At Beihu Park, Zhou Qinyao received a call from his colleague at the shop, saying that a client had come to modify a vehicle and specifically requested him.

Previously, there had been clients like this, so Zhou Qinyao didn’t think much of it. After dropping Tang You off, he returned to AS, only to find that the client was Xia Sumu, someone from his world two years ago.

Xia Sumu, who had managed to find his address through some means, was very clear about her intentions:

“I want you to come back.”

Zhou Qinyao straightforwardly told her: “Not possible.”

Xia Sumu appealed to him emotionally and logically, starting with earnest pleas and ending with sarcasm:

“I heard you only make a few thousand a month? Isn’t that less than what you used to spend on a single meal?”

“Are you really content staying here as an ordinary person?”

After an hour of desperate arguments, Zhou Qinyao’s response was cold and final:

“Don’t come looking for me again.”

Xia Sumu felt disheartened.

She knew before coming that she wouldn’t be able to sway him, but she couldn’t help herself and needed to make the trip to clear her own mind.

Looking back, who has ever swayed this man’s will?

No one.

He had always been this resolute, leaving two years ago with a decisive and dramatic departure, taking nothing but a few changes of clothes.

The only valuable thing he might have taken was perhaps the necklace around his neck.

At 7:30, the streetlights on both corners of the street lit up.

The wind was gently blowing, and Tang You walked with her head down, her mind preoccupied with the image of Zhou Qinyao and the woman entering the club, and the colleague’s teasing remark about him being on a date with a beautiful woman.

Tang You had never been in a relationship, so she wasn’t sure if the slight bitterness she felt was jealousy.

He had been so attentive to her in the park this afternoon… and now, he was with another woman…

Television shows often said that good-looking men were dangerous and fickle.

Tang You used to dismiss this notion because she had never met a man she considered good-looking.

But Zhou Qinyao’s presence had completely disrupted her peaceful life for the past eighteen years.

She would steal glances at him when passing street corners, wish for accidental encounters in the alley, daydream while sitting in his car, and blush and have a racing heart when accidentally bumping into him.

Tang You kicked a small stone on the ground, feeling troubled.

Thinking of the courteous but deceitful men she had met in Haicheng, she sighed lightly.

Zhou Qinyao… surely he isn’t like those men.

When she got home, she ate dinner calmly and awaited Fang Lai’s return.

Fang Lai appeared radiant and still captivating, showing no signs of fatigue from the long journey.

As soon as she set down her luggage, Fang Lai embraced Tang You, expressing her longing: “Let me see if my precious has lost weight this past month.”

She stroked Tang You’s cheek, and the warmth of maternal love gave Tang You a fleeting illusion.

It was a deep and genuine maternal affection.

Tang You shook her head, smiling sweetly: “How could I have lost weight? Aunt Rong takes good care of me. How about you, Mom? Did your business meetings go well?”

Fang Lai was pleased with her daughter’s concern. She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a small box.

Inside was a dazzling sapphire necklace.

“This trip to South Africa was full of twists and turns,” Fang Lai said, holding the sapphire up to the light, admiring it: “Fortunately, we encountered a benefactor in the end. This sapphire marks the perfect beginning for our Tang family’s foray into the jewelry industry.”

Tang You wasn’t particularly interested in business matters but asked a few more questions upon hearing about the complications. She learned that in South Africa, Fang Lai had encountered local con artists who almost swindled her out of millions in investment. Fortunately, she met an inspection team from the renowned domestic jewelry brand Mo On, who easily exposed the scam.

As a fellow Chinese, they were well-known in Haicheng and managed to thwart the scheme effortlessly.

Because of this turmoil, Fang Lai realized the jewelry business was deeper than she had thought and decided to abandon her plan to build her own brand, opting instead for a partnership with Mo On.

“Your father is already negotiating the contract. I came back to see you, but the day after tomorrow, I need to fly back to Haicheng for the signing banquet.”

Tang You was stunned: “Leaving the day after tomorrow?”

She had thought Fang Lai would stay in C City for a month or two.

Fang Lai, aware that she had missed much time with her daughter, said apologetically:

“There are many things to handle with Mo On. I’m doing this to earn you the most impressive dowry in Haicheng. Please understand.”

Tang You fell silent, not responding.

Fang Lai appreciated her obedient daughter, who was compliant and unassuming.

“Let’s go. I want to hear how you’ve been practicing the cello recently.”

The mother and daughter went to the bedroom on the second floor.