Rona Muir looked at Cici with anticipation. "Is he coming or not?"
"Yeah, he'll be here soon." Cici nodded, then added, "Rona, I can't shake the feeling there's more to this pile of old toys than meets the eye."
This time, even though she couldn't rope Cici in, she used her uncanny resemblance to Cici to snag a rich businessman from out of town and go as his date.
But Charles seemed to find Cici's cluelessness endearing. His smile widened as he explained, "These toys mean two things. First, he's admitting Ethan is his grandson, so he's passing down his childhood toys to him. And since you're Ethan's mom, having you deliver them means he accepts you as his daughter-in-law. Even though he's left the Yin family, everyone knows he'll always be my dad."
Helen's whole plan was to get into the Yin family and pull her old stunt to force Eric Jiang into a situation.
"The second meaning is for Grandma. These toys hold all my father's childhood memories—and Grandma's love is part of that. By sending these, he's telling Grandma he remembers his role as her son, but he's also saying he's grown up and doesn't want her interfering in his life anymore."
At an event like this, everyone had eagle eyes.
One dress, a pair of shoes, some jewelry, a bag—people could size you up in seconds.
Helen Jiang wasn't like Cici; she'd spent most of her money on plastic surgery, and everything else she owned came from selling herself.
"More kids"—that was just his way of telling her to have a few more children, wasn't it?
When Charles arrived, Cici visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Isn't all this a bit much?
Charles casually picked up a toy, but a flash of coldness passed through his eyes.
Besides, she still had Rona and Sophie Mo!
Because, late at night, damn it, something went wrong again!
Rona's eyebrows twitched and she quickly said, "You two talk, I'll step out for a bit..."
She was so furious she could kill someone!
Rona understood what Charles meant and crossed her arms. "Thanks for stepping in, Charles."
Charles lowered his gaze, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "It's what I should do."
Jewelry and accessories? She barely had any to choose from.
"He probably wants you to bring these toys to the Yin family," Charles said, looking unconcerned.
"But why me?" Cici still didn't get it. "Why not just send them straight to your company?"
Rona couldn't bear to look at how clueless Cici was.
But Charles seemed to like this cute side of Cici. His smile widened as he explained, "These toys have two meanings. First, he's acknowledging that Ethan is his grandson, so he's passing down the toys he played with as a child to his grandson. And since you're the child's mother, having you deliver them means he recognizes you as his daughter-in-law. Even though he's left the Yin family, we all know he'll always be my father."
Cici was left stunned.
"The second meaning is for Grandma. These toys carry all of my father's childhood memories, and in those memories, Grandma's love for him is there too. Sending these toys tells Grandma he still remembers his duty as a son, but also that he's no longer a child and won't let her interfere in his life anymore."
Damn, it's just one thing after another!
Seriously, what is the universe throwing at me now?
She understood exactly what he meant.
"More kids"—wasn't that just his way of telling her to have a few more children?
Who knew a bunch of old toys could mean so much.
Isn't it exhausting!
Cici forced herself not to overthink and said, "Since these toys are meant for the Yin family, why don't you just take them back with you?"
Charles thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll tell the kids that these are from you!"
Cici was about to refuse, but Charles suddenly acted like he remembered something important. "Oh, right, Ethan and Miles already gave you the invitation, right? The other invitation, you can give it to whoever you want. By the way, have you prepared your dresses? For an event this important, you should have at least three outfits. If you haven't, there are still plenty of your clothes at home..."
Cici couldn't get her refusal out, and the topic shifted. "Yeah, I gave the other invitation to Rona. Tomorrow is really important—it's our chance to get back into high society. Thanks to you, if things go well, Danni Cosmetics will finally get some recognition. As for the dresses, don't worry, Rona and I have plenty of experience with these kinds of events. We're all set."
Rona, who had been silently listening, gave Charles a look that was half amused, half mocking.
Three years ago, he used this trick to make Cici dizzy with happiness. Three years later, he's still at it!
It really never fails!
Charles was genuinely busy. Even though he'd love to spend every minute with Cici, right now he had to leave.
After a few words, Charles had his assistants deliver the box of toys to Ethan and Miles, then gave a few instructions before leaving.
Once Charles was gone, Cici rested her chin on her hand and asked Rona, "Rona, do you think tomorrow will go smoothly for us?"
"Let's hope so." Rona said thoughtfully, watching Charles's departing figure. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong."
Sometimes, wishes really are beautiful, but reality can be so cruel.
While Rona and Cici were preparing for tomorrow's banquet, someone else was also getting ready for this event—even though she wasn't supposed to be there.
Helen Jiang gritted her teeth and spent all the money she'd saved over the past three years on a brand new Chanel cocktail dress.
At an event like this, everyone's eyes are sharp as hawks.
One dress, one pair of shoes, a set of jewelry, a handbag—people could instantly figure out your status from all of it.
Helen Jiang was different from Cici; most of her money had already gone into plastic surgery, and everything else she owned had to be earned the hard way.
Cici didn't have loads of money, but she definitely wasn't strapped for cash.
After two years of work as a chief translator, her salary was naturally pretty high.
Not to mention she also had a mysterious bank card with a huge balance.
So getting a few evening gowns was really no problem for her.
Besides, she had Rona and Sophie Mo!
With them around, there was no way Cici would be left out.
Before Cici could say anything, Rona and Sophie had already prepared several dresses for her to choose from.
Still, after Charles returned home, he quickly sent over a few more evening gowns, complete sets of jewelry, shoes, and handbags for Cici.
Compared to how pampered Cici was, Helen Jiang was downright pitiful.
She scraped together all her savings and could only afford a Chanel dress from last year's collection.
As for jewelry and accessories, did she even have a choice?
All she could do was wear some old jewelry from who knows how many years ago—not to mention the quality was embarrassing.
Luckily, most of the banquet was at night. As long as she was careful, maybe no one would notice.
This time, even though she couldn't get Cici to go with her, she managed to use her striking resemblance to Cici to latch onto a wealthy businessman from out of town, attending as his companion.
But this businessman was stingy and wouldn't buy his companion anything new—Helen had to handle everything herself.
Helen's real goal was to get into the Yin family, and repeat her old tricks to force Eric Jiang into something.
With so many people watching, the Jiang family wouldn't dare deny it!
Hmph, she would never let those who hurt her off the hook!
As long as she became Mrs. Eric Jiang, she'd crush everyone who ever bullied her!
Everyone was anxiously and meticulously preparing for tomorrow's banquet.
Sure enough, when Ethan and Miles saw the toys, their eyes turned red with emotion.
The person who delivered the toys told them, "Madam sent these over. These are the toys your grandfather played with as a child."
This was the inheritance of will, the inheritance of family, and the inheritance of blood.
As for how the kids felt, Cici had no idea!
She was nervous herself at that moment!
Because, late at night, something went wrong again!
"What did you say? The Yun Laboratory's data was stolen?" On hearing this, Cici and Rona's eyes nearly popped out!
Damn it, she was so angry she could kill someone!
How many days had she and the lab staff gone without proper rest for this data?
They were finally on the verge of success, and now someone had stolen it?
And at such a critical moment?
Cici quickly changed out of the dress she was trying on and threw on casual clothes, rushing straight to the Yun Laboratory.
She had to see the extent of the damage for herself!
The current experiment was still in the clinical stage, and the final data hadn't come out yet.
But if the information leaked to competitors, it would be a huge blow to Danni Cosmetics!
These staff members were handpicked by Cici from her family's research institute, and she had personally chosen two team leaders.
If the data was lost, even the Yun family's research institute would be implicated!
Damn it, trouble just keeps coming!
Heavens, what are you trying to do to me now?