Rose manor（玫瑰庄园酒店）

Chapter 115: Just a Plaything

In the main hall, the nanny auntie brought a plate of freshly cut fruits and placed it in front of Shen Jiani, warmly inviting her to eat.

Shen Jiani was feeling restless, barely mustering a smile at the fruits on the coffee table.

The wait was too long, every minute felt like torture, and she found herself glancing more frequently towards the staircase.

Suddenly, someone sat down beside her, reaching out for a fork from the plate, picking up a slice of pear and putting it in their mouth, teasing, "Worried about Fu Da?"

Shen Jiani recognized the voice as Fu Jianfang's, she didn't have a good impression of her, but as she was an elder, ignoring her directly would be impolite.

She turned her head to glance reluctantly, forcing a smile as she replied, "A bit."

Fu Jianfang put down the fork, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and chuckled lightly, "No need to worry. Every time he comes back, he's bound to get an earful from the old man, it's become a routine."

Shen Jiani was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to even force a smile.

"Do you think the old man will blame Fu Da because of your existence?" Fu Jianfang smirked, the disdain in her eyes unmistakable, "Only naive young girls like you believe in such empty things like love and affection. Fu Da is much shrewder than you imagine. Do you think he doesn't know the consequences of being with you?"

Shen Jiani wasn't sure what she was trying to say, but she had a premonition it wasn't anything good.

Seeing Shen Jiani's silence, Fu Jianfang continued with gusto, "Last time when the old man was hospitalized, I argued with him and asked if he found a woman just to confuse the family. He was taken aback by my insight, couldn't say a word for a long time. You definitely don't understand why he's with you. Think about it, you're young and beautiful, with no one backing you up after the family troubles. Perfect to manipulate. By being with you and causing a stir, he's fooled those in the family who vie for inheritance rights, making them think he's indulging in pleasure in Yicheng, neglecting the family business. So, when he returns, catching everyone off guard, he turns the house upside down. His third uncle was investigated by the police, though ultimately proven innocent, the blow left him dispirited, and he's still gloomy to this day. His cousin was heavily punished by the old man, sent to the army to discipline him, not even allowed to come back on days like today. Losing two competitors in one go, no wonder they say Fu Da kills without shedding blood."

Fu Jianfang was good with words, compared to her, Shen Jiani was too young and inexperienced, easily made pale by her words.

Shen Jiani's fingers intertwined tightened, her nails digging into her flesh, she slowly raised her head, looking at Fu Jianfang's smiling face, and asked with a heart full of doubt, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"I'm just seeing a young girl like you, all alone and worried about being deceived, and I can't help but give you a heads up," Fu Jianfang said, "I'm also a parent, even though my daughter is young, I'm afraid she'll be led astray by men outside and lose herself. You think he cares so much about you? In his eyes, you're just a plaything."

Shen Jiani's lips tightened, her voice lacking strength as she replied, "Can we leave now?"

"Wait for me for a moment."

Fu Jianfang glanced around, went to the tea room to bid farewell to Fu Zhengyun, before entering, she heard Wei Ronghua complaining in a low voice, "Look at what your son has done, who knows how the old man will punish him! You're still giving that woman a good face, don't tell me you really consider that low-class woman as your daughter-in-law!"

Fu Zhengyun's voice was annoyed, "Say less."

"If I don't say it, your son will marry that woman..."

Fu Jianfang forcefully pushed open the sliding door with a bang, startling Wei Ronghua, her voice abruptly stopping, looking nervously towards the door, meeting Fu Jianfang's expressionless face.

"We're getting ready to leave," Fu Jianfang pretended not to have heard those words, casually greeted, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute," Fu Zhengyun said, "Come in, let's talk."

"It's too late, next time," Fu Jianfang refused, turning around and walking away, taking the neatly cleaned cheongsam from the nanny auntie, and holding Shen Jiani's shoulder, leaving the brightly lit house.

After a while, Wei Ronghua pressed her violently throbbing chest, venting all the accumulated anger, "A good day turned into such a mess, what's going on!"

She turned to Fu Zhengyun and said, "Look, who in the house can still influence him now?! I heard from Mrs. Xu, the second wife of the Xu family, Xu Yuxuan will return soon, he's the person to marry, yet he's entangled with a woman outside, how does the Xu family look at him?!"

Wei Ronghua's usual gentle demeanor was completely gone, her voice sharper with each word.

Fu Zhengyun was annoyed by the noise, "If he really doesn't want to, you can't put a knife to his neck and force him to marry the daughter of the Xu family."

"Do you think I want to meddle?!"

"Are you afraid he'll ruin his future, or are you afraid you won't be able to keep the position of the main mother of the Fu family?"

"Fu Zhengyun!"

The argument in the tea room grew louder, Fu Jianfang happened to pass by, not hearing what was said inside, only knowing that they were arguing. She knocked on the door and raised her voice, "Big brother, big sister-in-law, talk nicely, don't argue."

Although she was saying words of persuasion, her eyes were filled with a gloating smile.

Fu Jianfang and Shen Jiani walked towards the parking lot.

The sky was even darker, making the streetlights in the courtyard exceptionally glaring. Shen Jiani stopped about four or five steps away from the car, seeing Qumo sitting inside, some things were not convenient for him to hear.

"Fu Jianfang, I have something to ask you, please be honest with me," she turned around to face him.

She couldn't wait any longer, whether it was false sentiment or genuine feelings, she wanted to make things clear now.