Chapter 45

When Feng Chengze arrived at the basement, the driver was standing by, waiting. Perhaps because he had spent so much time with Ji Qingyu, Feng Chengze had picked up some of her habits, such as giving unnecessary explanations to people who didn’t need them.

Last night was like that, and now it was the same.

He walked over, handed the Bentley keys to the driver, and said thoughtfully, “My wife needs the car today.”

As soon as he said it, her words from last night, “There’s no silver here,” flashed through his mind.

The driver was slightly stunned and found it a bit strange. Then he thought maybe Mr. Feng was in a good mood today and quickly nodded, “Okay.”

This kind of thing wasn’t uncommon. He had been with Mr. Feng for several years, and Mrs. Feng often used Mr. Feng’s car for business.

Sometimes, it was the Maybach, sometimes the Bentley, depending on the situation and mood.

A few months ago, he heard Mr. Feng mention on the phone with Mrs. Feng that he was considering buying a new car. Mrs. Feng didn’t want it, and they seemed to argue a bit on the phone, but it was obvious that Mrs. Feng would have the final say.

Feng Chengze sat in the back seat, still tasting the coffee in his mouth. He suspected she had secretly added sugar; otherwise, why did it taste a bit sweet?

He took out his phone, lowered his eyes, and sent her a message: [What’s your plan for today?]

Ji Qingyu quickly replied: [Xu Yichuan’s (your darling’s good friend in the Rose class at kindergarten) mom messaged me last night, inviting me for afternoon tea and to pick up the kids together. I agreed.]

This wasn’t just a simple afternoon tea gathering between moms.

Xu Yichuan’s mom, Chen Yuwei, was a well-known fashion designer. Due to her profession, she had close relationships with many textile factories. Over the past five years, she had consulted Chen Yuwei several times on WeChat, and their relationship had shifted from the class group to private chats.

Textile factories are all interconnected. Items like sweat towels, bibs, sleeping bags, and maternity pillows naturally require reliable sources. Moreover, Chu Ning also liked Chen Yuwei’s designs and wanted to ask her to help design beautiful and comfortable maternity clothes in the future. So, maintaining a good relationship was essential.

After sending this message, she took a bite of the bagel made by the capable Sister Sun and praised, “Sister Sun, have you ever considered opening your own shop? Your skills are much better than the bread I buy outside!”

Sister Sun laughed and said, “I saw you seemed to like this, so I followed the tutorial to make it.” Saying this, she wiped the kitchen island even more vigorously.

Ji Qingyu wanted to chat with her, but her phone vibrated again, and she raised her eyebrows. See, this is what a qualitative leap looks like. Feng Chengze never used to message her from the car after leaving in the morning; after all, it had only been about ten minutes since they parted.

Feng Chengze: [If there’s a situation you can’t handle, call me directly. If I don’t answer, I’m in a meeting.]

This seemed to have become his catchphrase, something he said every day to reassure her.

Ji Qingyu: [What about particularly urgent situations?]

Feng Chengze: [You can call Assistant Zhang. He will come to the meeting room to find me.]

Ji Qingyu propped her chin with one hand, her lips curling into a wide smile. Just as she was about to send him a bunch of kiss emojis to praise his helpfulness, another message from him, devoid of any romantic sentiment, came in: [Of course, I hope such situations don’t happen.]

He was speaking with a double meaning. He hoped she wouldn’t encounter particularly urgent matters that would disrupt his meeting schedule. Which was more important, the former or the latter? A smart person wouldn’t “invite humiliation” by asking.

She understood, she really did: [Okay, boss.]

Feng Chengze: [Are we practicing driving tonight?]

She couldn’t help but laugh at this message. Why did it feel like he had laid so much groundwork just to ask this question?

However, while he didn’t want to rest, she needed to. After indulgence, she didn’t feel too comfortable, and there was still a lingering sense that he was still there.

Five years ago was five years ago, and now is now. She didn’t plan to recreate the beginning from back then. She suspected that the reason she could go four nights without rest five years ago was purely because she thought, “This kind of top-quality experience is rare.” Now, things were different. They had plenty of time, and naturally, health should be a priority. With this in mind, she replied seriously: [I’ll drive, you sit in the passenger seat, then it’s okay.]

The morning rush in Jing City started early, and there were more office buildings near Yisheng Group. The driver drove steadily but never let his guard down, focusing intently on the road ahead. So when he heard a short laugh from the back seat, he thought he was hallucinating. He quietly looked up at the rearview mirror and confirmed it wasn’t a hallucination because Mr. Feng, who rarely smiled, had a faint smile on his face.

He looked down and typed: [Otherwise?]

These two words almost choked Ji Qingyu. She decisively stopped replying. A newly licensed driver could also turn their back on people.

Ji Qingyu found that her days were not as leisurely as she had imagined.

With her parents overseeing Yundan Shuiqing, she only needed to attend occasional meetings. Apart from funding and providing product feedback for Mao Feifei’s physical store, she didn’t have much else to do. However, there were many tasks for the “Qingyu” brand she co-founded with Chu Ning. After having lunch at home, she had the driver take her to meet Chen Yuwei.

They met at a restaurant in a five-star hotel. She was a bit puzzled at first, wondering why they needed to come to such a place when they didn’t need to take photos or check-in. As soon as they sat down, Chen Yuwei smiled and said, “Jia Yuan’s mom, I’m really sorry. I’ve been so busy lately. Otherwise, I would have invited you for afternoon tea earlier.”

“You’re too kind.” Ji Qingyu took a sip of flower tea and noticed out of the corner of her eye the high-quality booklet on the table, printed with the logo of this understated luxury hotel.

Following her gaze, Chen Yuwei smiled and said, “The afternoon tea here is average. I would have invited you elsewhere if it weren’t for the time crunch. It’s just that my brother is getting married in the second half of this year. He only returned to the country two months ago and is busier than I am. He couldn’t find the time, so I had to help them finalize the banquet menu here. Jia Yuan’s mom, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. It’s a happy occasion!”

Besides being a little alarm clock, Feng Jiayuan was also a little chatterbox. She was very popular in the Rose class, and everyone was her good friend. Every day after school, she could receive about ten calls from her little friends. Xu Yichuan, for instance, would even tell Feng Jiayuan where his dad hid his private money.

So, from her daughter, Ji Qingyu learned that Xu Yichuan’s uncle was a handsome overseas returnee and a promising doctor. Many people wanted to introduce him to girlfriends, but good men are usually snapped up quickly. Xu Yichuan’s uncle was no exception. He met his girlfriend while skiing abroad, and their relationship naturally progressed from friends to lovers. They had been dating for almost two years and had already met each other’s parents, preparing to get married.

Chen Yuwei smiled and “complained,” “It’s a happy event for them but a busy one for me. They’re both very simple-minded people and ask me about everything. Actually, in terms of family background, my brother is marrying up. I was quite nervous at first.”

Ji Qingyu didn’t take her words seriously. She might have been a novice in these matters before, but she had learned a lot from being around Feng Chengze.

One must look not only at the present but also at the future. Chen Yuwei was well-known in fashion design and had extensive connections and resources. Her husband was a valued senior executive in a multinational corporation. Her in-laws were overseas Chinese, and Xu Yichuan’s grandfather was a famous professor with students all over the world.

“Marriage might have the concept of marrying up, but love doesn’t,” Ji Qingyu joked with a smile. “Your brother must be great for your sister-in-law and her family to agree.”

Her words hit the mark with Chen Yuwei.

Using this topic, Ji Qingyu smoothly transitioned to discussing marriage and children, and naturally moved on to the business she wanted to talk about. Chen Yuwei had brought a lot of useful information this time. When Chen Yuwei got up to take a call, Ji Qingyu quickly took out her phone and snapped photos of the thick stack of documents, sending them to Chu Ning and Feng Chengze: [Might as well shoot me.jpg]

Before she could get a reply, Chen Yuwei returned and said apologetically, “Jia Yuan’s mom, my sister-in-law had an appointment with the restaurant manager to try the desserts today. She just finished, and I asked her to come over and take this booklet home to review.”

Over the years, Chen Yuwei had interacted with many wealthy ladies and socialites. Some were very particular about not interacting with strangers without prior notice, even for a few minutes.

Ji Qingyu, having not been in her position for long, didn’t have such reservations. “It’s fine. Would you like to order something for your sister-in-law to drink? These desserts have already been touched.”

Seeing that she genuinely didn’t mind, Chen Yuwei breathed a sigh of relief, her smile becoming more genuine. “No need, she’s busy too. After taking the booklet, she has to rush to another appointment. I can only help them with the hotel restaurant. She still has to try on wedding dresses and handle a bunch of other trivial matters.”

For the next few minutes, Chen Yuwei chatted with her while keeping an eye on the entrance. Suddenly, she smiled broadly, waved towards the entrance, and called out, “Over here!”

Ji Qingyu instinctively turned her head and met the gaze of the woman walking gracefully toward their table.

Both of them were momentarily stunned.

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