Chapter 28 - 25: A Long Night
Living on the same floor, Shen Jianian had never set foot in Fu Jichen’s bedroom. She stood outside the door with a tray, freeing one hand to knock.
Two soft knocks echoed distinctly in the silent hallway of the deep night.
Retracting her hand, she grasped the end of the tray with both hands, waited silently for a second or two, but no response came from within.
Shen Jianian couldn’t help but wonder, was Fu Jichen so drunk that he was unconscious?
It always felt like someone of his distinguished status, with such unfathomable thoughts, wouldn’t let himself fall into a passive state at social events. One of Beicheng Fu Family, potentially the future leader of the Junshan Group, who would dare to trouble him?
Shen Jianian knocked again, her knuckles tapping several times on the door panel, accompanied by a tentative call: "Mr. Fu? Mr. Fu?"
There was still no response from inside.
The door was ajar, Shen Jianian took a deep breath and pushed it open.
The large bedroom was only lit by two wall lamps above the bed, casting a dim, hazy light over the dark bed. The man lay on the bed fully dressed, a corner of the quilt covering his waist, his removed suit jacket draped over the back of the sofa at the end of the bed, a tie hanging at his wrist, possibly pulled off when he was half asleep and forgot to discard it.
As she approached, Shen Jianian heard the man’s slightly heavy breathing and saw deep wrinkles on his brow, indicating some discomfort.
Shen Jianian set down the tray in her hand, hesitated for a moment, silently reciting a debt of gratitude for his many past helps, leaned closer and tried to wake him up to drink the soup: "Mr. Fu?"
Despite the close proximity and her persistent calling, the person on the bed showed no signs of waking, as if in a deep coma.