Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 369 - 346: I Never Meant to Hurt You

Shen Jianian hadn’t gathered her thoughts yet when Fu Jichen handed her another booklet. As she flipped it open, it was filled with high-definition pictures, each page showcasing either picturesque scenery or sacred solemnity.

"This is..." Shen Jianian instinctively murmured.

"The venue for the wedding," Fu Jichen explained, noticing her dazed expression. He chuckled, saying, "There are all kinds of different styles. Take a look and pick a location you like, and we can book it in advance."

Shen Jianian remembered going back to the Fu Family’s old house for dinner last time. Fu Jichen had talked to his elders, planning to hold the wedding in late spring or early summer next year. It’s only late September now – has he already started planning?

Isn’t that timeline too extended?

The doubt in her eyes was obvious, and Fu Jichen, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking, explained patiently, "The creation of the wedding dress takes a long period. Starting preparations now, I’m worried it might be rushed and won’t achieve perfect results."

Shen Jianian opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, her mind slightly chaotic.

Fu Jichen: "Whether it’s the wedding dress or the venue, if you can’t decide, you can first choose a few that you’re interested in and I’ll help you consider them."

Shen Jianian still didn’t speak, her gaze moving from the booklet in her hand to the man’s face, with his thick eyelashes fluttering, she seemed completely absent-minded.

Fu Jichen found it amusing and smiled, touching her head, "Stunned?"

Shen Jianian couldn’t think at all, swallowing her throat, her voice a bit raspy: "...I’ll listen to you." She had mentioned long ago she had no opinions on the wedding.

"Aside from this, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Thank you." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Fu Jichen felt a slight furrow on his brow, but his lips were curved upward, his expression carrying a hint of mixed emotions. Who wants to hear her say thank you? Between a couple, is ’thank you’ necessary?

"I suggest replacing ’thank you’ with three words," Fu Jichen hinted.

Shen Jianian, holding two booklets, couldn’t keep up with his pace. Her mouth worked faster than her brain as she asked, "Which three words?"

"Shen Jianian, I think you’re teasing me," Fu Jichen didn’t believe she couldn’t understand his implication, "Do I really have to say it out loud?"

Shen Jianian composed herself and straightened her thoughts, immediately understanding what three words he wanted to hear. Her cheeks turned a shade of pink, and after pausing for a while, she softly said, "I love you?"

Fu Jichen was still unsatisfied: "Can you say it without making it a question?"

With his request being rather demanding, Shen Jianian silently grumbled, and then, under Fu Jichen’s deep gaze, she spoke again as he wished, turning the question into an affirmation, but still the same three words: "I love you."

Fu Jichen’s calm brows and eyes suddenly blossomed with a smile, as if ice and snow were melting, as if dead wood was coming to life again, as if a summer breeze was blowing, with a sensation of fullness and lightness filling his heart, leaving him motionless for a long time.

Shen Jianian stared at him for a long time, before echoing back the two words he had just said to her: "Stunned?" After speaking, she couldn’t help but laugh herself.

Do the three words "I love you" really have such strong destructive power? Fu Jichen seemed paralyzed, with every part of him frozen except for his blinking eyes.

In this materialistic society, she had thought that expressing love was as casual as eating a meal, where true and false mingled, and who could really tell the difference, and who would even care?

Especially for someone like Fu Jichen, who has grown up in a complex environment, seen all kinds of human nature, he should have long been immune to the subject of "love." To her surprise, he had an obsession beyond ordinary people’s in this aspect. Occasionally, Shen Jianian felt that her love for him wasn’t strong or deep enough, failing his deep affection for her.

Who knows how long he was stunned before Fu Jichen finally reacted, his throat gently rolling twice, raising her face slightly in his hands, letting a soft and sincere kiss land on her lips, devoid of any romantic overtones.

He gave her the most sincere response: "Shen Jianian, I love you too." He felt it wasn’t enough, adding a prefix, "I love you very, very much."

Shen Jianian said, "I believe you."

*

After the National Day holiday ended, Shen Jianian went to the band’s studio and heard news from other band members—Wen Ran had submitted her resignation to the manager, intending to leave the band.

Wen Ran had been with the band for over four years, an experienced cellist, who never made a mistake even in major events. Given her sudden request to resign, Manager Xie couldn’t help but be surprised.

Thinking it was due to dissatisfaction with her salary, Manager Xie disclosed to her that there would be a collective salary increase starting next month, and given the recent successful performance, the bonus wouldn’t be lacking either.

Even though Wen Ran felt reluctant in her heart, she still insisted on leaving, refusing to reveal her reasons despite Manager Xie’s inquiries.

Seeing that she was determined to leave, Manager Xie sighed, no longer insisting, and reluctantly approved her resignation application.

Wen Ran walked out of Manager Xie’s office, her mood sinking to the bottom, just like Shen Jianian said that day, if she could live with her conscience...

In fact, her conscience couldn’t take it. She couldn’t pretend like nothing happened and stay in the same band with Shen Jianian and Hua Sui, constantly crossing paths.

These days, she hasn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep.

She kept convincing herself, she didn’t intend to kill anyone, she just wanted Shen Jianian not to be able to perform on stage. But some things are wrong, no matter how many reasonable excuses she tried to find for herself, she couldn’t erase what she had done.

The only way she could think of to save herself was to leave.

She was a coward, keeping away from acknowledging in front of Shen Jianian and lacking the courage to apologize to Hua Sui, she could only distance herself in embarrassment, hoping temporary escape could ease her conscience.

Wen Ran walked along, staring at her toes, her mind filled with thoughts, restless.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked her path, she hastily stopped, lifted her head, and met Shen Jianian’s clear and calm eyes.

Wen Ran immediately felt ashamed and undeserving, not daring to meet her gaze for long, quickly averting her eyes. She stuffed both hands into her coat pockets, fingers slightly clenched, her voice a bit hoarse: "Looking for me for something?"

At the moment she saw Wen Ran, there was a ripple of emotion in Shen Jianian’s calm eyes. She originally thought Wen Ran was the kind of person who had lost all conscience, if she could poison her colleague, what couldn’t she do? When she heard Wen Ran was resigning, she suddenly felt she might have misunderstood her.

Wen Ran might not be as devoid of boundaries as she imagined.

"Come to laugh at me?" Wen Ran, seeing her not speaking, hardened her tone.

Today, she wasn’t wearing makeup, her face pale and frightening, dark circles heavy; Shen Jianian looking at her state, she didn’t even remotely resemble someone who had done wrong and felt ecstatic, proving her suspicion correct, that she wasn’t completely rotten beyond redemption.

Just when Wen Ran thought Shen Jianian wouldn’t speak, she heard a low sigh.

Wen Ran was puzzled, she was already leaving, why was she sighing, shouldn’t she be happy? After all, in her heart, she’d already labeled her as a villain who could do no good.

Shen Jianian said: "Since you decided to do it, why couldn’t you handle the psychological pressure?"

Wen Ran didn’t plan to cry in front of Shen Jianian, she didn’t even know how it happened, just this simple sentence pierced her heart, her eyes instantly reddened, warm liquid filling her eyes.

She desperately blinked, trying to hold back the tears but it was useless, the tears still flowed down her cheeks.

Wen Ran raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, turned her head to look at the wall beside her, no longer looking at Shen Jianian.

Shen Jianian indeed hated her, she came over just to verify her guess, now knowing the answer, she had nothing else to say: "I’m leaving, take care of yourself."

Just as Shen Jianian was about to walk out of sight, Wen Ran as if waking from a dream, hurriedly chased after her: "Shen Jianian, wait!"

Shen Jianian, hearing the voice behind, stopped her steps, before she had time to turn around, Wen Ran pulled her to an empty music room nearby.

Then, the door closed with a "bang".

Wen Ran turned around, facing Shen Jianian, her tears had stopped, but her eyes were still red.

Shen Jianian was startled by her sudden action, her heartbeat chaotic. After a few seconds, she focused her gaze on Wen Ran and asked: "What do you want?"

"Whether you believe it or not, I didn’t intend to harm you at the start." Wen Ran originally planned to keep this matter buried, never to speak to anyone, but maybe it was because she coincidentally met Shen Jianian, or perhaps she desired further redemption for her conscience, she still said it, "I drugged that cup of water."

Shen Jianian widened her eyes, not expecting Wen Ran to admit it so openly.

"I know you guessed it, you’re very smart." Wen Ran curled her lips into a desolate smile, once again said, "I didn’t intend to harm you."

Shen Jianian’s voice was steady: "But you did drug it, if Hua Sui had drunk a few more mouthfuls..."

"I didn’t know it was poison!" Wen Ran yelled, interrupting her words, her body trembling, the tears she had stopped flowed again violently, her whole body teetered on the edge, frail, "It was that woman... that woman told me it was just regular stomach medicine, I only wanted to make your stomach uncomfortable, unable to perform on stage, so I could smoothly complete the solo, becoming the spotlight. I even considered that you had your period, used a very small amount. I never thought it would be like this, I really didn’t know that medicine... could kill."

She sniffled, covering her trembling lips, and spilled out all the secrets hidden deep in her heart.