Rong Ci took the papers. It was a Divorce Agreement.
The first clause stated that he wanted custody of Feng Jingxin. The rest of the document, spanning several pages, detailed the assets he was allocating to her.
She had sought him out to ask about the progress of their divorce. Now, faced with the agreement, she flipped through it casually without a deep dive, then placed it back on the table. "I have no objections."
She opened her bag and pulled out a pen, ready to sign.
Years ago, the methods Rong Ci had used to secure her position hadn't been honorable. Although he looked down on her as a person, Qi Yuming had seen firsthand over the years just how much Rong Ci loved Feng Tingshen. Given the depth of her feelings, he had expected her to be devastated by the news of a divorce. He thought she would refuse to sign no matter what.
To his shock, Rong Ci not only agreed immediately but didn't even contest Feng Tingshen taking custody of their daughter. This was completely outside of Qi Yuming's expectations. He looked at Feng Tingshen in disbelief.
Feng Tingshen watched Rong Ci with a profound gaze, seemingly as surprised as Qi Yuming by her readiness to end their marriage.
Rong Ci leaned over to sign, but then paused and pulled the pen back. Qi Yuming curled his lip. He knew it. There was no way she would
"I'll have a lawyer look over this Divorce Agreement tomorrow," Rong Ci said. "If everything is in order, I'll sign it the day after and have my lawyer contact you."
The document listed many assets he was giving her. In her brief glance, she had noticed shares in some of his companies. In the previous version of the agreement she had given him, she hadn't asked for anything. But if he was offering, she wasn't going to turn it down.
They had been married for years. He didn't love her, but he had never tried to trap her either. Seeing the wealth he was offering, she had almost signed right then, but then she hesitated. She was worried about legal loopholes. If there were flaws in the terms, she feared that if his company ran into trouble later, she might be used as a scapegoat because she held those shares.
Feng Tingshen probably didn't intend to harm her when he had the agreement drafted. However, she couldn't be sure that once he married Lin Wu, the other woman wouldn't exploit those loopholes to ruin her.
Feng Tingshen seemed taken aback by her sudden caution. He paused for a second before nodding. "Fine."
Rong Ci gave a short nod, tucked the agreement back into her bag, and zipped it up. Without another word, she stood and left the room.
Qi Yuming stared at her departing figure, still stunned. He looked at Feng Tingshen. "Is she... okay?"
Feng Tingshen watched her leave, only drawing his gaze back when he heard the question. He lowered his eyes. "I don't know."
"It's so strange. He's taking Xinxin's custody, and she didn't react at all. That's just weird."
Feng Tingshen went quiet for a moment. "...Yeah."
"Does she not want custody? That can't be right. Xinxin is the apple of her eye!" Qi Yuming thought of something and turned to Feng Tingshen. "Or did you two already talk about the custody arrangement?"
Feng Tingshen's eyes darkened. "No. We never discussed it."
"Holy crap, then why?" Qi Yuming felt like his understanding of reality was being challenged.
Just then, the Old Madam came up in the elevator. "Dinner is ready. Little Ci has already gone down. Why are you two still sitting here? Go down and eat."
Qi Yuming snapped out of it. "Oh, right. We're coming."
Feng Tingshen stood up as well.
Downstairs, Feng Jingxin was sitting happily on the sofa, leaning against Rong Ci and chatting with her. Rong Ci sat beside her, listening attentively. It was a picture-perfect, warm scene of mother-daughter interaction. But knowing that Rong Ci had given up custody without a single word of protest made the scene feel utterly fake to Qi Yuming. He frowned.
The Old Madam still didn't know about the divorce. She called out with a smile, "Little Ci, Xinxin, come and eat."
Rong Ci and Feng Jingxin answered in unison, "Okay, coming!"
Xinxin grabbed Rong Ci's hand and skipped happily toward the dining room. Qi Yuming watched them, feeling uneasy. He followed and took a seat next to Feng Tingshen. Rong Ci and Xinxin sat together.
The Old Madam smiled warmly at Qi Yuming. "Yuming, it's been a while since you visited. I had the kitchen make a few extra dishes I know you like. You must eat your fill."
Qi Yuming grinned. "Thanks, God-Grandmother! I'll make sure these meat dishes disappear!"
"Good, good," she chuckled.
Rong Ci was busy putting food on Xinxin's plate and carefully picking out fish bones for her. On the surface, she seemed exactly the same as she had always been. But Qi Yuming couldn't help but look closer.
Noticing his gaze, Rong Ci gave him a cold, sidelong glance. Qi Yuming froze. In the past, because he, Feng Tingshen, and He Changbai were close friends, he knew Rong Ci had been desperate to get on their good side. They had ignored her with disdain, but she had never given up. She wasn't the most social person, but she would always take the initiative to greet them with a gentle, polite smile.
Now, her eyes were cold. She looked at him as if he were a complete stranger who had nothing to do with her.
It was only then that he realized her behavior toward Xinxin had changed too. While she was being gentle and attentive, that look of overwhelming love was missing from her eyes. It had been replaced by a certain detachment.
Is this for real? he wondered.
He could understand her change in attitude toward him; no one wants to keep chasing after someone who constantly gives them the cold shoulder. But Xinxin was her own daughter. How could she be so cold?
Perhaps this was just another one of her tacticsplaying hard to get to recapture Feng Tingshen's attention?
With that thought, Qi Yuming turned to look at Feng Tingshen. Sure enough, Feng Tingshen was also staring at Rong Ci. And he didn't look like he intended to look away any time soon. In the past, Feng Tingshen would never have paid her this much attention.
Qi Yuming felt a surge of annoyed amusement. I knew it.
The Old Madam cleared her throat. "Yuming, what are you staring at?" She frowned, noticing that he had been fixated on Rong Ci all evening.
Qi Yuming realized she might have misunderstood his intentions. He quickly said what he knew she'd like to hear. "I just noticed that Sister-in-law seems unusually quiet today. She hasn't even initiated a conversation with Tingshen. It seemed a bit odd, so I couldn't help but look."
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