Mrs. Shang (Matriarch) looked at Sherry Yuan, as if she was seeing Rona Muir from over twenty years ago.
Back then, she was also sitting here, begging Rona Muir to help Sean Kerr.
At that time, Rona Muir refused. Her reason was that she already had someone she loved...
But now, there was still time—everything was still possible!
Mrs. Shang (Matriarch) felt incredibly lucky that she had discovered Sam Shang's problem early on, and was grateful she hadn't said anything too harsh to Sherry Yuan.
As long as there was still time, it was all good. It was all good.
"Thirteen..." Mrs. Shang's smile looked worse than crying. "I'm already so old. Could you do me a favor and date my grandson?"
Sherry Yuan: "..."
What's wrong with her?
Just a few days ago, she was warning her, and now suddenly everything changed?
Sherry Yuan looked up at the sun. Nope, it was still rising from the east.
Mrs. Shang (Matriarch) waved her hand, and her newly appointed assistant hurried over, placing a check on the dining table. "Miss Yuan, this is five million. It's your dating fund from Mrs. Shang. As long as you date our Sam Shang, you'll get five million in pocket money every month. If you think it's not enough, we can add more."
Mrs. Shang quickly added, "Miss Yuan, please don't misunderstand. We're not trying to buy you. It's just a little token from me. If it weren't inappropriate, I'd give you ten million a month."
For the sake of the Shang Family's future, even a hundred million would be fine!
Sherry Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "I think you must be mistaken. There's nothing going on between me and Sam Shang."
"There's nothing now, but that doesn't mean there won't be in the future. Don't worry, as long as you two date—no matter when you get married, no matter how many kids you have, boy or girl—as long as you're willing to join our family and have a child, even just one, I'll treat them like treasures and never make things difficult for you. After you get married, you can work if you want, or just have fun if you don't. I won't interfere. If Sam ever bullies you, I'll deal with him myself, no questions asked!" Mrs. Shang said eagerly.
Sherry Yuan blinked.
This whole situation was getting a little weird.
"Thirteen, I was wrong before. I shouldn't have said those things to you. Today, I'm formally apologizing." Mrs. Shang was out of options and had to humble herself completely. "I'm old, and I don't know how much longer I'll live. Sam is the child I raised myself. Maybe I was too strict, but I only wanted the best for him. I never meant for him to end up alone. He needs someone to walk with him into the future. Thirteen, you're a good girl. Your background may be humble, but your character is excellent. So what if you're a little older? Six years isn't much. They say if the woman is three years older, it's like holding a gold brick. Well, you're six years older, so that's two gold bricks! That's a good thing, a very good thing."
Sherry Yuan said nothing.
Mrs. Shang continued, "I know coming to you today puts you in a tough spot. Please think carefully about my offer. I sincerely hope you'll marry Sam and join our family. Cough, cough... I won't say any more. Do you have any questions?"
Sherry Yuan hesitated, pointing at the food in front of her. "If I refuse you, can I still eat this meal?"
Mrs. Shang: "...You can eat."
Only then did Sherry Yuan pick up her chopsticks again and eat everything on the table like a whirlwind.
If this was before, Mrs. Shang would have thought Sherry Yuan had no table manners—too unrefined, not elegant, not noble enough.
But now...
She eats so well!
Eating a lot means she's healthy!
A healthy body means she can have lots of kids!
What a great woman!
You could tell just by looking—she was made for having kids and raising them!
She looked like the type who could have two kids in three years!
Sherry Yuan felt her scalp tingle under Mrs. Shang's stare. After finishing her meal, she quickly got up and said goodbye.
Mrs. Shang watched Sherry Yuan's back with regret. Sigh, why didn't she eat a little more?
On her way back, Sherry Yuan got a call from Sam Shang.
Sam Shang sounded a bit nervous. "Thirteen, did my grandmother go see you? What did she say? Please don't listen to her nonsense, and don't believe any of the bad things she says about you. I..."
"No."
"What?" Sam Shang was stunned.
"She didn't scold me," Sherry Yuan said calmly. "She gave me five million."
"She gave you money? Did she say she was paying you to leave me?"
"No. She said she'd give me five million if I dated you," Sherry Yuan replied calmly.
"I knew it, she was going to throw money at you to make you leave me... Wait, what did you just say?" Sam Shang rambled for a moment, then suddenly stopped, his voice rising. "What did you just say?"
"She said she wanted me to date you, and she'd give me five million in pocket money every month," Sherry Yuan said, a bit helpless.
Sam Shang was overjoyed!
It worked!
It worked!
Kara King's plan worked!
Ahhhh, I want to scream, I want to celebrate!
"So how did you answer her?" Sam Shang sounded a little nervous.
Afraid, afraid that Thirteen would refuse.
Sherry Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "I didn't answer her."
Sam Shang felt his heart pounding and couldn't help but swallow nervously.
No answer—did that mean there was hope?
"Oh, oh, oh..." Sam Shang replied awkwardly, his mind in a mess, totally at a loss for words.
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up." Seeing the silence on the other end, Sherry Yuan said goodbye and hung up.
After putting away her phone, Sherry Yuan didn't even notice that the corners of her mouth were already turning up.
Sam Shang rushed off to find Kara King. "Kara, Kara! You're amazing! You're like my real sister! Sis, tell me—what should I do next?"
Kara King was busy assigning tasks to her team when Sam Shang burst in, face full of excitement. She gestured to the other assistants, "You guys go get to work."
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"Yes." The assistants left the office one after another.
Sam Shang rushed over, beaming with joy. "My grandmother has finally given in! She went to Thirteen herself and said she won't interfere with us being together anymore!"
"But Thirteen never said she'd date you," Kara King said calmly.
It was like a bucket of cold water splashed on Sam Shang's face.
Right... that's true.
Sherry Yuan still hadn't agreed to date him.
Sam Shang drooped his head, no longer excited or nervous.
"But Thirteen didn't refuse either, right?" Kara King said with a bright smile. "Giving up so easily isn't your style!"
"Sis, what should I do next?" Sam Shang looked at Kara King with hopeful eyes.
"Thirteen still has half a month of vacation. Use that time to get her to say yes!" Kara King laughed. "Do you really need me to teach you how to date?"
"Good sister, please teach me! My mind's a mess, I can't calm down at all." Sam Shang looked pitifully at Kara King, instinctively acting spoiled.
Kara King sighed, reaching out to pat Sam Shang's drooping head. A guy over six feet tall, acting just like a kid.
If she didn't spoil her own little brother, who would?
Besides, she also thought it was a good idea for Sherry Yuan to have a place to belong.
"Let me tell you, Thirteen is like this..." Kara King explained everything to Sam Shang, then added, "For now, you still have to keep up your 'cut sleeve' act. If your grandmother finds out you're lying, it'll all blow up."
"I know, I know." Sam Shang understood how serious it was—if he slipped up now, all their efforts would be wasted.
After sending Sam Shang off, Kara King stood there, smiling softly.
Seeing Sam Shang come back to life, she was happy for him too.
Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.
Ever since things were made clear with Mrs. Shang, Sam Shang was free to socialize, and Mrs. Shang never restricted him again.
She even started urging him to reach out to Sherry Yuan.
"Sam, are you heading out?" Mrs. Shang (Matriarch) quickly noticed her grandson was wearing new clothes—oh, must be the latest style delivered just yesterday.
"Yes, Grandma, I have something to do outside," Sam Shang replied.
"Will you be back for lunch? Or maybe don't come back—go have a meal with Miss Yuan." Mrs. Shang said to herself, "And don't rush home in the afternoon, spend more time with Miss Yuan. She works so hard every day, barely gets to go out and have fun. Buy her some pretty clothes, just put it all on my account. It's fine if you don't come home tonight!"
Sam Shang tried to hold back his laughter and nodded. "I'll try. She hasn't been going out much lately."
"Good, good, no need to rush home!" Mrs. Shang reminded him again.
Watching her grandson leave, Mrs. Shang couldn't help but sigh.
What kind of situation is this?
Since Sam Shang was still keeping up his 'cut sleeve' persona, he couldn't drop the act now.
So he first met up with the actors helping him fake it, openly went shopping and eating, made sure plenty of photos were taken, and only then did he reach out to Sherry Yuan.
"Thirteen, I'm near where you live. Can you come out for a bit?" Sam Shang's palms were sweating with nerves, terrified she'd say no.
Honestly, Sherry Yuan really did want to refuse.
But then she remembered Kara King's advice and hesitated.
Just this morning, Kara King had come to see her, and earnestly asked a favor: "Thirteen, there's something very important I need your help with."
"Go ahead."
"Sam is introverted and was once diagnosed with depression. After years of treatment, he's improved, but lately, signs of relapse have appeared. The doctor said having friends around helps ease the symptoms, but I'm so busy, and everyone else is swamped too. I know it's not ideal since you're on vacation, but I still hope you'll help talk to him and cheer him up," Kara King said.