Ruby Jiang lifted her chin proudly and said, "James, come on, the Jiangs are basically nobility now. How could you bear to let me marry some guy who isn't even on our level? If I marry into the Yin Family, our whole family moves up a notch. Seriously, if I become Mrs. Yin, do you think I'd forget about the Jiangs? With the Yin Family as in-laws, what resources can't we get? Plus, your little sister's not exactly lacking, right? You gotta have some faith in me!"
James Jiang was definitely convinced. He looked Ruby up and down, considering.
His little sister had always been beautiful, the kind of girl boys chased after since they were kids.
All these years, Ruby never had any bad rumors with men—she was set on marrying up.
If Ruby could really marry into the Yin Family, that would be perfect.
The Jiangs could finally secure their place in Newport City.
James laughed. "I had no idea my little sister had such big dreams. If you've got your eye on Ethan Yin, you know I'll do everything I can to help you out."
"Thanks, James!" Ruby hooked her arm through his and whined playfully. "I knew you were the sweetest brother ever."
"But, I just got into this circle, so I don't know much about Ethan Yin yet. Most of the time, you'll have to rely on yourself. You're pretty and you've got the figure—whether you seize the chance is up to you," James said.
"Obviously," Ruby said, full of self-confidence. "I looked around at the party today—there weren't many prettier than me. I'm not giving up that easily."
Two days later.
Derek Tang waited in the guest lounge at Yin Enterprises, looking sharp in a perfectly tailored suit.
A moment later, Cherry Miller walked in, dressed in a beige business outfit and carrying a folder.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Cherry said as she entered. "I've organized all the info on the gaming company. Here, take a look, Mr. Tang."
"Oh, no rush," Derek said, his eyes lingering greedily on Cherry. The more he saw her, the more he wanted her.
Coming to Summerville today had completely blown him away.
Twenty-some years ago, Yin Enterprises controlled most of Summerville's economy. Now, the company is basically synonymous with the city itself.
Word is, whenever Summerville's leaders want to announce a new policy, they always check with the Yin Family first.
Now, the Yin Family doesn't just control Summerville's economy—they've pulled several neighboring cities into their orbit too.
Nobody dares let Yin Enterprises go under. If they did, it could mean unemployment for tens of millions of people.
That's just how much local influence Yin Enterprises has.
And whenever the Yin Family invests in something, it always makes money.
Ethan Yin these days is even more impressive than Mr. Yin was back then—he's taken the family's business to the next level, and everything's booming.
Yina Yin, the Yin Family heiress, holds a pretty minor position at Yin Enterprises' headquarters and hardly ever shows up. Most of the time, it's Cherry Miller who handles things for her.
Even so, Yin Enterprises set aside an entire floor just for Yina Yin.
Right now, Cherry Miller runs that whole floor like it's her own domain.
She's not the Yin heiress, but she might as well be!
When Derek Tang looked at Cherry Miller, it was like seeing a golden treasure.
He realized he'd seriously underestimated Cherry's value.
If he could really marry Cherry Miller, Yin Enterprises might even throw in a Yin Group Branch as her dowry!
Just thinking about it made Derek's fingers tremble with excitement.
A Yin Enterprises Branch means billions in assets!
"Mr. Tang?" Cherry Miller looked at Derek, confused. Ever since she'd walked in, he'd been acting weird.
"Huh? Oh! I spaced out for a second." Derek quickly adjusted his posture. "Where were we?"
Cherry sighed inwardly, but kept her professional smile. "Here's the situation. The gaming company under our heiress is still profitable, but the margins are low. Compared to other businesses, it's pretty minor. We invested thirty million in initial R&D, then Ethan Yin put in another twenty million for tech support. Right now, it's valued at a hundred and fifty million."
Hearing Cherry talk business snapped Derek back to reality. "But with so many mobile games out there, that price might be a tough sell."
"Mr. Tang, you know, there are tons of mobile game companies on the market, but hardly any have a tech team as solid and complete as ours." Cherry pulled out a report and handed it to Derek. "Our tech team all trained at headquarters. Honestly, we're top three in the world. Those other gaming companies? Their teams can't compare. Here are the performance reports for three famous mobile game companies—take a look and you'll see where our strength lies."
Cherry countered every one of Derek's points, calm and logical, leaving him speechless.
Derek had only wanted to use this acquisition as an excuse to get close to Cherry, but after seeing her business skills, he changed his mind—he was seriously considering buying the company now.
"On top of that, we'll keep providing three years of tech support. So if you buy our gaming company, the tech team will return to Yin Enterprises for three years of upgrades, all free. No other company can offer that." Cherry said, totally confident. "We're genuinely looking to make this deal, Mr. Tang. I've put all our sincerity on the table—it's up to you now."
"It's a big deal, so of course the board needs to discuss it before making a decision," Derek said.
"Of course," Cherry replied with a smile. "If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to our company. Someone will always be available to help you, Mr. Tang."
"Honestly, I'd rather hear it straight from you, Assistant Miller." Derek flashed what he thought was a charming smile. "Wow, it's late already. My bad—I held you up from dinner. How about I treat you this time? Consider it my apology."
Cherry was about to refuse when her phone lit up—a message popped in.
It was from Ethan Yin: "Where are you?"
Cherry's expression shifted, her lashes fluttered, and she quickly typed back: "Summerville Headquarters."
"I'm in Summerville too. Dinner together?" Ethan Yin sent another message almost instantly.
Cherry didn't want to be alone with Ethan, so she quickly replied: "Bad timing—I just agreed to dinner with Mr. Tang. Maybe next time, Ethan?"
After sending the message, Cherry looked up at Derek. "Of course," she said politely.
Derek was over the moon.
He'd been turned down by Cherry so many times, he was sure she'd say no again. But this time, she agreed right away.
Maybe she finally saw his potential and was starting to care?
Well, he was a Tang, after all. No matter how high Cherry climbed, she was still just an assistant.
"Mr. Tang, could you wait downstairs for a minute? I need to wrap up some work," Cherry nodded at Derek, grabbed her folder, and left the lounge.
Back in her office, Cherry checked her phone—sure enough, Ethan Yin hadn't messaged again.
He probably got the hint, right?
Good.
Smart people don't get hung up on things.
Cherry put away her phone, took a deep breath, and acted like nothing happened as she organized work for the rest of the office.
Once everything was set, Cherry finally left.
Derek Tang opened the car door for Cherry Miller like a real gentleman, even buckled her seatbelt before heading to the driver's seat.
"Got any good recommendations, Cherry?" Derek asked as he started the car.
Cherry didn't care much about food and just replied casually, "Nice weather today—let's get some Cantonese."
"Sounds good." Derek quickly searched for nearby Cantonese restaurants and set the GPS.
Not far behind Derek's car, in a low-key silver Koenigsegg, Ethan Yin slowly lifted his head.
So Cherry turned down his invitation just to have dinner with that fake guy?
Ugh, that is seriously annoying!
"Should we follow them, Ethan?" Kuisheng asked quietly.
"Follow them. Just make sure they don't notice," Ethan said coolly.
"Got it." Kuisheng quickly tailed Derek's car.
Kuisheng was a skilled driver, blending into traffic and keeping just the right distance.
Derek and Cherry walked into the Cantonese restaurant, and Ethan followed right behind, picking the table next door.
Derek was still buzzing—if he could get Cherry out once, he could get her out again, and again.
The more dates, the more feelings, right?
"Cherry, is there anything you want to eat?" Derek handed her the menu. "It's my first time here, so you pick."
Cherry didn't want to argue, so she took the menu and asked, "Any dietary restrictions, Mr. Tang?"
"Nope, I eat everything."
"Alright, I'll take charge then." Cherry quickly ordered a table full of dishes.
Cantonese food is all about finesse—every dish, every snack, looks gorgeous and delicate.
In no time, the table was packed with food.
Looking at it all, their appetites perked up.
Cherry had been busy all morning and was actually a little hungry, so she invited Derek to dig in.
Derek used the public chopsticks to pick up a crystal shrimp dumpling for Cherry, and she thanked him politely—but didn't touch the food he gave her.
"How long will you be in Summerville, Mr. Tang? Normally, I'd play host, but..." Cherry started the conversation, keeping things polite.