He whispered, “Everything will pass.”

Time heals all wounds and creates everything.

Su Qingran suddenly remembered a statue of Buddha she had once seen, which her master had carved over three years and was one of his most satisfying works.

It was called “The Passage of Time.”

The carving wasn’t particularly intricate; it depicted a single person, but from different angles or with different mindsets, some could see a child, some a youth, some an adult, and others an elderly man.

Regardless of which, it was merely a stone picked up from the river of time.

Carved into jade, it ultimately became the different imaginations bestowed upon it by various people.

Yet it was just a stone formed millions of years ago, having witnessed the passage of time—nothing more.

Su Qingran shifted slightly, and Pei Jingyan immediately released her.

Her voice was nasally as she said, “I’m sorry for getting your clothes dirty.”

Pei Jingyan replied, “It’s okay. Are you feeling better now?”

Su Qingran nodded.

Pei Jingyan said, “We need a photo for the engagement. Shall we take one now?”

Su Qingran instinctively looked at the mirror, hesitating, “I look too awful.”

Her eyes were already red and swollen, and now her nose was red from crying too.

“I’ll have someone edit it,” Pei Jingyan said.

Su Qingran was surprised. “You know about photo editing?”

Seeing that she could still think of other things, Pei Jingyan believed that Su Qingran had stabilized her emotions somewhat. He said, “I’ll have my assistant invite someone from the company’s advertising department to edit it; their skills should be quite good.”

Su Qingran nodded.

Pei Jingyan realized he had misspoken, so he added, “Besides, you look good; you’re not ugly.”

After saying that, he felt a bit awkward himself and was the first to go to the door.

Outside, Lu Ruolan was worried about her daughter. When she saw that Su Qingran’s eyes were even redder but seemed much better than her earlier lost expression, she felt a bit relieved.

Pei Jingyan directly handed his phone to Su Shantang, asking her to help take a photo of him and Su Qingran.

“Sister, the left side of your skirt has some wrinkles; shake it out,” Su Shantang said earnestly while holding the phone.

She discovered that this Mr. Pei, whom she had only heard about in the news, was actually quite handsome. Standing next to her sister, they looked like a perfect match—he had charm and she had grace; although their temperaments were completely different, they unexpectedly fit well together.

It’s just a pity he was a scumbag’s brother.

She wasn’t sure if he was truly a scumbag.

But thinking about how Jiang Chenlin had just escaped from the marriage, and Pei Jingyan was now getting engaged to Su Qingran right after, it felt like a slap in Jiang Chenlin’s face.

With that thought, no matter whether Pei Jingyan was a scumbag or not, he could now be considered a good person.

“Alright, everyone smile,” Su Shantang said. “Three, two, one, click!”

After the photo, she looked in surprise at the smiling man in the frame.

Although the smile was subtle, Su Shantang felt that this legendary businessman known for his ruthless tactics in the marketplace had eyes filled with laughter.

On the other hand, her sister didn’t smile at all; she couldn’t even muster a stiff motion.

Su Shantang felt a pang of heartache.

She returned the phone to Pei Jingyan and asked, “Mr. Pei, is it okay?”

Pei Jingyan’s gaze fell on the screen, his fingers tightening slightly. “Very good, thank you.”

This was the only photo of him and Su Qingran together.

The photo was quickly sent to Zhou Yu for arrangements.

After sending it, his phone buzzed with a notification: the payment for the engagement ring had been processed.

Only then did Pei Jingyan feel a sense of grounding and security.

It had to be said that Zhou Yu’s work efficiency was quite impressive for someone who had become Pei Jingyan’s secretary.

Today, he was the only one accompanying Pei Jingyan on the business trip, and now he had suddenly switched to the task of setting up the engagement venue. Although his heart was turbulent, Zhou Yu handled everything with remarkable efficiency.

In less than half an hour, the standees had been delivered. The torn standees and the scattered flowers and balloons on the floor were removed, and the sign that originally read “Jiang Chenlin and Su Qingran’s engagement banquet, please go here” was replaced with “Su Qingran and Pei Jingyan’s engagement banquet, please go here.”

If the guests hadn’t just experienced the earlier scene, they might have truly believed that it had always been about Pei Jingyan and Su Qingran from the start.

Once everything was ready, the host returned to the stage. “Thank you all for coming today to attend the engagement banquet of Mr. Pei Jingyan and Miss Su Qingran!”