One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

When he spoke, his tone was solemn yet gentle, as if he were making a conclusion or pressing a confirmation button: "Come, Chairman Zhao. Today, let's drink together to the tea culture embodied in this cup of jasmine tea—to pay tribute to Chairman Feng and to intangible cultural heritage."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, his movements swift and decisive.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Fangxu also picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp.

The two put down their cups at the same time, and the bottoms of the celadon cups hit the wooden tabletop with two almost synchronized, crisp sounds.

Then the two of them just stared at Feng Zhenghao.

One had a smile on their face, another had a gentle expression, and four pairs of eyes quietly fell on Feng Zhenghao, neither urging him nor speaking, but simply waiting.

Zhuge Ming's words meant very simply—once the tea is drunk, the matter must be handled.

Feng Zhenghao laughed heartily.

He stood up, holding his teacup, his smile more open and genuine than at any other time of the day.

His eyes, hidden behind round-framed sunglasses, now revealed a sense of ease that comes from having shed a heavy burden.

He raised the celadon cup high in his hand and solemnly declared in a tone that resonated with the grandeur of the heavens and earth: "A toast to the two leaders! A toast to intangible cultural heritage!"

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

……

Feng Zhenghao personally escorted Zhuge Ming and Zhao Fangxu to the main gate of the Tianxiahui Group.

The sunlight outside the revolving door had risen high into the sky, making the marble floor tiles gleam with a white light.

The flagpole in the square remained motionless in the breeze, with three flags hanging lazily.

Feng Zhenghao walked at the front, slightly turning his body to lead the way. His pace was neither fast nor slow, each step firm and steady, as if he were measuring the distance between this building and the outside world with his own feet.

A black special armored sedan was already parked at the entrance. A soldier in the passenger seat stood beside the car, one hand opening the rear door and the other hand hanging naturally at his waist.

Zhuge Ming got into the car first and moved to the other side of the back seat.

Before getting into the car, Zhao Fangxu turned around and shook hands with Feng Zhenghao.

The hand was dry and warm, and the grip was just right, neither too light nor too heavy.

Zhao Fangxu said, "President Feng, please wait a moment," and then bent down and got into the car.

The car door closed with a deep, resonant sound.

The engine started with a deep, resonant sound, like a beast just awakened. The wheels slowly rolled over the marble floor, drove out of the entrance of the Tianxiahui Building, turned a corner, and disappeared into the traffic at the end of the street.

Feng Zhenghao stood at the gate, watching the black sedan drive away.

He wore a standard smile—the corners of his mouth turned up just right, and a few fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. He looked like a chairman who had just seen off an important client, in a pleasant and satisfied mood.

The car's taillights flashed briefly at the street corner and then disappeared.

The smile on his face did not disappear immediately, but faded little by little at an extremely slow pace, like the light on the horizon at dusk, not suddenly extinguished, but slowly, slowly dimming until nothing could be seen at all.

It wasn't the kind of dramatic change that happens in an instant, but a more natural and genuine transformation—from the enthusiastic smile as he bid farewell to the leader, to the faint serenity after he had seen him off, and then to the final smile lines disappearing from the corners of his eyes, his entire face settling into a calm that revealed no emotion.

That calm was not indifference, nor anger, nor the silence of a defeated tyrant. Rather, it was more like a person standing at their doorstep after a morning of raging storms, letting the wind blow against them, temporarily setting aside all their emotions and thinking of nothing.

Security captain Lao Zhou lowered the horizontal bar, tucked the baton back into his waistband, straightened his peaked cap, and strode up to Feng Zhenghao.

He walked a little faster than usual, but still maintained the composure expected of a security captain.

He stopped two steps away from Feng Zhenghao, stood with his feet together, chest out and stomach in, his posture upright, and said in a loud and respectful voice, "Good morning, Chairman!"

Feng Zhenghao turned around and looked at the security captain in front of him, who was wearing a dark blue uniform, with some gray hair but still full of energy.

He nodded slightly, his tone gentle yet authoritative, his voice not loud, but every word conveying a chairman's consideration and recognition for his frontline employees: "Thank you for your hard work. You're the security captain on duty today, right?"

"It's not hard work! This is our job!"

The security captain's answer was firm and resolute, like a command.

Then he lowered his tone slightly, adding a layer of caution and solemnity as if reporting work, but still stood ramrod straight, "Chairman, there are some things I need to report to you."

"you say."

The security captain cleared his throat and began his report in a concise tone. While his wording wasn't particularly sophisticated, his logic was clear, and he had obviously prepared it in advance: "Chairman, it's like this—this morning, two strange people came. They loitered around the main gate of our company for about an hour, acting suspiciously and acting furtively."

One of them seemed mentally unstable; his behavior was erratic, his speech was extreme, he constantly had something in his mouth, and he repeatedly tried to force his way through the door. The other person seemed to have some connections; he wore glasses and spoke more normally than the mentally ill one, but he too was clearly up to no good.

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhenghao suddenly recalled a scene from the office earlier—Xu Si, the head of the North China region, was standing in his office, his face covered in sweat, his posture as straight as a new recruit being lectured by his instructor, reporting to the two leaders that he was being stopped by the security guards and could not get in.

He hadn't thought about it carefully at the time, but now that the security captain said it, it all made sense.

The guy with the cigarette in his mouth who was mistaken for a mental patient by the security guard must be Xu Si himself.

Feng Zhenghao's lips twitched very slightly—not a smile, but not a frown either, but a subtle curve somewhere in between.

The security captain continued his report, a hint of pride and confidence creeping into his voice: "They tried to force their way through several times, but we stopped them each time. However, the guy with glasses actually called over the patrol officers on our street, showed them his identification to prove he was there to work, and then we let him through according to regulations. There was no physical altercation, no arguing; we were just following the rules and regulations."

Feng Zhenghao reached out and patted the security captain on the shoulder, the force neither too light nor too heavy, the warmth of his palm passing through the fabric of the uniform to his shoulder.

He nodded, his tone now even more approving than before, each word carrying the genuine affirmation of a chairman for his frontline employees: "You've done a great job. Thank you for your hard work. At the end of this month, your team of security guards will get a bonus."

The security captain puffed out his chest even more, and a hint of pride and emotion at being recognized appeared on his face beneath his peaked cap.

He brought his feet together again, raised his right hand with the five fingers together to the brim of his hat, his movements so precise they were flawless, and spoke in a loud and solemn voice: "On behalf of the entire team, I salute the Chairman!"