By the time Feng Tingshen and the others returned home from Lin Wu's celebration, it was nearly one in the morning.
The housekeeper, seeing Feng Tingshen carry the sleeping Feng Jingxin inside so late, asked with concern, "Why are you back so late?"
Feng Tingshen gave a non-committal grunt and didn't elaborate.
After carrying Feng Jingxin back to her room, Feng Tingshen returned to his own suite and flicked on the light. Seeing no sign of Rong Ci, he asked the housekeeper, "Did she not come home tonight?"
"The Madam? No, she hasn't returned."
Feng Tingshen was somewhat surprised.
It seemed Rong Ci had rarely been home these past few days. Such frequent nights out were quite unusual for her. Was something truly serious happening with the Rong Family?
The next day.
Feng Jingxin had been having a wonderful time playing with Lin Wu lately.
When she woke up that morning, her face was bright with a satisfied smile. In her high spirits, she thought of Rong Ci and went running toward the master bedroom clutching her ragdoll. "Mama! Mama!"
The door to the master suite was open, but no one was inside.
Feng Jingxin's little face fell. Just then, Feng Tingshen emerged from the walk-in closet, newly dressed.
She hurriedly asked, "Papa, where is Mama?"
Feng Tingshen adjusted his tie with slow, deliberate movements. "She's not home," he said flatly.
"Not home? Why?"
"If you want to know, ask her yourself."
"Fine."
Feng Jingxin picked up a phone and dialed Rong Ci.
Rong Ci had just returned from a run and answered the call as soon as she saw it. Before she could speak, Feng Jingxin's voice came rushing through. "Mama! Where are you?"
Rong Ci didn't answer the question directly. Instead, she asked, "What is it, Xinxin? Do you need something?"
Aside from Chu Zilan, no one knew where she was living. She was currently enjoying her solitary life and had no desire to be disturbed. Consequently, she had no intention of telling Feng Jingxin her current address.
Feng Jingxin had the phone on speaker as she lay on Feng Tingshen's bed, acting spoiled. "I miss you, Mama. I want you to take me to school in a bit."
"Mama is quite far from you right now," Rong Ci replied. "I won't be able to make it back in time to drop you off. Maybe next time."
"Oh." Feng Jingxin sounded a bit dejected before making a demanding request. "Then Mama, you have to take me to school tomorrow morning, okay?"
Rong Ci hesitated, not answering immediately. She didn't really want to go back there.
When the silence stretched on, Feng Jingxin felt confused. "Mama?"
Because the phone was on speaker, Feng Tingshen could naturally hear their conversation. He noticed Rong Ci's hesitation.
He was surprised. Given how much Rong Ci used to dote on their daughter, he had expected her to agree to such a small wish without a second thought.
"How about... letting Papa take you instead?" Rong Ci suggested.
Feng Jingxin truly missed her mother. When her request wasn't immediately met, she felt aggrieved and her eyes reddened. "No! I want you to take me! Aside from yesterday, you haven't taken me to school in a long time"
Seeing her persistence, Rong Ci relented. "Alright, I understand. Mama promises you."
She agreed, but not out of a sense of heartbreak for the child. It was simply because she had given birth to Feng Jingxin and felt she had to take responsibility for her.
Only then did a smile return to the girl's face.
Feng Tingshen checked his watch. Seeing that his daughter wanted to keep chatting, he reminded her, "If you don't go downstairs for breakfast soon, you'll be late."
Feng Jingxin let out a startled cry. "Ahhh! I haven't even brushed my teeth or washed my face! Mama, I'm going to go get ready, I can't talk anymore!"
Without waiting for a response, she hurriedly hung up.
Rong Ci put her phone down, finished her breakfast, and headed to the Feng Group for work.
There was a general meeting that morning. Feng Tingshen would be in attendance.
Rong Ci and the others had been seated in the conference room for over ten minutes when Feng Tingshen finally appeared.
The moment he walked in, Xu Xuena let out a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes lit up as she stared at him, unable to look away.
After a moment, as the meeting officially began, she finally snapped out of it and tugged on Rong Ci's sleeve. "CEO Feng is so handsome!"
Rong Ci had only looked up briefly when he entered. Hearing the comment, she didn't even raise her head, giving only a perfunctory "Mhm."
Seeing Rong Ci's total lack of interest in Feng Tingshen, Xu Xuena was shocked. Then again, she remembered that Rong Ci was married and had a child who wasn't exactly young, so it seemed normal enough.
Throughout the meeting, Xu Xuena's heart fluttered wildly. She couldn't stop herself from staring at Feng Tingshen, and she didn't hear a word of what was being discussed.
Rong Ci, meanwhile, was focused on her computer, taking meticulous notes.
When the meeting concluded, Feng Tingshen was the first to leave, followed by the others.
Xu Xuena's heart continued to race until Jiang Zhe came over to collect the materials Rong Ci had recorded. Only then did Xu Xuena snap back to reality.
Jiang Zhe flipped through Rong Ci's notes and couldn't help but comment, "Not bad. Good work."
"It's my job," Rong Ci replied simply.
Once Jiang Zhe left, Xu Xuena realized she hadn't listened to a single thing and hurriedly asked Rong Ci to send her the file. A moment later, she felt a headache coming on. "Sister Rong, did you study architecture before?"
"No," Rong Ci replied.
"Then why do you know so many professional terms from so many different industries...?"
"I bought books and taught myself, though I've only scratched the surface."
The projects the Feng Group invested in were varied and complex. To do her job well, she had spent years learning the basics of many different fields.
"Wait, you've even read books about the medical industry?"
"Yes."
Xu Xuena was speechless. After being around Rong Ci for two days, she realized that Rong Ci hadn't become the head of the secretarial section at such a young age by luck she had genuine talent.
"What books did you read? Can you send me a list later? I want to find time to look at them too."
"Sure, I'll send it later."
By noon, Rong Ci had filtered through her titles and sent Xu Xuena an entry-level list that would be useful for her current tasks.
Xu Xuena stared at the long list of forty or fifty books, feeling a bit dazed.
At three in the afternoon, Feng Tingshen had guests. Jiang Zhe instructed Rong Ci to brew a few cups of coffee, saying he would come by to pick them up in a while.
It was only then that Xu Xuena realized Rong Ci was the one who personally made Feng Tingshen's coffee.
However...
Seeing that Jiang Zhe wouldn't let Rong Ci deliver it personally and chose to make the trip himself, Xu Xuena assumed this was Feng Tingshen's way of preventing subordinates from trying to get close to him.
She asked tentatively, "Sister Rong, have you never personally delivered coffee to CEO Feng?"
"That's not it. Occasionally, when Jiang Zhe and the others are busy, I'll take it in myself."
Xu Xuena liked drinking coffee, but she had never intended to learn how to make it. Hearing this, her eyes sparkled. "Sister Rong, can you teach me how to brew coffee that suits the President's taste?"
Even if the opportunities were few, she wanted to seize them.
Rong Ci saw exactly what Xu Xuena was thinking.
"I can," she said.
She had even given up on Feng Tingshen himself. What reason was there to keep her knowledge of his favorite coffee to herself?
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