The restaurant cleared its guests with remarkable speed. Once a wave of bodyguards in black suits swept through, the remaining patrons didn’t need much further encouragement to leave.

Rong Qian’s seat was right by the window, and through it she had a clear view of the restaurant entrance, where two rows of bodyguards had taken up positions. A stretch Rolls-Royce glided to a stop outside.

The door opened, and a portly middle-aged man stepped out — formally dressed, with a somewhat guileless smile and a bow tie around his neck, looking more ready for a red carpet than a dinner out.

After climbing out, he extended his hand and drew from the car a slender, graceful middle-aged woman who carried herself with the lightness of a young girl.

The woman wore a soft, elegant floor-length dress with a cashmere shawl draped over her shoulders, a pearl-chain handbag in hand, and jewellery to complete the picture — unmistakably the wife of a great and wealthy house.

At the sight of her, Rong Qian’s lips curved. The way she was dressed made it impossible not to recognise her. That woman was Yao Na.

“My dear, just thinking about meeting Miss Rong in a moment — I’m a little nervous.” Zong Yutang clutched at Yao Na’s sleeve and shuffled awkwardly, looking for all the world like a timid young wife.

Yao Na shot him a withering look. “Pull yourself together and stop slouching. What sort of impression does that make?”

“But you’re here, my darling — how could I possibly dare to look impressive?” Zong Yutang grinned shamelessly, angling for her favour.

At that, Yao Na said with undisguised exasperation: “If Shen Yi hadn’t told me you were a man worth entrusting my life to, I would never have married you. And now look at you — every year that passes, you get more and more shameless.”

“High praise indeed, my darling.” Zong Yutang smiled with an almost bashful sweetness — though in truth, he was a wolf in a lamb’s coat, through and through.

The more he appeared guileless, the more cunning he was behind closed doors. Over the years, that harmless face had deceived no shortage of people. Most importantly, it had deceived him a wife.

Even so, Yao Na felt genuinely happy. Shen Yi had not misjudged his man. Zong Yutang may have been scheming beneath the surface, but he never turned that against his own people, and his methods were sharp enough that even as a man who had married into her family, he had more than enough capability to hold the entire Yao Family together.

It was simply that the man had grown rather too fond of playing the underdog. Every time he appeared in public with his wife, he performed the role of the weak husband deferring to his strong other half, as if he were terrified of her.

“But honestly — I really am a bit nervous about meeting Miss Rong.” This time, Zong Yutang meant it sincerely. There were very few people who could get the better of him, and Rong Qian was one of them.

The other was Shen Yi.

“Unlikely as it sounds, you saw it yourself — Miss Rong really did arrive in Hong Kong today. The people we sent to follow her have already sent photos. There’s no mistake; that’s her.” Yao Na remained composed. She said evenly: “Whatever the case, we simply need to do what we were asked to do. That’s all.”

Zong Yutang nodded in understanding.

But for all the composure Yao Na displayed just then, the moment she actually laid eyes on Rong Qian, every last bit of it deserted her.

The instant she saw Rong Qian, Yao Na’s heart was hammering so hard it nearly leapt out of her chest. Believing in something extraordinary was one thing; witnessing it with your own eyes was quite another.

Zong Yutang felt a jolt himself — but this was the moment that called for him to hold the line, to be the one who steadied his wife. So he took her hand and walked toward Rong Qian.

“Mr. Zong, Mrs. Zong — this is Miss Rong.”

Boss Chen led the way, bringing them to Rong Qian’s table, then stepped back to observe the proceedings from a discreet distance.

Zhang Hao and Lu Huayi were both tense, convinced this couple was about to discover that Rong Qian wasn’t actually the person they were looking for and that the whole thing had been a bluff.

Xu Yang, by contrast, appeared entirely at ease. He didn’t know how Rong Qian came to know the Yao Family, but thinking back to the fact that she was even acquainted with his own Second Master, he didn’t find it strange at all.

Since Rong Qian didn’t know Zong Yutang, she looked only at Yao Na. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

“Yes, Miss Rong — we do.” Yao Na was poised and unhurried, perfectly composed. She offered Rong Qian a gentle smile, and her eyes carried the weight of countless things she seemed to want to say.

Rong Qian tapped her index finger rhythmically on the table, her appraising gaze settling on the two of them without any attempt at concealment.

After a long moment, she spoke: “How did you know I would come here? And how did you come to know my identity?”

“Miss Rong, everything you wish to know, we will tell you — every last detail.” Yao Na’s manner remained courteous, as though Rong Qian were someone of the utmost importance to them.

There were, however, certain things better left unsaid with others present.

Rong Qian had noticed as much, and so she turned to Xu Yang: “Go ahead and keep eating. Once you’re done, head back to the hotel.”

“We can wait and walk back with you.” Xu Yang’s meaning was plain.

Before Rong Qian could respond, Yao Na spoke first. “You must all be friends of Miss Rong’s?”

“Mrs. Zong, how do you do — my name is Xu Yang.” Xu Yang rose and extended his hand. Yao Na accepted it with a polite shake, then turned to address him directly: “Any friend of Miss Rong’s is a friend of ours. It isn’t easy, making the trip here — we really must see you properly looked after.”

“Mrs. Zong, you’re far too kind.” There was a note of refusal in Xu Yang’s voice.

But Yao Na paid no attention to how he felt about it — she simply arranged everything as she pleased, settling the matter with complete authority: “The hotel you’re staying at is a property of our Yao Family. Cancel the rooms you’ve booked — I’ll arrange presidential suites for all of you. From here on, your accommodation, meals, and everything else will be taken care of.”

Xu Yang’s brow furrowed. He wanted to decline, but Yao Na gave him absolutely no opening — or rather, she gave him no chance whatsoever to spend money on Rong Qian’s behalf. Something about it sat very uneasily with him.

What Xu Yang had no way of knowing, of course, was that everything Yao Na was doing had been arranged by Shen Yi.

Yao Na still had a vague memory of when Shen Yi had given her these instructions — his every word between the lines thick with a sourness that could only be described as jealousy.

Especially upon learning that Rong Qian was travelling with three men — and that he himself was not among them. It was hard to say how frustrated he must have felt.

So in fact, even Rong Qian herself didn’t know — on the surface, Shen Yi wasn’t there. But in reality, everything she did and everyone she was with, Shen Yi knew clearly.

In other words, though he was absent, he had still found a way to look after Rong Qian — and to make sure no other man had the chance to spend money on her.

And so Yao Na told Xu Yang: “It isn’t that I’m being overly enthusiastic — someone asked me to do this. So if you want to thank anyone, go thank him.”

“And who exactly is this person you’re referring to?” Xu Yang couldn’t help asking.

Yao Na only smiled, a hint of mystery in her expression. “I’m sorry — he prefers not to give his name. All you need to know is that Miss Rong is his.”

Xu Yang’s frown deepened. Someone Rong Qian knew? And clearly not in any ordinary capacity. Who was this mysterious bigwig?

Could it be that this man was the same one who had sent her the watch?