Chapter 38

Ji Qingyu sat on the chair, her toes in the shoes already tired. If the property developer of Meijing Tiancheng accidentally discovered an underground palace below, it would be what she had just dug out…

Zheng Mingyue is a very gentle and polite elder. Even when visiting her son’s house, she would give prior notice. After driving to the underground garage, she called Ji Qingyu to inform her that she would be at the door in five minutes.

Sister Sun and Sister Liu knew that Zheng Mingyue was coming, so they didn’t rest all morning, cleaning the already tidy house inside and out once more.

Zheng Mingyue has a strong sense of boundaries. She is almost sixty this year, but she is well-maintained, elegant, and looks at most in her forties. Sitting on the sofa in the dressing room, she flipped through a magazine, looked around, and smiled, “I heard from Chengze earlier that after Yuan Bao starts elementary school, you plan to change houses, right?”

“…This matter is still under discussion.”

Ji Qingyu changed into the dress she was going to wear today. It was just an auction, not that grand, so she didn’t need to wear a formal dress, and she felt quite comfortable. However, she was not clear about the matter of the house change, and she believed that Boss Dad would also be confused if he heard it.

With Zheng Mingyue’s personality, it was impossible for her to say something like “this place is indeed a bit small” like Chairman Feng. She nodded and said gently, “If you want to change, you can take your time to choose. I have several properties under my name. If you are interested, you can tell Butler Yang to take a look.”

“Okay.” Ji Qingyu realized she had answered too quickly and hurriedly added cautiously, “I’ll talk to him when he comes back.”

Zheng Mingyue just smiled faintly, not taking her words seriously. She knew that her daughter-in-law actually decided many things in this house, but seeing through without saying through is also a lesson that elders need to practice well.

“Speaking of which,” she said, “in a little over a month, Yuan Bao’s birthday is coming up. Take a look at this auction. If there is something good, just bid for it. Consider it a gift from me to Yuan Bao. Good jewelry is getting rarer these days.”

Jewelry?
Bid for it?
Birthday gift?

Ji Qingyu was confused for a while, feeling she understood every word her mother-in-law said, but when put together, it felt like listening to a heavenly book. She didn’t dare to respond easily, found an excuse to drink water, and quickly dialed Feng Chengze’s number. He didn’t answer, probably busy, so she had to return to the master bedroom dressing room with the cup in hand.

Originally, she thought this auction was just a formality, but from her mother-in-law’s words, it seemed like she was expected to bid on jewelry.
It’s not just a few thousand or tens of thousands; to use the word “auction,” it must be at least seven figures, right?

How could she dare?

She placed her phone on the dressing table, closed her eyes, and let the stylist do her makeup. A few minutes later, an abrupt ringtone sounded.

Zheng Mingyue, who was smiling and flipping through Yuan Bao’s picture book, also looked up. Ji Qingyu reached for her phone and saw that it was Feng Chengze. She thought he was in a meeting and didn’t expect him to call back so quickly.

It seemed like only a few seconds, but in her mind, a storm was brewing.
Through the mirror, she quickly glanced at Zheng Mingyue, who was watching her. Even the stylist put down the brush, waiting for her to answer the call before continuing.

Ji Qingyu lowered her eyelashes and chose the term “husband” among several affectionate nicknames. She could call him “Mr. Feng” when they were alone, but with her mother-in-law and others present, calling him “husband” would remind him that this was a special situation and he shouldn’t give anything away.

With a gentle smile on her face, she answered the call and softly asked, “Husband, are you busy?”

There was a long silence on the other end, long enough for her to think he might ask, “Who are you?”

She really hoped Mr. Feng could hear her thoughts from afar. But now was not the time for awkwardness!

She cleared her throat and said excitedly, “What? If you’re not busy later, will you come to the auction, too? Really?”

Feng Chengze hadn’t said a word. He stood still, holding the phone. After a moment, his Adam’s apple moved, and he calmly asked, “Do you want me to come?”

He had no interest in such time-wasting auctions. Over the years, he could count the times he had attended on one hand.

Ji Qingyu’s breathing became lighter, and she smiled with her eyes. She knew Feng Chengze was intelligent; he could immediately grasp the key point with a simple sentence. “Of course.”

“Okay,” he replied. “I still need to go back to the company. Send me the address, and I’ll come over after I’m done.”

“Okay~~”

After hanging up the phone, Ji Qingyu turned and smiled at Zheng Mingyue, saying, “Mom, Chengze said he has time today and will come to meet us.”

Even if being a wealthy wife is considered a profession, she is now a rookie intern and needs Teacher Feng to help her get familiar with the work environment, right? A man is like a brick; he can be moved wherever needed. If she doesn’t move him, someone else will, so she might as well use him.

Zheng Mingyue was not surprised by this but still felt relieved and nodded with satisfaction, “Good.”

Perhaps she was too sensitive, but she always felt that A Yu had changed since he came back, becoming different from before. As a mother, she couldn’t see through what he was thinking, but she couldn’t repeatedly bring up certain things either. Besides, she was worried that A Yu’s sudden return and his actions of picking up Yuan Bao without informing anyone might cause unnecessary conflicts between Chengze and Qingyu.
She hardly slept all night. When she woke up in the middle of the night, the bed was empty. She quietly got up and saw her husband sitting in the study, lost in thought. The usually sharp person didn’t even notice her standing at the door for a long time. She was old, and so was the man who once stood tall and strong. Now, they only hoped for peace and tranquility at home.
…

This was Ji Qingyu’s first time riding in Zheng Mingyue’s car. She was once again shocked when they arrived at the underground garage. She had seen Chairman Feng’s car during breakfast last time, a black Rolls-Royce, which was far superior to Feng Chengze’s two cars in terms of model and price. She didn’t expect her mother-in-law’s car to be the same model as Chairman Feng’s but in white.

Black and white, anyone with eyes could see that these were a couple’s cars. Romance is best played by those with experience, she thought.

The auction venue was not in the central city. It took about an hour to drive from Meijing Tiancheng. After getting in the car, Zheng Mingyue closed her eyes to rest. She didn’t want to chat with her daughter-in-law about family matters, but at this critical moment, she was also worried that saying too much might lead to mistakes. Contrary to what others thought, she didn’t have deep opinions about Qingyu. With her two sons in such a state, who could be blamed?

She knew her children well. Chengze was persistent and strong-willed, while A Yu seemed indecisive but was stubborn once he made up his mind. Which of these two could be forced?

Ji Qingyu, initially tense, gradually relaxed when she saw her mother-in-law seemed to be asleep. She quietly took out her phone from her bag, set it to silent mode to avoid disturbing Zheng Mingyue, and sent a message to Feng Chengze: [If you’re very busy with work, you don’t have to come.]

Within two minutes, his call came in.

Her heart raced, but fortunately, she had set it to silent mode in advance. She rejected the call and quickly typed a reply: [Is it urgent? Your mom is sleeping next to me. She looks a bit tired.]

Feng Chengze: [It’s nothing.]
Feng Chengze: [Not busy, I will go.]

Seeing this message, Ji Qingyu felt relieved, though a trace of doubt crossed her mind. If he wasn’t busy and was going to come, why didn’t he just reply to her message directly?

Modern social etiquette is like this: if you call me, I will call you back; if you message me, you shouldn’t send a voice message. It’s about symmetry. However, Feng Chengze is not only reliable in critical moments but also consistently dependable.

So, she happily replied: [😘😘😘]

Sitting in his office, Feng Chengze saw the three kiss emojis, his gaze fixed until the phone screen dimmed, reflecting his slightly smiling face. He then collected himself, pushed the phone aside, and focused on his work.

Feng Chengze was already efficient at handling business matters, especially today. After shutting down his computer, he left work early and took the private elevator to the underground garage, where the driver was already waiting. Before getting in the car, he casually glanced at the parking spot with the lock open.

Sitting in the back seat, he gave the address to the driver, and the car slowly drove out of the parking lot. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet, and the sunlight was still glaring. The driver had removed the child safety seat from the back seat and placed it in the trunk.

Feng Chengze didn’t idle; he had to handle a few emails from time to time. A sudden call interrupted him. It was from an unsaved number, but he remembered who it was. He lowered the partition with the driver’s seat and answered the call unhurriedly.

A warm male voice came from the other end: “Mr. Chen, good afternoon.”

“Mm.”

Feng Chengze glanced at his watch. The speed was quite fast, and he believed this time he should get a satisfactory investigation result. In this world, the person who knows him best is always himself. Having made a rookie mistake once, he wouldn’t make it a second time. His thoughts now were the same as five years ago. There were things that couldn’t be found out, and there were things he might have missed, loopholes that could be exploited.

When he heard her mention the traffic accident on Songjing Road that day, he was very puzzled and observed it again on the way back. If a “man-made accident” was just his guess, then what she later discovered confirmed his suspicion.

On July 2nd, A Yu brought her home.

On July 9th, she flew to Nan City alone and became inseparable from him.

How did these two people, who originally had a good relationship, break up in just a few days? Knowing his parents, there couldn’t have been any oversight in the matter of meeting the parents. After thinking it over, he believed that investigating the events on Songjing Road on July 2nd might reveal unexpected findings.

“Mr. Chen, I’ve sent what you asked me to investigate to your phone,” the detective said. “You’ll receive it after we hang up.”

Although it was unclear why Mr. Chen was interested in the Feng family’s affairs, the investigation he requested had nothing to do with the Feng family on the surface. He was merely concerned about the traffic conditions in the affluent Songjing Road area during those days.

Of course, it ultimately came down to Mr. Chen offering a lot of money. After some thought and weighing the options, he accepted the job. As for whether there was anything wrong with the content, he didn’t know, nor did he know who was involved, but he hadn’t offended anyone.

“Alright, thank you for your hard work.” Feng Chengze pondered for a moment and then said softly, “Mr. Liu, in this day and age, will you encounter another person as bored as I am?”

The detective was silent for two seconds, understanding his hint, and immediately said, “No, if other orders overlap with yours, I will definitely not take them.”

“I will pay the remaining balance immediately. Mr. Chen, thank you.”

After ending the call, Feng Chengze waited for a moment, and sure enough, a long message appeared on his phone, listing all the accidents that had occurred in the middle section of Songjing Road in July. As he had suspected, the road was wide, with few people and cars, and there were only a few accidents throughout the year.

After reading it, he felt a mix of solemn confusion and a sense of “as expected.”