Jiang Zhe was one of Feng Tingshen's personal secretaries. When he saw the resignation letter, he was thoroughly stunned.
He was among the few in the company who knew the true nature of the relationship between Rong Ci and Feng Tingshen. Anyone familiar with Feng Tingshen knew his heart didn't belong to Rong Ci. Since their marriage, he had treated her with cold indifference, rarely even returning home.
To get closer to him and win him over, Rong Ci had chosen to work at the Feng Group. Her initial goal was to become his personal secretary, but Feng Tingshen had refused. Even when the Old Master himself intervened, he couldn't get Feng Tingshen to nod in agreement. Ultimately, Rong Ci had to settle for a position in the Secretarial Department, becoming just one of his many ordinary secretaries.
In the beginning, Jiang Zhe had been worried that her presence would turn the department upside down. To his surprise, the result was quite the opposite. Although Rong Ci would use her position to seek opportunities to be near Feng Tingshen, she was always mindful of the timing and never overstepped her bounds.
If anything, perhaps in an effort to make Feng Tingshen see her in a new light, Rong Ci worked with extreme diligence and displayed outstanding capability. Whether it was during her pregnancy or at any other time, she strictly followed company procedures and never sought special treatment. Over the years, she had risen to become a team leader within the department.
Jiang Zhe had witnessed her feelings for Feng Tingshen all along. To be honest, he never imagined she would ever resign. He didn't believe she could bring herself to leave of her own accord. If she was resigning now, he figured something must have happened between her and the CEO that he wasn't privy to something significant enough for Feng Tingshen to order her out.
Rong Ci was a highly capable worker, and while Jiang Zhe felt it was a pity, he kept his tone professional. "I've received the letter. I'll arrange for someone to take over your duties as soon as possible."
"Alright," Rong Ci nodded before turning back to her workstation.
After being busy for a while, Jiang Zhe got on a video call to report to Feng Tingshen. As they were wrapping up, he suddenly remembered the resignation. "By the way, President Feng, regarding"
He had told Rong Ci he would find a replacement quickly, but he wanted to gauge Feng Tingshen's intentions regarding the exact timing of her departure. If Feng Tingshen wanted her gone by tomorrow, he would make the arrangements immediately.
But the words caught in his throat. He remembered when Rong Ci first joined the company; Feng Tingshen had stated clearly that all matters regarding her were to be handled according to company regulations. No special reports were necessary. He didn't care what happened to her.
The facts over the years supported that. Feng Tingshen had never once inquired about her. On the rare occasions they crossed paths in the office, he treated her with the cold detachment one reserved for a complete stranger.
Two years ago, when they were planning to promote her due to her stellar performance, they had specifically mentioned it to Feng Tingshen, considering his dislike for her. They implied that if he was unhappy with the move, they would drop it.
At the time, Feng Tingshen had merely frowned and reiterated with visible impatience that he would not interfere and that they should simply follow the standard procedure. He told them never to ask him about her work again.
Seeing Jiang Zhe hesitate, Feng Tingshen's brow furrowed. "What is it?"
Jiang Zhe snapped back to attention and quickly said, "It's nothing."
Since Feng Tingshen already knew about the resignation and hadn't brought it up, it meant the matter was entirely trivial in his eyes. Jiang Zhe decided it was best to proceed as usual and handle it by the book. With that thought, he said no more, and Feng Tingshen ended the video call.
"What are you thinking about?"
At noon, a colleague suddenly tapped Rong Ci on the shoulder. She blinked and shook her head with a smile. "Nothing."
"Don't you need to call your daughter today?"
"No, there's no need."
Rong Ci usually called her daughter twice a day: once at one in the morning and once around noon. Everyone in the office knew about this routine. What they didn't know, however, was that her daughter's father was the big boss of their company.
After finishing work that evening, Rong Ci went to the market to buy some groceries and a few potted plants. After dinner, she went online to check for news regarding an upcoming event. Once she had the information, she dialed a number.
"Save a ticket for me for next month's Tech Expo."
"Are you sure?" a cold voice replied from the other end. "You asked me to save tickets for the last two, and you didn't show up once. You wasted tickets that many people would give anything to have."
The annual domestic Tech Expo was a major event in the industry; tickets were incredibly difficult to come by. Their company had only been allocated a few slots, and many of their top elites were desperate to attend. Each spot was precious.
"If I don't show up this time, I won't ask you for anything ever again."
There was a silence on the other end before the person hung up. Rong Ci knew that meant he had agreed. She smiled to herself.
What she hadn't said was that she intended to return to the company. As a partner, she had chosen to marry and have a child just as the company was taking off. Her decision to fade out and focus on her family had completely disrupted their development plans, causing them to miss numerous opportunities. The others had been both furious and resentful. Over the last few years, they had barely stayed in contact.
She wanted to return, but her focus had been on her household for far too long. She had been out of the loop for ages. She was worried that if she went back without preparation, she wouldn't be able to keep up with their rhythm. She planned to spend some time gaining a deep understanding of the current state of the industry before making a concrete move.
Over the next few days, Rong Ci focused on her work during the day and her own affairs in the evening. She didn't take the initiative to contact her daughter or Feng Tingshen. Naturally, they didn't contact her either.
She wasn't surprised. For more than six months, any contact between them had been a result of her own one-sided efforts. They had merely been passive recipients.
In Country A.
Feng Jingxin had formed the habit of calling Lin Wu every morning as soon as she woke up. Today was no different, and she called Lin Wu immediately. However, it wasn't long before she let out a loud "Waaah!" and burst into tears.
Lin Wu had just delivered some devastating news. "Auntie Wu Wu is going back to China!"
Feng Jingxin was heartbroken. As soon as she finished the call with Lin Wu, she immediately called Feng Tingshen. "Daddy, did you know about this?"
In his office, Feng Tingshen was flipping through documents. "I knew."
"When did you find out?"
"A while ago."
"You... Daddy, you're mean..." Feng Jingxin sobbed uncontrollably, hugging her Pink Pig Plushie. "Why didn't you tell me? I don't want Auntie Wu Wu to leave. If she's not here, I don't want to go to school here anymore either! I want to go back to China, waaah!"
Feng Tingshen's voice remained calm. "It's already being handled."
Feng Jingxin didn't quite understand. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"We are returning to China next week."
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