Chapter 572: Tarnish

Feng Jingxin had stayed at the Rong household for the past few days, with no intention of leaving even on weekends.

Feng Tingshen had not said anything about coming to pick her up.

Earlier, Rong Ci had submitted a paper to a top-tier international journal; it was accepted effortlessly and would be officially published at midnight this Sunday.

But Rong Ci did not wait—she went to bed early Saturday night.

When she woke the next day and opened her phone, it was flooded with missed calls and messages.

She glanced at them and immediately called Yu Moxun back.

Yu Moxun answered right away: “Awake?”

“Mm.”

“You know why I called, right?” Yu Moxun chuckled. “Your latest paper caused another sensation shortly after publication. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Yu Moxun’s main purpose was to rejoice with her and offer his congratulations.

They didn’t chat long and hung up quickly.

Rong Ci reviewed the other missed calls and unread messages, replying to each one.

Upon seeing her replies, He Zhangbai, Gu Yan, Ji Qingyue, Professor Liu, and others all called her back to personally congratulate her.

Rong Ci thanked each one in turn.

Afterward, mainstream media reporters contacted Rong Ci, spoke with her at length, and requested an interview appointment.

By the time she finished, more than an hour had passed.

Feng Jingxin had woken earlier than Rong Ci and, seeing her busy all morning, did not disturb her.

She had been staying at the Rong household these days, but Feng Tingshen called her every day—today was no exception.

She told Feng Tingshen: “So many people called Mom. Mom’s so busy.”

On the other end, Feng Tingshen murmured “Mm,” spoke with her a little longer, then hung up.

The Lin and Sun families only learned this morning that Rong Ci had published another paper—and once again caused a sensation.

Rong Ci had repeatedly published papers; insiders both domestically and internationally now held her in extremely high regard.

Watching online how people had elevated Rong Ci to godlike status, Sun Liyao was furious: “Again she’s first author? How shameless! Yu Moxun too—has he never seen a woman before? It’s just one woman, and he’s willing to throw away his own honor?!”

Sun Liyao still believed the real author behind Rong Ci’s paper was Yu Moxun.

Not just her—everyone in the Lin and Sun families except Lin Wu believed the same.

In fact, there were such voices online too.

After all, in everyone’s mind, Yu Moxun was Nan Zhizhi’s legitimate student, yet he was never the first author on any of these papers.

But such voices were few.

After all, Rong Ci had frequently appeared in public over the past year, and people now recognized her abilities.

They also believed Yu Moxun and Nan Zhizhi would never risk their futures and reputations for a woman.

Rong Ci truly had ability—and the Lin and Sun families knew it well.

Yet—

Watching Rong Ci grow ever more celebrated in the field, ever more powerful, thanks to her ties with Yu Moxun and Nan Zhizhi, they could not help but feel increasingly bitter.

“If Xiao Wu had returned sooner and not missed the chance to join Changmo, all this Rong Ci has now would be hers.”

Sun Liyao added: “Exactly. Sister’s starting point was far higher than Rong Ci’s.”

Of course, not just the Lin and Sun families thought this way—Ye Qiuyu, a former employee of Changmo, thought the same.

Seeing Rong Ci’s latest paper, his face darkened once again.