Long Ziyi’s presence was commanding.

She pulled her into the back seat, shouting loudly for the driver to start the car. The car door slammed shut with force. Jin Yiken was still standing under the streetlight. Long Qi looked through the window, but as the car turned around, she quickly lost sight of him. Turning her head angrily, she snapped: “What are you doing! He’s still standing there!”

“When his mom left, did she care that you were still there? How shameless of you! What face are you giving his family!”

“Can you stop always taking it out on him?”

“Oh, so now my daughter is willing to drop a lawsuit involving someone’s life just to save their family’s son, and I’m not allowed to be even a little angry, is that it? Long Qi, you’re just going to let your mother suffocate like this, huh? I’ve taken out my savings from the bottom of my chest to hire a legal team, and now we’re just going to swallow this loss! Either you let me handle nothing at all!”

“Then don’t handle it.”

“Fine, I won’t!”

After saying this, she yanked her arm away. Long Ziyi also let go abruptly. The car had already driven a hundred meters away, and the police station in the rearview mirror became a small dot. The two sat in the back seat with a person’s width between them, both chests heaving. Long Ziyi even threw the blanket she’d brought onto her knees, and she threw it back onto the empty seat. Yellow streetlight swept through the car in waves. Lu Zimu in the front seat turned around: “Alright, calm down, both of you. Acting like children.”

“Who’s acting like a child? Who in this car has an unclear head right now!”

“You,” Long Qi responded.

“You!”

Long Ziyi’s voice was even louder.

“Qi Qi, don’t respond to her,” Lu Zimu gestured with her lips, “from now on, whoever speaks first is the child.”

Long Ziyi suddenly kicked the front seat. The seat shook. Lu Zimu didn’t turn her head. The driver in the driver’s seat turned around: “Hey, don’t kick my car!”

…

The entire car ride passed with this bickering and commotion.

After returning, she sent Jin Yiken several messages. His mother really had dragged him to the hospital. They couldn’t video call, could only communicate through text. He told her to sleep early.

He also told her not to drop Yu Peng’s case.

“Let’s talk about that tomorrow,” she replied. “How’s your chin? Is the injury serious?”

But this question went unanswered even the next day.

No phone calls, no messages—like he’d sunk into the sea without a trace.

At six in the afternoon, outside the hospital’s glass window was a stretch of orange dusk. She sat leaning against the sofa, phone resting on the armrest, hand supporting her forehead, staring at the screen. Her fingertip tapped the edge of the phone rhythmically. When Long Ziyi came in carrying dinner, she discreetly slipped the phone back into her hospital gown pocket.

Long Ziyi opened the thermos, ladled soup onto the table, and glanced at her: “Oh, still waiting? Any later and you planning to have this as a midnight snack?”

She didn’t respond.

“When I was in my twenties, if I’d been as naive and innocent as you, I might have given you a few more brothers and sisters.”

…

“His family has a solid foundation. They can beat up enemies whenever they want. You’re sitting here worrying for nothing. You think a family like that would let their own child be sued? Before his parents even say anything, you’ve already sacrificed yourself righteously. You really think they appreciate it? Let me tell you, even if you stubbornly refuse to let go, Jin Yiken won’t face any consequences. The tricks they have up their sleeves run deep.”

Long Ziyi muttered on.

“And don’t pin too many hopes on him either. With his background and conditions, if he really commits himself to just you, you’re only benefiting from knowing him in high school. You know? First awakening of love, first love filter—that’s why he thinks you’re the best. If you’d met five or six years later, tsk,” she shook her head, “even if you threw yourself at him, people wouldn’t look at you twice. So keep your head clear. He might fight with his family over true love now, but in two or three years when he sees clearly and knows what he wants, he’ll have exhausted your youth, then turn around and marry someone suitable. What will you have left then? If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be foolish enough to give up even a solid, reasonable case where I’m clearly in the right.”

“I already told him that in high school.”

Long Ziyi glanced at her.

“You giving birth to one set of twins isn’t enough?” She continued her counterattack to Long Ziyi’s earlier comment. “Did you win the custody battle?”

Long Ziyi’s soup spoon hung suspended in mid-air, motionless. Two seconds later, she put her hand on her hip and replied: “Having you is enough suffering for this old lady.”

So she’d lost.

No more words.

Long Ziyi threw down the spoon: “Drink it while it’s hot, hurry up. Someone’s waiting to see you after dinner.”

“Who?”

Wu’er.

Wu’er came with the contract for “Small Town,” specifically waiting until after she’d eaten to enter the hospital room. She was still sitting on the sofa, the contract on the coffee table, black text on white paper bathed in a golden glow from the dusk light.

“Xu Yifen auditioned for me separately. Honestly, her performance was quite good. Your health isn’t great, all work has been completely suspended, and Xu Yifen said she was willing to perform for free. I actually hesitated,” Wu’er scratched his forehead with his index finger. “But then Fang Xuan showed me a video of you reciting lines at the beach. I thought… I’m still willing to wait for you.”

She listened, playing with her pen. Wu’er continued: “According to procedure, I should first find Lao Ping to go over the contract, but Lao Ping said you’re thinking about terminating your contract and leaving the industry. So I’m here to ask what you think.”

“I do have that thought,” she replied. “I want to properly study acting, make up for all those classes I skipped.”

“Last year you really were constantly filming. Well, what if I only work on your weekends and winter and summer breaks, without affecting your normal class time?”

She drew up one knee, half her body illuminated by the dusk light: “But wouldn’t that waste a lot of your time and manpower? I do like this script, but if the entire team has to revolve around me, the cost seems a bit high.”

“Just tell me if you’re willing or not, Long Qi. Don’t worry about the rest. I wasn’t considering profit when I decided to film this—I just want to do it well, so I need to choose the person I really want.”

Silence for a moment.

“Let me think about it some more.”

“…Alright, I’ll wait for you,” Wu’er agreed.

Something she’d been trying every possible way to get for the past few months was being pushed aside just when it was delivered to her doorstep. After Wu’er left, at eight in the evening, she sat by the bed, dialing Jin Yiken’s number. Nurses came and went outside the hospital room. Her hand, connected to an IV drip, traced circles on the bedsheet. After two or three seconds of silence, a voice prompt about the phone being turned off came from the other end. At the doorway, Long Ziyi happened to enter. She immediately hung up.

“Want me to give the head nurse a heads up? They don’t allow visitors after eight,” Long Ziyi leaned against the corner of the wall, peeling an apple as she spoke.

…

“If you can’t be there to accompany and watch me as I grow, at least don’t rub salt in my wounds to watch me suffer.”

Without looking at Long Ziyi, she pulled back the covers and got into bed, proactively turning off the hospital room lights: “Don’t stay overnight tonight. I’m afraid I’ll be annoyed to death by you. Fortunately, I’m an adult now—custody doesn’t belong to you.”

Against the light, Long Ziyi still stood leisurely, biting the apple with a “crunch,” preparing to leave. She finally called out again: “Mom.”

“What?”

She was in the darkened hospital room. Long Ziyi, illuminated by the hallway light, turned around to respond, looking ready to receive her next sarcastic comment. She leaned against the headboard, breathing shallowly and slowly: “If he doesn’t come see me today, at most it’s because his family is blocking him. And his family doing this—it’s not for the reason you said. It has nothing to do with matching social status.”

“Oh, so they think you’re not pretty enough?”

She took another calm breath.

“Yu Peng is an HIV carrier.”

The crisp sound of apple chewing stopped.

“I had uncertain blood contact with him. Jin Yiken beating Yu Peng like crazy was also because of this.”

Outside in the hallway, a nurse pushed a cart past.

Long Ziyi still stood in the same spot, her shadow stretching long on the ground. Long Qi leaned against the headboard, looking at her: “Which family would allow their child to be with someone who might be infected with AIDS? Would you, if you were in their position?”

…

…

The next morning.

When the curtains were pulled open, there was a flash of light, then she was practically slapped awake by Long Ziyi. She turned to the other side, but Long Ziyi forcefully pulled her back, holding her eyelids open. She suddenly pushed herself up from the pillow, covering her eyes: “What are you doing!”

“Come on, daughter, I’ve looked it up for you. Listen,” a notebook was dropped right next to the pillow. Long Ziyi’s hair was half tied, half loose, the hair tie almost falling off. She crouched by the bed, pointing at the screen: “That bastard is an HIV carrier, right? Carriers and AIDS patients are different. Carriers have the virus in their body, but it hasn’t erupted. Generally there’s an incubation period. This period can be long or short. Some people live to a normal lifespan without it ever erupting—their lives are just like ordinary people. And then, look,” the mouse moved to another educational page, “there are three transmission routes for AIDS: mother-to-child, blood, and sexual contact. Okay, we’re talking about blood contact, but you yourself aren’t sure if you had blood contact with that bastard, right? At the time you bit his tiger’s mouth area, he hit you, causing your mouth to bleed, right? Look,” Long Ziyi extended the back of her hand, “the subcutaneous tissue and fat layer of human skin is elastic. It’s impossible for blood to immediately come out the instant you bite down. See, I tested it yesterday. At first it turns blue-green, then the blood slowly seeps out. So his blood might not have entered your mouth. Even if it did enter your mouth…”

“You didn’t sleep all last night?” Long Qi interrupted, gripping Long Ziyi’s wrist. “You bit yourself?”

But Long Ziyi’s hand was completely smooth.

“Why would I bite myself? I used Zimu’s hand for the experiment.”

She let out a silent sigh. Long Ziyi was very energetic, continuing to educate her. She asked what time it was now. Long Ziyi completely ignored her, so she took out her phone from under the pillow to check. The screen lit up. At the same time she saw the time, a message sent to her phone at seven this morning also came into view. Her pupils moved slightly. After reading it, she looked at Long Ziyi: “…Mom.”

“?”

“Zimu says she’s dizzy.”

“Dizzy? Isn’t she sleeping at the hotel?”

“Maybe from you biting her yesterday. Why don’t you go check on her?”

Long Ziyi started complaining about Lu Zimu, packing up her bag and notebook as she headed out of the hospital room. Once she left, Long Qi got out of bed and took clothes from the closet.

…

Even Lian Shao Zi’s “let’s chat in detail another day” turned out not to be just something said casually.

They met at a Chinese teahouse near the hospital, in an independent room on the third floor by the window. Screens surrounded the area. When the server led her over, Lian Shao Zi was already there, hair neatly pinned up, wearing an all-white suit. A laptop for work sat on the table. Her platinum bag rested on the chair next to her. She was looking at the screen, one hand supporting her forehead, the other resting on the armrest of the yellow pear wood chair, as if scrutinizing some project contract. Her index finger, wearing a jade ring, tapped lightly and rhythmically on the armrest—a perfect balance of strength and grace.

Tea on the table gave off a fragrant aroma, steam rising.

…This was the “auntie” Bai Aiting had been dealing with all along. This was Jin Yiken’s mother.

From the moment she received the meeting text message rather than being notified by Jin Yiken himself, she knew in her heart what his mother wanted to discuss with her. She hadn’t expected to see Jin Yiken here either. Behind the screen sat two people with their backs to this direction, a man and a woman in business attire, looking like waiting secretaries. Lian Shao Zi looked up and saw her. The laptop she’d been viewing immediately closed. There was a smile at the corner of her mouth. When she smiled, she looked like a combination of Chung Chu-hong and Gigi Lai—particularly dignified. As Long Qi greeted her, the laptop under her hand scraped against the table surface as it was moved to her left side.

“Sit down, Long Qi.”

After sitting, the server poured tea.

In the midst of the tea’s fragrant steam, Lian Shao Zi looked at her face, studying her for two or three seconds. Not until Long Qi looked at her did she slowly brush her hair behind her ear: “You’ve left quite a few things in my son’s room. The housekeepers collect one or two items every week. I quite like the perfume you use. You dyed your hair teal for a while, didn’t you? A few strands were left on the edge of the bathroom sink.”

“…I’m sorry, Auntie.”

“I don’t mean anything by it. Besides, I quite like the skincare products and bags you’ve given me too.” As Lian Shao Zi spoke, her hand reached for the black and white Hermès Birkin bag on the adjacent chair. Long Qi looked over, not immediately understanding, and didn’t respond. After a second or two, Lian Shao Zi smiled slightly: “So you really don’t know after all.”

“What?”

Lian Shao Zi leaned back slightly against the chair.

“Long Qi, you may not be very familiar with me, but I’m very familiar with you. Every time my son sees me, he has a gift supposedly from you by his side—bags, skincare products, jewelry. You’ve given me three bags from the Birkin series already. He’s bribed me, someone who had no interest in getting to know you, into complete submission. When Aiting was badmouthing you verbally in England, I even felt a bit sorry for you and took Aiting to France.”

…

Jin Yiken, that cunning little schemer.

His own mind turning smoothly and acting without anyone knowing was one thing, but he hadn’t coordinated their stories with her in advance at all. The well-intentioned lie was exposed on the spot. Her fingers tapped on her knee a few times. She saw a box of women’s cigarettes placed next to the laptop: “The cigarettes really were from me though. I heard from him that Auntie also smokes…”

But before she could finish, even she felt it was lame. Lian Shao Zi naturally changed the subject: “Are you mixed race?”

“My father is German, but I’ve never met him.”

Her finger tapped the table surface once more: “I’ve seen your mother’s business card. She’s a senior executive at a Sino-foreign joint venture company. Raising you as a single parent while still developing her career to this level—very impressive. She must have sacrificed a lot to give you a good educational environment. Do you have any brothers or sisters at home?”

“There’s a pair of twin younger brothers in elementary school.”

“I also have a younger son in middle school. You should have met him.”

“Yes, I have.”

“I also have a daughter. The full-month gift for Shao Gao—I heard you picked it out.”

The “daughter” Lian Shao Zi mentioned in this sentence should be referring to Yan Wenjing’s daughter. Long Qi nodded, not responding to her topic. And as Lian Shao Zi was preparing to ask the next question, she directly confessed: “Auntie.”

“…?”

“Although my mother is capable, from childhood to adulthood I was raised single-handedly by my aunt who worked three shifts at a plastic factory. No good educational environment, never learned any instruments, never developed any special talents. My knowledge level is worse than your middle school son’s. Thanks to Jin Yiken tutoring me every day, plus my arts student specialty, I barely scraped into an undergraduate program. If I hadn’t met your son in high school, my education would probably have peaked there. I’m especially, especially close with your original daughter-in-law. You can learn about a completely different me from her. I acknowledge what kind of person I am—I have nothing to do with being excellent, and I can’t be compared with Jin Yiken at all. Now there’s also Yu Peng’s situation. I know what you want to say. Just say it.”

A long paragraph, spoken in one breath.

After Lian Shao Zi listened, her index finger wearing the jade ring continued to tap slowly on the table surface.

“Also,” Long Qi added, “I plan to drop Yu Peng’s case. I won’t pursue it. If Jin Yiken is convicted of seriously injuring someone, the sentence won’t be light. Even if you and Uncle can find a way to get him out unscathed, he definitely won’t be able to leave the country for a while. That would ruin his studies abroad—everything would be wasted. I understand all of this, so whatever you want me to do, I’ll cooperate. The only thing I want to know is, can I still see him or not?”

…

“The Yu family wants to drop the case and also withdraw compensation. Even if you wanted to make a big deal small with such a bargain, I’d feel you were wronged. That child’s injury report is already out—serious injury plus carrying HIV. It seems even if they wanted to sue him, his family could find a way to make him lie in the hospital for the rest of his life. Prosecution really has no meaning anymore. So I plan to do my utmost to compensate you in terms of reparations. You don’t need to worry—I’ll handle everything. Fifty million, not a cent less from the Yu family.” Lian Shao Zi paused here, then continued: “Thank you for being willing to make concessions for my son voluntarily, and also thank you for proactively disclosing that you might be infected. That’s very rare.”

“So can I,” she replied, “see him or not?”

“No. He’s already in England.”

The reply was crisp and decisive, directly stunning Long Qi: “What?”

Inside the platinum bag, a phone rang.

Lian Shao Zi reached in to take it, looking at her watch, giving a brief laugh: “Perfect timing. He’s finally awake. The next part of what I have to say, I want both of you to hear at the same time.”

The ringtone was the iPhone’s default video call request. Lian Shao Zi answered and placed it against the glass wall to the side. The screen quickly appeared. It was three in the morning in England. The bedroom light was dim yellow, illuminating Jin Yiken’s face having just woken up. He was sitting on the sofa, rubbing his face while sighing, carrying a youthful petulance. For the first three or four seconds he didn’t even look at the camera, just asking: “How did you make me sleep like a pig then transport me to England, Mom?”

“I just gave you a sedative injection.”

He nodded, still looking to the side with emotion.

Then suddenly he reached out. The screen shook. The video view switched to another corner of the room, where two burly uncles sat by the coffee table drinking beer and cracking peanuts. Jin Yiken: “What’s the meaning of installing two men in my room?”

“So you’ll listen to what I’m about to say to you and Long Qi.”

The phone’s screen quickly switched back: “You found her?”

When his gaze finally looked at the screen and he saw her sitting to the side, his expression looked like he’d almost blurted something out, but he suppressed it within half a second. His forehead tilted forward in complete and utter “admiration” for his mother, nodding as he leaned back: “Mom, what do you want to do?”

“I’ll just ask you a few questions,” Lian Shao Zi blew on the surface of her tea. “How long have you two been together?”

As Long Qi was counting years and days on her fingers, Jin Yiken answered instantly: “Three years.”

“Before her, did you like any other girls?”

“No.”

“After her?”

“No.”

“The next five or six years?”

“Impossible.”

“When you’re in your thirties or forties?”

“Also impossible.”

“What if Long Qi marries someone else?” Lian Shao Zi put down her teacup.

“Then she’ll get divorced. Her remarriage partner will be me. If my household registration booklet doesn’t have her name on it, I’ll ruin it every time she gets married.” Jin Yiken’s expression didn’t change, like rapid-fire Q&A, completely without moral sense. It made her both a bit angry and somewhat thrilled to hear. As Lian Shao Zi listened, she raised her middle finger to stroke the rim of the teacup.

Then she withdrew her finger.

“Then I’ll let you two get married.”

“?”

She was stunned again.

But Jin Yiken was calm now, sitting on the sofa unshaken by anything, as if he’d figured out his mother’s tactics. His gaze was sharp, quietly waiting for the next sentence. Lian Shao Zi indeed said: “But you can’t see each other for six months. You’ll stay in England and study properly. You’re not allowed to return to the country even once during these six months. Same for Long Qi. Until I get your HIV test results, you’re not allowed to see him.”

“Why six months?”

“The window period for HIV to be detected is six weeks, though in some individual cases it reaches six months. You can stay in contact, as long as you don’t see each other in person. During this time, as long as Long Qi’s test results show negative, I’ll immediately agree to let you be together and never interfere again. But if it’s positive, meaning she’s infected,” as she said this, Long Qi looked at Lian Shao Zi, and Lian Shao Zi looked at her, “I think even without me saying anything, Long Qi won’t let you have any ideas.”

Jin Yiken was about to speak when Lian Shao Zi knocked her index finger joint against the table, her tone stern: “I trust Long Qi, but Jin Yiken, I don’t trust you! If during this period you dare to secretly return to the country like before without telling me! I’ll arrange for Long Qi to go somewhere you’ll never find her! The six-month agreement will also be void!”

She was issuing an ultimatum.

Long Qi leaned back in her chair.

“Do you agree?” Lian Shao Zi looked up at her.

“Mom, let’s talk privately first.” Jin Yiken’s tone was suppressed as he interrupted.

“I’m here to finalize this matter today. Later I still have to deal with a pile of your father’s messy affairs.”

Lian Shao Zi responded to Jin Yiken with her mouth but kept her eyes intently on Long Qi.

“I promise we won’t engage in any intimate behavior between us, but I need to stay by her side. Mom, during this time I must be with her.” His finger pressed against the table surface, not listening to advice, continuing to speak.

Long Qi breathed, her chest rising and falling.

Lian Shao Zi suddenly pressed the phone face down.

The microphone port was also covered. Jin Yiken’s vision and audio source were both blocked. She immediately loosened her hair that had been pinned up at the back of her head, throwing the hairpin onto the table. Her long hair fell loose. In this instant the sharpness disappeared, making her look like an independent, strong woman who finally showed endless exhaustion, exhaling a heavy sigh: “I’m really very tired right now. Old and young at home, not one lets me have peace of mind. You yourself don’t even know if you have it or not, do you? You meeting my son—can you guarantee eliminating any transmission risk? Put yourself in my shoes—would you feel at ease? Long Qi? Jin Yiken is my own son. I’ve raised him for twenty years and can’t control his thoughts and behavior, but at least I want to ensure his health.”

…

“Just six months, okay?”

…

Like a confession, like a plea.

Her breathing trembled. She didn’t speak, didn’t nod, but Lian Shao Zi seemed to have already seen something in her eyes. She set the phone back up. Jin Yiken immediately said: “What did you just talk about?”

“If Long Qi agrees, will you behave?”

He continued asking: “What did you just say to her, Mom?”

Lian Shao Zi gazed at her, earnest and sincere.

“Auntie’s proposal is feasible,” she finally replied. “I…”

Beep—

Before she could say the word “agree,” the phone in her pocket suddenly rang.

The screen brightly displayed “Long Ziyi” calling. Before she could decide whether to answer or hang up, footsteps came from far to near.

Thump thump thump thump, especially rapid, like preparing to come to battle. They interrupted Long Qi’s words and also interrupted Lian Shao Zi’s intense and focused gaze. The second she turned around toward the sound source, Long Ziyi, clutching her phone and bag, “swoosh” charged right in. At that instant, a mental “crap.” She stayed frozen in her seat. Two female servers couldn’t stop her at all. Long Ziyi came in and immediately turned guest into host, throwing her bag onto the table surface, pulling out a chair, and taking a seat.

“Feasible what?” She continued, elbow propped on the armrest, crossing her legs in a feminine manner, facing her head-on. “What’s feasible? What transaction are we making? Don’t you know who makes decisions for the Long family?”

It was over.

Her presence was especially strong. As Lian Shao Zi observed her, she also propped her elbow on the armrest, maintaining a calm and immovable posture in a leisurely manner. Behind the screen, the two assistants stood up. At this moment, Jin Yiken reacted fastest. Across more than nine thousand kilometers, facing the screen, he called out “Auntie” intimately, like a real son. Just as Lian Shao Zi was about to speak, Long Ziyi immediately added fuel to the fire, throwing her phone onto the table surface—bang! Even Long Qi’s shoulders shook.

“My daughter’s face, this figure, this money-making ability at such a young age—it’s only because your son knew my daughter in high school! First awakening of love! First love filter that made him think your son was good! If they’d met five or six years later when my daughter is accomplished and famous, your family’s son couldn’t catch up to her even if he wanted to, you know? My daughter relies on herself for everything. From childhood, I’ve cultivated her ability to live independently! What can your family’s son produce?”

Jin Yiken’s long list of academic achievements and a company’s investment profits from just half a year were on the tip of her tongue, but she absolutely didn’t dare interrupt Long Ziyi. Long Ziyi’s palm heavily slapped the table surface again: “Right now my daughter is ignoring everything for true love, dropping a lawsuit where she’s clearly in the right without a word. In two or three years when she sees clearly and knows what she wants, without your family saying half a word—fine then, I’m just afraid your son will pester her! So don’t sneak around bullying my daughter now. Let’s level our perspectives and speak honestly—are you trying to make a deal with her now?”

Lian Shao Zi’s forehead tilted: “Yes. You’re Long Qi’s mother, correct?”

“Good. Then let’s make a deal,” Long Ziyi completely ignored pleasantries and went straight to the point. “My daughter was pregnant with a child for your son. Even if she’s not A-list, she’s still popular. Your family’s grandchild may not have been born but the bloodline is precious. So name your price for this womb. Come on, first pay the emotional distress fee, then we’ll talk slowly about the rest.”

“Mom, stop talking…”

“It was two.” Jin Yiken in the video added.

Long Ziyi’s reaction was huge as she turned her head. Lian Shao Zi also looked at the video. Jin Yiken faced the camera directly: “So I’ll marry no one but her.”

“Two?!”

As Long Ziyi was about to explode, Long Qi immediately changed the subject: “How did you find me?”

Lian Shao Zi looked like her head hurt a bit.

She didn’t show it on her face, but the tendons at her temple looked somewhat prominent. Making eye contact with Jin Yiken in the video, her right hand hung on the armrest, thumb and middle finger rubbing together, not saying a word.

Long Ziyi suppressed her anger and dropped a line: “Never used ‘Find My iPhone’ to catch someone cheating, huh?!”

That function again.

She hadn’t used this function to catch anyone cheating, but she’d been “caught” by Jin Yiken using this function. And now even Long Ziyi knew her iCloud account password. She was also angry, also about to explode when Lian Shao Zi finally recovered and slowly responded: “This, Long Qi’s mother, you may have misunderstood some things. What I’m discussing with Long Qi isn’t a transaction about how much money I’ll give her to leave my son. Although you didn’t say it, I sense from your emotions that this is your misunderstanding. What I’m discussing with her is marriage.”

“Marriage?” Long Ziyi wasn’t easy to fool. “What conditions?”

“Testing for AIDS,” Lian Shao Zi was also direct. “Not seeing each other for six months.”

“Your son’s responsibility to my daughter is set, but my daughter doesn’t have to marry your son. You say marriage and that’s it? Can this kind of thing be said casually?”

“Then we’ll set the betrothal gifts and date right now. As long as Long Qi’s results are fine and she’s willing, we’ll immediately proceed according to proper standards.”

Lian Shao Zi was very on point.

Long Ziyi’s tone changed: “No need. I only want one thing, kept with me for six months.”

“Please say.”

“Your son’s household registration booklet.”

…

Long Ziyi’s move was brilliant.

Just moments ago acting like a shrew, now sitting in the chair with arms crossed, calm and composed: “This way, this condition is believable and fair.”

And this condition also tempted Jin Yiken somewhat. He changed his sitting position on the sofa, eyes rolling, clearly scheming something in his head again. After five or six seconds of silence, Lian Shao Zi responded: “Alright.”

Then added: “But I need to hear Long Qi give me her stance.”

…

“I agree.”

Before she could speak, Jin Yiken, as if having already considered all pros and cons, finalized it first.

She looked over.

Lian Shao Zi’s expression softened. She beckoned, and the two assistants crossed the screen to help her pack up, showing strong purpose—as soon as she got a definite answer she prepared to end the meeting. She gave Long Ziyi a meaningful glance: “Well then, during these six months, I’ll also spend time properly digesting my future in-law.”

Before closing the video call, Jin Yiken spoke up: “I have something else to say.”

His elbow rested on his knee, looking at her through the screen: “Long Qi.”

…

“I don’t care what setbacks you encounter during these six months, nor what thoughts you’ll have, or whether your final test result is positive or negative. I have only one requirement for you.” His gaze was intense, staring straight at her. “Anyway, don’t not want me.”

…