Downstairs.
Feng Jingxin ran over to Feng Tingshen and said, "Papa, Mama is already eating, so she won't be coming down."
Qi Yuming arched an eyebrow.
She was being quite sensible.
He Zhangbai kept his eyes downcast and said nothing.
Lin Wu, however, allowed a trace of a smile to play across her lips.
She knew Rong Ci wouldn't dare come down. After all, not a single person here truly welcomed her. Even if she did show her face, she would only receive ridicule and exclusion from everyone. Since that was the case, she might as well stay hidden upstairs like a turtle retreating into its shell.
Hearing this, Feng Tingshen simply said, "Alright, I understand." He didn't insist further and addressed the others, "Let's not wait then. Let's eat."
Lin Wu's smile deepened as she gracefully took her seat beside Feng Tingshen.
Upstairs.
After finishing her meal, Rong Ci continued working on her project. By then, Yu Moxun had already arrived home.
Rong Ci had developed several new ideas, and as she explained them to Yu Moxun, he looked over the materials she sent. He was so excited he slammed his desk and stood up. "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! You're a genius! With this level of comprehension, Junior Sister, you really are a natural at this! I knew you could do it!"
Before Rong Ci could respond, he grabbed his head in a fit of regret. "Seven years! Seven whole years! If you hadn't run off to get married, our company would probably be world-famous by now!"
Listening to him roar, Rong Ci felt her ears ringing and pulled the phone a bit further away.
Yu Moxun also realized that in such a joyful moment, he shouldn't bring up those unpleasant memories. He cleared his throat and got down to business.
To accomplish something great, they naturally couldn't do it with just the two of them. Yu Moxun immediately contacted Su Yuquan and several others from the company to have them join in.
Su Yuquan and his colleagues hadn't joined Changmo just to idle their time away; they truly wanted to learn. After hearing Yu Moxun's explanation, they realized that while their abilities in the field of AI were still far behind Yu Moxun and Rong Ci,
they were eager to contribute. Although they couldn't grasp the core logic immediately, they became excited after Yu Moxun explained it for a while. They didn't mind working overtime and joined the discussion immediately.
In this situation, it would have been best to discuss things face-to-face at the office. However, it would take Rong Ci about two hours to get back to the city. When inspiration strikes, you can't stop; otherwise, once the moment passes, you might never remember those specific sparks again.
Ultimately, they decided to proceed with a video call for the discussion.
Learning of Rong Ci's current situation, Yu Moxun found a gap in the conversation to ask, "Are you alone in your room? Where are your husband and the others?"
"I don't know. Probably eating," Rong Ci replied with an indifferent tone.
"Just the father and daughter?"
"Lin Wu and Qi Yuming are all there."
"They're all there, and yet they left you alone in your room?"
"They did ask me to come down for dinner, but I refused."
"Well, that's something. At least Feng Tingshen's conscience hasn't completely withered away."
Rong Ci didn't share that sentiment. Her thoughts aligned more with Qi Yuming's; she felt Feng Tingshen only asked because he didn't want to be nagged by the Old Lady. Besides, even if she did go down, all of them were on Lin Wu's side. They didn't have to worry about Lin Wu being "bullied" by her, so naturally, they weren't afraid of her joining them for a meal.
Rong Ci and Yu Moxun's team worked consecutively for four hours. By then, it was nearing dinner time, so they decided to take a break and continue in two hours.
Rong Ci integrated the content she had organized today, shut down her computer, and planned to head out for some fresh air to clear her head. While she was at it, she intended to pick two crates of apples from the mountain to bring back for Yu Moxun and the others to taste tomorrow.
The Hot Spring Villa was massive, and she had no idea where Feng Tingshen and the rest were. She didn't run into them when she went downstairs.
It wasn't completely dark yet. Rong Ci asked two staff members to help her, and they headed up the mountain.
At this hour, the wind was a bit chilly, but Rong Ci was dressed warmly and didn't feel the cold. After spending some time in the breeze and picking apples, her mind began to relax. With several people helping, they finished filling two or three crates of apples in no time.
Once they were done, she didn't head down immediately. Seeing that the sunset was particularly beautiful today, she sat down to admire it for a while.
Just then, she heard the sound of footsteps and a child's voice. She turned her head and met He Zhangbai's gaze.
He Zhangbai was clearly surprised to run into her as well, and he paused.
Suddenly, the child on the video call shouted happily, "It's Auntie!"
It turned out He Zhangbai was on a video call with Dandan, showing her the apples on the trees and promising to bring some back for her tomorrow. He hadn't expected to bump into Rong Ci on the mountain.
Even though they had met several times recently and He Zhangbai had helped her, Rong Ci still felt that she couldn'tand didn't want tobecome close with him.
The moment she saw him, her expression turned cold. However, upon hearing Dandan's voice, her features softened slightly.
He Zhangbai took note of the change in her expression. He didn't walk over immediately, merely asking, "Dandan wants to talk to you. Is it convenient?"
The day she left the sanatorium, her heart had been heavy and extremely miserable. Meeting them that day, though it seemed like Dandan wanted Rong Ci to play with her, Rong Ci felt that Dandan was actually the one accompanying her, helping her slowly emerge from that suffocating emotion.
Thinking of this, she nodded.
He Zhangbai handed his phone to her. Knowing she wasn't fond of him, he didn't crowd her, standing about two or three meters away.
Rong Ci chatted with Dandan for a while and learned that the girl's grandmother had taken her out to play, which was why she hadn't come to the Hot Spring Villa with He Zhangbai.
Rong Ci shared the sunset she loved with Dandan. After they had chatted for over ten minutes, Rong Ci returned the phone to He Zhangbai.
After He Zhangbai said goodbye to Dandan, he said to Rong Ci, "Thank you."
"No need."
By now, the sky had turned almost completely dark. However, there were streetlights on the mountain, so heading down wasn't a problem. After speaking, she turned to descend.
He Zhangbai followed behind her, walking down the mountain together with her. However, they didn't exchange a single word during the trip.
As they reached the entrance of the Hot Spring Villa and were about to head inside, they ran into Lin Wu.
Lin Wu stared at the two of them coming down the mountain one after the other, momentarily stunned before she pressed her lips thin.
Rong Ci acted as if she hadn't seen her, walking straight past her into the lobby.
Lin Wu watched her receding back, then turned to look at He Zhangbai, frowning as she spoke. "Zhangbai, you two..."
He Zhangbai said indifferently, "We bumped into each other on the mountain."
Lin Wu knew He Zhangbai was video-calling Dandan and had gone up to film the apple trees for her. If Rong Ci was also on the mountain, it was perfectly normal for them to cross paths.
Thinking of this, Lin Wu relaxed. Just as she was about to say something else, He Zhangbai spoke first. "Where are the others?"
"They're over by the pavilion. The ingredients for the bonfire party are ready, and they were just about to call for you."
"Mm."
As they spoke, they walked side-by-side toward the pavilion.
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