Chapter 54

Today wasn’t as hard for Ji Qingyu as she had imagined. This had a lot to do with the fact that most of the Feng family members were very dignified. Even Feng Yu seemed to be trying to maintain a calm facade. Apart from the initial prolonged gaze, he didn’t do anything out of line.
On the contrary, he was very silent, no longer as talkative as before.
When she followed Feng Chengze to the dining room, she carefully avoided the toys on the play mat in the living room. She inadvertently saw the Rubik’s Cube surrounded by stuffed animals. It was perfectly restored on all sides, a visual delight. She was startled and instinctively looked up, only to see Feng Chengze’s serious profile.

In the dining room, Ji Qingyu sat next to Feng Chengze, and Feng Jiayuan climbed into the children’s chair. Coincidentally, Feng Yu sat opposite them. Feng Chengze frowned slightly. If they were in the car, he could have lowered the partition.

“Qingyu, why aren’t you drinking the soup?” Zheng Mingyue asked.

“I got up too late today,” Ji Qingyu smiled. “I had breakfast close to ten, so I’m not very hungry now.”

When she started speaking, Feng Yu slowly put down his chopsticks and listened intently, as if he didn’t want to miss a single word.

“I see…” Zheng Mingyue paused for two seconds. “Why don’t you and Chengze rest upstairs after lunch and go back after dinner? I’ve prepared all your favorite dishes.”

“Okay.” Ji Qingyu nodded without hesitation.

Feng Chengze was a bit surprised. He thought she would be eager to leave immediately.

“Great, I’ll go fishing this afternoon and have the kitchen make squirrel fish for Yuan Bao. If you two have nothing to do, you can join me.”

Chairman Feng couldn’t hide his joy and drank a few more sips of wine. Although his tone was flat, even Ji Qingyu could hear the invitation. Unfortunately, his two sons showed no interest. Feng Chengze pretended not to hear, and Feng Yu didn’t respond.

Ji Qingyu was really afraid of Feng Dong, who often put pressure on her, so she kept her head down and pretended to be busy eating. She didn’t plan to look up until this topic was over, fearing she might accidentally meet Chairman Feng’s expectant gaze. She didn’t understand why Chairman Feng had so much confidence in her, as if she could make Feng Chengze do everything he didn’t like. Even if she had such ability, she wouldn’t want to force him.

Zheng Mingyue, however, understood. Her husband wanted to take his two sons to meet old friends. Besides the fact that people care more about face as they get older, he also wanted to use this opportunity to quell the rumors from years ago. Unfortunately, the children didn’t understand, or perhaps they did but didn’t want to cooperate.

Chairman Feng: “…”

He could only leave, cursing under his breath. Who was he doing it for? Wasn’t it for this family, for Yisheng? Having a son was worse than having a piece of barbecued pork. One was more stubborn than him and never listened to him, and the other lost his soul over a breakup. He didn’t even know if, when he passed away, this brat would mourn him for five years.
…

After dinner, Feng Chengze took Ji Qingyu upstairs to his bedroom. As soon as he closed the door, she put her hands behind her back and curiously looked around. Remembering something, she turned to him with a smile, apologizing with words but showing no sincerity on her face, “Mr. Feng, I’m really interested in your room.”

The previous times she came, she only stayed on the first floor and left right after dinner. The Feng family house was too big. The second floor of the main building was the master bedroom, dressing room, and study of Chairman Feng and his wife. The third floor was the master bedrooms of Feng Chengze and Feng Yu. Unless she stayed overnight or took a nap, she had no chance to come up and take a look. He had slept in her room, but she had never even seen his ‘boudoir.’ Was that fair?

“…” Feng Chengze didn’t expect this reason. His brows relaxed, and he looked leisurely. “Alright, feel free to look around.”

He sat on the sofa chair, dressed less formally on weekends, without a tie.

Ji Qingyu looked around the bedroom. It was clean and tidy and clearly not lived in for long. The bedspread on the solid wood bed was perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle. Standing by the bed, she felt a sudden urge to mess it up. She flopped onto the bed, lying flat, her eyes fixed on the vintage crystal chandelier.

“Hey—”

She was about to speak to him when he had already walked over, kneeling to steady her swinging legs.

She sat up quickly. She had been careless. When alone with this man, if she only wanted to have a proper conversation, there shouldn’t be a bed, sofa, or chair within a hundred meters. A few days ago, she was deceived by his serious appearance, and now she couldn’t even look at the word “star” the same way.

Looking up, his right hand was on the back of her neck, his left hand caressing her cheek, looking down at her.

The metal of his ring pressed against her skin. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. She was confused, her mouth slightly open, about to whisper for him not to mess around here. He dropped his pretense and immediately took advantage. Her hands pressed against the bed, her head tilted back, enduring his assault.
…

In the afternoon, Feng Chengze unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his Adam’s apple. He raised his left hand to cover his eyes, still holding his glasses.

Ji Qingyu sat beside him, flipping through his various certificates and photo albums, exclaiming in awe. Knowing he was knowledgeable and talented was one thing, but seeing it firsthand was another. She nudged his waist and said, “My dear Mr. Feng, you must be a master of time management, right?”

“Is there anything you can’t do?”

His personal album had everything from horse riding, skiing, to fencing. She doubted these were his hobbies because she hadn’t seen him engage in them. Flipping through his phone’s photo album, there were only a few pitiful photos of skiing, and those included her bundled up like a polar bear and their little penguin, Yuan Bao. How energetic was he? If he really liked doing something, even if he worked for more than ten hours a day, he would find time to play. So, these were probably things he had to learn, courses outside of books that he wasn’t interested in.

Poor thing.

Ji Qingyu allowed herself to sympathize with him for five seconds, no more. Anything more would be a betrayal of the people. She quickly realized even five seconds was too much. Because Feng Chengze, who was resting with his eyes closed, said lightly, “I can’t solve a Rubik’s Cube.”

Ji Qingyu: “?”

Wait, what?? She couldn’t help but laugh, collapsing onto his chest. Her silky black hair brushed against his neck, tickling him. He brushed it aside and gathered it for her.

After laughing enough, she rested her head on his firm arm and looked up at him. “The person who taught me to solve a Rubik’s Cube was my deskmate in senior high school, a very talented girl who was also the top scorer in the college entrance exam that year.”

“I see.”

Feng Chengze had never thought of Ji Qingyu as a fool. He knew she was smart and clever. If she could solve a Rubik’s Cube and it had something to do with Feng Yu, she would never have said that.

Seeing that he wasn’t surprised at all, Ji Qingyu was genuinely puzzled. It seemed he hadn’t misunderstood at all. Just as she was about to ask, he helplessly lowered his head and kissed her, stopping her from speaking.

Neither Feng Chengze nor Ji Qingyu had the habit of taking afternoon naps, but this was a rare leisurely afternoon without caring for the child. They lay there until four or five o’clock, then got up and went downstairs after tidying up their clothes.

Uncle Yang was great with kids and was playing ball with Feng Jiayuan on the lawn with the dogs.

Feng Yu was sitting in the living room watching TV with Zheng Mingyue. When he heard Ji Qingyu’s gentle voice coming from the stairs, he couldn’t help but look up. The tall, upright man had his arm around the woman’s shoulder, leaning down slightly. The woman whispered in his ear, saying something that made him smile. The usually stern and cold man seemed much gentler.

If he hadn’t gotten out of the car that time, perhaps the people in this scene would be him and her.

Zheng Mingyue hung up the phone and saw her eldest son coming down. She rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Your father called and said the car seems to have some issues and can’t be driven for now. Chengze, can you and A Yu go pick him up?”

Ji Qingyu, holding Feng Chengze’s hand, was stunned for a few seconds before realizing.

What a clumsy excuse…

Who else could they fool besides the under-four-year-old Yuan Bao?

It could only be said that Chairman Feng also had the qualities of a successful person: perseverance and indomitable spirit.

She turned her head to look at Feng Chengze, curious whether he would agree or refuse for the third time—yes, the third time. While they were resting in the room, Feng Chengze’s phone rang, and she saw the caller ID as “Dad.” He had gone to the balcony to take the call, which was very brief, probably less than two minutes.

She guessed Chairman Feng must have mentioned this matter again on the phone. When he came back, his brows were furrowed, and he seemed to be in a low mood.

Feng Chengze suddenly looked at her. Meeting his deep eyes, she was slightly stunned.

“Okay.”

Zheng Mingyue was also surprised. She had been prepared for her eldest son to refuse and then send a driver to pick him up, but she didn’t expect him to agree. She was excited for a while and then looked at Feng Yu.

“A Yu?”

Feng Yu was also reluctant to go, feeling a surge of irritation. He had been his father’s son for almost thirty years. How could he not understand the situation? Several times, he had wanted to tell his parents to stop holding onto those impossible expectations. He and Feng Chengze could never repair their relationship in this lifetime. He didn’t want to and believed his brother didn’t want to either. Their brotherly bond and fate only lasted twenty-four years. Why did everyone want him to pretend nothing had happened? Was it that he hadn’t been with Qingyu or that Qingyu wasn’t married to his brother now and had a four-year-old child? How could things that had already happened be treated as if they didn’t exist?

He frowned, lifted his eyes, and his gaze fell on his mother’s face, which was marked by the years. Suddenly, he felt defeated and said hoarsely, “Okay.”
…

The Bentley slowly drove out of the old house. The weather in Jing City was hot, and the asphalt road was damp after the sprinkler truck passed. Feng Chengze and Feng Yu were both sitting in the back row of the three-seater, each leaning against their respective windows as if a clear boundary existed between them. Neither of them took the initiative to break the silence.

The one who truly had a psychological shadow over this road was Feng Yu. His gaze swept calmly out the car window, and his hand on his knee tightened. Just as he was about to look away, a supercar from the left side lost control and rushed towards them. Feng Chengze, who was leaning against the window on that side, was looking down at his phone, the screen reflecting in his glasses, showing a WeChat chat interface, completely unaware of the situation outside.

In an instant, Feng Yu’s pupils contracted. In those few seconds, his mind went blank. He pulled Feng Chengze over and shielded him with his arm.