Chapter 2

Zhao Yihan had agreed with a friend to meet at around nine o’clock to go to the store and show the watch to the friend first.

As for when they would find a buyer, it was all a matter of luck.

“To get this watch earlier, you’ve matched it with the same amount of goods. You’d have to work for two years without eating or drinking to afford it, right?” Wei Lai was slightly surprised, wondering how she knew about the matching goods.

Zhao Yihan replied, “My friend is the store manager. She saw your order. I’ll go see her later. I can’t guarantee she’ll be able to help, but it’s worth a try.”

Wei Lai’s phone vibrated. It was a message from Zhang Yanxin’s new secretary: “[Miss Wei, when are you available? The villa in Jiang’an is to be transferred to your name. Mr. Zhang said he is very sorry to you and regrets not cherishing your affection. Please accept the house as a gesture of apology. Consider it clearing the debt of his feelings towards you.]”

Wei Lai suppressed the turmoil in her heart.

Zhao Yihan could tell from her expression that the message was related to Zhang Yanxin’s new secretary. She took Wei Lei’s phone from her hand and placed it on the table. “Why are you staring at your phone while eating? What are you looking at?” She tried to shift her attention, “My mother and Uncle Wei are getting married. What gift are you planning to give?”

Wei Lai was a bit silent. “I haven’t decided yet. What about you?”

Zhao Yihan remained silent longer than her. “Same here.” She hadn’t decided either.

She only loved her own father and mother. Now that her mother was marrying someone else, she didn’t know what would be appropriate to give. Wei Lai was the same; she only loved her own parents. Despite Wei Uncle and his ex-wife’s great relationship in the past, from school uniforms to wedding gowns, they ended up going their separate ways. Wei Lai probably didn’t want to face her father’s wedding with someone else either.

Wei Lai suggested, “How about we buy it together? Let’s buy something valuable. I’ll give my blessings to my dad, and you give yours to your mom.”

Zhao Yihan nodded. “Sure. Let’s go pick one together when we have time.”

After dinner, when they left the restaurant, Wei Lai declined the driver arranged by Zhang Yanxin and walked straight out of the lobby.

Manager Lu felt embarrassed. If he didn’t ensure Wei Lai’s safety back home, he couldn’t report back to Zhang Yanxin. He once again advised, “Miss Wei, you’ve been drinking…”

Wei Lai interrupted him without looking at him. “I’ve called a designated driver. And, I’ll say it again, Zhang Yanxin and I are over.”

Manager Lu didn’t take her words to heart. Which couple hadn’t mentioned breaking up in the heat of an argument?

“Manager Lu, please don’t bother. ” Zhao Yihan, who was walking behind, kept her pace steady, stopping Manager Lu, “My sister didn’t celebrate that man’s birthday today, she invited him for a farewell dinner. Since he didn’t eat, I ate for him, and now the party’s over.”

Manager Lu was visibly surprised.

Zhao Yihan teased, “I hope next time we come for dinner, we can still enjoy Manager Lu’s warm and thoughtful arrangements as usual.”

Manager Lu smiled and balanced his words well, “Of course, it would be my pleasure.”

During the conversation, the designated driver arrived.

He was a tall and slender young man, wearing gray sweatpants and a loose white T-shirt.

Wei Lai sensed a youthful aura from him, something that Zhang Yanxin, who was seasoned in the business world, didn’t have.

After confirming that he was the designated driver she had called, Wei Lai handed him the car keys.

Zhao Yihan fetched a bag from her own car, “Don’t forget your dress.”

Wei Lai stepped forward and took the bag, feeling embarrassed to trouble her sister again, “You should go back quickly. I’ll go to the flagship store to find your friend. I’ve already troubled you enough.”

“Well, since we’re already in trouble, a few more hours won’t matter.” Zhao Yihan opened Wei Lai’s car door and got in.

The white car left the restaurant parking lot and headed towards the flagship store.

With a stranger as their driver, it wasn’t convenient to chat about private matters, giving them both a reason not to talk.

They didn’t chat much during dinner either, each enjoying their meal quietly.

The journey was silent until the designated driver parked the car not far from the flagship store. Wei Lai said to him, “You can hang around nearby, if you like. I might take a while to finish.”

The designated driver, not one for many words, nodded in response, returning her the car keys.

Tonight’s VIP customer for the watch hadn’t arrived yet, so the store manager had time to personally attend to them.

The store manager hadn’t met Wei Lai in person before today, but she was familiar with her. Over the years, she had heard bits and pieces about Wei Lai from Zhao Yihan and had a general idea of her personality. She was highly emotionally intelligent, as Zhao Yihan described her: seemingly harmless but with plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

She had also seen what Wei Lai looked like in the family photo displayed at Zhao Yihan’s house: a full, oval face with a gentle jawline, clear eyes with a smile that could melt hearts.

In the photo, her features were impeccable, to the point where she initially thought this unreal beauty was a result of heavy editing by the photographer.

Now, the real person was right in front of her, and even as a woman, she couldn’t help but pause her breath at the sight of Wei Lai.

Wei Lai greeted them apologetically, “Sorry for troubling you so late.”

The store manager welcomed them with a light smile as they entered the store. “No trouble at all. Your sister’s matters are my matters. Don’t be shy. You’re lucky tonight; the head of our region happens to be here. I have a good relationship with him, and he has a wide network. I’ll ask him for a favor.”

The warranty card for this watch hadn’t been filled out yet, and it hadn’t even been tried on. There was still a possibility of selling it close to the original price, but of course, this chance was very slim.

Wei Lai’s only wish now is to get rid of this watch as soon as possible. As for the price, it wasn’t her top concern.

The store manager poured two cups of coffee and invited them to sit in the VIP room on the first floor. She took the watch to find the head of the region and asked him to find a suitable owner for it.

“Don’t drink the coffee. You won’t be able to sleep after drinking it, will you?” Zhao Yihan reminded her.

Wei Lai stirred the coffee without any pretense. “Whether I drink it or not, I won’t be able to sleep.”

Soon, the store manager hurriedly came downstairs. In the VIP room, the two sisters sat at opposite ends of the sofa without exchanging any words, as if they were strangers.

The store manager returned the watch to Wei Lai. “I’ve taken the photos. You keep the watch safe.”

After a few seconds of pause, she warned Wei Lai to be mentally prepared. “People who like the color combination of this strap will particularly love it.” The rest of her sentence was left unsaid.

Wei Lei was already mentally prepared and smiled gratefully.

The store manager pointed outside the door and said to Zhao Yihan, “The distinguished guest will arrive soon, so I won’t be able to accompany you. Feel free to refill your coffee. If you have any matters, you can go back first and we’ll talk over the phone.”

Zhao Yihan replied, “No rush. We’ll wait here.”

The store manager didn’t have time to catch up. She quickly tidied up her attire and makeup in the mirror and hurriedly walked out of the lounge, closing the door behind her.

Just as she had learned from the head of the region earlier, the VIP guest who was arriving tonight was surnamed Zhou, the second young master of the Zhou family in the capital. He had accidentally broken his watch, and it was repaired specifically for him to see if it could be restored. Buying a new watch was just a side matter.

As the store manager reached the entrance of the flagship store, two cars drove directly over and parked one after the other.

The leading car was a striking deep emerald green Cullinan. Even if she wasn’t familiar with cars, she knew that this Cullinan was a top-tier SUV.

A young man came out from the driver’s seat, dressed casually. His T-shirt was even deeper in color than the SUV, exuding a rebellious aura.

Following closely, the passenger door also opened, and a tall man in a white shirt got out of the car. She only saw the side profile of his deep face. His demeanor and temperament were completely different from the man in the T-shirt. He had a natural aura, silently making people feel nervous yet reassured, a contradictory feeling.

The regional manager went up to greet them, and the store manager confirmed that the man was Zhou Sujin, while the one in the T-shirt was Lu Yu.

The store manager followed them into the store, with the head of the region leading the way. She didn’t need to do anything.

As they climbed the stairs, it was Lu Yu who was chatting with the head of the region. Zhou Sujin’s gaze was calm and cold, sparingly using words. From the entrance to the VIP room on the second floor, he only spoke two sentences, totaling less than ten words.

The broken watch was with Zhou Sujin’s secretary. Lu Yu asked the secretary to bring out the watch and told the head of the region, “Try to shorten the repair time.”

The head of the region only verbally agreed. The watch needed to be sent to headquarters for repairs. The specific duration of the repair would need to be evaluated after inspection, which wasn’t something he could decide.

Lu Yu was more anxious than the owner of the watch. He emphasized twice that it must be restored, regardless of the cost of repair, and the repair time must be shortened as much as possible.

This watch held special significance to Zhou Sujin. It was a gift from his older brother for his twentieth birthday, over nine years ago. This watch appeared most frequently at important events.

It was all his fault; he had been careless. Why did he have to play around with something so valuable at the time? He had forgotten how precious the watch was and, in the midst of playing cards, they had become so engrossed that they accidentally knocked it off. After falling to the ground, it was accidentally kicked by him…

Having discussed the repair of the watch, Lu Yu suggested checking out the watches in the store and instructed the store manager, “Bring out the most expensive ones.”

Zhou SuJin continued working on his phone without lifting his head.

He didn’t have a need to buy watches; his house was filled with various watches in three watch safes. Some watches didn’t even have a chance to be worn. Lu Yu wanted to give him a watch as an apology, insisting on gifting him one.

The store manager brought over several watches that might catch Zhou Sujin’s eye, leaving out the basic models.

With the watches arranged, Lu Yu gestured to Zhou Sujin, “Take a look. Which one do you think is suitable?”

Zhou Sujin quickly scanned all the watches. “Put them all away.”

He didn’t find any of them appealing.

Lu Yu understood Zhou Sujin. When buying watches, it was about connection, often unrelated to the price. He had seen the watches Zhou Sujin collected, with prices ranging from five to eight figures.

He pointed to the broken watch and asked the store manager, “Do you have anything similar to this? It doesn’t have to be the same style; a similar color is fine too.”

The store manager glanced at the watch strap again, then silently looked towards the head of the region.

The head of the region also found the color of the strap familiar, suddenly remembering Wei Lai’s watch. Although the price of Wei Lai’s watch couldn’t compare to the sky-high price of the one Zhou Sujin needed to repair, the color of the strap was similar.

The head of the region explained the situation to Lu Yu, “We have a watch in our store that belongs to a customer…”

“Bring it here to have a look.” Lu Yu couldn’t wait to interrupt.

“Wait a moment, I’ll go get it right away.” The store manager left the VIP room with a steady stride. When she reached the staircase, she hurriedly went to find Wei Lai and Zhao Yihan.

Entering the room, she exclaimed in relief, “Thank goodness you’re still here! If luck is on our side, we might find a new owner for this watch tonight.”

Wei Lai was surprised. “So fast?”

“That’s why I said you’re lucky.”

Without time to explain further, the store manager took the watch and hurried back upstairs.

Zhou Sujin, being a watch enthusiast, could tell the approximate price range of the watches at a glance. The watch the store manager brought didn’t have any collector’s value, so he said to the store manager, “Thank you for your trouble.”

Lu Yu understood; it still didn’t catch Zhou Sujin’s eye.

Zhou Sujin locked his phone and glanced at Lu Yu. “Let’s go back to the hotel.”

They had looked at the watches, and if none had caught Zhou Sujin’s interest, there was no need to buy one.

But Lu Yu felt guilty; Zhou Sujin had a business negotiation tomorrow, and not wearing a watch with his business attire felt lacking. Zhou Sujin couldn’t borrow someone else’s watch either.

Ignoring Zhou Sujin’s words, Lu Yu took the initiative to trouble the store manager again, “Are there more styles available in the stores in Shanghai?”

Zhou Sujin didn’t have the time to indulge him; it was just a watch. He interrupted Lu Yu, “No need to go to Shanghai.” Then he nodded towards the special-colored watch in the store manager’s hand and said, “This one.”