7
Is There Someone Outside?
Fu Tingchuan had stayed at the company overnight.
Shifting the group’s focus back to the domestic market was a massive undertaking, which meant he had already attended several meetings in a row by early morning.
It was already noon by the time he returned to his office.
From a distance, Fu Tingchuan spotted an envelope on his desk.
Next to it was a sticky note.
Probably left by Ji Chi.
It briefly explained that Lin Yuxi had come to repay the money earlier that morning.
Fu Tingchuan frowned.
The salary of an ordinary R&D employee at Yuntu wasn’t high—where had she gotten so much money?
As he touched the hard texture inside the envelope, Fu Tingchuan paused.
Gold?
He took it out and confirmed it was indeed gold.
As the CEO of the Fu Group, he had received wire transfers, checks, and artworks—but never gold.
What was she thinking?
Just then, Ji Chi entered, carrying a stack of folders.
Fu Tingchuan quickly reviewed them, signed, and casually asked, “Did she say anything else before she left?”
As the executive assistant of the Fu Group, Ji Chi was sharp enough to know that “she” undoubtedly referred to the CEO’s wife.
“No, Miss Lin explained the situation and left. She’s probably busy with work.”
Even Ji Chi didn’t believe the excuse as he said it.
The atmosphere grew silent.
Ji Chi inadvertently noticed the ring on Fu Tingchuan’s finger and hesitated for a few seconds before tentatively asking, “Mr. Fu, should we contact Attorney Zhang?”
Before joining the Fu Group’s legal team, Attorney Zhang had specialized in matrimonial and family law. But he was a prodigy and had quickly made a name for himself in commercial and financial law.
The Fu Group happened to have a lawsuit to handle soon.
Fu Tingchuan tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. “As soon as possible.”
Ji Chi nodded. “Understood, Mr. Fu. Also, as you previously instructed, the procedures for transferring the ownership of the large flat in the western suburbs to Miss Qin have been completed.”
“Mm.”
Fu Tingchuan’s expression remained indifferent as he tossed the gold into a drawer.
Ji Chi left the office.
As he passed the executive office, he noticed a meticulously dressed secretary holding up a mirror and applying makeup.
She was Miss Qin’s informant.
She was probably the one who had leaked the news about Mr. Fu’s property purchase.
But Ji Chi didn’t mind. After all, Mr. Fu had already hired a lawyer, which suggested that Miss Qin would soon become the new Mrs. Fu.
Once that happened, half of the Fu Group would belong to Miss Qin.
A secretary was nothing in comparison.
Moreover, since Mr. Fu had voluntarily gifted the property in the western suburbs, he was surely aware that Miss Qin had people in the secretarial office.
It wasn’t Ji Chi’s place to intervene.
At the end of the workday, Lin Yuxi left the office right on time.
In her seven years of employment, she had rarely worked overtime.
To put it bluntly, it was because she was seldom included in important projects.
Director Chen had been sidelining her for a long time. Lin Yuxi had long grown numb to it, but she didn’t dare to resign without a backup plan.
In a city as expensive as Beijing, her monthly salary of just over ten thousand yuan left little after paying rent for her two-bedroom apartment.
As for why Director Chen didn’t dare to fire her, the reason was simple.
Whenever an R&D project hit a bottleneck, Director Chen would turn to her for solutions.
As the saying goes, she did all the hard work, while others took all the credit.
On top of that, she had threatened Director Chen with the affair, making him even more reluctant to fire her.
Until she found a better option, she planned to drag things out—one day at a time.
She hadn’t walked far when Qin Ruoshi suddenly caught up from behind and enthusiastically invited, “Yuxi, want to have dinner together?”
Lin Yuxi declined. “No, thanks. I have plans tonight.”
Facing Qin Ruoshi, she couldn’t bring herself to eat, and besides, Haohao might already be home and starting to prepare dinner.
But Qin Ruoshi insisted, “I’m not very familiar with the R&D department’s operations and have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
Lin Yuxi ignored her.
Qin Ruoshi kept pace with her steps. “If you really don’t have time, tomorrow works too. I can pay for the consultation.”
Pay?
Lin Yuxi stopped walking, pursed her lips. Damn, she was a little tempted.
After an internal struggle, she gave in. “Since you need it, let’s make it tomorrow at noon.”
Qin Ruoshi smiled. “No problem, then tomorrow—”
“Oh, by the way,” Lin Yuxi added casually, “my consultation fee is 2,000 RMB per hour.”
The smile on Qin Ruoshi’s face cracked for a moment.
Two thousand RMB?!
At that rate, one meal would cover a month’s rent—and not just anywhere, but for a two-bedroom apartment in an ordinary Beijing neighborhood.
How shameless! Wasn’t she afraid Fu Tingchuan would find out?
Lin Yuxi couldn’t care less about what she thought. Just as she was about to head home to share the good news, she turned and saw Fu Tingchuan.
Her smile vanished instantly.
She’d been so preoccupied with Qin Ruoshi’s pestering that she hadn’t noticed when Fu Tingchuan had approached.
Glancing around, Lin Yuxi spotted a parking space not far away.
Her car, Xiao Bai, was parked there.
The fact that he had personally returned the car—such a condescending gesture—truly shocked her.
Fortunately, she still had her wits about her.
Fu Tingchuan must have come to pick up Qin Ruoshi after work and returned the car while he was at it.
Lin Yuxi turned to leave.
Qin Ruoshi called after her, “Yuxi, see you tomorrow at noon then.”
“What about noon?”
Fu Tingchuan suddenly interjected.
“Oh, I have a few work-related questions for Yuxi, but she’s busy tonight, so we scheduled it for tomorrow at noon.”
“Do you have a side job?”
Lin Yuxi had taken two steps away when she realized no one was responding—Fu Tingchuan was asking her.
Well, it made sense. Having come up with 200,000 RMB out of the blue, it was natural to assume she had a side gig.
But she didn’t want to lie.
One lie would require countless others to cover it up—too exhausting.
Lin Yuxi turned back and replied, “No side job.”
Fu Tingchuan studied her face for a moment. “Join us, then.”
Lin Yuxi froze.
What did he mean?
Inviting her to dinner right in front of Qin Ruoshi?
Qin Ruoshi forced a smile. “Yes, join us, Yuxi.”
After a brief internal struggle, Lin Yuxi figured it was better to get it over with. She pulled out her phone. “I need to check.”
With that, she walked over to a nearby shrub and made a call.
Qin Ruoshi watched Lin Yuxi’s retreating figure, her eyes full of curiosity. “Tingchuan, do you think Yuxi might be seeing someone?”
Having to ask for permission to stay out late…
Other than having a boyfriend, there didn’t seem to be any other explanation.
Fu Tingchuan’s expression darkened. He remained silent for a long time.
Qin Ruoshi didn’t dare ask again.
If a wife had someone else while still married, no man would take it well.
After confirming that Haohao hadn’t started dinner yet, Lin Yuxi returned and said to the two of them, “I only have an hour.”
Better to settle this quickly.
She didn’t want to sacrifice her after-work hours for that measly money.
To her, time spent with Haohao was worth far more than 2,000 RMB an hour.
Without another word, Fu Tingchuan turned and walked toward the restaurant, leaving a cold, detached figure behind.
Qin Ruoshi walked over to Lin Yuxi and said in a warm tone, “No problem, I’ll try to let you go home early.”
Lin Yuxi looked ahead.
Truly childhood friends—they both knew exactly how to get under each other’s skin.