“Hello, my husband Ivan disturbed you a few days ago. I apologize on his behalf!”

Mrs. Wilson’s face bore traces of cosmetic procedures.

She was George’s birth mother and had to be over 60 years old. Most women resist natural aging – “aging gracefully” is nonsense; they want to look 30 even at 60!

Natural beauty and maintenance both play a role, but having no obvious wrinkles at over 60 can’t be achieved with just essence lotions… It requires medical cosmetic procedures.

In 1986, medical cosmetics and plastic surgery were unfamiliar terms to mainland Chinese women. In later internet forums, people would repeatedly post old photos praising the natural beauty of Hong Kong entertainment industry stars from the 80s-90s golden era.

Most people didn’t know that even in the 80s, Miss Hong Kong contestants were disqualified when reported for having plastic surgery.

They weren’t necessarily all-natural, but people didn’t dare to make dramatic changes, nor was their aesthetic sense distorted into uniform V-shaped faces and eye-corner surgeries.

This was just the situation in Hong Kong. Korean plastic surgery techniques haven’t yet become popular across Asia along with Korean dramas. The most advanced cosmetic surgery was in America and Japan. Mrs. Wilson wasn’t short on money and had surely received top-tier procedures. Xia Xiaolan just found her wrinkle-free face somewhat strange, but overall, Mrs. Wilson’s dollar investment had paid off – she looked great!

She warmly reached for Xia Xiaolan’s hand, her overly thin hands revealing her true age.

Faces could be fixed, but necks and hands were difficult – these two problems would continue to trouble countless beauty-conscious women seeking eternal youth even 30 years later.

“Ma’am, I’m not angry with Mr. Ivan. I just couldn’t fulfill his requests, so I feel sorry about that.”

Xia Xiaolan, usually thick-skinned and naturally friendly, felt very uncomfortable meeting the equally forward Wilson couple.

There’s an old Chinese saying: unsolicited favors are either crooked or thieving… Being alone in a foreign country, who knew whether these enthusiastic people were friends or foes? Being cautious couldn’t hurt.

“Dear, don’t call me ma’am. You can call me Cynthia, Cynthia Wilson.”

Xia Xiaolan’s wrist was firmly gripped by Ivan’s wife Cynthia. She wanted to break free but feared hurting this woman who looked 40-something but was over 60.

Cynthia was overly enthusiastic. She was staying at the same hotel as Xia Xiaolan and appeared with old Ivan with a clear purpose – to catch Xia Xiaolan.

While claiming to apologize for old Ivan, their goal remained unchanged: to convince Xia Xiaolan to join their side in rescuing poor George from his terrifying international marriage… Xia Xiaolan wanted to roll her eyes.

“Ma’am – alright, Cynthia – I really can’t do this. I’m too busy with my studies at Cornell to get involved in such matters.”

Though Xia Xiaolan hoped Ji Yawei would lose George as her ATM, personally breaking up their marriage wasn’t appropriate.

This went beyond normal business competition methods.

If she got involved, Ji Yawei might retaliate with below-the-belt moves, and Xia Xiaolan would be in the wrong when it became public. As they say, the instigator is the villain – Ji Yawei was the instigator, so Xia Xiaolan demanding an apology was justified, and their business rivalry was inevitable! However, interfering in Ji Yawei’s marriage would change the nature of things.

George and Ji Yawei’s situation was different from Zhou Yi and Yuan Han’s.

Yuan Han was a scoundrel who used women to advance himself, draining their value before crushing them.

His current target was Zhou Yi, meaning the Zhou family, which involved Zhou Cheng.

If not for Zhou Cheng, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have dreamed of getting involved in this mess.

But George –

George had nothing to do with her, so why should she bother?

No matter how pitiful Cynthia and Ivan appeared, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t agree to help them drive George out of Pengcheng or China.

George was a foreign investor!

She’d have to be crazy to cause such trouble for Tang Hongen.

If George were to leave China, it had to be his own choice, whether through business failure or legal violations… But he wasn’t breaking any laws – he was a legitimate foreign investor. Using special privileges against him would be an abuse of power.

Tang Hongen had never restricted George from returning to America; his conflict was with Ji Yawei.

George chose not to leave himself.

Xia Xiaolan sighed, “Shouldn’t it be George’s choice whether to return to America? You’re his parents – you should understand him better than I do.”

Cynthia had barely touched the food on her plate. She put down her cutlery:

“Xia, as you Chinese say, we’re willing to unite with all possible allies. Your unwillingness to cooperate surprises us, but of course, you have your thoughts and principles – we won’t force you. I quite like you, so even though we can’t cooperate, I’ll give you some free information: we’ve frozen George’s trust fund. He held out for two months but still had to return to America. We’re not too happy because he’ll bring his Chinese wife… I hate her.”

Poor George – having his trust fund frozen must have put great pressure on his cash flow.

Harold was so cruel. He surely knew about the Wilson family’s internal affairs and took advantage of George’s struggle with Ivan and his wife to deny him the golf course renovation project… Wait, looking at it this way, Harold’s actions seemed like he was helping the Wilsons force George back to America!

Then why did old Ivan angrily confront Harold?

Perhaps it was all an act…

The Wilson family’s situation was so complicated!

Best to avoid them altogether – Xia Xiaolan could only make a swift exit.

Conveniently, Hoffman needed her back in New York. Xia Xiaolan immediately booked a flight from Washington:

“Cynthia, thank you for your trust, but I really can’t get involved in your family matters. It was nice meeting you and Mr. Ivan. I need to pack now – goodbye!”

Cynthia smiled and waved goodbye.

Once Xia Xiaolan was gone, her smile faded:

“Ivan, are you sure? Does Harold like this Chinese girl? She might be clever and very beautiful, but she seems like an unsophisticated young lady.”

Old Ivan glanced at his wife, “Men’s appreciation of women differs from women’s. I’m certain Harold likes her – this Xia is different from all the women Harold’s been with before. Honestly, I thought Harold would never marry, but suddenly this person appears.”

Cynthia didn’t fully understand her husband’s intentions:

“A man liking a woman and wanting to marry her are two different things, aren’t they? Ivan, what are you thinking? Will this Xia’s existence affect our plans?”