Chapter 9

Feng Jiayuan wasn’t a child who held grudges. After washing her hands, she happily ran back to the living room to watch cartoons.

Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze were still in the bathroom, with the door naturally closed. Looking at him uneasily, she leaned against the sink and asked softly, “Mr. Feng, I don’t know what to say to your parents. You should know this is my first time meeting them, and I’m not familiar with them at all. If they ask me some questions, how should I answer?”

So, she could only rely on him, and he had to let her rely on him. Now, they were like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. She was cooperating with him to play the role of a loving couple, so he, as the husband, couldn’t just leave her hanging, right?

“Sit next to me.” Feng Chengze said in a deep voice, “If you encounter a question you can’t answer, just give me a hint.”

Ji Qingyu was stunned: “…How do I hint?”

“Didn’t you just do it?” He glanced at the slightly wrinkled sleeve of his shirt that she had grabbed.

“No.” Ji Qingyu had to explain. She wasn’t bold enough to pull or tug at him without reason; she had her reasons. “Mr. Feng, after you scolded Yuan Bao, your father kept staring at me. I couldn’t ignore him, could I? How could I dare?”

She wasn’t the her from five years later. In her mind, Mr. Feng was the intimidating big boss from the company’s website.

Speaking of which, wasn’t this whole thing Feng Chengze’s fault?
If he hadn’t scolded Yuan Bao, nothing would have happened. It was only fair that he put out the fire he started, right?

Feng Chengze glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and hummed in acknowledgment. Seeing her anxious expression, he said calmly, “We’ll leave after dinner. You’ll get used to it over time. Don’t worry; even if you say something wrong at home, it’s not a big deal.”

This sentence reassured Ji Qingyu.

After a moment of silence, the two walked out of the bathroom one after the other. The kitchen had already prepared dinner, and the five of them headed to the dining room. Feng Jiayuan sat in her high chair, eagerly awaiting. The dinner was very sumptuous. Ji Qingyu hadn’t eaten much on the plane, so she focused on eating the delicious home-cooked food, forgetting her nervousness and worries.

“Why don’t you stay at home for the night?” Zheng Mingyue looked at Ji Qingyu and asked gently.

Without thinking, Ji Qingyu lightly kicked Feng Chengze’s leg under the table, silently signaling: Mr. Feng, this is your territory. You handle it.

Feng Chengze paused, slowly wiped his hands with a warm towel, and said, “It’s not convenient. We’ll go home after dinner.”

Zheng Mingyue actually just couldn’t bear to part with her granddaughter. Hearing her son’s polite refusal, she didn’t insist, “That’s true. Yuan Bao has school tomorrow, so you should go back early.”

“It’s such a small place, Yuan Bao can’t even enjoy driving around.” Feng Jinglin said that this place was spacious and comfortable. Still, a villa area of this size was naturally far from the city center, making it inconvenient for Feng Chengze to go to work and for Feng Jiayuan to go to school.

Ji Qingyu: “?”

She had seen photos and videos on her phone. The house they lived in now was anything but small. In one video, three or four-year-old Yuan Bao was happily playing in a ride-on car, and the living room alone was bigger than her own house. Conservatively estimated, that house was at least three or four hundred square meters. Didn’t Old Mr. Feng feel a pang of conscience saying that?

After dinner, Feng Jiayuan put on quite a show of saying goodbye to her grandparents. This child’s mouth was very sweet, saying she loved Grandpa one moment and Grandma the next, which made the elderly couple overjoyed.

Until Feng Jinglin teased her, “If you can’t bear to leave Grandpa and Grandma, you can stay. This is your house, too. Everything Grandpa has is for you.”

Feng Jiayuan immediately shut her mouth and stopped talking. She huffed and puffed as she climbed into the car with her backpack, blowing kisses nonstop. “I’ll miss you!” she said.

Sweet words came easily, but staying overnight was out of the question.
Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze were still background figures. Just before they got into the car, Feng Jinglin’s loving expression from coaxing his granddaughter disappeared, “Pay more attention to the company’s anniversary celebration. You know what I mean.”

Feng Chengze nodded. This was also one of the main reasons he told Ji Qingyu to maintain the status quo for the time being. When the time comes, regional heads and partners will come to Jing City to support and attend. If rumors of discord between him and his wife spread at this time, it would not be good for him or the group.

So, marriage is troublesome—no matter the reason for the union, separation always causes pain.

Although he still hadn’t figured out the reason for marrying Ji Qingyu, deep down, after weighing it over and over, he was more inclined to “let it be.” Since he and she were already married and had a child, he wouldn’t easily divorce.

When they arrived home, it was already past seven. Ji Qingyu, well-prepared, had found the usual address on her online shopping account in advance. When the driver dropped them off at Meijing Tiancheng, she was ready to show off in front of Feng Chengze!

However…

Feng Chengze pushed three suitcases into the elevator first; Ji Qingyu followed closely behind, holding Feng Jiayuan’s hand. Just as she was about to clear her throat to tell Feng Chengze they lived on the 32nd floor, a small round hand reached up high and jumped to press the number 32 button.

Ji Qingyu was stunned. How could Yuan Bao, the chubby little girl, be so agile?

The elevator wall, like a mirror, clearly reflected her current expression. Feng Chengze’s elbow rested on the suitcase handle, and his eyes glanced at her lightly as if he had already seen through her childish thoughts.

The door was open; these large apartments have two elevators per unit. Two nannies were waiting outside, one primarily responsible for cleaning and cooking and the other for taking care of Feng Jiayuan’s daily needs. This nanny had signed a ten-year contract with the Feng family when Feng Jiayuan was born. One was called Sister Sun, and the other was Sister Liu. These two sisters got along well. When Feng Jiayuan went to school, Sister Liu would help Sister Sun with some housework. In fact, their work wasn’t too tiring because the Feng family’s old house regularly sent people to deliver supplements and ingredients. Additionally, a thorough cleaning was done every two weeks, leaving no corner untouched, including the carpets.

Ji Qingyu entered the house, restraining herself from looking around, but inside, she screamed wave after wave.

Who!
Who dared to say this place was as small as a fingernail?

Pushing the door open and walking through the spacious corridor, she saw the beautiful cityscape through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was clear that the decoration and layout of this house were well thought out, with the children’s needs in mind. For example, the tea room was opened up and connected to the living room, making it incredibly spacious and transparent, enough for Yuan Bao to run around at home. An invisible sliding door was installed between one of the nanny’s rooms and the children’s room, making it easier for Sister Liu to take care of Feng Jiayuan at night. The other nanny’s room was for Sister Sun. In addition, the study and the piano room acted as a barrier, placing the master bedroom in the deepest part. Once the door was closed, no noise could be heard from outside.

This was the layout of the entire house…

Ji Qingyu: “…”

Feng Chengze: “…”

This meant that tonight, no, to be precise, every night in the future, they would have to sleep in the same bed. Feng Jiayuan was already sleepy when she got home. Thanks to Sister Liu’s efforts, her routine was very regular, and she usually went to bed at nine o’clock.

Ji Qingyu felt extremely grateful. She was still a young graduate in her early twenties. Playing with Feng Jiayuan for a while was fine, and she was happy to do it, but having to brush the child’s teeth, bathe her, and put her to sleep every day made her want to apply to go back five years. Waking up to find a four-year-old child was not what she called painless motherhood. Being able to throw away all the tedious chores and just play with the child for an hour every day, that was painless motherhood.

Fortunately, the Feng family and Feng Chengze had money. Otherwise, no matter how cute Yuan Bao was, she wouldn’t want to be a mom right now.

“Good night, Mom~
“Good night, Dad~

After drinking her milk, Feng Jiayuan gave Ji Qingyu and Feng Chengze a milky hug before obediently following Sister Liu to the children’s bathroom to wash up.

The two of them dawdled back to the bedroom. Ji Qingyu tried to treat Feng Chengze as if he were air, and Feng Chengze also ignored her. They were quite in sync in this regard. She nestled herself into the sofa and gave him the priority to shower first. He probably didn’t see her as a woman, as there was no gentlemanly demeanor at all, and he accepted it without hesitation. When Feng Chengze walked into the bathroom, his serious expression cracked slightly. Only then did he notice that the bathroom walls were all glass, transparent, and without any frosted treatment.

He guessed there might be a switch. He looked around the edge of the bathtub but found nothing. He tried all the switches on the wall, but still nothing. Feeling a bit frustrated, he pulled open a drawer. His expression suddenly stiffened, and he slammed it shut loudly. Ji Qingyu, thinking something serious had happened, ran over barefoot, not even bothering to put on her slippers, and stood at the door, urgently asking, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Feng Chengze, with his broad back tensed like a drawn bow, replied calmly, “Nothing.”

Ji Qingyu looked at him, puzzled and suspicious. He stood in front of the sink. Usually, she could see him through the mirror, but he kept his eyes down and hadn’t taken off his glasses, so she couldn’t see his expression clearly. She peeked around the bathroom and finally noticed the clue. She knew from yesterday that he liked to play tricks, but it still gave her a slight shock. Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly realized why he was acting strange—she was sitting outside, and this was a transparent bathroom. If he could undress and shower without a care, that would be surprising.

Fortunately, the unlucky one to shower first was him. If it had been her, she would be the one feeling so embarrassed right now. But then again, he was six years older than her. How could an old man have less mental fortitude than her? Look, it’s just a transparent bathroom. This scenario wouldn’t even deserve an “h” title in a bedtime story.

She understood his current silence and speechlessness and generously said, “Mr. Feng, I’ll go outside and have a glass of water first. You can send me a message when you’re done.”

After a few seconds, he responded in a low voice, “Okay.”

Ji Qingyu, holding her phone, shuffled out of the room in her slippers. Once there were no more sounds from her in the room, Feng Chengze expressionlessly opened the drawer, took out all the realistic stethoscopes, rulers, and other unsightly props, and threw them away.