The ex-wife of a former CEO regrets resigning to raise her child and retire from public life.

Chapter 38 Master... My name is Shen Xingruo

The celebratory banquet gradually came to an end as the last guest departed.

Da Zhuang and Lao Zhou had already rolled up their sleeves, wanting to help clean up the mess on the table, but Chen Feng stopped them.

As everyone left, they all tacitly avoided the small figure with its head bowed in the corner. They didn't scrutinize it curiously, nor did they ask about Chen Feng's background; they simply patted him on the shoulder and said goodbye in a hearty manner.

Curled up in the corner, Shen Xingruo slowly broke free from her complicated emotions as she felt the surrounding sounds gradually fade and recede into the distance.

She kept her head down, her gaze fixed on the small bowl in front of her that she had already ate completely.

Just now, the long-suppressed crying had exhausted her energy, but instead of feeling tired, she felt a strange warm current emanating from her abdomen and flowing through her limbs.

The feeling was magical. The aches, numbness, and mental tension from being homeless for so long disappeared without me even realizing it.

She felt her parched body, like parched land receiving timely rain, gradually regaining its strength. Her eyelids, which had been so heavy she could barely lift them, now became much clearer.

For her at this moment, these foods were not just for filling her stomach, but more like a gentle medicine, smoothing out the wrinkles in her stomach and quietly repairing her overdrawn vitality.

"I have the strength again..." she thought to herself, but couldn't help but laugh at herself.

The recovery of her mental and physical strength made her more clear-headed, but this clarity often brought with it a deeper sense of confusion.

Although she wanted to disappear into the night, she remembered that she had promised this uncle she would help wash the dishes.

"I have to go after I finish washing the dishes." She clutched the hem of her dress.

She thought, "My uncle is so kind, the lights here are so warm, and there's that little sister who smiles like an angel." But she was Shen Xingruo, a "jinx."

Although the old dean would always hug her and tell her, "Ruo Ruo, you are not a jinx," all the disasters that followed—the Lin family's bankruptcy, the accidental death, and her own kidnapping—silently corroborated that vicious title.

"I can't stay," Xingruo told herself. "If I bring disaster to my uncles and the others because of me, then I really don't want to live anymore."

The atmosphere in the store had quieted down.

Chen Feng was cleaning up the mess on the table. Mengmeng stood obediently to the side, helping her father stack some light bowls together. The father and daughter did not speak, but a tacit understanding lingered between them, which made Xingruo's nose tingle again.

That was the happiness she once had, but which she "destroyed with her own hands".

Xingruo took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in her eyes. She told herself that she should do more before leaving. She stood up and approached quietly.

Chen Feng was bending over to gather a large stack of plates together, unaware of what was happening behind him.

On the contrary, Mengmeng noticed the older woman approaching. Mengmeng was a little shy, but she felt sorry for this older woman.

"Sister, isn't Daddy's cooking delicious?"

Mengmeng suddenly spoke up.

Xingruo suddenly stopped in her tracks, her body trembling slightly like a startled deer. She slowly raised her head and met Mengmeng's bright, innocent eyes.

Looking at Mengmeng's adorable and heartwarming smile, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"It's delicious...it's really delicious. Thank you...thank you all." Xingruo's voice was still very soft, with a slight hoarseness.

Chen Feng straightened up and turned around: "Are you full? If you still feel uneasy, Uncle will go to the kitchen and make you a bowl of hot noodles?"

"No need! No need!" Xingruo waved her hands repeatedly, her cheeks flushed red. "Uncle... I'm full, really. I... I'll help clean up, I promised you."

After saying that, she deftly began to clear away the dishes and chopsticks; her movements were very natural and skillful.

Looking at her hands, which were much rougher than those of people her age, Chen Feng felt a pang of sadness in his heart. But he didn't stop her; he knew that if he didn't let this kind girl make the sacrifice, she would feel guilty.

The three people went into the kitchen.

Chen Feng found spare aprons for Xingruo and Mengmeng. The apron was too big for Xingruo, with the hem almost reaching her ankles. Chen Feng carefully tied a knot at her waist, his movements gentle, but she wanted to run away.

When Xingruo stood in front of the sink and saw that there were only a few bowls and chopsticks in the sink, she was stunned.

Just now outside, Chen Feng said that "business is booming and there are hundreds of dishes piled up that we can't wash anymore," but in the sink in front of him, there are only a few plates left over from this celebration banquet. Even if Chen Feng were alone, he could wash them in ten minutes at most.

Xingruo stared blankly at the clean porcelain surface, and her nose began to sting again.

She was slow to react and reserved, but she wasn't stupid. At that moment, she understood—this uncle was lying to her. He had concocted a rather clumsy lie, simply to make her feel at ease eating that delicious meal.

Xingruo lowered her head even further, her messy hair obscuring her eyes. She bit her lip hard, trying to keep her tears from falling into the sink.

She didn't dare look at Chen Feng, or even at Mengmeng, who was carrying a small stool over from the side.

Chen Feng sensed the girl's stiffness and low spirits, but he didn't point it out.

"Come on, Mengmeng, you wash your own little bunny bowl. The rest, this lady and I will wash them together."

As Chen Feng spoke, he turned on the tap. The sound of running water filled the quiet kitchen.

The two began washing the dishes in silence. Xingruo washed them very carefully and skillfully. In Chen Feng's eyes, this seriousness was the result of years of hard work; this child had clearly suffered a lot in her previous experiences in what was called "family" or elsewhere.

Chen Feng looked at her profile; her sallow and thin features appeared somewhat desolate under the light.

He knew the child was about to leave. If he let her go out like this, where could she go in this cold night, in this complicated society?

"Do you have somewhere to go?" Chen Feng finally spoke, his tone conservative and gentle.

Xingruo's fingers suddenly stopped in the pool. The stiffness seemed to come from her very bones; she didn't even dare to look Chen Feng in the eye.

She was lost. Of course, she didn't want to go back to that orphanage filled with mockery, and she especially didn't want to encounter those vicious human traffickers again. But could she really stay? Stay here and watch this uncle become unhappy because of her "bad luck"?

After hesitating for a long time, Xingruo told a lie.

"Yes... I'll go find my dad later. He... he'll meet me up ahead."

Chen Feng felt as if he had been pricked by a needle.

His eyelashes trembled as he read the child's words. If someone really was there to pick her up, how could she have fainted from hunger on the roadside? If she truly had a loving father, how could he have let her dress like this, and let her injured foot go unattended?

Chen Feng fell silent. He knew that the child was trying to put his mind at ease this way, and didn't want to "trouble" him anymore.

"I see..." Chen Feng put down the plate in his hand and turned off the tap.

An unsettling silence fell over the kitchen, broken only by the clear, melodious sound of Mengmeng washing the dishes.

Chen Feng thought about it for a long time. He knew that simply giving without giving was not enough to deal with a child with this kind of personality.

Chen Feng let out a long sigh, his tone suddenly becoming heavy and anxious.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do? Actually, I didn't finish what I was saying earlier. As you saw today, although business is good, it's really exhausting for me to run this shop all by myself."

Chen Feng frowned, a look of distress on his face, as if life had truly crushed his spine: "I used to work outside, and I actually owed a lot of debt."

I originally thought opening this shop would help me pay off my debts, but I've found I'm simply too busy. If no one helps me, this shop might have to close down in just a few days.

He turned his head and looked at Xingruo's eyes, which were slightly wide with shock, and continued to "play the victim": "I need to raise Mengmeng. She's still so young and will have to go to school in the future. I urgently need an apprentice, an apprentice who can help me make money and pay off my debts."

But young people these days aren't willing to endure hardship. Where am I supposed to find someone who is both diligent and meticulous?

Xingruo's heart jumped into her throat.

Debt? Lots and lots of debt? And we still have to pay for Mengmeng's schooling?

She looked at the uncle who had been so tall and imposing just moments before, now appearing somewhat dejected and helpless. A surge of anxiety instantly dispelled the thoughts of "leaving" from her mind.

"No... Uncle is such a good person, he can't close down because of debts." Xingruo was so anxious that she stomped her feet in her heart. She completely forgot that she had just made up a lie about looking for her father, and her mind was full of Chen Feng's hands that were red from washing dishes.

Mengmeng sat to the side, somewhat confused as to why her father, who had previously said he didn't need to earn too much money, was now suddenly "heavily in debt." However, seeing her father secretly winking at her and then glancing at the older girl who looked like she was about to cry, the clever Mengmeng instantly understood the "script."

"Sister!" Mengmeng dropped the bowl in her hand, jumped up from the stool, and hugged Xingruo's leg.

The little one raised her face, which was about to cry, and instantly unleashed an Oscar-worthy performance: "Sister, Daddy works so hard! Mengmeng and Daddy are always hungry and have to deal with those bad uncles who collect debts from them."

Mengmeng is too young to help Daddy. Sister, you're so amazing, you wash the dishes so fast, could you help us? Could you stay and be Daddy's apprentice?

Xingruo panicked completely.

She looked at the father and daughter, tears welling up in her eyes. She was afraid; she feared her bad luck would be like the Lin family's, making Chen Feng's already debts even worse. But looking at Mengmeng's expectant eyes and hearing Chen Feng's sighs, the heavy sense of being needed made it impossible for her to refuse.

"But I... I'm afraid I'll hurt you all..." These words circled on Xingruo's lips countless times, but she just couldn't bring herself to say them.

Chen Feng didn't urge him, but just stood there quietly, his eyes revealing a desperate "expectation".

After an unknown amount of time, a very faint but resolute voice rang out from the kitchen.

"Okay... Uncle."

Xingruo answered tremblingly, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as if signing a life-or-death pact, "I will work hard, I... I'm not afraid of hardship, I will definitely help you pay off your debts."

Chen Feng smiled.

It was a radiant smile after his scheme had succeeded. He felt all the fatigue of the day vanish in that instant.

He dried his hands, stepped forward, and once again placed his large, warm hands on Xingruo's head. This time, Xingruo neither resisted nor stiffened; she felt as if she could safely receive their warmth.

"Welcome, my first disciple."

Chen Feng's voice was warm yet powerful, as if it could keep all the wind and rain out.

"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Chen Feng. You can call me Uncle Chen, or just Master. This is Mengmeng, my daughter."

Mengmeng jumped up excitedly, clapping her little hands loudly: "Welcome, big sister! Mengmeng has a big sister now! Welcome, my first disciple!"

A warm atmosphere flowed through the cramped kitchen, washing away all the lies.

Xingruo sniffed, lowered her head somewhat shyly, and spoke softly and solemnly in a voice only the three of them could hear:

"Master... my name is Shen Xingruo."