Ā Chapter 21
** In Front of You, She’s Worth Nothing**
The next day.
Only after Chu Zilan’s fever had completely subsided did Rong Ci go home.
She still hadn’t prepared a gown for the banquet tomorrow evening.
In the afternoon, Rong Ci went out.
At the luxury gown boutique, the store manager and several sales associates were all gathered around one particular dress, fussing over it.
They only noticed Rong Ci when she approached.
“I’m sorry, miss. What can I help you with?”
“I’m just looking.”
“Alright.”
Although she had married into the Feng family, over the years, she had hardly attended any banquets.
After all, Feng Tingshen and Sang Qian never brought her along when they had formal events to attend.
As for Old Madam Feng, she had stepped back from the spotlight years ago and no longer cared about such social occasions.
Although Rong Ci hadn’t studied gowns extensively, Chu Zilan worked in high-end fashion, and through osmosis, she had developed basic taste.
However, there were simply too many beautiful gowns in the store; it was dazzling.
Rong Ci didn’t plan to scrutinize every option. She felt that anything decent would do.
Just as she was thinking this, the gown the associates had been fussing over came fully into view.
Rong Ci froze.
It was a pale purple, semi-sheer, waisted chiffon gown. The flowers gathered at the waist were uniquely delicate and exquisite. Paired with the elegant, precious necklace on the mannequin’s neck, the dress perfectly blended ethereal grace with luxurious opulence.
She couldn’t help walking toward it.
She was about to reach out and feel the fabric, but before her hand could touch the dress, the store manager firmly grabbed her hand.
Rong Ci winced at the pain.
The store manager quickly let go: “I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that this gown is a custom piece for one of our premium clients. There is only one in the world. It’s extremely expensive. If anything were to happen to it, we couldn’t bear the responsibilityā¦”
“No problem.”
She hadn’t expected it to be spoken for. Rong Ci was a bit disappointed.
The gowns in the store ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, with the most expensive exceeding a million. But even the priciest ones in the store seemed so average and dull compared to that gown.
In the end, Rong Ci chose a cream-colored silk long dress with floral accents.
While Rong Ci was paying and having the dress wrapped, she overheard two sales associates nearby whispering, “They say the necklace plus the dress comes to over thirty million. That’s like wearing a whole villa. Rich people are so extravagant.”
“Exactly. And chances are, they’ll only wear it onceā¦”
Thirty millionā¦
So it really was that expensive. Even if it weren’t spoken for, she couldn’t afford that.
Rong Ci shook her head and left.
When she got home, Chu Zilan called and said she wanted to treat her to a big meal tomorrow night.
Learning that she was attending a banquet tomorrow, Chu Zilan rushed over the next afternoon, determined to do Rong Ci’s makeup and styling herself.
Rong Ci had good taste. She had chosen a lovely gown. Paired with the look Chu Zilan meticulously created, it perfectly highlighted Rong Ci’s gentle, generous, beautiful, and clean aura.
That evening, Yu Moxun came to pick her up. When he saw Rong Ci, he was genuinely stunned by her beauty: “Very beautiful. It suits you perfectly.”
“Thank you.”
Once in the car, Yu Moxun said, “So, officially returning to the company tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“By the way, Lin Wu,” ā remembering that she might not know who Lin Wu was, he explained ā “the algorithm genius I mentioned last time. She’s also officially starting tomorrow. I can introduce you twoā”
Rong Ci’s expression froze: “Lin Wu? Did you say Lin Wu? Is that ‘Wu’ meaning ‘overgrown’? The one who came back from Country A a while ago?”
Yu Moxun nodded, very surprised: “Yes. Do you know her?”
“She’s my half-sister.”
Yu Moxun was stunned.
He knew something about Rong Ci’s family situation.
He hadn’t expected the coincidence to be so great.
Rong Ci’s eyes were cold. She added, “She’s also Feng Tingshen’s extramarital lover.”
The car suddenly braked hard.
Yu Moxun’s eyes widened: “Youā”
Rong Ci shook her head: “I’m fine.” Her expression was calm. She said, “Even if you say I’m abusing my power, I don’t agree to her joining our company.”
Yu Moxun’s expression turned serious. He agreed without hesitation: “No, I support your decision.”
Rong Ci felt warmth in her heart: “Thank you.” She paused, then added, “But this way, you’re directly losing a genius.”
Yu Moxun shook his head and smiled. He looked at her: “She is indeed a genius in algorithms, but compared to you, she’s worth nothing.”
He said the last few words with utmost gravity.
Rong Ci was taken aback, thinking Yu Moxun was exaggerating. Yu Moxun knew what she was thinking and smiled: “The truth.”
Rong Ci hadn’t expected him to say that. She thought for a moment and asked, “Her interview was a while ago. Why hasn’t she started yet?”
Yu Moxun shook his head: “She said she had some things to take care of. I didn’t ask for details.”
More than ten minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
Rong Ci, however, looked thoughtful.
Yu Moxun: “What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t understand why she would want to come to our company.”
Although their company was doing fairly well, there were larger and better companies in the country. With Lin Wu’s background and education, she had plenty of options.
She was indeed a major shareholder, but due to special circumstances, her identity wasn’t public. Lin Wu probably didn’t know about her connection to their company.
So Lin Wu couldn’t be targeting her.
Yu Moxun stroked his chin, then suddenly smiled. He said, “When we chatted the other day, she mentioned our company’s programming language and said she was very interested in CUAP.”
CUAP was the programming language Rong Ci had led a team to design and develop when she was 17.
At the time, many people thought it was ordinary, but in reality, it had become their company’s most formidable moat. In recent years, the industry had come to recognize its brilliance.
Many professional teams had tried to deconstruct and analyze it, but none had succeeded. Now, this programming language had become an unattainable presence in the industry.
There was no doubt ā Lin Wu was after this programming language.
“Come to think of it, over the past two or three years, many of our company’s top talents have come here precisely because of this programming language.”
Rong Ci hadn’t expected that.
Yu Moxun looked at her, patted her head, and smiled: “So, when I said that in front of you, she’s worth nothing ā that was truly not an exaggeration.”
How could he, her senior brother who knew her well, not be aware of just how天ę she was in this field?
After all, before Rong Ci appeared, he had also been a celebrated genius himself.
