Chapter 125: The Rose Seal

Although he was speaking in the first person, his flat tone sounded like the account of an impartial observer. Listening to his calm narration, Chu Ling-shuang’s anger dissipated significantly. As her rationality returned, she realized that Lin Feng’s response was indeed correct; it was she who had been overly impulsive. She had not expected that a single sentence from him would cause her to lose her composure, and a look of uncharacteristic bewilderment clearly flickered across her usually haughty expression.

To mask her awkwardness, Chu Ling-shuang retorted with forced sarcasm, "So what if it’s a pseudo-proposition? I just didn't expect you to treat such a waste of time and energy as a gift."

Hearing this, Lin Feng suddenly smiled. "In your eyes, it may be a useless gift, but to me, what matters is not the object itself, but its significance."

"Indeed, five hundred and twenty of them." Chu Ling-shuang responded instinctively, not even noticing the tinge of jealousy in her own tone. "What a grand 'significance of love' that is."

Lin Feng’s eyes flickered and dimmed slightly. "You are wrong. To me now, it is not about love—" As he spoke, he looked up abruptly, gazing past the floor-to-ceiling window at the scorching midday sun. He continued slowly, "To me, the significance of those gifts represents my youthful ignorance and the prime of my life."

Without a doubt, Chu Ling-shuang was stunned. She truly had not expected Lin Feng to be so profound. In that fleeting moment, she felt as though the Lin Feng before her was glowing. He possessed a psychological strength she had never anticipated, and his image suddenly seemed to loom larger. A sense of detachment rose between them, keeping them apart. After all this time together, she suddenly realized she had never truly touched his heart.

"The younger me truly had a burning heart, just like my pursuit of Fang Zi-yue back then—sending flowers, transferring money—" He continued, his gaze lost in the sunlight outside the window. He smiled suddenly, looking as free and unrestrained as someone who had seen through everything. "That was driven by the ignorance of my youth. I cannot go back and do it over, but I accept my past experiences."

"Because whether I was excellent or mediocre, that was still me."

*Love yourself before loving others.* Therefore, after his time with the Xu family had ended, he had already decided that in this life, he would live only for himself; everything would stem from his own heart.

As his voice faded, the room fell into silence. Chu Ling-shuang had never experienced a conversation like this. For some reason, the calm with which he spoke made her feel even more captivated. He possessed something she did not.

Yet, the more she lacked it, the more she wanted to possess it. She did not know what it was, but this feeling made the urge to claim him grow even stronger.

*No!* She would not allow him to have a sense of self; a pet should have the awareness of being a pet!

However, when her gaze fell upon Lin Feng again, an inexplicable impulse to respect him surged within her. This feeling frightened her, even causing her a sense of panic. She bit her lip, looking at Lin Feng with a complex expression. Lin Feng happened to turn his head at that moment and said solemnly, "So, Miss Chu, there is only one thing I want to do now—"

"I want to control my own life."

It sounded like a warning, or perhaps a lament from a man lost in his own memories, but that was unimportant. What mattered was that, upon hearing these words, Chu Ling-shuang suddenly smiled. She stared straight at Lin Feng, her voice filled with excitement. "You remembered wrong. The one who controls your life must be me!"

Lin Feng was silenced by her declaration. As his thoughts returned to the present, he sighed and said, "Then, Miss Chu, I will choose the gift myself, but you must give me time to prepare."

"Very well." Chu Ling-shuang nodded slightly, quite satisfied with Lin Feng’s compliance. She picked up her phone, sent Yu Xue-yan’s contact number to Lin Feng, and added, "Just tell Yu Xue-yan whatever you need; she will prepare it for you."

Catching the flash of light from the phone, Lin Feng’s mouth twitched. He remarked instinctively, "Miss, who asks for help from others when preparing a gift for someone?"

Chu Ling-shuang’s hand, holding the phone, paused. That seemed to be a fair point. Does this mean he intends to prepare a gift for her personally, and one filled with genuine heart?!

In an instant, Chu Ling-shuang’s eyes lit up! She looked at Lin Feng with burning anticipation and said, "Then I shall wait for your grand gift."

Lin Feng smiled. "Rest assured, it is a gift you have never seen before!"

As he spoke, he looked toward the dining table and suggested, "Shall I feed you?"

At his mention, Chu Ling-shuang realized she was indeed hungry. She nodded, and while he prepared the food, she asked, "What time does the recording start this afternoon?"

"Director Zheng said the morning's public opinion needs time to ferment, so the afternoon session is pushed back by three hours," Lin Feng explained, glancing at the time. "Four o'clock, I suppose."

"I see." Chu Ling-shuang watched him. As before, Lin Feng supported her with one hand while holding the chopsticks with the other, just like feeding a child. Her gaze deepened as she swallowed a bite of food. "Then, help me review some documents in the spare time later."

For Lin Feng, working alongside her had become a matter of course. He nodded and carefully picked up some food for her. After the meal, Yu Xue-yan brought people in to clear the table, and Chu Ling-shuang sat down at her desk after only a ten-minute break. Lin Feng followed her out of habit and took a seat in the chair to her right.

Expecting to review the same boring documents as before, he was surprised to see Chu Ling-shuang toss several folders in his direction.

"Review these today."

As her command echoed, Lin Feng nodded obediently. But when his gaze dropped to the unopened folders and the labels upon them, he froze.

"These are first-hand documents?"

He looked at Chu Ling-shuang in astonishment; any one of these files, if taken out, would be enough to sustain a small company for three years. Seeing his stunned reaction, Chu Ling-shuang’s desire to tease him grew even stronger. She curled her lips without responding, reached out to open a previously locked drawer under her desk, and pulled out an exquisitely wrapped red box.

Opening the box, the contents left Lin Feng shocked.

"You may use this to sign off on them."

Lin Feng was completely stupefied. He swallowed hard and said cautiously, "If I am not mistaken, this is your company’s official seal, right?"

Seemingly quite satisfied with his reaction, Chu Ling-shuang narrowed her eyes, playfully rolling the seal between her fingers. Her side-glance landed on Lin Feng as she smiled, "This is no ordinary seal. This small object alone is enough to represent the decisions of the Chu family—"

"I have named it: The Rose Official Seal."