“Alright, I understand! By the way, I retrieved the money they stole from her. One thug was injured, though he probably won’t die. She was robbed of 937 dollars, this money…”

Xia Xiaolan frowned.

That fool Zhou Yi – not only did she fail to deposit her living expenses in the bank, but she carried it all with her.

Even without Ye Xiaoqiong’s arranged thugs, Zhou Yi’s behavior made her a prime target for robbers. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t defending Ye Xiaoqiong; she was angry at Zhou Yi:

“Hold onto the money for me. Give it to me when we next meet.”

She couldn’t simply give all the money to Jim. The thousand dollars Zhou Yi carried represented Zhou Wenban’s savings of several thousand yuan, earned from both his and Jiang Hong’s salaries.

Though Zhou Wenban held a high administrative position with good benefits, his income was still limited.

He refused help from other Zhou family members, and gathering 10,000 dollars for Zhou Yi had surely emptied their savings.

With that money, one could buy a well-located siheyuan in Beijing. Like the one Liu Yong had bought from Xu Jing in Nanluoguxiang for just over 60,000 yuan.

In more remote areas, like Beijing’s Third Ring Road, old single-story houses were even cheaper – that amount could buy several.

To Beijing locals, anything outside the Second Ring Road was considered countryside – the Second Ring Road followed the old city walls!

The Third Ring Road?

Unthinkable!

What a great investment opportunity it was. If this money were invested in real estate, Zhou Yi wouldn’t have to worry in 20 years – she’d have more money than she could spend. But was Zhou Wenban seeking material comfort for Zhou Yi? No, he wanted to straighten her out, to make her sharp-minded with an independent career – that was Zhou Wenban’s true aim.

So while Xia Xiaolan didn’t have to return the money to Zhou Yi, she had to return it to Zhou Wenban.

She also needed to ask Zhou Wenban how to handle tonight’s events.

Xia Xiaolan had expected a call from Zhou Yi, but half an hour after Jim’s call, the apartment phone remained silent.

Xia Xiaolan had given up hoping Zhou Yi would wise up – anyway, tomorrow she had to go measure the theater on Broadway.

However, this matter needed to be reported to Zhou Wenban.

It was 10 PM in New York, 13 hours ahead of Beijing time, making it 9 AM there.

“Normally, Uncle Zhou should be at work by now.”

Without question, this call had to be made.

Xia Xiaolan called back to China. Zhou Wenban answered after 9:20 AM – his habit was to steep strong tea first thing at work, as it helped him stay alert and focused throughout the day.

Upon receiving the call, Zhou Wenban became agitated and accidentally knocked over his teacup.

“Leader?” his secretary gently knocked.

“It’s nothing, don’t come in. I’ll clean it up!”

No father could remain calm after hearing his daughter had nearly been assaulted.

Xia Xiaolan waited for him to compose himself before asking:

“Ye Xiaoqiong did this deliberately. Her return to save Sister Zhou Yi might have been conscience, or perhaps to gain Zhou Yi’s trust. If it’s the former… should we gamble on her conscience striking again?”

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t make this decision; she had to tell Zhou Wenban, as only he could decide.

Zhou Wenban was so shocked he dropped his teacup.

But he quickly regained composure and asked Xia Xiaolan:

“Do you think this young Ye is intelligent?”

“Yes, quite intelligent. As the investigation shows, she took the college entrance exam but was reported for questionable family background and failed the political review… So her formal education in China stopped at high school, though her abilities exceeded that. After leaving home, she went to Shanghai and then smuggled herself to Hong Kong. Starting from nothing, she joined the Cheng Rong Group and became Du Zhaoqi’s trusted secretary. She’s not just intelligent but a quick learner.”

That was Xia Xiaolan’s assessment.

Ye Xiaoqiong’s path was rare in 1986.

Small business success stories were common, but climbing the corporate ladder in Hong Kong like Ye Xiaoqiong had – even most mainland university graduates couldn’t advance so quickly there.

“So given her intelligence and grudge against Zhou Yi, aside from force, could mere words convince her to abandon revenge?”

Zhou Wenban’s rhetorical question revealed his answer to Xia Xiaolan:

“You mean-“

“I mean, let Ye Xiaoqiong vent her anger! Today’s events suggest she couldn’t bring herself to be truly cruel.”

Character transformation always has a catalyst.

Ye Xiaoqiong had certainly changed from before. She agreed to wake Zhou Yi up as “revenge” – not by killing her outright, but through slow torture, cutting with a dull knife.

Zhou Wenban was convinced Ye Xiaoqiong wouldn’t truly harm Zhou Yi.

He wasn’t betting on Ye Xiaoqiong’s character but on her intelligence and the nature of her hatred. Knowing Zhou Yi was under the Zhou family’s protection, killing her wouldn’t just risk the Zhou family’s retaliation – she’d need to stay alive to take revenge on Yuan Han and the Yuan family.

“I know what to do. I’m going to Broadway tomorrow anyway, I’ll check on Sister Zhou Yi. What about those dollars?”

“Don’t return them to Zhou Yi. She should remember this lesson. If she asks to borrow money, keep it strictly business – make her sign an IOU!”

Zhou Wenban was truly being harsh this time.

Stopping halfway would do Zhou Yi no good.

Having already tasted such bitterness, they could only steel their hearts and let Zhou Yi swallow more.

Zhou Yi had merely encountered troubles that any overseas student might face. If family immediately solved everything, she’d never grow!

Xia Xiaolan felt reassured by this imperial decree.

After hanging up, she couldn’t help muttering, “Uncle Zhou is finally getting serious – even accepting Ye Xiaoqiong’s actions.”

How earnest was a father’s desire to see his daughter mature?

There was even guilt toward Ye Xiaoqiong.

Zhou Yi, ignorant of the truth, felt no burden, while Zhou Wenban carried it – knowing Zhou Yi’s willfulness had indeed caused Ye Xiaoqiong great harm.

Yuan Han was scum, the chief culprit.

But Zhou Yi wasn’t entirely innocent.

Xia Xiaolan appreciated Zhou Wenban’s attitude, not for his tough love toward Zhou Yi, but for his guilt toward Ye Xiaoqiong.

Some minor officials became detached from the masses – not just their family’s lives, but even a family member’s cold or passing gas meant more than common people’s lives. Zhou Yi had hurt Ye Xiaoqiong? Oh, just condescendingly give Ye Xiaoqiong some compensation, and if she pursued revenge, she was being unreasonable – Xia Xiaolan had met many who handled things this way. She liked the Zhou family because even a leader like Zhou Wenban didn’t consider himself above ordinary people.

He never thought of using his authority to suppress Ye Xiaoqiong’s discontent, forbidding her revenge – after all, she was just a commoner without background, how could she fight against power?

No, Zhou Wenban understood Ye Xiaoqiong, carrying his guilt, hoping she could find inner peace after tormenting Zhou Yi.