 Chapter 10
** Noticing Her Change**
But he didn’t think much of it. He assumed Rong Ci had probably gone back to the Rong family home.
As he walked toward the bathroom, it suddenly occurred to him that in the past, whenever Rong Ci went to the Rong home, she would bring Feng Jingxin along.
Today, uncharacteristically, she hadn’t taken their daughter.
Could it be that she hadn’t gone to the Rong home at all?
Or perhaps something had happened at the Rong residence.
Cheng Yuan’s words from the previous afternoon flashed through his mind. Feng Tingshen concluded that must be it.
He paused for a moment but had no intention of looking into it.
The next morning, while eating breakfast, Feng Tingshen said to Feng Jingxin, “Your school enrollment is all set. Report to school tomorrow morning.”
“Got it.” Feng Jingxin wrinkled her little nose. “Daddy, can you take me to school tomorrow?”
“I might not have time.”
“Okay then.” Feng Jingxin’s eyes darted around, then lit up. She said happily, “Then I’ll call Aunt Wu Wu later and ask her to take me to school.”
Before Feng Tingshen could respond, his phone rang.
It was a call from the old Feng residence.
When he answered, it was Old Madam Feng’s voice on the other end.
“I heard you’re back in the country?”
“Yes.”
“Did Xinxin come back with you?”
“She came back.”
“I haven’t seen Xinxin in so long. I miss her too. Tonight, you and Xiao Ci bring Xinxin back for dinner.”
“Got it.”
The old lady asked again, “Where’s Xiao Ci? Let me talk to her for a bit.”
“She’s not here.”
“How can she not be here at this hour?”
“She’s probably at the Rong family home.”
“Probably? You’re her husband â don’t you have any idea where your wife is?”
Feng Tingshen didn’t respond.
“Youâ”
The old lady sighed and finally fell silent.
Only then did Feng Tingshen’s tone soften slightly, though he changed the subject: “Have you eaten?”
“I’m full of anger!”
Feng Tingshen chuckled.
He continued eating his breakfast in an unhurried manner.
The old lady knew that this grandson of hers had always had his own mind.
For him, the current state of his marriage to Rong Ci was already a significant concession.
Given Feng Tingshen’s temperament, even if it was for his own good, she couldn’t push him too hard.
Thinking this, she sighed: “Forget it. This old lady has nothing to say to you. Hmph.”
“Alright. See you tonight.”
“Youâ hmph.”
The old lady hung up in a huff.
Feng Jingxin hadn’t been paying attention at first, but caught a few words toward the end. Curious, she asked, “Daddy, who was that?”
“Your great-grandmother.” Remembering what the old lady had said, Feng Tingshen dialed Rong Ci’s number as he spoke. “She wants us to go back for dinner tonight.”
Old Madam Feng was very good to Feng Jingxin, and Feng Jingxin liked her very much. Hearing this, she said happily, “Okay! I haven’t seen Great-Grandma in a long time. I miss her.”
Feng Tingshen grunted in acknowledgment as he looked at his phone.
At that moment, Rong Ci was also eating breakfast at the Rong family home.
Seeing Feng Tingshen’s incoming call, she paused.
She no longer felt excitement or joy at his calls.
After hesitating for two seconds, she answered: “Hello.”
“Grandmother wants us to come back for dinner tonight.”
Rong Ci: “âŚOkay, I understand.”
“Come back here to pick up the child and take her over.”
Rong Ci didn’t want to go back to his place. Besides, even if she went to pick up her daughter herself, her daughter might not be happy about it.
Why bother doing something thankless?
She said, “Have the driver take her. I’ll drive myself after work.”
Their off-work time coincided with rush hour.
This way would indeed be the most efficient.
But matters concerning Feng Jingxin were things Rong Ci had always preferred to handle personally, and she had taken pleasure in doing so, never minding the trouble.
Hearing Rong Ci say this now, Feng Tingshen was somewhat surprised.
Still, he didn’t dwell on it. After all, it was a minor matter, nothing to agonize over.
“Got it.”
With that, he hung up.
This time, Feng Jingxin knew who was on the other end of the call.
“Was that Mommy?”
“Yes.”
“So Mommy will come with us to Great-Grandma’s?”
“Yes.”
Hearing this, Feng Jingxin wrinkled her brow reflexively, before she could even think about what she was feeling.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her mother.
Nor was it that she didn’t miss her mother.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen her mother in a long time, and her mother had gone over half a month without contacting her â something that had never happened before.
Now that her mother was mentioned, she actually missed her a little.
But since her mother was coming with them to the old residence tonight, that meant she must be back from her business trip today â after she had returned to the country, she had only learned the next morning that her mother had gone on a business trip.
When she realized her mother wasn’t home, she had been very happy.
She wanted to take advantage of the days her mother was away on her business trip to spend more time with Aunt Wu Wu.
Because once her mother came back, she wouldn’t be able to see Aunt Wu Wu often anymore.
So she had been hoping her mother would stay away longer.
She hadn’t expected her mother to be back in just two days.
Now that her mother was back, she would certainly not agree to let Aunt Wu Wu accompany her to school tomorrow.
And as for Aunt Wu Wu’s car race tomorrow night â if her mother found out, she would definitely not let her go watch it.
Thinking of this, her mood immediately soured.
What’s more, she had already told Aunt Wu Wu to take her to school tomorrow morning, and Aunt Wu Wu had already agreed.
What was she going to do?
Feng Jingxin’s whole demeanor drooped. “Daddy⌔
Feng Tingshen looked at her. “What is it?”
Although she could have Daddy ask Mommy to let Aunt Wu Wu take her to school tomorrow, if Mommy heard that, she would probably end up arguing with DaddyâŚ
This was so annoying!
Feng Jingxin lost her appetite for breakfast.
But she could compromise on going to school tomorrow â Mommy could take her instead.
But Aunt Wu Wu’s car race tomorrow night â there was no way she was going to miss it.
With that thought, she said coquettishly to Feng Tingshen, “Well, you promised to take me to watch Aunt Wu Wu’s race tomorrow night. But if Mommy finds out, there’s no way she’ll let me go. So she can’t know about this. If she asks tomorrow, Daddy, can you help cover for me?”
“Got it.”
With Feng Tingshen’s assurance, Feng Jingxin’s mood improved slightly.
A little while later, after finishing breakfast, Feng Tingshen left the house.
âŚ
When Rong Ci arrived at the company today, she didn’t run into Feng Tingshen again.
At noon, Old Madam Rong called and asked her to come to “Yan Hao” for lunch.
“Yan Hao” was located near the Feng Group, just a few minutes’ walk from Rong Ci’s office.
Rong Ci left the company. Just as she reached the corner at the entrance of “Yan Hao,” she heard someone say: “Tingshen, if you hadn’t helped me just now, even with all my efforts, I might not have been able to secure this contract. Thank you so much for this.”
That familiar voiceâ
Rong Ci immediately stopped in her tracks.
Craning her neck slightly to look, she saw the side profile of her biological father, Lin Lihai.
Just then, Feng Tingshen spoke: “You’re too kind, Uncle.”
Rong Ci slowly clenched her hands into fists.
She could tell that Feng Tingshen’s tone was gentler than usual at this moment.
People treated with such warmth by Feng Tingshen were generally those he valued.
But she didn’t think Feng Tingshen valued Lin Lihai because of her.
Nor was it likely that Feng Tingshen was helping Lin Lihai because of her.
After all, ever since Lin Lihai divorced her mother, she and Lin Lihai had rarely seen each other.
The only daughter Lin Lihai acknowledged now was Lin Wu.
There was no father-daughter affection left between her and Lin Lihai.
Sure enough, Lin Lihai immediately continued: “Wu Wu is here alone. Her mother and I are both a bit worried about her. From now on, we’ll trouble you to look after her a bit more.”
