Chapter 39

When Ji Qingyu and Zheng Mingyue arrived, quite a few people were already at the venue. This was a private auction, attended mostly by people from this circle. Occasionally, there were a few staff members with cameras around their necks. Although it was Ji Qingyu’s first time at such an event, she didn’t dare to show any signs of nervousness. She followed closely behind Zheng Mingyue, always smiling, never straying far from her mother-in-law.

Feng Chengze was right; the organizer this time was indeed Yue Jingshu.
She approached them warmly, “Auntie Qingyu, thank you for coming. If there’s anything lacking, please forgive me.”

“With you organizing, everything will be perfect,” Zheng Mingyue politely replied. It’s very lively today, so I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Yue Jingshu nodded with a smile and looked at Ji Qingyu, her tone becoming more familiar, “You’re always so busy. If I hadn’t insisted, you would have found an excuse not to come, right?”

Ji Qingyu was slightly surprised. From her tone, it seemed like they had a good relationship?

She remembered what Feng Chengze had told her in the morning, that Yue Jingshu’s husband was his former classmate, and she understood. She smiled and replied in the same tone, “Of course not. With you organizing, I had to come. Besides, a family member is coming later.”

Yue Jingshu’s eyes lit up, but she pretended to ask, “Yuan Bao?”

Zheng Mingyue also smiled.

Ji Qingyu, always mindful of her mother-in-law’s expressions, replied lightly, “No, Yuan Bao is a VIP family member.”

Originally, Zheng Mingyue wanted to bring her granddaughter along, but her eldest son and daughter-in-law were not keen on the idea. They believed Yuan Bao was still too young and should avoid attending such events where interests were at stake.

“Why didn’t Feng Chengze tell me earlier?” Yue Jingshu pretended to ask her assistant for her phone, “I need to tell Minghui to come and see what a model man looks like.”

“It was a last-minute decision.”

Ji Qingyu explained on behalf of Feng Chengze, “He finished work early today, and I insisted he come.”

Yue Jingshu laughed, “You ‘insisted’? When is it not that whatever you say, Feng Chengze agrees?” She turned to Zheng Mingyue and asked with a smile, “Right, Auntie?”

Zheng Mingyue nodded with a smile, “It’s good that they have a strong relationship. You and Minghui are the same.”

Yue Jingshu had to attend to other guests, so she smiled and temporarily bid them farewell before leaving. She was very thorough in her duties, and soon, her assistant came forward to lead them to the second-floor lounge.

Ji Qingyu’s face was almost stiff from smiling. Initially, she planned to stay by her mother-in-law’s side without leaving even for a moment. However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Waiters kept bringing various drinks, and everyone had a wine glass in hand, coming over to clink glasses. Unknowingly, she had almost finished two glasses.
She frowned slightly and whispered to Zheng Mingyue, “Mom, I’m going to the restroom.”

“Go ahead.” Zheng Mingyue was chatting with another acquaintance, both grandmothers talking about their grandchildren, such as “My treasure won the Little Genius award,” “My sweetheart massages my back and says she’ll spend her earnings on me,” “My treasure can recite many Tang poems and even swings a golf club,” and so on, smiling broadly. Naturally, she couldn’t accompany Ji Qingyu to the restroom.

Ji Qingyu found a waiter, who led her to the restroom door and asked with a smile, “Would you like me to wait for you here?”

“No, thank you.”

The waiter left after she entered. The service was excellent.

Ji Qingyu quickly took care of her personal needs and decided that before Feng Chengze arrived, if anyone else wanted to clink glasses, she would just wet her lips and not actually drink. She went to the sink and saw her lipstick had faded. She carefully washed her hands, and just as she was about to grab a paper towel, a fair hand handed one to her. She was startled, took it, and looked up at the person beside her.

It was a young, beautiful woman in a red dress with a complex and cautious expression.

“Thank you,” Ji Qingyu said politely, smiling as she dried her hands. She crumpled the paper towel and threw it away, then opened her handbag to take out her lipstick and a small mirror to touch up her makeup.

To her surprise, the woman in the red dress hadn’t left and was slowly washing her hands beside her.

The woman in the red dress was very thin, with slender wrists.

Ji Qingyu lowered her eyes and observed her with her peripheral vision.
In the mirror, the two women stood not far apart, one in a white dress and the other in a red dress.

“Rare guest!” Yue Jingshu teased, “Can’t be away from your Qingyu for a moment, huh? Tomorrow, you should call Minghui. You both went to the same school from childhood. How come the good habits didn’t rub off on him? Did you take different courses?”

When Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze got married, Yue Jingshu was still abroad and wasn’t very familiar with what had happened in Jing City. Although her husband and Feng Chengze were classmates, they weren’t that close. The version she heard was that the current Mrs. Feng had briefly been with Feng Yu before they broke up. Feng Yu had taken her to meet his elder brother, and Feng Chengze fell in love with her at first sight, causing a rift between the brothers. After breaking up with Feng Yu, Feng Chengze eventually won over Mrs. Feng and married.

Feng Yu, heartbroken, went abroad.

When she heard this, she was shocked and asked her husband if it was true. Feng Chengze didn’t seem like the type to fall in love at first sight. She admitted that Mrs. Feng was very gentle and beautiful, and she liked her a lot, but…

This version seemed somewhat unrealistic as if it had been embellished. Her husband, Chu Minghui, told her seriously that what she heard was the version Feng Chengze wanted everyone to know. She shouldn’t ask or inquire about anything else.

After dealing with her briefly, Feng Chengze finally got away and went upstairs. Looking around, he quickly saw his mother. He walked over quickly and asked in a low voice, “Mom, where’s Qingyu?”

It was her first time at such an event. She must be scared.

Unfazed, Zheng Mingyue replied, “She went to the restroom; she should be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Feng Chengze stood calmly by her side, listened briefly, and checked his watch. Still uneasy, he headed towards the restroom.

Watching her son stride away, Zheng Mingyue turned back to her friend and continued their conversation.

Her friend teased, “I didn’t expect Chengze to be like this after getting married.”

Zheng Mingyue sighed, “Do you have to mention it every time you see him?”

“I can’t help it, it’s too surprising.” Her friend laughed, “I still remember when Chengze was a serious child; he wouldn’t play with my daughter no matter what.”
…

Ji Qingyu walked out of the restroom, puzzled. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining all sorts of possibilities, but none seemed right. Lost in thought, a pair of shoes appeared in her view. She looked up, past the suit pants, white shirt, and tie, to see a familiar face. Before she could speak, her eyes lit up, “Oh! You’re here so soon!”

“Finished work.”

Feng Chengze walked towards her, his face initially smiling, but his expression turned stern upon seeing someone coming out of the restroom. He quickly returned to normal, stood beside Ji Qingyu, put his arm around her waist, and led her out. From an angle she couldn’t see, he glanced coldly at the person, then looked away after a few seconds.

The woman in the red dress seemed to be pinned in place by that look.

Feng Chengze held Ji Qingyu as they returned to the crowd, his hand never leaving her waist, a definite protective gesture. She looked up slightly at his well-defined profile and inexplicably felt very reassured.

With him around, she didn’t need to be so nervous.

Many people came over to greet them, and almost all of them were directed at Feng Chengze.

After all, it was an auction, and it was impossible to attend to everyone. The dinner arranged by Yue Jingshu was in the form of a buffet. Only then did Ji Qingyu understand why, before leaving, Zheng Mingyue had asked Sister Sun to prepare an exceptionally sumptuous afternoon tea. With her stomach full, she could naturally eat the cake elegantly in small bites.

“Are you hungry?” Ji Qingyu looked up and whispered in Feng Chengze’s ear.

Her breath tickled his ear, and he tightened his grip on her waist, “Not really, I’m not hungry.” He glanced around, feeling no appetite, his mind still preoccupied, “It’s the same if we eat later.”

“Isn’t there anything you want to eat?” Ji Qingyu felt she should take better care of him today. She knew that if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have come to this auction; it wasn’t part of his plan.

Feng Chengze had to nod towards the fish roe steamed egg closest to her.

It was very small, served in half an eggshell, garnished with two kinds of fish roe, okra, and shrimp.

“This one?” Ji Qingyu picked one up for him, sniffed it, and found no fishy smell. It was still warm through the eggshell, so she handed it to him.

Of course, some people were watching the couple.

“Stop looking.” A man in formal attire hurriedly pulled the woman in the red dress aside and whispered, “Brother Yu is coming soon. We’d better leave quickly. It’s bad luck.” He glanced at the woman who was chatting gently with her husband. “How did you run into her again?”

Ji Qingyu watched Feng Chengze frown as he ate the steamed egg.

Yuan Bao really resembled him in this aspect; when faced with the food they didn’t particularly like, they both looked like they were trying hard to endure it. She pursed her lips and smiled, not wanting him to see, and quickly turned her head. Her peripheral vision caught the hem of the red dress, and her doubts, which she had just suppressed, deepened.

The auction soon began.

It wasn’t as interesting as Ji Qingyu had imagined. It seemed like each family had agreed on what price to bid and who would get what, so the process went smoothly. She sat between Zheng Mingyue and Feng Chengze, holding a paddle.

Zheng Mingyue asked her in a low voice, “Is there nothing you like?”

Ji Qingyu shook her head, “They’re all just okay.”

Thinking about it, who would casually auction off their most treasured items for charity?

After all, she had been opening her jewelry cabinet every day recently, and after seeing so much, the jewelry being auctioned now seemed just okay.

She would definitely take it if it were given to her for free. But spending so much money, why not customize something better? She couldn’t help but reflect that, given the charitable purpose, such thoughts were inappropriate.

She turned her head to speak to Feng Chengze but saw that he was distracted.

This was very rare; she had never seen him like this before, as if he were facing a difficult problem, thinking it over repeatedly. She also tightened her grip on the paddle, feeling a bit anxious. Out of support for Yue Jingshu, Zheng Mingyue still had Ji Qingyu raise the paddle to bid on a ruby necklace. She said, “Yuan Bao likes red gemstones, keep it. The quality looks pretty good.”

Ji Qingyu replied, “Okay.”

During the second half of the auction, Feng Chengze received a phone call. When he returned, he asked if she wanted to leave early. She had no objections, but he would have to inform his mother if they were to leave early. Feng Chengze switched places with her and whispered a few words to Zheng Mingyue, who nodded slightly, “Alright, since you have something to do, you can leave first. Remember to inform Mrs. Chu.”

“Got it.”

Before the second half began, Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze apologized to Yue Jingshu and left early. The sound of high heels on the marble floor was not dull. She looked down at his hand holding her wrist, with a lot of questions in her mind but not knowing where to start.

But she had to ask. The auction wasn’t over yet, and the underground parking lot was tranquil, with hardly anyone around. Feng Chengze, not knowing how late he would be, had already let the driver leave early. He opened the car door and let her sit in the passenger seat. When he got in and closed the door, ready to start the engine, she asked, “Is there something you’re hiding from me?”

“Who is that woman in the red dress?”

He froze.

She had already turned to face him, her clear eyes staring straight at him.

Ji Qingyu was not slow; on the contrary, she was pretty wise. The woman in the restroom clearly knew her, with strange expressions and looks, but she couldn’t describe it. After Feng Chengze arrived, he occasionally glanced around the room as if looking for someone.

Who would believe there was nothing suspicious? The person was right under her nose.

Feng Chengze gave in. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I was also surprised to see her here. How about we talk about it when we get home?”

“…” Ji Qingyu understood. She now even suspected whether she was being a bit self-indulgent. Did he come to the auction not for her at all?
However, she still wanted to ask clearly, not to guess, but to hear a clear answer. She subconsciously grabbed the seatbelt, pursed her lips, and asked softly, “So, is it your ex-girlfriend?”

Feng Chengze’s movements suddenly paused. A similar expression of confusion appeared on his face, “…”