Chen Mo’s expression did not change at all.
He nodded, made a mark on the schedule, then turned and walked out of the office.
The moment the door closed, Chen Mo stood in the corridor, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Overslept.
Fu Linfeng, the President of Fu Group Corporation—the man who woke up precisely at six every morning, never relied on alarms, and had a biological clock more accurate than a Swiss watch—
Had overslept.
As expected, marriage really was different.
Chen Mo thought silently to himself.
He did not say it out loud, but that thought circled in his mind with a firm sense of “I knew it.”
He returned to his workstation, sat down, turned on his computer, and began handling the day’s work.
While his fingers tapped on the keyboard, the corner of his lips moved slightly—not quite a smile, just a faint curve, like someone witnessing history and quietly recording it.
Then he returned to his usual expression of calm detachment and continued working.
—Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting — 10:00 AM
The meeting room doors opened on time.
When Fu Linfeng walked in, the room was already full.
More than twenty directors and executives were present. Some were flipping through documents, some were speaking quietly, some were drinking tea.
Everything looked exactly as usual.
But everyone noticed the same thing—
Fu Linfeng was late.
Not the usual “traffic delay” or “a few minutes behind schedule.”
Fifty minutes.
Almost an hour.
When he sat down, the room fell silent for a brief moment.
That moment was so short it almost felt like an illusion, but everyone felt it.
The silence was not intentional.
It was instinctive.
Like people who had always seen the sun rise in the east—suddenly one day, it rose in the west for a moment before returning to normal.
You were not sure if you had seen it correctly.
But you knew something was different.
“Begin,” Fu Linfeng said evenly, his gaze sweeping across the room.
The Finance Director stood up and began reporting first-quarter financial data.
Slide after slide changed. Numbers shifted continuously.
Everything proceeded as normal.
But the atmosphere in the room had subtly changed.
The Marketing Director on the left lowered his head, appearing to read documents, but his peripheral vision kept drifting toward Fu Linfeng.
He noticed something—
Fu Linfeng was not looking at his phone today.
Not just “not using it.”
There was no phone on the table at all.
Normally, during meetings, Fu Linfeng’s phone was always placed face down on the table, silent and immobile like a brick.
But today, it was not there.
It might have been in his pocket. It might have been in his office.
But it was not within reach.
The Marketing Director silently made a note in his mind and wrote:
“President Fu did not bring his phone today.”
After writing it, he felt it was useless information—but he still could not resist recording it.
On the right side, the Deputy Operations Director held a coffee cup, pretending to drink, while his eyes repeatedly drifted toward Fu Linfeng’s tie.
He noticed it.
The tie was slightly off.
The knot was smaller than usual, slightly misaligned, and the shirt collar had faint wrinkles.
The Deputy Operations Director had followed Fu Linfeng for five years.
He had once seen him walk forty minutes through a snowstorm to the company, and the first thing he did upon arrival was go straight to the restroom—
He would fix his hair strand by strand, smooth out every wet wrinkle on his cuffs, and ensure not a single flaw remained before appearing in front of employees.
But today—
His tie was crooked.
The Deputy Operations Director put down his coffee cup and wrote a single word in his notebook:
“Strange.”
Then he stared at it for three seconds, circled it, and added a question mark.
At the far end of the table, the Finance Director was the only one not observing Fu Linfeng.
He was fully focused on his presentation.
He finished explaining the second-quarter budget adjustment proposal and looked up, waiting for feedback.
Fu Linfeng leaned back in his chair, long fingers resting on the table, tapping lightly in a steady rhythm.
It was his thinking habit.
“Cut marketing budget for Q3 by fifteen percent.”
“The conversion rate in East China has declined for two consecutive quarters. There is no reason to maintain the current allocation.”
The Marketing Director’s pen paused for a moment—
He felt heartache for his budget.
But he did not object, because it was the truth.
He simply nodded and wrote it down.
“Increase R&D budget by ten percent.”
Fu Linfeng continued.
“The new project is two weeks ahead of schedule. Increase investment. We need the final product before the end of the year.”
The R&D Director nodded slightly, expression calm, but internally relieved.
The meeting continued.
Every decision Fu Linfeng made was as precise and decisive as always.
His questions were sharp, his judgments unquestionable, and his presence still pressed down on everyone like an invisible weight.
Everything was normal.
Except—
He was fifty minutes late.
His tie was crooked.
His phone was not on the table.
Halfway through the meeting, Fu Linfeng picked up his teacup and took a sip.
His gaze rested on the tabletop for a brief moment.
Then he did something—
When he set the cup down, his fingertips paused slightly on the rim, as if he were thinking about something.
The pause was extremely brief.
So brief that most people did not notice.
But the Administrative Director sitting across from him did.
She was a woman in her forties who had worked at the company for fifteen years. Her ability to read people was unmatched.
She noticed that something about Fu Linfeng today was different.
Not worse.
Better.
He seemed… less cold.
It was hard to explain.
His expression was the same, his tone was the same, his decisions were the same.
And yet—
Something about him had shifted.
It felt like a block of ice had been placed in warm water overnight. The surface still looked solid, but the core had already begun to change.
After the meeting ended, executives left in small groups.
In the corridor, several of them gathered and lowered their voices.
“Did you notice President Fu’s tie was crooked?”
The Marketing Director spoke first, voice hushed like a confidential exchange.
“Not just crooked,” the Deputy Operations Director added. “His shirt collar was wrinkled. Since when does President Fu’s shirt wrinkle?”
“And he was fifty minutes late,” the Finance Director said, adjusting his glasses. “I’ve attended meetings with him for four years and never once seen him late.”
“What do you think he was doing this morning?” someone asked quietly.
They exchanged glances. No one answered.
Fu Linfeng’s private life had always been a mystery.
No one knew whether he had a girlfriend.
No one knew whether he was married.
Some did not even know whether he liked men or women.
But based on today’s observations—
“Alright, stop guessing.”
The Administrative Director walked past them, her tone calm.
“President Fu’s private matters are not something you should discuss.”
Only Chen Mo understood.
He did not say it out loud.
He only thought silently:
Miss Wen… you really are something.