Guide to Rising to Power as a Wife in Beijing's Elite Circle

The car stopped in front of an old shop with a sign that read "Luo's Wonton". The shop was small, the wooden sign above the door was worn white by time, and the glass windows were fogged up, letting out a warm yellow light.

"We've arrived." Fang Jingxiu pushed open the door and got out of the car.

Chen Nuo followed him, stepping onto the blue brick floor already covered with a thin layer of snow. Pushing open the door, a warm feeling mixed with the aroma of bone broth wafted towards them.

There were only four or five tables in the shop, and there weren't many customers at this time. Behind the counter, an elderly woman in her sixties, wearing a white apron, was rolling out dough. She looked up when she heard the door open.

"Hey! Brother Fang!" The old man's eyes lit up. He put down the rolling pin, wiped his hands, and said, "What a rare guest! It must have been almost half a year since you last came, right?"

"Uncle Luo." Fang Jingxiu nodded and sat down at the table by the window as if he knew the way well. "Two bowls of wontons, one without cilantro."

"Alright!" Uncle Luo replied, his gaze falling on Chen Nuo, his smile deepening. "This is... your girlfriend?"

Chen Nuo's heart tightened.

Fang Jingxiu neither denied nor admitted it. He simply picked up the teapot on the table and slowly poured two cups of hot water: "Please sit down."

This statement was ambiguous, but Uncle Luo seemed to understand something, and chuckled as he looked Chen Nuo over a few more times.

"The girl is really pretty," Uncle Luo said while wrapping wontons. "That high nose bridge, those deep-set eyes... is she Russian?"

Chen Nuo was stunned.

She subconsciously touched her face.

Her mother had one-quarter Russian ancestry, which was less pronounced in her, but her bone structure was indeed more European.

He has a high, straight nose, deep-set eyes, and a well-defined jawline.

But their appearance is distinctly Eastern, with delicate skin and soft features, creating a unique mixed-race look.

It's rare for people to ask this so directly.

Before she could react, Fang Jingxiu chuckled softly and turned to look at her, saying, "I'm asking you, are you Russian?"

His tone carried a rare hint of joking.

Chen Nuo met his gaze, which held a hint of mockery and anticipation, as if he were waiting to see how she would respond.

She blinked, and suddenly a brilliant idea struck her.

He made the sign of the cross with his hands in front of his chest, and then said, deliberately in broken Chinese, word by word, "Yes, Uncle! I'm so happy to be in China."

The last word was drawn out, and coupled with her wide eyes and serious expression, she looked exactly like a foreign girl who had just started learning Chinese.

Uncle Luo laughed heartily: "Oh my, it's true! Your Chinese is quite good!"

Fang Jingxiu also smiled.

It wasn't the perfunctory smile common in official circles, nor the tired, faint smile of before, but a genuine smile that radiated from the depths of his eyes.

When he smiles, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes curve slightly, instantly softening his cold and aloof demeanor.

Chen Nuo looked at him and smiled, her heart skipped a beat.

Chen Nuo turned to look at him and found that he was visibly relaxed under the warmth of the heating.

He took off his black coat and draped it over the back of the chair next to him, revealing a neatly pressed white shirt underneath.

The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, revealing the smooth lines of the forearms. Two buttons on the collar were undone, revealing the Adam's apple and a small section of the collarbone.

He seemed less tense and more relaxed than usual, having lost the tension he usually displayed in official circles.

Chen Nuo looked away and continued speaking to Uncle Luo, "Uncle, I can speak a little bit of Chinese. My name is Natasha!"

"Natasha! What a great name!" Uncle Luo laughed heartily, turning to serve the wontons. "Little Fang found a foreign girl, that's impressive!"

Fang Jingxiu just smiled and didn't explain.

Two steaming bowls of wontons were served.

The soup was clear, the wontons had thin wrappers and generous fillings, and they were sprinkled with scallions and dried shrimp, each topped with a poached egg.

"These are for you!" Uncle Luo said generously. "It's rare for Brother Fang to come, and he even brought people with him!"

"Thank you, Uncle Luo." Fang Jingxiu picked up the spoon and blew on it to cool it down.

Chen Nuo also picked up a spoon and sipped the soup. The soup was very flavorful, with a rich, mellow taste from simmering pork bones.

The shop was quiet, with only the bubbling sound of wontons cooking on the stove and the sound of snow falling outside the window.

Chen Nuo secretly glanced at Fang Jingxiu.

He ate with great focus, taking a bite of wonton, a sip of soup, unhurriedly. The rising steam blurred his features, making him appear much gentler than usual.

At that moment, Chen Nuo suddenly understood something.

Fang Jingxiu brought her to this kind of place.

It wasn't a high-end restaurant or a private kitchen; it was just an ordinary wonton shop that had been open for decades on the street. And he was very familiar with the owner, so much so that the owner would jokingly call him Brother Fang.

What does this mean?

This means that he also needs such a place in his tense, calculating life, where he needs to be constantly vigilant.

A place where you can relax, joke around, and not put on airs like Director Fang.

A place where he can temporarily live like an ordinary person.

And now, he has brought her here.

This is not casual; it is a form of trust.

"What are you looking at?" Fang Jingxiu suddenly looked up and met her gaze.

Chen Nuo's face flushed: "You seem...different from usual."

"What's different?"

"More..." Chen Nuo carefully chose his words, "More like an ordinary person."