Lily Bai paused, thinking it was just her imagination. She flicked the leaf again—and got pricked, sharp as ever.
"Ha!" Lily Bai was overjoyed. "You're back? Your consciousness is back? Evan Lan, can you hear me?"
Of course, Evan Lan couldn't answer her.
Lily Bai thought for a moment, then reached out and pinched one of the leaves.
Right away, she felt Evan Lan gently pricking her—the sensation on her fingertips was clear as day.
Lily Bai started laughing, but soon her eyes turned red. She hugged the flowerpot tightly, and her tears poured down like a floodgate bursting open...
......
Fane family.
Shaun Fane slammed his fist onto the sofa. "That Lily Bai is just too hateful! Uncle, isn't there any way to deal with her?"
Leonard Fane said, "Don't act rashly. If anything happens to her, whether you did it or not, the Lan family will blame us."
"Lan! Lan! Always Lan!" Shaun Fane practically ground his teeth on those two syllables. "How are we Fanes any worse than the Lan family? Why do we always have to bow our heads to them?"
"They've got real power! Military power! And their relationship with the President is anything but ordinary," Leonard Fane said. "Going head-to-head with the Lan family is just asking for humiliation."
"And you're okay with that?" Shaun Fane demanded. "After what happened to Shaojun, not only are you letting it go, you're just watching White Entertainment crush us?"
Leonard Fane said, "You'd be better off finding someone else."
"Who?"
"Colin Grant."
"Him? What's the point of talking to him?"
"Old Man Ames thinks the world of Colin Grant. He has high hopes for him," Leonard Fane said. "With the Ames family's backing and now the President's favor, this guy's future is limitless!"
Shaun Fane's eyes lit up. "But I heard back in Haicheng that he's pretty close to Lily Bai, and once saved her and her father..."
"No harm in sounding him out."
Shaun Fane nodded. "Alright, that works."
Inside a private bar room.
Shaun Fane and a few of his buddies invited Colin Grant over.
"Shaun, you asked me out today—anything up?" Colin Grant asked.
"Come on, our families are relatives. Can't I call you out for no reason?" Shaun Fane joked.
"Ha! Shaun, you're usually so busy, it's hard to even see you. That's why I had to ask!"
"Don't flatter me," Shaun Fane said. "You're a Cabinet member now, your future's limitless. No matter how busy I am, I can't compete with you!"
Colin Grant smiled and dropped the small talk.
"Did you know Lily Bai's in Dragon City?" Shaun Fane cut straight to the point.
"Really? I honestly didn't know!" Colin Grant replied. "What's she here for?"
"She's here to go after the Fane family!" Shaun Fane's tone turned sinister. "My dad's downfall is all her doing."
"Your dad? What happened to Uncle Fane?" Colin Grant put on a clueless face.
"You haven't heard?"
"The All-Trades Expo is coming up soon. I've been so busy, I barely know which way is up!" Colin Grant said. "What happened to Uncle Fane? Tell me!"
"He... got locked up! Sentenced to three years," Shaun Fane said.
"What? That's serious!" Colin Grant frowned. "What for?"
Shaun Fane said, "It's all Lily Bai's doing! She came to Dragon City just to take us down!"