"

"The private room was a little stuffy. I came out to get some air. I wanted to know what you, mother and son, were doing, so I beat you." Fu Jichen said.

Shen Jianian looked at his handsome face on the screen and muttered: "I thought you were drunk and called by mistake."

Fu Jichen took a few steps forward with his mobile phone and leaned in front of the railing. Next to him was the floor-to-ceiling window, which framed the bright city lights. He curled his lips and said, "I look like I'm drunk?"

Shen Jianian: "A little bit."

The curve of his lips widened, and he heard someone calling Shen Jianian to eat. He stared at her a few more times: "I won't waste your time anymore. You go to eat. I'll be back later."

Shen Jia Nian hung up the phone in no hurry: "What time will the delay be?"

"Do I still need to report in advance?"

Shen Jia Nian pursed his lips and nodded at the person on the screen.

Fu Jichen thought about it for a moment and said in a lazy tone: "A conservative estimate is ten o'clock. I'll try... I'll try to go back before ten o'clock."

Bai Changxia came to Shen Jianian with her child in her arms: "Not finished talking yet? Ready to eat."

Shen Jianian said hastily, "Drink less," hung up the phone, took the child from Bai Changxia, and walked to the restaurant with her.

Bai Changxia clicked his tongue and whispered beside her: "Your Mr. Fu is really precious to you. He still thinks about you when there is an important dinner. How can he still feel uneasy when you come to my place?"

Shen Jianian chuckled: "I guess you called me to avoid drinking." (End of Chapter)