Harold’s face was filled with worry:

“Yes, they didn’t sign a prenuptial agreement. If they divorce, George will have to give a considerable portion of his assets to Ms. Ji. Compared to this, everything else is trivial. I heard George is trying to remedy the situation and has sent lawyers to China… Ivan, you should show more concern for him. George needs his family’s support right now.”

George and Ji Ya didn’t sign a prenuptial agreement?

George must truly love Ji Ya then. Despite this foreign man’s arrogance, he couldn’t be faulted on this point.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, really – he just loved the wrong person.

That’s how relationships work – the favored one always takes things for granted.

Between George and Ji Ya, Ji Ya was the favored one. But from Harold’s words, George, who hadn’t signed a prenup, had sent lawyers to China?

Xia Xiaolan continued listening intently as Ivan Wilson, completely led astray, couldn’t be steered back on course:

“Their marriage is international, with many legal loopholes. If that woman wants to take George’s money, let her come fight in American courts. I’d rather give the money to greedy lawyers than let her have even one dollar!”

This old man was quite ruthless.

Xia Xiaolan found it amusing. Ji Ya had failed at managing this marriage. George’s family should have been Ji Ya’s strong support, but after her dramatic scene at the wedding banquet and lack of effort to make amends afterward, she had earned George’s father’s intense dislike.

How much did he dislike her?

The marriage wasn’t even over, yet the old man was already viciously planning how to fight the divorce case for George.

But this wasn’t surprising – typical wealthy American thinking.

Harold nodded:

“I’ll help with this matter. George is a Wilson, and his trust fund cannot be divided. Other assets can’t be lost either. I know two excellent divorce lawyers – I’ll have Allen send you their cards later. Ivan, my dear brother, everything will work out.”

Harold and Ivan rambled on, moving from George’s situation to reminiscing about their past – like how Ivan had once given Harold a pony and had someone build him a swing under the walnut tree.

Ivan was over 60 now, and his mental acuity declining. After several failed attempts to control the conversation, he ended up exhausting himself. Harold, still energetic, stood up and had someone escort Ivan upstairs:

“Dear brother, I need to visit the construction site, but I promise to return quickly for dinner with you!”

Half-supporting, half-dragging, Harold had Ivan removed.

George’s father was completely outmatched, posing no threat to Harold.

However, Xia Xiaolan had gathered much information, which she was still processing when Harold sat down at her table.

“Were you satisfied with what you heard?”

After Ivan had ruined Harold’s breakfast, Harold casually picked up the sandwich left on Xia Xiaolan’s plate and finished it in a few bites.

Though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t touched the food, it was still on her plate, making the situation feel bizarre-

“Satisfied? You’re so shameless! You don’t want George to make money, yet you push all the blame onto Uncle Tang! Without your approval, the municipal government wouldn’t make decisions for you foreign investors!”

The government wouldn’t intervene in such matters involving foreign investment projects – they might direct state-owned enterprises, but that’s different. Old Tang was being blamed unfairly.

“Xia, don’t focus too much on the process. As long as we get our desired result, what does the process matter?”

Harold stared at Xia Xiaolan’s coffee cup. She covered it with her hand:

“Don’t be so weird. Can’t you afford your coffee?”

It was bad enough that this jerk had taken the sandwich from her plate. If he dared drink her leftover coffee, such deliberate intimacy would make her want to hit him.

Sharing food with Zhou Cheng was fine, but not with other men.

Harold snapped his fingers, and someone quickly brought him coffee while clearing the plates from the table.

“I’m changing hotels tonight. Want to change too?”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “I don’t need to.”

“Are you sure? Ivan will stay at the hotel waiting for me. He won’t find me, but it might be awkward if he recognizes you.”

Harold tried to convince Xia Xiaolan to change hotels together.

Xia Xiaolan kept shaking her head, “Even if he recognizes me, what does it matter? I can’t decide anything about the golf course renovation project. You’re the only one he wants to confront – you’re the one who doesn’t want George to make money. Sometimes I wonder if desperately accumulating wealth is right. All the wealthy families I know seem to have poor relationships.”

Family members being suspicious and calculating with each other – Xia Xiaolan wasn’t just referring to Harold and Du Zhaohui, but also to wealthy clients she’d known in her previous life. Most wealthy families had disharmonious relationships.

Harold laughed:

“That’s statistical bias! Money isn’t the root of all evil. A family’s harmony has nothing to do with money. Families that would fight over 100 million dollars would fight just as much over 1 million, or even 10,000 dollars.”

The only difference was in the intensity of the conflict.

100 million dollars might make people want to hire hitmen to eliminate each other.

With 1 million or less, they couldn’t afford hitmen. People would have to use milder methods to fight.

Xia Xiaolan realized he had a point – even when the Xia family was poor, they still fought.

“OK, I apologize. You don’t want George’s family to make money, and you’ve indirectly helped me. If George returns to America, that would help me even more!”

“Trust me, I don’t want George meddling in China either. He’s an incompetent dreamer. He should just live quietly on his trust fund and chase love around the world – that’s who George is.”

As for old Ivan…

They should be grateful he still remembered their childhood memories – Ivan giving him a horse, teaching him to ride.

Ivan making him a swing.

Otherwise, how could old Ivan have burst into the hotel today to yell at him?

Harold gripped his cup tightly.

…

Xia Xiaolan went to the construction site as usual, though eavesdropping on gossip had almost made her late – she arrived even later than Hoffman, making her quite an unqualified assistant.

Harold spent the whole day at the construction site too, his distance from Xia Xiaolan varying between near and far, occasionally sniffling.

His assistant wanted to ask if the Boss was feeling unwell and whether he needed a doctor.

Returning to the hotel in the afternoon, Harold had indeed changed locations. Xia Xiaolan returned with Hoffman and others, running into Ivan in the hotel lobby.

Ivan’s eyes swept over Xia Xiaolan.

This Chinese woman was beautiful.

Ivan looked again.

She seemed familiar, but why couldn’t he remember where he’d seen her?

Old Ivan was stood up by Harold.

Finding Harold again wouldn’t be easy. After thinking all night, he finally remembered where he’d seen Xia Xiaolan – at George’s disastrous wedding in China!

“…It’s her!”

Old Ivan finally realized something was wrong.

There are no such coincidences in the world – most coincidences have deeper connections. So what exactly was Harold planning to do?!