Rose Manor

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, the black Bentley drove into Villa No. [-] of Yunding Palace Garden and stopped steadily.

The sunset was in full bloom, and half of the sky was dyed orange.

Zhu Yilan, who was in the passenger seat, pushed the door down and looked up. Fu Jichen, who was in the back seat, had gotten out of the car and stepped onto the steps in front of the door.

Being by his side all the time, she could naturally tell that his steps were more eager than usual.

Zhu Yilan didn't know why he paid attention to such details, so he followed silently with his bag in hand.

After entering the house, Fu Jichen was about to go to the elevator, but first he heard a voice coming from the kitchen, soft and humbly asking for advice.

"Is it pinched like this? Why doesn't it look round..."

Turning around, Fu Jichen came to the kitchen. At the door, he saw Shen Jianian standing in front of the island. His hands were covered with white glutinous rice flour. He pinched out a flat glutinous rice ball and put it into a white porcelain plate.

She wore a gentle off-white knitted suit. The top was slightly short and the hem was just at the waist, creating a visual effect of legs below the chest, making the whole person tall, slender, and delicate.There were furry slippers on her feet, and white stockings wrapped around Lingding's ankles.

"I don't think I can knead it very well." Shen Jianian was so engrossed that he didn't notice the person behind him, who was still exchanging tips on making glutinous rice balls with Cheng Jin, "The fillings won't be exposed when you cook them, right?"

She tilted her head slightly as she spoke, her long black hair tied into a low bun, with a few strands of hair falling down her cheeks, looking gentle and quiet.

"Let's take a look..." Cheng Jin turned around and saw a tall black shadow from the corner of his eye. After taking a closer look, he quickly put down a glutinous rice ball in his hand and went to greet him, "Sir, is he back? Look at me, patronizing Bao Tangyuan didn’t even hear the door opening.”

Shen Jianian turned around and saw the man at the door looking at her with a half-smile.

Behind him, Zhu Yilan stood quietly, wearing a more formal Chu-colored suit and a houndstooth coat, holding a large tote bag in both hands.

Shen Jia Nian went to the sink to wash his hands and came over. He looked at Fu Jichen with clear black and white eyes. He didn't know what to say for a moment. His eyes were a little shy, as if he had been embarrassed.

Fu Jichen took her hand and squeezed it gently, then looked at Zhu Yilan who was waiting aside: "I'll get the information book."

Zhu Yilan still had the serious expression on his face at work: "Okay."

Fu Jichen glanced at Shen Jianian, let go of his hand, turned around and walked into the elevator slowly.

Cheng Jin went to cook glutinous rice balls, and there were only two women left in the living room.Zhu Yilan nodded gently to Shen Jianian and said hello: "I heard you were injured, are you okay?"

The scars on Shen Jia Nian's neck have faded a lot, and they are clearly exposed without using anything to cover them up.

"It's okay, thank you." Shen Jianian smiled gratefully and asked her to sit down.

Zhu Yilan sat down on the sofa. The heating in the room was too full. She took off her coat and held it in her arms.Shen Jianian poured her a cup of hot tea and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

The two of them didn't know each other very well and didn't have much to talk about.

After being relatively speechless for a moment, Zhu Yilan picked up the tea cup, put it to his mouth, blew on it, took a sip, and asked her first: "After you recover from your injury, will you work in the group?"

Fu Jichen has officially returned and will definitely take over as the president of the group.

The headquarters is different from the Yicheng subsidiary. The tasks of the secretarial office are very heavy and complicated, and ordinary people cannot bear them.She should go to the marketing department after joining the company. After all, she had stayed at the headquarters for a few years. If Shen Jia Nian needed it, she could ask someone she knew before to give her some convenience.

Shen Jianian looked a little confused: "I don't know."

"That's right." Zhu Yilan curled his lips and smiled lightly, "Mr. Chen will definitely give you the best arrangement."

With Fu Jichen escorting him, Shen Jia Nian probably didn't need her help, so he gave up his previous thoughts.

After a while, Zhu Yilan held the tea cup and said in a sincere tone: "Actually, I can see that you don't like the job of assistant very much."

Shen Jianian looked up at her, not knowing what to say.

What Zhu Yilan said is true. She has been studying cello since she was a child, and has few other things that interest her.It was he who suggested becoming Fu Jichen's assistant. Later, she thought that if she wanted to take over the company in the future, she would have to learn something.With this idea in mind, she devoted herself to this job.

When it comes to love, there really isn’t much.

"The glutinous rice balls are cooked."

Cheng Jin's voice came from the kitchen, pulling Shen Jianian back from his thoughts.

At the same time, the elevator door opened and Fu Jichen walked out with two documents in his hand.He changed into casual clothes and wasted some time.

The topic between Shen Jianian and Zhu Yilan ended and was not continued.

Zhu Yilan put down the tea cup, stood up with his coat and bag, took the folder in Fu Jichen's hand, put it into the bag, and prepared to leave.

Shen Jianian said: "Eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls before leaving. They will be made fresh in the afternoon."

Just as Zhu Yilan was about to decline, Fu Jichen said to her in a rare gentle tone: "Let Qu Mo take you back later."

Zhu Yilan was slightly startled, but she couldn't refuse the boss's words. She put her bag and clothes back on the sofa, smiled and nodded: "Then I'll excuse you."

Cheng Jin took out three bowls of glutinous rice balls that had just come out of the pot. The heat was wafting away. Looking inside the bowls, the glutinous rice balls were large, small, and oddly shaped, and some were round.

Needless to say, the good ones are the work of Cheng Jin, and the bad ones are, needless to say, the work of Shen Jianian, a novice.

Shen Jianian felt a little embarrassed when she saw it, and she smiled shyly: "I'm not very good at making it." The glutinous rice noodles were sticky to her hands, so she rubbed them hard, but the result still didn't look good.

Zhu Yilan didn't dislike it. He scooped up one with a spoon and bit it open. The sesame filling came out, carrying the fragrance of peanuts: "It tastes pretty good." Shen Jianian smiled, of course it tasted good, and the filling was made by Cheng Jin.

Fu Jichen looked at the bowl. He probably made all the bowls made by Shen Jia Nian. None of them caught his eye: "I'm sure these are glutinous rice balls. I think they look like soup cakes."

Shen Jianian: "..."

Zhu Yilan almost couldn't hold back her laughter in front of her boss. Fortunately, she had high professionalism and tried her best to hold it back.

Shen Jianian took the bowl in front of him away and said angrily: "Don't eat it. You don't like sweet things anyway."

Fu Jichen raised his eyebrows and didn't fight her. Isn't there still a bowl left?

He brought it over and tasted one. It was indeed sweet beyond imagination.Without saying anything, he finished the seven or eight glutinous rice balls in the bowl, thinking that he might not have to eat dinner.

*
As expected, he didn't eat dinner, so Fu Jichen went directly to the study to work.

Tomorrow he will go to the group headquarters to take up his post. He has been away for a long time and still has some preparation work to do.

There was a pile of documents at hand, like a mountain, and he planned to read them all before early morning.However, after only flipping through one book, he had no patience to read further, and his mind wandered elsewhere uncontrollably.

In the elegantly furnished study, the floor lamp exudes a warm yellow glow, which is not as bright as the desk lamp.

Fu Jichen took a sip of hot tea and glanced to the left.

If his sight could penetrate the wall, he would really like to see what Shen Jianian is doing.

Following his heart, Fu Jichen put down the tea cup decisively, put one hand on the edge of the desk, stood up, walked out, and knocked on Shen Jianian's door.

She opened the door, but before she could calm down the gloomy expression on her face, Fu Jichen saw him. He was startled, looking past her to the room behind her: "What are you doing?"

Shen Jianian didn't answer. Fu Jichen went around her and saw the cello placed by the window. It had been taken out of the case and the bow was placed on the stool.

"Ready to play the piano?" Fu Jichen asked with interest.

Shen Jianian closed the door and denied: "No, I just took it out to take a look."

In fact, he was right. Before he knocked on the door and came in, she took out the cello, adjusted the strings, and was about to play a song. Suddenly she thought that he was working in the study, and she stopped thinking.

Zhu Yilan's words affected her more or less.

If you put aside everything and let her choose on her own, her favorite thing is the cello.

Sometimes she envies Zhu Yilan, who knows what he wants and is always bold, clear-headed and positive in moving towards his goals.

"It seems like I haven't heard you play the piano for a while. There is a moon tonight and the atmosphere is just right. Let's give it a try?"

Fu Jichen put a hand on her shoulder, pushed her to the cello, then walked to the opposite side of her, leaned against the window, raised his chin slightly, indicating that she could start.

The last time I saw her playing the cello was at Rose Manor. She had just taken a shower and was wearing a smoky pink suspender nightgown. She was also sitting by the window. The bright moonlight came in through the window and fell on her, covering her up. It looks like a fairy in heaven, light and ethereal.

Her piano skills were superb, and for Fu Jichen, that scene was a visual and auditory feast.

Under his encouraging eyes, Shen Jianian picked up the bow and sat on the stool. He took a deep breath, lifted up the cello standing by the window, and gently placed it in front of him. He placed the head of the violin on his left shoulder and placed his hand on it. On the strings.

This time she played "Jacqueline's Tears".

Shen Jia Nian can play the pieces he has practiced many times without looking at the music score smoothly with his eyes closed.

It’s more of an emotional catharsis than a performance.

Fu Jichen admired it quietly, his mind rising and falling with the melody of the song. It was not until the song ended and the air was quiet for a while that he came back to his senses. There seemed to be a blazing fire hidden in his calm eyes.

"Do you want to continue playing the cello?" Fu Jichen asked her seriously.

Shen Jianian lowered her eyelashes, put away the piano with a loving gesture, pondered for a moment, and said something unrelated: "I'm sleepy and want to sleep."

She had already taken a bath, placed the cello and lay on the bed, with her back to Fu Jichen.

After a while, Fu Jichen lay down next to her, and the question he just asked echoed in her mind, do you want to continue playing the cello?
Life is never about whether you want it or not, but whether you can.

Shen Jianian was pulled into his arms, and his back was pressed against a warm chest. The fit was so close, as if the lost ribs had been found again and settled back into their original positions.

I don’t know since when, she no longer rejects such intimacy, and even wants to rely on her when she is sad and depressed...

After not seeing each other for three days, Fu Jichen longed for her, and his body's reaction was real and strong, but he did nothing, turned off the light, and held her tightly in the darkness.

After a long time, the sound of even and gentle breathing came from his arms. Fu Jichen opened his eyes, slowly loosened his arms around her, lifted the quilt and got up from the bed.

A desk lamp was turned on, and the luxurious and elegant room was enveloped in a pale yellow light.

Fu Jichen picked up the cigarette case and lighter, walked to the place where Shen Jia was playing the piano not long ago, lifted a corner of the curtains, and looked at the quiet night scene through the window glass.

After smoking a cigarette, Fu Jichen took his mobile phone and called Song Fang. His voice was low, so as not to wake up the sleeping person on the big bed behind him: "Go and check the whereabouts of Yan Qiusheng... Yes, he is the world-famous cellist."