Chapter 21

The next day.

Only after Chu Zilian’s fever fully broke did Rong Ci return home.

She hadn’t yet prepared the evening gown for tomorrow’s banquet.

In the afternoon, Rong Ci went out.

At the luxury gown shop, the store manager and several staff were surrounding a gown, examining it closely.

Only when Rong Ci drew near did they notice her.

“Sorry, Miss, may I help you?”

“I’ll just look around.”

“Of course.”

Though she had married into the Feng family, over the years she had hardly attended any banquets.

After all, even when Feng Tingshen and Sang Qian had formal events to attend, they never brought her along.

As for Madam Feng, she had retreated behind the scenes for years and no longer cared about such social circles.

Though Rong Ci knew little about gowns, Chu Zilian worked in high-end fashion, and through osmosis, Rong Ci had developed a basic sense of aesthetics.

Yet the shop was filled with so many beautiful gowns, it was overwhelming.

Rong Ci had no intention of carefully selecting one—she thought something passable would do.

As she thought this, the gown the staff had been arranging came fully into view.

Rong Ci froze.

It was a pale purple, semi-transparent chiffon gown with a fitted waist, its floral embroidery exquisite and refined; paired with the elegant, expensive necklace draped around the mannequin’s neck, it perfectly blended ethereal grace with opulence.

She couldn’t help but walk over.

Just as she reached out to feel the fabric, the manager seized her wrist firmly.

Rong Ci winced in pain.

The manager quickly released her: “I’m so sorry, Miss—I didn’t mean to, but this gown is a private custom piece for one of our elite clients, the only one of its kind worldwide, extremely expensive; if anything went wrong, we couldn’t possibly bear the loss…”

“It’s fine.”

She hadn’t realized it was already claimed—Rong Ci felt a pang of disappointment.

The shop’s gowns ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, the most expensive exceeding a million; yet even the priciest among them looked dull and ordinary beside the gown she had just seen.

In the end, Rong Ci chose a carved ivory silk long dress.

As Rong Ci paid and had the gown packed, she overheard two staff members whispering nearby: “That necklace plus the gown is said to cost over thirty million—she’s literally wearing a villa on her body. How extravagant the rich are.”

“Right? And she’ll probably wear this dress just once…”

Thirty million…

So it was that expensive—even if it hadn’t been claimed, she couldn’t afford it.

Rong Ci shook her head and turned to leave.

Back home, Chu Zilian called to say he wanted to take her out for a big dinner tomorrow night.

Learning she would attend the banquet, he arrived the next afternoon in a flurry, determined to style her himself.

Rong Ci’s taste was excellent—the gown suited her well, and with Chu Zilian’s meticulously crafted makeup, her gentle, poised, and radiant beauty was perfectly highlighted.

That evening, Yu Moxun came to pick her up; upon seeing Rong Ci, he was utterly stunned: “You’re stunning. Perfect for you.”

“Thank you.”

In the car, Yu Moxun said, “So, you’re officially returning to the company tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Good. By the way, Lin Wu,” he added, realizing she didn’t know who that was, “the algorithm genius I told you about—she’s officially joining tomorrow. I’ll introduce you two—”

Rong Ci’s expression froze: “Lin Wu? You mean the one named Lin Wu? The ‘wu’ as in ‘desolate’? The one who just returned from Country A recently?”

Yu Moxun nodded, surprised: “Yes. Do you know her?”

“She’s my half-sister.”

Yu Moxun froze.

He knew a little about Rong Ci’s family background.

He hadn’t expected such a coincidence.

Rong Ci’s gaze turned cold as she added: “She’s also Feng Tingshen’s mistress.”

The car screeched to a sudden stop.

Yu Moxun stared wide-eyed: “You—”

Rong Ci shook her head: “I’m fine.” Her face was calm. “But whether you call it abuse of power or not—I won’t allow her to join our company.”

Yu Moxun paused, then agreed without hesitation: “Understood. I support your decision.”

Rong Ci’s chest warmed: “Thank you.” She paused, then added: “But that means you’re losing a genius.”

Yu Moxun shook his head and smiled, glancing at her: “She’s undoubtedly an algorithm genius—but compared to you, she’s worthless.”

He spoke those final words with solemn gravity.

Rong Ci blinked, thinking he was exaggerating; Yu Moxun knew what she was thinking and chuckled: “Honest.”

Rong Ci hadn’t expected him to say that. She thought for a moment and asked: “Her interview was weeks ago—why hasn’t she joined yet?”

Yu Moxun shook his head: “She said she had some personal matters to handle. I didn’t press for details.”

More than ten minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

But Rong Ci was lost in thought.

Yu Moxun: “What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t understand why she wants to join our company.”

Our company is doing well, but there are far better firms in the country; given her background and credentials, she had countless options.

True, she’s a major shareholder—but due to special circumstances, her identity is not public. Lin Wu shouldn’t even know her connection to our company.

So Lin Wu couldn’t be here because of me.

Yu Moxun rubbed his chin, then suddenly smiled: “During our chat, she mentioned our company’s programming language—she said she was very interested in CUAP.”

CUAP was designed and developed by Rong Ci’s team when she was seventeen.

Back then, many thought it was ordinary—but in reality, it became our company’s greatest competitive advantage. Over the past few years, the industry has come to recognize its brilliance.

Numerous professional teams have tried to reverse-engineer it, but none have cracked it. Today, this programming language has become an unreachable benchmark in the field.

Without doubt, Lin Wu came for CUAP.

“Come to think of it, over the past two or three years, many of our top talents joined because of CUAP.”

Rong Ci hadn’t realized it was that simple.

Yu Moxun looked at her, ruffled her hair, and smiled: “So when I say she’s worthless in your presence, I’m not exaggerating.”

How could he, her own senior who knew her best, not understand just how brilliant she was in this field?

After all, before Rong Ci appeared, he himself was once hailed as a genius by everyone.