The next morning, Liang Meng insisted on personally driving Lu Zhou to the airport.

The whole way there, Lu Zhou kept urging Liang Meng to keep an open mind — whatever the final outcome for Longquan turned out to be, he hoped she would not completely make an enemy of Wang Xiancheng.

“Do I look like someone who easily offends people?” Liang Meng said half-jokingly, wearing her sunglasses.

It was only then that Lu Zhou told her the truth: “Wang Xiancheng — I’ve dealt with him, just once. He came to our golf club to play, and the club manager asked me to help correct his form. He’s a very arrogant man, and very stubborn. But after I taught him two small details about relaxing his swing, he quickly grasped the essentials, and right away showed me a bit more respect. So my conclusion is — the only things that move him are genuine, tangible benefits, or someone who is simply better than him.”

“Alright, I’ll take your advice.”

Liang Meng nodded.

“Right, there’s one more thing.” Lu Zhou continued.

Liang Meng laughed. “You’re normally a man of few words — how is it that right before you leave, you’ve become so fussy and long-winded, reminding me of this, worrying about that? If you’re this reluctant to go, maybe just cancel the tournament.”

Lu Zhou let out a dry chuckle and continued: “Some things are fine for Lin Qing’s mother to say on her own, but the two of us… it would be better if we didn’t chime in behind her. However she scolds Lin Qing is between the two of them, but if we jump in and join the scolding, I’m afraid that mother and daughter will both hold a grudge against us later.”

“Oh my goodness.” Liang Meng gripped the steering wheel and laughed. “Lu Zhou, when did you suddenly become so worldly-wise?”

Lu Zhou leaned his head back against the passenger seat, helpless. “She’s my future mother-in-law. How can I not be careful?”

Hearing that, Liang Meng’s heart skipped a beat, and her foot instinctively tapped the brake for just a moment before the car steadied again.

“You haven’t given up on Lin Qing?” Liang Meng asked carefully.

“I never gave up on her in the first place. And I never will in this lifetime.” Lu Zhou answered with a relaxed ease. “Actually, the drama between Lin Qing and Jiang Han — not just you, I can see through it too. I’ve known Lin Qing since we were in diapers. A person’s heart may change, but their true nature never will.”

A person’s heart may change, but their true nature never will.

Liang Meng quietly turned those final words of Lu Zhou’s over in her mind.

When they arrived at the airport, Lu Zhou hauled his equipment out of the car.

Liang Meng rolled down the window and, in the midst of all the comings and goings on the drop-off road, deliberately shouted after him at the top of her lungs: “You had better actually be up to it, you hear me? Lu Zhou!”

Lu Zhou smiled broadly and glanced back over his shoulder: “When I come back, you’ll know whether I’m up to it or not.”

The two of them were, of course, talking about the upcoming tour.

But the passersby nearby all covered their mouths and walked past them with knowing, amused smiles.

On her way back, Liang Meng smoothly received a WeChat message from Wang Xiancheng: “Come to my office.”

The corner of Liang Meng’s mouth curved up ever so slightly, and she headed toward Wanheng.

Wang Xiancheng did not meet Liang Meng in the conference room — he chose his private office instead.

His secretary had already prepared the lease agreement, with the terms, duration, and conditions all exactly as Liang Meng had specified.

Liang Meng was overjoyed and readily reached for a pen to sign.

At that moment, the Wang Xiancheng sitting across from her flashed a look in his eyes, reached into his chest pocket, and produced a Montblanc pen, which he set down gently on the desk in front of him.

Liang Meng, feeling that everything was going almost too smoothly, immediately reached out to take it, but in doing so failed to notice the glass of water right beside her hand.

With a loud “bang,” the water glass hit the floor and was smashed to pieces — a perfectly good crystal glass, shattered.

Liang Meng was still riding the wave of joy over the contract moving forward without a hitch, and said casually: “President Wang, once we’ve finished signing, I’ll replace your glass.”

After both parties had smoothly signed the contract, it was only then that Liang Meng remembered, and she asked Wang Xiancheng: “Uncle Wang, where can I buy a glass like that? I’ll go get one right now.”

Wang Xiancheng gave a cold smile and said: “That whisky glass is Edo Kiriko. They sell it at SKP.”

Liang Meng left Wanheng in high spirits and headed straight for SKP.

Everything at Longquan had been settled. She felt an indescribable sense of lightness inside.

“What?!”

Inside SKP, Liang Meng’s mouth fell open into the shape of an O.

“You’re telling me this glass costs twenty thousand yuan? Are you joking?”

“It’s our seasonal limited edition. We sold one yesterday — this is now the only one left in the entire country.”

Seeing Liang Meng’s reaction, the sales associate moved to take the glass back.

“Fine! I’ll buy it!” Liang Meng gritted her teeth and pulled out her payment code.

On the way back, Liang Meng stared helplessly at the gift box sitting on the passenger seat, torn between laughter and tears.

She’d been a little reckless today — knocked over one glass — and twenty thousand yuan was gone, just like that.

Then her phone rang. Surprisingly, it was Lin Qing.

Liang Meng answered: “What’s up?”

Lin Qing said: “Nothing much. Just wanted to chat with you.”

After all this time, suddenly receiving a call from Lin Qing felt a little strange to Liang Meng.

“What do you and I have to chat about?”

“What have you been up to today?” Lin Qing asked.

“This morning I drove Lu Zhou to the airport.” Liang Meng was in high spirits after completing her mission, and casually went on: “This afternoon I signed the contract with old Wang, smashed one of his glasses, and just came from SKP.”

“What kind of glass was it that you had to go all the way to SKP for?” Lin Qing could sense something wasn’t quite right.

“No idea — it’s called something Kiriko. I don’t really know much about these things. But his glass cost twenty thousand yuan.”

Liang Meng was wearing her Bluetooth earpiece, effortlessly spinning the steering wheel.

“Twenty thousand?” Lin Qing furrowed her brow as she held the phone. “Liang Meng, come over to Jiang Han’s penthouse right now. I need to talk to you.”

“Right now isn’t exactly an ordinary time. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to come.”

“What’s inappropriate about it? Come right away! This morning even your sister was here — if anyone has less right to come than you, it’s you. Get over here now!” Lin Qing said urgently.

Liang Meng had no idea why Lin Qing was so anxious, but she went as she was asked.

Jiang Han’s penthouse — Liang Meng had visited once before.

As she walked in, she noticed a matching pair of his-and-hers slippers sitting in the entryway, and felt a pang of something sour inside.

“Oh my, a his-and-hers set!” she deliberately teased.

Lin Qing shot back: “And you drove Lu Zhou to the airport just this morning!”

Liang Meng laughed indignantly. “You think I wanted to? If you’d like to take my place next time, be my guest. I’m driving your boyfriend around and I haven’t even charged you for petrol!”

She changed into house slippers and went inside, carefully setting the gift box containing the glass on the living room coffee table.

Liang Meng and Lin Qing puzzled over that glass for quite a while, but neither could work out what was odd about it.

After a long silence, Liang Meng said: “Don’t you think you might be overthinking this? It’s just a glass. Replace it and be done with it.”

Lin Qing thought it over at length and shook her head: “No, something’s off! A glass like this — why did it have to get smashed at the exact moment you were there to sign a contract? If it were an ordinary glass, smashing it would be no big deal, and someone as important as Wang Xiancheng certainly wouldn’t bother asking you to compensate him for it.”

Once Lin Qing put it that way, Liang Meng too began to study the glass with more seriousness, biting her lip as she carefully replayed the details of the afternoon in her mind.

“Now that you mention it, I do find it a bit odd. The glass I broke — looking back, it never really felt like something he’d use for business. It felt more like a personal prized possession of Wang Xiancheng’s. And actually, I had a feeling about it at the time too — that pen of his, the Montblanc he pulled from his chest pocket. He could easily have handed it straight to me, but instead he deliberately placed it on the desk in front of himself first…”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want the warmth of his hand to have any contact with you,” Lin Qing thought. That seemed reasonable enough.

“Then there’s probably nothing to worry about.” Liang Meng said. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head off. This isn’t a great place for me to linger.”

Lin Qing didn’t press her to stay either. If Jiang Han came back and walked in on them, it really would be awkward.

The Cowherd and the Weaving Girl — except for the Qixi Festival, they are not allowed to meet.

For Liang Meng to make her exit now was good timing.

“You can go, but leave the glass.”

Lin Qing thought it over, and still insisted on keeping the glass.

Liang Meng teased her: “Are you alright? It’s just a glass, not a landmine. You don’t need to defuse it.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t blow up on you. Now go.”

“Fine.” Liang Meng stood up. “Tomorrow morning have Jiang Han send it to my office — I have to return it to Wang Xiancheng.”

Lin Qing: “That won’t do. My man isn’t something I’ll lend out to you. I’ll send it via flash courier.”

“I think you’ve gone properly mad.”

Liang Meng walked out laughing, exasperated and amused in equal measure.

After Liang Meng left, Lin Qing picked up the glass again and again, turning it over in her hands.

She kept feeling there was something wrong with it, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what.

If you asked her why she felt something was off about this glass, Lin Qing could only say it was instinct.

Sometimes getting taken advantage of a few extra times in life isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Suffer enough hardship, and instinct comes naturally.

Lin Qing’s father had passed away when she was very young, and life’s hardships had not let up simply because she had lost him — bullying relatives, campus bullying, not a single one was spared her. And so, when it came to danger and traps, Lin Qing had a far sharper instinct than most people.

“Wang Zaiwu? It’s me, Lin Qing.”

Lin Qing picked up her phone.

Wang Zaiwu was in a private booth at an internet café, playing games. He pulled off his headset, but his hands didn’t stop moving: “Auntie Jiang, what is it?”

Lin Qing, had she not needed something from Wang Zaiwu at this moment, would have climbed through the Wi-Fi signal to strangle him for that word “auntie.”

“I want to ask you something. What brand of whisky glass does your father usually use?” Lin Qing asked.

Wang Zaiwu, with nothing better to do, started joking around: “Why, what’s this? Uncle Jiang’s assets aren’t enough for you, so you’ve started setting your sights on my dad’s stuff?”

“With that imagination of yours, why don’t you go write a wish-fulfillment novel?” Lin Qing pressed him for an answer.

Wang Zaiwu stared at his colorful screen and replied: “My dad drinks whisky — only Macallan. He doesn’t like fuss. So for glasses, he likes Czech crystal, and there’s also a Nordic brand he’s into.”

Lin Qing grew more puzzled. “He doesn’t like Edo Kiriko?”

Wang Zaiwu laughed. “Edo what now? What’s that? Lin Qing, if there’s nothing else I’m hanging up, I’m about to get taken out.”

“Mmm.”

She ended the call. Lin Qing stared blankly at the gift box for a few more seconds…

Just then, Jiang Han came home.

He spotted the glass on the table and immediately turned to look around. “Someone’s been here.”

His instincts were sharper than most.

Lin Qing could not possibly have bought something like this — she probably didn’t even know this Japanese brand existed.

Lin Qing said nothing.

Jiang Han reached out to pick up the glass. Lin Qing, protective as a dog guarding its food, immediately snatched it into her arms.

“Why are you touching other people’s things?”

Jiang Han was bewildered. “What’s wrong with you? What’s the harm in touching it? This is my home — everything here, I haven’t just touched it, I’ve used it.”

“That’s because you invited this honored guest here to use it!”

That one line from Lin Qing left Jiang Han with nothing to say.

Evening trading session.

When it was over, Jiang Han suddenly looked very weary.

Lin Qing glanced at him and knew it wasn’t exhaustion — it was the mounting pressure of watching the numbers in his account shrink day by day.

“Want a drink?”

Lin Qing suggested.

Jiang Han massaged his temples and nodded.

Lin Qing took out the glass from earlier in the day — with its dark, flowing shimmer — poured a measure of whisky into it, and handed it to Jiang Han.

The two of them sat on the terrace of the penthouse, looking out over the Huangpu River as they talked.

“Didn’t you say not even touch this glass!” Jiang Han held it up and gave it a look, then asked.

Lin Qing said: “A whisky glass is for pouring whisky. What else would it be for?”

Jiang Han remained alert, studying the glass carefully, then set it down gently.

“Something’s not right. You definitely didn’t buy this glass. It’s not that simple, is it?”

Lin Qing had run out of patience. She picked up the glass, whisky and all, and shoved it firmly to Jiang Han’s lips: “Are you drinking or not? Do you really think I’d poison you to death?”

“That’s hard to say.” Jiang Han took the glass and sipped the whisky. “But whatever. If I were truly to die at the hands of you, of all people, then I’d say my time was simply up.”

“You could still call 120 right now and make it.”

The two of them bantered for a while, and after a few sips of the strong liquor, Jiang Han’s expression turned more somber.

Lin Qing looked at him with concern and asked: “What’s wrong? Not in a good mood?”

Jiang Han turned to look at Lin Qing. He put the glass down thoughtfully, and after a long pause, said nothing.