Regarding the incident with the Dongyang fishing boat, Huo Sining didn’t pay much attention because she knew well that no matter how the investigation went, it wouldn’t lead back to her.

A lot of golden spearfish were caught this time. Huo Sining sent some to Huang Hongying, Professor Xie, Qin Shaoyou, and also kept some for the seniors in the Imperial Capital. She planned to bring them on her next visit there. There were still plenty left, so Huo Sining thought about inviting Su Qingqing, Bai Yishan, and a few others to the villa for a barbecue party.

However, Su Qingqing vetoed the idea when Huo Sining brought it up.

"How can a barbecue party be held in the villa? That’s no fun at all. I suggest we go out to the suburbs this weekend. I’ll take you to a place; it’s a resort run by one of my dad’s old classmates. There’s a large reservoir, you can hike and swim there, and it has everything for food and accommodation. The suburban air is fresh, perfect for relaxation."

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining got interested. She hadn’t gone out to play with Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan without a task before. Now, Su Qingqing’s suggestion quickly gained Huo Sining’s approval.

After some discussion, they quickly made plans for the trip. The more, the merrier, so Su Qingqing not only invited Bai Yishan but also two other designers from the Crown Jade Beauty Office. Along with the perfumed beauty Luo Jinzhi and Qin Shui, and Wu Jun’s sister Yaya, there were eight girls in total. After work or school on Friday, they all gathered at the gate of Huo Sining’s villa, packed the luggage into two cars, and headed to the suburbs.

Once at the resort, Su Qingqing had already arranged the accommodation. They rented a standalone villa by the reservoir, with four rooms. Su Qingqing shared one with Bai Yishan, Luo Jinzhi with Qin Shui, and Huo Sining with Yaya, just fitting everyone in.

Since they planned to barbecue the next day, Huo Sining prepared the ingredients the night before. As for the fruits and vegetables, Su Qingqing said there was a greenhouse behind the resort. They could simply mention it to her dad’s old classmate and pick the produce directly, so Huo Sining didn’t prepare those.

The weather was nice the next day. It was already autumn, the sun was gentle and warm, and the autumn breeze softly caressed their faces, making them feel relaxed and extraordinarily comfortable.

While Huo Sining and Luo Jinzhi were busy gathering fruits and vegetables, Su Qingqing became excited when she heard they could row a boat in the reservoir. She insisted on dragging Bai Yishan and Yaya down to the reservoir to row a boat. Bai Yishan was initially going to help Huo Sining, but she couldn’t resist Su Qingqing’s enthusiasm, so she helplessly looked towards Huo Sining.

Huo Sining glanced at the reservoir, noting that the water level hadn’t dropped much, and then looked at the boats, frowning slightly. She said, "You can go, but make sure there are life jackets. Put on the life jackets and don’t fool around too much. If anything happens, come back quickly and be careful!"

Everyone regarded Huo Sining as their anchor, especially Su Qingqing. Now granted Huo Sining’s permission, Su Qingqing immediately dashed down the reservoir embankment like a wild horse, quickly renting a medium-sized boat.

"Sister Yishan, you should go too. We don’t have much to do here, and it’ll be done soon." Huo Sining saw Bai Yishan hesitating and urged her. After contemplating, she added, "Qingqing is reckless. It’s better if you go and help watch over things so they don’t cause trouble."

Bai Yishan, seeing Huo Sining efficiently managing the tasks on hand, thought she wasn’t good at cooking either and would likely end up hindering rather than helping. So she decided it was indeed better to follow Su Qingqing and nodded in agreement.

With Bai Yishan there, Huo Sining felt reassured and no longer kept an eye on the reservoir, focusing on preparing the barbecue. However, after only half an hour, Luo Jinzhi ran back anxiously, shouting to Huo Sining, "Ningning, something’s happened, go check it out!"

Huo Sining’s face changed immediately. She dropped everything and sprinted towards the reservoir embankment. Upon arriving, she saw Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan standing safely by the shore, talking to the old man who rented the boats. Without a moment’s thought, she rolled up her pants, preparing to jump in, pulling off her shoes while asking, "Who fell in?"

The girls all looked at each other in confusion, "No one fell in!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining paused her pant-rolling motion, lifted her head, and asked confusedly, "Then what did Jin Zhi just tell me something happened?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qingqing laughed aloud, "No one fell in. It’s Sister Yishan. She was wearing a mutton-fat jade bracelet, and when we were rowing and playing, the bracelet accidentally fell into the reservoir. We’re trying to get the old man to help us figure out how to retrieve it."

With this explanation, Huo Sining finally understood; she had misunderstood completely.

Due to worrying that something might happen while the girls played in the reservoir, she hadn’t asked for details when Luo Jinzhi came running back but had assumed someone fell in. Now, hearing Su Qingqing say it was just a dropped bracelet, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Yishan, it’s just a bracelet. I have mutton fat jade in my basement; when Master Yan is back, I can ask him to carve one for you." Reassured, Huo Sining turned and comforted Bai Yishan.

But Bai Yishan still frowned, showing a bitter smile, "It’s not just a jade bracelet. If it were, losing it wouldn’t be a big deal. But that bracelet is a family heirloom from my grandmother, and it can’t just be lost like that!"

"My grandmother has always doted on me; even on her deathbed, she secretly gave me that bracelet instead of my brother. My parents were always biased towards him, giving him everything, while being stingy towards me. Only my grandmother doted on me and wanted to give me the best, so that bracelet must be retrieved!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Both Huo Sining and Su Qingqing had some understanding of Bai Yishan’s family situation. The Bai family had been wealthy, but after Bai Yishan’s parents passed, her brother and sister-in-law took over the family finances. Her brother was stingy; even the initial million investment in Crown Jade Beauty was painstakingly extracted by Bai Yishan from him.