Chapter 18

“Mom——”
Just as Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze were about to forget there was a little one in the back seat, a dissatisfied child’s voice rang out, “Are you and Dad done whispering? Can I open my eyes now?”

Feng Jiayuan felt her arms were getting sore from holding them up. She was the most orderly and principled child, and if she said she would cover her eyes, she wouldn’t peek.

Ji Qingyu snapped out of it and quickly turned around, feeling guilty, “We’re done, we’re done!”

“Hmph, you forgot about me again!”

Feng Chengze noticed that the navigation system in his car frequently showed a few addresses, one of which was Ji Qingyu’s home. No wonder her father called him when he couldn’t reach her. It was strange, though, because he was familiar with Jing City, and if he remembered correctly, Ji’s family lived in an old neighborhood, not in a prime location.

“Why haven’t they moved?” He could only ask Ji Qingyu about her family.

“It’s quite normal.” Ji Qingyu felt ashamed talking about it. Neither her dad nor her mom were the type to despise the poor and love the rich. When she found herself married to Feng Chengze five years later, she quickly adapted to the situation after a few hours of mild discomfort. To be honest, she wasn’t someone who could easily go with the flow and enjoy a peaceful life. Although Feng Chengze was impeccable in appearance and demeanor, she had seen many handsome men, and it wasn’t enough to make her agree to a “blind marriage.” The real reason she accepted being Mrs. Feng was one word: money. Four words: too much money.

“My parents aren’t like that.” Ji Qingyu enthusiastically praised her parents. “If we wanted to move them to a bigger house, they wouldn’t agree. Yundan Shuiqing is a hot spring under my name, and they probably help manage it because they think I can’t handle it alone. I don’t even have to ask; most of the salary they take is probably saved for me.”

Five years isn’t long, but it’s not short, either. With many residents in the old neighborhood, large-scale renovations were difficult. To Ji Qingyu, it seemed like nothing had changed around her home, which made her feel nostalgic.

Ji Mingzhi was waiting downstairs early. This neighborhood had few parking spaces because it was built long ago and didn’t have an underground parking lot. Worried that his son-in-law wouldn’t find a spot, he had brought a small stool to reserve a space half an hour earlier. Fortunately, the neighbors, being familiar with each other, pretended not to notice his somewhat inappropriate behavior.

A neighbor on the first floor shouted, “Old Ji, your daughter’s car is here!”

Everyone was curious about Ji’s son-in-law, who frequently changed cars. Over the years, they had come to recognize him.

Ji Mingzhi quickly stood up and waved vigorously.

“My dad!” Ji Qingyu turned to Feng Chengze and said, “Park over there!”

Feng Chengze: “…”

The parking space was quite spacious, and he parked quickly. Ji Qingyu rolled down the window, extremely excited as she hadn’t seen her dad yesterday. “Master Ji!”

Feng Chengze paused slightly while unbuckling his seatbelt. He thought he knew where their daughter had learned to call her grandfather “Chairman Feng” and her grandmother “Ms. Zheng.”

“Master Ji!” Feng Jiayuan, sitting in the back seat, also shouted happily. She was grinning until she met her dad’s eyes, then pouted and whispered, “Dad only scolds me, not Mom.”

Ji Qingyu had a reason for calling her dad “Master Ji.”

When she was little, her dad was a factory mechanic, and everyone called him Master Ji. After the factory closed, he didn’t want to follow his colleagues to work out of town. Being extremely family-oriented, leaving his wife and kids for a month would have been unbearable for him. So, he switched careers and started driving a taxi.

Under Ji Qingyu’s eager gaze, Ji Mingzhi opened the back door with a big smile and said, “Yuan Bao, do you want Grandpa to carry you?”

Ji Qingyu: “…”

“Yes!” Feng Jiayuan didn’t want to walk and stretched out her arms. Ji Mingzhi leaned into the car, carefully unbuckled her, and picked up his granddaughter. Then he remembered his daughter and smiled, “It’s hot. Hurry upstairs. The air conditioning is on, and the watermelon is cut.”

Watching her dad briskly carrying the chubby little girl into the building, Ji Qingyu sighed, “Is this what they call ‘grandparent love’?”

“Probably,” Feng Chengze replied calmly. “Did you see the vase in our living room?”

Ji Qingyu recalled, “The one with Peppa Pig stickers?”

“Yes.” Feng Chengze reported a number in a calm tone, “My dad bid that price for it ten years ago.”

Ji Qingyu gasped, “I thought it was just a regular decorative vase. Why didn’t Chairman Feng put it in the study?”

“Maybe he wants to influence Yuan Bao.”

Ji Qingyu noticed that Chairman Feng repeatedly said yesterday, “Everything Grandpa has is Yuan Bao’s.” Clearly, he wasn’t just trying to make his granddaughter happy; it was a habit for him to say it naturally.

“So…” Ji Qingyu tentatively asked, “Yesterday, I saw the necklace on Yuan Bao’s stuffed animal and Barbie doll—”

Feng Chengze nodded calmly, “It’s exactly what you think.”

Ji Qingyu: “…?” If she had read such a sci-fi story online, she would have envied the little girl and might have left a comment like “First choice for reincarnation in the next life.” But thinking about her own child, her daughter, being loved unconditionally by so many people and growing up in such a loving environment, she felt a surge of satisfaction and contentment.

The two exited the car, and Feng Chengze followed Ji Qingyu into the building. She suspected it was his first time in such a neighborhood, so she unconsciously wanted to take care of him more. She whispered, “If there are any questions you don’t want to answer or can’t answer, just let me know.”

He was in charge of the Feng family, so she naturally had to look out for him in her home.

Feng Chengze gazed at her, “How should I remind you?”

Like her, by kicking his shin? Or pulling her sleeve? He restrained himself from looking at her outfit today—he had to admit, even from his aesthetic perspective, she looked beautiful today. She was the best-looking person he had ever seen in white. A simple white dress, the hem naturally draping, shimmering slightly in the sunlight with her light steps. Naturally, it had no sleeves.

Ji Qingyu followed his gaze to her arm, then smiled, tilting her head slightly, her eyes sparkling with amusement, “Just play it by ear.”

Maybe because she was back in her familiar home, she was more relaxed and even joked with him, “Mr. Feng, I really didn’t mean to pull your sleeve. You won’t hold a grudge, right?”

The two stood in the dimly lit elevator lobby. One floor had four households but only one elevator, which was quite unreasonable. They could only wait.

Feng Chengze chuckled softly, wanting to remind her that it wasn’t just his sleeve; her slippers had also dirtied his pant leg. But he wisely chose not to say it. The Ji family home wasn’t big, but it was very cozy.

Wang Yunlian usually assisted Ji Mingzhi, and now she was in the kitchen peeling garlic. Since it wasn’t mealtime yet, Ji Mingzhi could still play with his granddaughter. The grandfather and granddaughter started playing chess, though Feng Jiayuan didn’t understand it at all and just placed pieces randomly. Her grandpa patiently interacted with her.

“Qingyu.” Wang Yunlian took off her apron and called out, “We’re out of soy sauce. Let’s go to the supermarket.”

“Okay~” Ji Qingyu, who had been chatting with Feng Chengze on the sofa, stood up.

Feng Chengze stood up as well.

“Yuan Bao’s dad, you can just rest here.”

Wang Yunlian smiled, “It’s just a few steps away, at the supermarket outside the neighborhood.”

Ji Qingyu thought the same. In her mind, Feng Chengze was a guest, and it wouldn’t be right to make a guest go buy soy sauce. She lowered her voice, “We’ll be back soon. You rest and have some watermelon.”

Feng Chengze nodded, “Alright, call me if you need anything.”

The mother and daughter changed their shoes and went out with a sun umbrella. Ji Qingyu was still thinking about how the car was baking in the sun and how hot it would be inside when they left in the afternoon.

Suddenly, Wang Yunlian’s words caught her full attention. “I heard yesterday that Yisheng is holding a celebration, right?”

Wang Yunlian’s tone was calm, but if you listened closely, you could catch a hint of worry. “Will Feng Yu be back?”

“…Yes.” Ji Qingyu realized this might be a good opportunity to learn about some events from the past five years. “Mom, why are you asking about this?” She was worried about giving herself away and added calmly, “That’s all in the past.”

Her tone and demeanor were learned from Feng Chengze over the past two days and were quite convincing.

Wang Yunlian sighed, “Your dad didn’t sleep all night. People think we’re happy, but if we had a choice, I really wouldn’t want you to marry Yuan Bao’s dad.” As she spoke, she realized her words were inappropriate. “It’s too late to say this now; Yuan Bao is almost four.”

A marriage of convenience is like drinking water; only the person drinking knows if it’s hot or cold. If Feng Chengze hadn’t waited outside the Ji family home for several nights, Wang Yunlian would never have agreed.

Ji Qingyu carefully said, “He’s very good to me and Yuan Bao.”

“He’s—” Wang Yunlian paused, “His feelings for you are undeniable. Now, I just hope the brothers can reconcile, at least not be enemies. But it’s difficult. After what happened, your in-laws were too scared to intervene.”

Ji Qingyu was anxious. She wanted to grab her mom’s hand and ask, “What happened? Tell me clearly.” But thinking of Feng Chengze sitting calmly at home, her curiosity was suppressed by the pressure of his calm gaze.

Wang Yunlian finally got to the point, “Everything is peaceful now, but if anything happens again, the Feng family won’t be able to hide what they tried so hard to suppress. The younger brother tried to take the sister-in-law before the elder brother’s wedding, and the elder brother broke the younger brother’s leg. If this gets out…”

“It would be a scandal.” She sighed heavily, “People’s words are terrifying. Your dad and I are worried that you and Yuanbao will be the ones talked about.”

Ji Qingyu blinked in confusion.

What? Who tried to take whom? Who broke whose leg?

The information was so overwhelming that she was speechless. In a daze, she followed her mom to the supermarket, her mind in knots, almost ready to scream: “No way!”