After the initial greetings, the group hurried to clear the space, each returning to their own rooms to create an opportunity for the two of them to be alone.
A faint smile graced the face of the Matriarch of the Chi family.
A young man of about twenty approached, teasing, “Aunt, you look so happy.”
The smile at the corners of the Matriarch’s mouth was almost irrepressible, and she did not get annoyed by her junior’s banter, simply smiling and saying, “You child.”
The young man glanced back at Gu Ziheng downstairs and whispered a complaint, “Leaving that person, what’s his name, Feng Mian here could be troublesome if Brother Ziheng misunderstands. I really don’t know why Brother doesn’t just keep him hidden somewhere else.”
At the mention of Feng Mian, a look of distress clouded the Matriarch’s face. She sighed helplessly, “That Feng Mian is indeed good-looking; beauty is a dangerous thing, and your brother is just foolish in this regard.”
Hearing this, the young man curled his lips into a smile, his canine teeth showing a hint of rogue-like malice. “Then I’ll find a way to drive him away…”
The Matriarch glanced up at the youth beside her, her eyes narrowing slightly as she whispered, “Then I will have to trouble you, Yu-er…”
Every word between the two was caught by Chi Mingzhou, who stood behind them. Chi Mingzhou heard them and offered a faint smile, his expression inscrutable.
In the blink of an eye, only Chi Chen and Gu Ziheng remained downstairs.
Chi Chen invited him to sit and diligently signaled the butler to pour tea. He smiled and said, “Ziheng, this is some tea my uncle specifically brought back. Try it.”
As he spoke, he pushed the teacup toward Gu Ziheng.
Gu Ziheng’s smile remained unchanged. “So many years have passed, and Uncle has finally returned. The last time I saw him, I was still in high school. How time flies.”
He took a sip of the tea; whether it was psychological or otherwise, a fleeting look of disgust crossed his eyes.
He said languidly, “I’d like to pay Uncle a visit in the next couple of days, but I’m not sure where he is staying.”
Chi Chen smiled, answering without any suspicion, “Uncle is staying here. He hasn’t bought any property in Ning City yet. He’s been looking these past two days, but he hasn’t found anything to his liking.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Gu Ziheng’s expression froze. He slowly set down his teacup and, acting as if it were an offhand remark, smiled and said, “I heard the young master of the Feng family has been staying at the Chi residence recently. I didn’t see him just now.”
The topic jumped too quickly, and Chi Chen, caught off guard, couldn’t hide a flash of panic.
He tugged at the corners of his mouth, his expression stiff as he said, “How could that be? Did you hear wrong, Ziheng? Why would someone from the Feng family be at the Chi residence? I haven’t seen any young master from the Feng family.”
Gu Ziheng took in every detail of his uneasy expression. Gu Ziheng smiled without a word, simply watching him quietly, his eyes appearing to see through everything. That look made Chi Chen feel immense pressure.
The atmosphere in the living room was silent for a few seconds before Gu Ziheng stood up and said slowly, “I have some matters to attend to at the office, A-Chen. I will come to see you another day.”
He turned to leave, and Chi Chen panicked, hurriedly rising to his feet. “I… I think there is an outsider staying at my house. I will go call him down; please don’t be angry, Ziheng.”
They had known each other for a long time, and he knew Gu Ziheng’s temper better than anyone.
Gu Ziheng offered a faint smile and sat back down on the sofa, whispering, “The young master of the Feng family and I are old acquaintances; I would like to have a word with him. I’ll have to trouble you, A-Chen.”
Though he was smiling, his eyes carried an unintentional hint of oppression.
No one noticed that his hands were clenched into tight fists, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
Gu Ziheng’s gaze dropped, his teeth gritted tightly.
He never imagined that Feng Mian would be living under the same roof as that old fox, Chi Mingzhou…
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