Li Mochan bent his head to take a bite, but the movement of chopping vegetables didn’t stop.

Ye Jiuliang asked with a smiling expression, "Is it tasty?"

"Not bad," he replied.

Ye Jiuliang pursed her lips in a smile, chewing on an apple, when she suddenly remembered something, "Yesterday, I heard you and Wei Bei talking in a video about Tengyue Group having a cooperation project and looking to work with MJ Group?"

This cooperation project was different from the previous one that Mo Su had approached them for; this time it was Mo Yuan himself who had sent the invitation.

Li Mochan nodded, turned on the faucet, and washed the vegetables in an unhurried manner.

"Did you refuse?" Ye Jiuliang asked.

Li Mochan shook his head, extending his arm towards her, the sleeve of his shirt sliding down to his wrist, "Help me roll up the sleeve."

Ye Jiuliang tossed the apple core into the trash can, wiped her hands, and then helped him roll up his sleeves.

She asked in a lazy tone, "You didn’t refuse, so does that mean you agreed?"

"Not exactly," Li Mochan’s lips curved slightly, "In a few days when I return to Country M, he’ll host a dinner and has invited me to discuss it in detail."

"Mo Yuan?" she asked.

Li Mochan hummed in affirmation, "Since we already suspect the Mo Family, rather than letting them scheme against us behind our backs."

"We should take the initiative," Ye Jiuliang finished for him.

Li Mochan’s thin lips lifted slightly, "The cooperation project still has room for discussion; we need to earn some money for our kid’s milk powder."

Knowing well the bargaining skills of her family’s Fifth Master Li in business, Ye Jiuliang smiled bemusedly.

"Do you know what Achen and the others used to say about you?"

As he set aside the washed vegetables, he said, "I’m all ears."

"They said you’re crafty and deeply calculating. In business with you, one can easily be led astray and end up sold yet have to count the money for you," she said, and then laughed out loud herself.

Li Mochan raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I guess so," she laughed with even more unrestrained amusement.

Since the topic had been brought up, Li Mochan also took an interest, "Then what did you think of me in the past?"

Ye Jiuliang tilted her head, feigning deep thought, "Let me think about it."

Taking a step back, she looked him up and down and teased, "High and mighty, snobby to the extreme."

"And after meeting me?" he asked again.

"Big bad wolf, sly fox."

He always tricked her, whether it was at the office playing games or when he coveted her, gloriously telling her to focus on her studies and not to date too early.

Ah, if only she hadn’t been so young and naive then.

Li Mochan chuckled softly, not at all taking offense to the two descriptions she used.

"And now?"

"A little mean with words, not so great personality-wise," she bantered.

Li Mochan’s gaze suddenly deepened, "How about we go vegetarian today, hmm?"

With that, he pretended to put all the pork ribs and chicken legs he had taken out back into the fridge.

For someone who couldn’t be happy without meat, a vegetarian meal was out of the question.

Ye Jiuliang quickly moved close with ingratiating eagerness, hugging his arm, her smile sycophantic, "I was only kidding, my Li Mochan is the best."

Seeing the skepticism in his eyes, Ye Jiuliang lifted her head and pecked his lips, her casual tone becoming firm, "No one is better than you."

Her words, devoid of florid language, struck Li Mochan’s heart hard.

He curved his lips upward, "Go stay outside, it’s smoky in here."

"No, I want to stay here with you," Ye Jiuliang shook her head, pulling over a chair to sit on.

Seeing this, Li Mochan didn’t insist; he felt more at ease with her in his sight.

...

Coming out of the bookstore, the dingy skies began to rain unexpectedly.

The drizzle was like threads, blurring the street view into a scene reminiscent of an ink wash painting.

Her hand still not fully recovered, Jiang Yisheng was always taken to and from places by the family driver.

He hadn’t expected it to rain, and he hadn’t brought an umbrella when he left the house.

Standing at the bookstore entrance to avoid the rain, Jiang Yisheng watched the passersby weaving through the curtain of rain, his melancholic eyes seeming to crystallize an unmeltable sorrow.

Two days had passed, and he didn’t know if the turmoil on Weibo had stopped.

Jiang Yisheng was slightly lost in thought when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang, pulling him back to reality.

He took out his phone and glanced at it, his eyes flickering slightly.

Swiping to answer, he said, "Wen Rang, what’s up?"

"Yisheng, I posted a Weibo for you a couple days ago, but it’s not very useful, it even made the fan wars more intense," Wen Rang’s voice sounded somewhat exhausted.

"Now we’re constantly clashing with Ji Mingqian’s fans, and the CP fans have joined in too."

Hearing this, a complicated expression flashed through Jiang Yisheng’s eyes.

After a moment, he sighed softly, "Just do as we originally planned."

"Disband the fan club?" Wen Rang confirmed again.

Jiang Yisheng hummed in agreement, "Yes, disband it."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by Wen Rang’s sigh, "I understand. Are you going to post on Weibo?"

"Yes, I’ll post something later on my own," Jiang Yisheng said.

"Alright, then I’ll go and get the other things ready," Wen Rang said,

Knowing that the news of the fan club disbanding would dominate the hot search headlines for the next few days.

Jiang Yisheng offered a wry smile, "You’re working hard."

"Just remember to give me a raise if you know I’m working hard," Wen Rang said in a cheerful tone.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yisheng put away his phone and looked up to see his family’s car arriving; he walked towards it at a leisurely pace.

**

Country Y

As evening approached, Chu Chen finally sneaked back.

He had changed cars and even worn a mask, feeling stifled on his first return home.

He stepped through the door to find Ye Jiuliang and others enjoying afternoon tea, their relaxed demeanor irritating him immensely.

He tore off his mask with one hand, changed into slippers, and entered, "You all seem rather at ease."

"Not bad, actually," Ji Mingqian responded nonchalantly, as if it cost him nothing.

Chu Chen took off his jacket and threw it at him, "Go away."

Ji Mingqian caught his jacket and tossed it aside carelessly.

He said disdainfully, "I’m not your wife, why are you throwing your clothes at me?"

Chu Chen’s gaze inadvertently swept over the table, and the dazzling sapphire caught his eye.

The shape of the gemstone looked very familiar.

His face showed astonishment, "This..."

"Heart of the Sea," Ye Jiuliang said indifferently.

Chu Chen looked at her in surprise, "Where did it come from?"

Ye Jiuliang looked at him with a faint smile, "Mo Lingling said you gave it to her, we got it from the bank’s safety deposit box."

He gave it to Mo Lingling?

Chu Chen’s handsome face darkened.

Mo Lingling must have eaten too many pig brains; she was fabricating lies without any draft now.

"Maybe you gave it to her in a dream," Ji Mingqian teased.

Chu Chen gave him a cold look, "Boring."

"Is this really the Heart of the Sea?" he asked, picking up the sapphire the size of a baby’s fist and turning to Gu Xinuo with curious eyes.

Gu Xinuo smiled, "Can’t you tell?"

"By appearance, it does look like it," Chu Chen said, playing with the sapphire and admiring the radiant luster that filled his eyes.

The luster of this sapphire was excellent, and its value was significant. However, he had only seen pictures of the Heart of the Sea and had never seen the real thing, so he couldn’t be sure of its authenticity.