“Tina’s parents died in an accident. Please keep her company and be accommodating – she’s just a young girl,” George privately instructed Ji Ya.

Ji Ya was exasperated. “Do you think I would deliberately bully her? She’s young enough to be my daughter.”

Indeed, Tina was even younger than Ji Jiangyuan.

The main issue was that this young girl seemed constantly distracted. She appeared restless ever since entering the country.

Ji Ya herself wasn’t particularly patriotic – she had always wanted to return to America. But Tina’s attitude was too obvious; she didn’t want to come to China, so why force herself to follow Mrs. Wilson here?

The meal was quite awkward. Mrs. Wilson showed warmth toward Tina but coldness toward Ji Ya, which irritated Ji Ya greatly. What was so special about this niece that Mrs. Wilson had to cherish her and George had to pamper her? Ji Ya could tell Tina came from a very good family – but was she that much better than Ji Ya? In China, while Ji Ya’s family wasn’t extremely wealthy, they were certainly respected.

To put it bluntly, this was a case of two princesses naturally clashing!

Ji Ya was used to others accommodating her; this was the first time she had to accommodate someone else.

If Ji Ya were that virtuous, she would just be another ordinary woman.

Tina hadn’t noticed whether Ji Ya liked her or not.

The young girl had only one thought in her mind: This is China! She was standing on Chinese soil!

She didn’t want to return to China at all, but she wanted to help Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Ivan, so she ultimately came to this land with Aunt Cynthia. Tina felt anxious and uneasy, afraid that Xu Zhongyi might suddenly appear from somewhere-

Mrs. Wilson patted her hand:

“Child, no one should force you to do things you don’t like. True love means letting you live freely and happily. Anyone who tries to burden you with moral pressure and blame, no matter how much they claim to love you, is being hypocritical.”

Tina nodded vigorously:

“Aunt Cynthia, I’ll be brave! I said I wanted to help, and I’m glad you finally agreed to let me help!”

Their conversation was cryptic to Ji Ya.

While settling the bill, she smoked a cigarette in the hallway when George came looking for her.

Ji Ya pointed to her head, “Your sister is strange. She seems to have something wrong up here?”

Ironically, a paranoid person was suggesting someone else had mental issues.

George was too exhausted to explain:

“Can’t you be a little kinder? She’s just a young girl who lost her parents!”

Ji Ya extinguished her cigarette and moved closer.

“George, I feel you’re hiding something from me. Why did your mother choose to come to China at this time? Don’t tell me she’s here for relaxation. I can see how much she dislikes China and dislikes me – coming to China won’t improve her mood!”

If anything, it would only make her more frustrated.

So why did Mrs. Wilson come to China?

Hadn’t she already suffered a crushing defeat against Harold? At a time like this, shouldn’t she stay in America to protect what remained of their business?

Ji Ya’s eyes were full of inquiry, making George’s heart race.

He had to control himself, not letting his emotions be completely controlled by Ji Ya again.

George struggled to push Ji Ya away:

“You’re overthinking. Nothing is going on – they’re just here to relax.”

Was she overthinking?

No, George wasn’t telling the truth.

Ji Ya stared at George’s retreating figure, lost in thought.

She wasn’t sure when George had started being guarded with her. Once cracks appear, nothing she does can repair them.

…

“Tina’s gone to China!”

Xia Xiaolan was still drowsy when she received Xu Changle’s call.

It was far too early for a normal person to call, considering the time difference between China and America… Oh, was Xu Changle too anxious to consider the time difference?

“Slow down and explain. What happened? How did Tina suddenly come to China? Did she have a change of heart?”

Xia Xiaolan stifled a yawn, and Xu Changle realized his rashness:

“I’m sorry, I was too anxious. Tina went to China with Mrs. Wilson. Someone saw them entering through Hong Kong.”

Entering through Hong Kong.

And the ever-present Mrs. Wilson?

It was obvious they were heading to Pengcheng since George was there. Mrs. Wilson wouldn’t go anywhere else.

“Strange, I thought the Wilsons would be busy fighting Harold in America. Why come to China?”

Xiaolan muttered, then asked Xu Changle about his plans.

Xu Changle didn’t understand what Tina was thinking either – she left America without telling him, despite her previous strong resistance to returning to China.

“I’ll return to China immediately. I’ve already quit my job in America and will travel between China and America in the future. But it will take me two or three days to get back. Could you please help look after Tina until then?”

So that was it.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t ask why not have Xu Zhongyi watch her, even though he was in China.

On second thought, given Tina’s resistance to acknowledging her connection to the Xu family, Xu Zhongyi’s presence might have the opposite effect.

Xia Xiaolan could only reluctantly agree:

“I don’t think Tina will like me either. After all, I befriended her just to investigate the Xu family matters. After what happened on the Hong Kong cruise, I imagine Tina’s resistance to me is only slightly less than to Uncle Xu… But I’m just saying – before you return to China, I’ll have someone watch over her, at least to ensure her safety.”

“Thank you!”

After hanging up, Xia Xiaolan wanted to roll back into bed.

Liu Fen looked at her worriedly:

“Tina’s come to China? What does she mean by this? Does she want to acknowledge Grandmother Yu and Uncle Xu?”

“How likely do you think that is?”

Even Liu Fen knew it wasn’t very likely.

Liu Fen had her own experience with this – eighteen or nineteen-year-olds were too difficult to handle. At that age, they’re neither children nor adults, thinking they’re grown up, particularly stubborn, and won’t listen to adults at all.

The current Tina and the former Xiaolan were both like this.

Tang Hongen had no comment on this matter.

It wasn’t his family’s young girl, why should he care?

He already had a poor impression of Xu Zhongyi and only cared about Grandmother Yu for Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen’s sake. The rest of the Xu family had nothing to do with Tang Hongen.

But this concerned Xia Xiaolan.

She rubbed her eyes:

“I can’t reason with Tina either. I’ll have Ge Jian watch her until Xu Changle returns, then hand her over to him intact!”

Liu Fen hesitated, “Should we tell your Grandmother Yu?”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head:

“Let’s not tell her yet. If Tina has come to terms with it herself and is willing to acknowledge Grandmother Yu, it’s just a matter of waiting a few more days.”

If not, why make the old lady happy for nothing?

Besides, from Grandmother Yu’s attitude, even if Tina wanted to acknowledge being a Xu family granddaughter, Grandmother Yu would only accept DNA test results.

Not the verification from Zhang Jiangdong’s time – it had to be verified by the Xu family themselves.