Chapter 22

When they arrived, most of the guests had already gathered in the banquet hall.

Rong Ci’s appearance was outstanding, her demeanor exceptional; the moment she entered the hall, she drew the eyes of numerous guests.

The banquet host, familiar with Yu Moxun, immediately smiled and approached them.

Just as he was about to greet Yu Moxun and Rong Ci, another guest arrived at the entrance.

Seeing the newcomer, the host froze, doubting his eyes.

The other guests in the hall reacted the same way—astonished at the arrival.

Rong Ci and Yu Moxun stood with their backs to the entrance, unaware of what had happened. Seeing the guests suddenly express shock and delight, they were curious and turned to see what was going on—when the host gave them an apologetic glance, then stepped past them toward the door.

“General Feng, General He, General Qi—”

Hearing this, Rong Ci’s heart skipped a beat; a suspicion suddenly formed in her mind.

She turned around, and upon seeing who it was, her smile subtly paused.

The newcomers were indeed Feng Tingshen, He Zhangbai, and Qi Yuming.

But besides them, Lin Wu had also come.

Moreover, the dress she wore was the same pale purple gown she had seen in the dress shop yesterday—worth over thirty million!

Lin Wu was already tall and curvaceous, and with her commanding presence, the luxurious, flowing gown clung to her perfectly—exuding both sensuality and elegance, yet making her seem utterly unattainable.

“It’s really Feng Tingshen, He Zhangbai, and Qi Yuming! They hardly ever attend banquets—why are they all here today?”

“Isn’t that right? What’s going on?”

“Who’s the beautiful woman with them? Feng Tingshen’s girlfriend? That sexy, stunning, unapproachable aura is incredible—no wonder big shots have better taste in women than we do! If I could have a woman like that, I’d gladly trade ten years of my life!”

“But I prefer the beautiful woman in the beige long dress just now—her demeanor was pure, quiet, gentle, and exquisitely refined. I think women with her kind of aura are rarer than Feng’s girlfriend. Too bad she’s already with someone. Sigh.”

At that moment, Rong Ci heard someone exclaim again.

“Holy shit, that dress! When I saw it yesterday, I was stunned! I heard the shop owner say a big shot had custom-made it for his girlfriend—I kept wondering who it could be, and now I find out it’s Feng Tingshen! Over thirty million! Holy shit!”

“What? Over thirty million?!”

Hearing this, Rong Ci slowly lowered her eyes.

When she first saw the dress on Lin Wu, she had already suspected it was Feng Tingshen’s gift to her.

After all, although the Lin family’s business was thriving, spending tens of millions on a single outfit for one banquet was beyond their current means.

But thirty million meant nothing to Feng Tingshen.

It had to be said—Feng Tingshen truly cared for Lin Wu.

And since the dress had been custom-made half a month ago, did that mean Feng Tingshen had planned to bring Lin Wu to this banquet all along?

Yu Moxun, of course, knew Feng Tingshen rarely accepted banquet invitations.

He hadn’t expected such a coincidence.

And worse—Feng Tingshen had brought Lin Wu along.

Yu Moxun looked at Rong Ci with concern: “Xiao Ci…”

Rong Ci smiled faintly and shook her head calmly: “I’m fine.”

She had been shocked at first, but she no longer cared.

Many people had surged toward Feng Tingshen and his group; through the thick wall of bodies, none of them noticed Rong Ci’s presence.

Rong Ci appeared gentle and composed, but Yu Moxun knew she was, at heart, a woman of resolve and daring.

In her profession, whenever she had an idea or interest, she poured every ounce of her energy into it—even if the outcome had no market value, she remained content.

Because to her, whether something was useful or not could only be determined by trying.

The same applied to love.

She loved Feng Tingshen, so she dared to gamble on her future, abandoned further academic advancement, and wholeheartedly devoted herself to family.

Now that she had tried, though the cost had been great, Yu Moxun had never seen regret in Rong Ci’s eyes.

So when she said she was fine, that she wanted to let go, Yu Moxun believed her.

He smiled. “Want something to drink?”

Rong Ci smiled. “Sure.”

The two of them moved against the crowd toward the food area.

“Want wine?”

“Just a little.”

Rong Ci didn’t like drinking, but her tolerance was actually quite good.

They clinked glasses and stood quietly, sipping their wine.

After a while, someone suddenly approached them.

“Mo Xun, you’re here too?”

“Professor Liu.” Yu Moxun hurried forward, greeting him warmly: “I was just looking for you—I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Professor Liu chuckled teasingly: “Really? I find that hard to believe.”

“Truly—I swear on pearls. I came here specifically to introduce someone to you.”

“Oh?” Professor Liu’s gaze fell on Rong Ci; his eyes brightened with admiration, yet filled with confusion.

She was indeed an exceptionally elegant young woman—but…

Why introduce her to him?

Had he not known Yu Moxun was not the type to behave improperly, he might have thought—

“Aren’t you stuck in a bottleneck with your latest language programming project? This…” Yu Moxun bowed slightly, gesturing with a gentlemanly hand: “Rong Ci, my junior, a genius in language programming. I guarantee she can help you.”

“Your junior?”

Yu Moxun’s teacher, Nan Zhizhi, was a giant in China’s AI field; his students, though young, were already pillars of the nation’s tech industry.

Yet Rong Ci’s name was entirely unfamiliar to him.

“Absolutely true,” Yu Moxun smiled. “CUAP was developed eight years ago by my junior’s team.”

In programming languages, almost nothing in China carried more weight than CUAP.

Professor Liu could hardly believe it: “Really?”

“Whether it’s true or not—you’ll know soon enough once you talk to her.”

Professor Liu was thrilled. He asked Rong Ci a few tentative questions to gauge her depth, then began discussing his current problems with her.

The more they talked, the more excited they became—until they couldn’t stop.

Yu Moxun sipped his wine, smiling quietly beside them, not interrupting.

At that moment, Yu Moxun looked up and saw Lin Wu walking toward him.

Seeing him glance over, Lin Wu nodded and offered a polite smile.

Remembering Lin Wu’s identity, Yu Moxun paused.

But before he could react, Lin Wu had already reached him: “Director Yu.”