Rong Ci was not surprised to hear Lin Wu answer the phone.
After all, Feng Tingshen and she were already so intimate that they shared everything. What did it matter if she answered his phone?
Rong Ci spoke calmly, "I'm looking for Feng Tingshen."
Lin Wu also knew the person on the other end was Rong Ci. She replied coldly, "He's in the shower. If you have something to say, you can tell me."
Tell her?
This matter certainly concerned her. It was true that the person her uncle saw in the neighborhood today was Lin Wu's aunt, but the person who had bought that villa was likely Lin Lihai. He had probably bought it to show filial piety to Lin Wu's grandmother, his current mother-in-law.
If Rong Ci actually told Lin Wu, would she really stop her grandmother and her uncle's family from moving into that villa? No, she wouldn't. Moreover, Rong Ci didn't believe for a second that Lin Wu was unaware of her uncle's family moving in right across from her own uncle's house.
Therefore, telling Lin Wu would not only be useless but would likely be counterproductive. Without a word, Rong Ci hung up the phone.
Over an hour passed, yet she still hadn't received a callback from Feng Tingshen. She didn't know if Lin Wu had failed to inform him of the call, or if he simply didn't want to return it. To her, there was no longer any difference.
She calmly dialed his number again. This time, however, his phone was turned off and couldn't be reached.
Rong Ci's hand tightened around her phone. After a moment, she composed herself and called Feng Tingshen's butler. "Are they home right now?" she asked.
"No, they aren't," the butler replied. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing."
That night, Rong Ci didn't sleep well. The next morning, she waited until after nine o'clock before calling Feng Tingshen again. This time, the call went through, only to be immediately disconnected.
Rong Ci didn't know if Lin Wu or Feng Tingshen had hung up on her. She didn't want to overthink it. She grabbed her phone and bag and headed out. Not long after, she returned to Feng Tingshen's villa.
The butler was delighted to see her. "Madame is back?"
"Mm," Rong Ci acknowledged.
"Will Madame be having lunch at home? I'll have someone prepare it for you."
"Yes, thank you for the trouble."
Rong Ci went upstairs. Reaching the second floor, she paused briefly before entering the master bedroom. She set her bag down and sat on the edge of the bed. The master bedroom was exactly as it had always been, but the skincare products she had brought over when staying to accompany Feng Jingxin had all been returned here.
Not only that, but the clothes she had changed out of previously had been placed back in the walk-in closet, hanging closely beside Feng Tingshen's clothes. It looked as if she had never left.
She didn't call Feng Tingshen again, and he never returned her calls. She ate dinner alone.
In truth, she had considered asking Old Madame Feng for help. But if she alarmed the old lady, the situation might become even harder to resolve. Furthermore, while Feng Tingshen respected the old lady, whether he actually listened to her or not depended entirely on his own whims.
After dinner, she opened her computer and continued working on her own affairs.
The night deepened. Just as she assumed Feng Tingshen and Feng Jingxin wouldn't be returning that night, the sound of a car finally echoed from outside.
When Feng Jingxin got out of the car, she saw Rong Ci's vehicle and exclaimed to Feng Tingshen, "Look, it's Mommy's car! Daddy, Mommy is home!"
"Mm." Feng Tingshen glanced at Rong Ci's car and entered the house with Feng Jingxin.
Feng Jingxin asked the butler who came to greet them, "Where's my Mommy?"
"Madame is upstairs."
"Okay!" Feng Jingxin ran upstairs excitedly.
Rong Ci had just shut down her computer and packed her things. As she walked out of the master bedroom, Feng Jingxin pounced into her arms and hugged her. "Mommy!"
"Mm." Rong Ci merely stroked the girl's hair without hugging her back.
Feng Jingxin didn't notice and chatted happily with Rong Ci. At that moment, Feng Tingshen also came upstairs. Hearing his footsteps, Rong Ci looked over, and their gazes met.
Feng Tingshen's expression was blank, and Rong Ci's face was relatively calm. She said to the chatting Feng Jingxin, "Let Auntie Liu help you bathe. Mommy has something to say to Daddy."
Hearing this, Feng Tingshen stopped in his tracks.
Having been out playing for two days, Feng Jingxin was in a great mood. Although she wasn't happy about the suggestion, she didn't argue and went back to her room to let Auntie Liu wash her hair and bathe her.
Rong Ci looked at Feng Tingshen, who was leaning lightly against the wall, busy with something on his phone. She said, "Shall we talk in the room?"
"Mm."
Rong Ci entered the room first. As Feng Tingshen stepped inside, she said, "Close the door."
She was afraid that if they started arguing, they would alarm Feng Jingxin. Come to think of it, despite their strained relationship over the years of marriage, they had never actually fought.
Feng Tingshen usually couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge her, let alone argue with her. As for her, she cherished the time she spent with him and couldn't bring herself to start a fight.
Feng Tingshen closed the door casually and looked at her. "What did you want to talk about?"
Rong Ci went straight to the point. "Lin Wu's uncle and his family bought the villa across from my uncle's house. They've been renovating it for a while now, and they'll likely be moving in soon."
Lin Wu's mother was named Sun Yueqing. But the grievances between the Rong family and the Sun family didn't start with Sun Yueqing and Rong Ci's mother, Rong Yingsheng. It had begun when her grandmother and Lin Wu's grandmother were young. They had been close friends in their youth, but Lin Wu's grandmother had made a poor marriage and lived a very difficult life.
Rong Ci's grandmother had often helped her. Later, their respective granddaughters, Sun Yueqing and Rong Yingsheng, also became good friends.
The Lin and Rong families were of equal social status. Lin Lihai and Rong Yingsheng were a couple who had married for love, and their relationship had been good at first. But everything changed after Sun Yueqing returned from university...
To help Sun Yueqing take her mother's place, Lin Wu's grandmother's family had long ago burned their bridges with Rong Ci's grandmother. Over the years, on the rare occasions they crossed paths,
the Sun family behaved with condescension toward her uncle and grandmother, showing none of the sincerity or humility they had displayed when begging her grandmother for shelter years ago.
Rong Ci was certain that Feng Tingshen knew all about these entanglements between the Rong, Lin, and Sun families, even if she didn't go into detail now. Therefore, she believed that by saying this much, he should
Feng Tingshen did indeed know. He understood exactly what Rong Ci meant.
He pulled out a cigarette, paused as he was about to light it, and asked her, "Do you mind?"
Rong Ci shook her head.
As he lit the cigarette, he spoke, "You want me to make them move?"
"Yes."
Feng Tingshen took a drag of the cigarette and didn't speak immediately.
This matter was exceptionally important to her. She could ignore other things, but not this. Her hands curled into fists, her eyes reddening as she looked at him. "Think of it as me begging you. As long as you agree, I'll agree to any condition"
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly heard him speak.
"Fine."
She froze, caught off guard by how decisively he had agreed.
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