“Go see Uncle Shen?” Bai Youwei swallowed her food, thought about it, and said, “Is that really necessary?”

“Oh, this isn’t a question of ‘necessary’…this is a matter of etiquette,” Cheng Weicai instructed earnestly. “We’re all in Shanghai, and not far apart from each other. It’s the right and proper thing to go pay a visit.”

Cheng Weicai sighed and continued: “Times aren’t what they used to be. If we don’t take the chance while we can to meet up and have a chat, once we’re scattered to the ends of the earth, seeing each other again will be so difficult.”

When he put it that way, a melancholy note was added to the atmosphere.

Tan Xiao didn’t want to listen to him drone on. He just kept eating and nodding: “Let’s go! We’ll all go together!”

Bai Youwei shrugged. “I don’t have a strong opinion either way.”

She just worried the other party would feel awkward seeing her.

As for that mother of hers, Bai Youwei knew a few things. Though she was past forty, well-maintained she looked thirty at most. Combined with a noble, elegant bearing, she had attracted quite a few admirers. However, her mother had no intention of remarrying. She devoted herself entirely to business affairs and kept an ordinary friendship with each admirer—without realizing it, she had accumulated quite a collection of “backup options,” and Shen Mo’s father was one of them.

Some women might find this sort of behavior quite “devious,” but really it was just the very normal interpersonal mode of a businesswoman.

A businesswoman would never casually fall out with anyone. She kept things warm and agreeable with everyone.

Bai Youwei thought about this, then went still.

Well, not exactly…

She wasn’t all that warm and agreeable with everyone—well… except with her own daughter.

“Youwei?” Cheng Weicai noticed she’d zoned out and asked, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Hmm?” Bai Youwei came back to herself and smiled faintly. “Nothing—I was just thinking about what gift to bring if we go visit Uncle Shen.”

“When Shen Mo gets back, we can ask him,” Cheng Weicai said. “See what his father’s side might be lacking, or if there’s anything he particularly likes to eat or use…”

Bai Youwei gave a half-hearted sound of agreement.

The topic ended there.

And Shen Mo still didn’t come back.

……

In the afternoon, Chu Huaijin came in person to pick up Bai Youwei, Su Man, and Zhu Shu.

Nominally, Chu Huaijin was the head of the organization—though Bai Youwei had noticed he was really just a doer. The true soul and guiding spirit of the organization was Professor Song Mingchuan.

They ran into Yu Yaqing at the door of the conference room.

Su Man joked, “This time they won’t ban women from entering again, will they?”

Yu Yaqing laughed and gave Su Man a tap on the shoulder. “Holding a grudge?”

Zhu Shu looked at Su Man with a smile. “Women always hold grudges, of course.”

“And love to bring up old scores,” Bai Youwei added.

The four women exchanged a glance and all broke into a smile.

Seeing that they were in good spirits, Chu Huaijin also smiled and said, “Come on in. Professor Song has many questions he wants to ask about what happened inside the game.”

When the game was mentioned, the smiles on their faces pulled back slightly.

Those were not beautiful memories.

Yu Yaqing composed herself and walked forward, taking the lead in pushing open the conference room door—

Inside was a long corridor. Rooms lined both sides. Continuing further in, they could see one of the rooms lit up.

“Professor Song.” Chu Huaijin stood outside the door, his manner respectful. “They’ve arrived.”

Bai Youwei was curious. She tilted her head to look at the person inside.

In the span of a few days, she felt Professor Song had aged further.

He wore glasses and was bent over the desk, surrounded by stacks of draft paper. Because they couldn’t use computers freely, all calculations had to be done by hand—by him and the other researchers—and had to be checked repeatedly to ensure accuracy.

At such an advanced age, still setting himself such a heavy workload. Honestly, Bai Youwei wondered if he might drop dead of exhaustion.