Cecilia Gu offered Mrs. Kerr a few words of comfort before taking her leave.
She still needed to update Mr. Henry Hirayama on the recent developments.
They’d entrusted their son to her care, so she felt obligated to keep them updated from time to time.
But just as Cecilia dialed Mr. Hirayama’s number, his hearty laughter rang out from the other end.
"Thank you so much, Miss Gu! I’m truly grateful!" Mr. Hirayama exclaimed as soon as the call connected. "Jiro already called home and said he’ll bring his wife back to Japan soon to discuss their marriage! We never thought Jiro would ever get married—our whole family assumed he’d only ever marry his test tubes!"
Cecilia Gu:
What just happened? Why am I always the last to know?
They’re already talking about marriage?
Hold up!
How could Rona Muir possibly agree to marry into a Japanese family?
Cecilia quickly pressed, "Mr. Hirayama, are you sure Rona’s really going to marry into your family in Japan?"
Worried Mr. Hirayama might not get it, Cecilia repeated herself in Japanese, emphasizing the idea of marrying into Japan.
But Mr. Hirayama just waved it off and replied, "No need for her to move to Japan—Jiro can go to China! Or they can live in Japan if they want, it’s all fine. Rest assured, the Hirayama family will show the utmost respect when marrying off our son—or, uh, welcoming our daughter-in-law."
Cecilia Gu:
Mr. Hirayama, why do you sound so eager to clear out your inventory? What’s up with that?
Is it just because Jiro’s obsessed with biochemical research that you’re this desperate to get him married?
"Don’t worry, the Hirayama family can afford the bride price. We’ll follow all the Chinese traditions. I’ve prepared a dowry of one hundred million dollars for Jiro—uh, I mean, the bride price. Miss Gu, do you think that’s enough? If not, I can throw in a luxury apartment in Shanghai’s Tomson Riviera as part of the dowry—uh, the wedding gift. Plus, I’ve got a few villas in Tokyo…" Mr. Hirayama happily rattled off his gift list to Cecilia.
Cecilia could only respond with a look of shock—she honestly had no idea how else to react.
After finally hanging up, Cecilia decided it was time to have a real talk with Rona Muir.
As her best friend, there’s no way she should be this out of the loop!
Cecilia Gu looked up and saw Rona Muir returning with a relaxed expression. Clearly, she’d already managed to calm Jiro Hirayama down.
Why is she so chill about everything, while I’m over here stressing myself out? Where’s the trust between people these days?
Rona spotted Cecilia waiting at the door, hurried over, grabbed her hand, and started thanking her profusely. "Thank goodness you came! Otherwise, who knows how long he would’ve kept sulking! By the way, did Sean Kerr agree to the treatment?"
Cecilia shot her a sideways glance. "Come clean! Resistance only makes it worse! Tell me—are you and Jiro Hirayama already talking about marriage?"
"Oh, please! As if!" Rona jumped. "Why would I ever marry into a Japanese family and become a little housewife? My whole career is in China, okay?"
"But what if Jiro Hirayama decides to marry into your family? He’s willing to give up being Japanese and become your husband?" Cecilia kept up her skeptical look.
Wow, your skills at roping in young guys are seriously impressive!
The Hirayama family is practically having a fire sale on sons!
Rona froze. "Can you not? He’s still a member of the Hirayama family, you know."
"And what if I told you the Hirayama family is totally on board with this fire sale?" Cecilia pressed on.
Rona went silent, just as expected.
See? I knew it. Those two are totally into each other.
"Cecilia, I’m honestly scared of getting hurt again." Rona said softly, unconsciously pressing herself against the wall. "I really don’t want to get married."
"Yeah, I get it," Cecilia replied. "But Jiro Hirayama seems serious—he’s already told his family about you. I just spoke with Mr. Henry Hirayama, and he’s super happy about you two. He said you can live wherever you want, China or Japan, it’s all good. So as long as you convince Professor Mo, there’s basically nothing in your way."
Rona let out a sigh. "Let me think about it for a while."
And that was the end of their conversation for now.
The next day, Sean Kerr cooperated fully with the treatment.
With his cooperation, the treatment went smoothly, and Cecilia could finally step back.
Cecilia spent two days with Mr. Yun and Mrs. Yun, telling them everything that had happened.
When Cecilia and Charles Yin received an invitation from the Mo family, Mr. Yun sighed, "Maybe this is just fate. Well, we’ll leave you young people to your own devices."
Mrs. Yun added, "Since Old Mr. Mo is willing to give you two a chance, make sure you seize it. Remember, no matter what happens, you must never harm the Mo family."
Cecilia nodded obediently.
After checking in on Jane Gu, Cecilia finally felt at ease.
Three days later, the official invitation arrived from the Mo family—Cecilia and Charles Yin were invited to K City, Y Province next Wednesday for the Kingston Flower Festival.
The Kingston Flower Festival is the biggest event in K City every year.
Every year at this time, tourists flood in, flowers bloom everywhere, and the Kingston Bloom Competition picks out the most stunning blossoms.
Cecilia is obsessed with orchids, so after getting the invite, she sought out Eric Jiang to discuss the flower varieties featured at the festival.
Eric Jiang even asked Cecilia to help him snag any rare flowers if she found something good.
Of course, Cecilia agreed right away.
While Cecilia and Charles Yin were busy prepping for the trip to K City, Rona Muir came over looking miserable, ready to vent.
"Cecilia, what am I supposed to do?" Rona moaned. "These past few days have been pure torture for me!"
"Let me guess—another fight with Jiro Hirayama?" Cecilia teased.
"Yes and no," Rona replied, clutching her coffee cup, looking utterly defeated. "Sean Kerr is trying to pursue me again."
"Pfft—" Cecilia nearly spit out her tea. "Sorry, go on."
Rona ignored the tea spray and continued, "Sean Kerr said after talking with you, it was like a revelation. He swears he won’t make the same mistakes again, and this time he’ll stand firm and choose me."
Cecilia couldn’t help but think Sean Kerr’s logic was truly something else.
Was that really what I meant in our talk the other day?
Why does he interpret things in such a weird way?
"So what’s your plan?" Cecilia asked Rona.
"I have no idea. Aren’t you guys going to K City? Take me with you," Rona said miserably.
"What about the company? If I leave and you leave, who’s running things?" Cecilia shot her a look. "Are you giving up on your career or what?"
Rona looked torn. "Then what should I do? How am I supposed to dodge Sean Kerr?"
Cecilia just gave her a helpless look.
My own love life is a mess—how am I supposed to help her?
"Whatever, I’ll just take things one step at a time," Rona sighed, then switched topics. "By the way, have you heard about Sophie Mo and Julian King?"
"Nope, what happened?" Cecilia asked.
"You’ll get a chance to grill Sophie when you’re in K City," Rona said, suddenly perking up. "I heard Julian King has been pestering her nonstop, making a total fool of himself. You’re in for a good laugh."
Ha! Like anyone here is short on embarrassing stories.
Rona continued, "By the way, are Ethan Yin and Miles Gu coming with you guys this time?"
Cecilia shook her head. "They’re still little. Better to let them stay home with Grandma Evelyn Yin. Once Miles leaves, we probably won’t see him for a while."
Rona nodded in understanding.
After all, Grandma Evelyn Yin is already eighty—she can’t travel around like the younger folks anymore.
And if Miles Gu leaves this time, he probably won’t be coming back much.
So Cecilia decided to keep all the kids at home.
Once they return from Y Province, it’ll be about time to send Miles Gu off to England.
So many headaches to deal with—guess I’ll just tackle them one at a time.
After Rona left, more guests arrived at the house.
Mrs. Zhang came over with a smile, holding a tray of fresh fruit. "These just came from the orchard at the main house—Grandma Evelyn Yin sent them over."
Cecilia nodded. "Got it. I can’t eat all this by myself—wash a plate for me, and everyone else can share the rest."
Mrs. Zhang smiled and nodded. "Thank you, madam. Oh, the girl who brought the fruit is Angela Ma—she seems to have something she wants to say to you."
Cecilia thought for a moment and said, "Alright, have her wait for me in the Grant Flower Pavilion."
Mrs. Zhang immediately left to carry out the instructions.
Cecilia just couldn’t figure out why Angela Ma was so eager to work by her side.
She really wasn’t short on help these days.
Assistants, bodyguards, drivers, nannies, maids, gardeners, workers, security—she had more than enough of all of them.
Charles Yin always made sure there were plenty of people around wherever she lived.
Besides, all staffing was handled directly by Mr. Steward and Mrs. Zhang.
If she got involved, wouldn’t it just make the staff feel like she didn’t trust them?
That’s why she never meddled in these matters.
Truth is, Mr. Steward and Mrs. Zhang kept the house running like clockwork, with the staff perfectly balanced and comfortable.
Still, since Angela Ma wanted to see her, Cecilia figured she might as well meet her and hear what she had to say.
Angela Ma was brought to the Grant Flower Pavilion, where she stood awkwardly, unable to relax.
She’d finally gotten her wish to meet Cecilia, but now she had no idea what to say.
Should she just ask outright to stay?
Or maybe she should be more subtle—ask Cecilia to keep her on for her brother’s sake?
And was Charles Yin coming home at this hour?
Would she get to see him?