"Their interaction stirred up some resentment and jealousy in Cheng Yunqi towards the woman. She speculated whether she was Gao Ruqing's daughter and noticed that she bore even more resemblance to Gao Ruqing than the secretary did. After a few minutes, she suddenly remembered that the woman was her former sister-in-law, Huayan! Four years ago, she had only seen Huayan's youthful and sunny smile in photos, and she hadn't attended Cheng Jie's wedding either.

Unexpectedly, the girl's youthful innocence had disappeared over the years, her weak gaze replaced by confidence, her beauty now exuding a graceful elegance, like a beautiful butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Squinting her eyes, Cheng Yunqi thought, 'Huayan, I wonder how you'll react when you see your sister-in-law? Will your happy face, upon recalling the humiliation from your brother-in-law, shatter immediately?' With this in mind, Cheng Yunqi, donning a perfect smile, approached Huayan and her companions.

"Hello, Sister-in-law!" Cheng Yunqi seemed genuinely happy to see Huayan, affectionately holding her hand like a young girl.

Except for Gao Ruqing and Hu Er, everyone else was stunned, especially Huayan herself, who, despite being taller and more mature, had the demeanor of a young girl. She couldn't help but shiver inwardly. She wondered who this was. Could she be from a mental institution? Carefully pulling her hand away, Huayan whispered to the secretary, "Do you know who she is? Is she crazy?"

"Huayan, she's Cheng Yunqi, the only daughter of the Cheng family in Changle City," the secretary replied to Huayan's colorful imagination with utter incredulity.

"Cheng family... Oh, so she was my sister-in-law for a few days." Huayan usually kept the Cheng family out of her memory. Mentioning the Cheng family reminded her of her inability to conceive.

Hu Er, with keen ears trained from martial arts practice, heard these words. Thinking back to when Huli showed him Huayan's information, he realized that this woman was the Cheng family's eldest daughter, whom Huayan had never met directly—a former sister-in-law. After four years of being Cheng Jie's wife, she should have seen Cheng Yunqi's photos. It seemed that her recent hospitalization had made her forget some things.

Seeing Cheng Yunqi being pushed aside by Huayan, her perfect smile and intimate gestures finally faltered. Her original plan was to catch Huayan off guard and embarrass her, but she hadn't expected Huayan to be so composed, which ended up making her look foolish.

"Sister-in-law, you really have a lot on your mind. I'm Cheng Jie's sister, so we're family too," Cheng Yunqi said, mixing accusation with an apology while subtly mentioning Cheng Jie.

Huayan's eyes held a coldness beneath her calm facade as she replied, "You've been away for a few years and seem to have forgotten some things... You're just my former sister-in-law now. Since I'm no longer part of the Cheng family, you shouldn't call me 'sister-in-law' anymore."

Cheng Yunqi was surprised by Huayan's unyielding tone. She wondered what Huayan's thoughts were about the Cheng family now. "I'm sorry, I was just so happy to see you that I forgot about other things," Cheng Yunqi, a skilled actress, apologized weakly, seething with anger internally while maintaining a pitiful facade.

Both Hu Er and the secretary were well-versed in the art of verbal sparring and conspiracy. If they hadn't already known Huayan, they might have been misled by Cheng Yunqi's appearance of being bullied by Huayan. Now, they watched Cheng Yunqi's perfect performance like it was a show. Among them, Gao Ruqing had been silent from the beginning, observing everything. In his opinion, these things ultimately required Huayan to learn self-protection and retaliation.

When Huayan calmly shut down Cheng Yunqi's attempt to cause trouble and didn't get angry at Cheng Yunqi's petty tricks, he couldn't help but admire her composure. It was almost time. He spoke up, "Yunqi is now the full representative of the Cheng family's cooperation with the company. She's a force to be reckoned with."

Hearing Gao Ruqing's high praise, Cheng Yunqi's eyebrows finally relaxed, and she smiled modestly, though there was a hint of pride in her eyes.

"Yan, you used to be interested in jadeite materials. I've learned a bit from Mr. Gao. Do you want me to accompany you and explore?"

"Call me Huayan. 'Yan' makes it seem like you're my elder, just like Mr. Gao. Also, Mr. Gao is my teacher in stone gambling. Do you think you can surpass him?" Huayan tried to discern Cheng Yunqi's intentions, sensing that she wanted to taunt her privately. She found it childish and had no interest in playing along.

Just then, Hu Er, who had been observing, interjected, "Miss Huayan, don't you still need to buy gifts for your family?"

"Ah, Mr. Gao, Mr. Secretary, let's continue our conversation next time. I'll take my leave first."

"Sure, after I finish up here, let's chat in Haibin City." Gao Ruqing also realized that Huayan didn't want to stay in Cheng Yunqi's presence.

"Huayan, you haven't introduced this friend to us yet?" Unable to contain her urgent feelings, Cheng Yunqi pointed at Hu Er beside Huayan and asked.

Huayan furrowed her brows, not understanding why the shrewd Cheng Yunqi would say such reckless words. It seemed that there was something about Hu Er that Cheng Yunqi was particularly eager to know. Looking at Hu Er, however, she couldn't discern anything special about him that would make Cheng Yunqi so curious. "This is my friend," she said, about to leave.

Hu Er, seeing Huayan's evident dislike for Cheng Yunqi, decided that if she didn't like her, neither would he. From a young age, he had been taught that if the master didn't like someone, they shouldn't either. Regarding future cooperation opportunities with the Cheng family, Hu Li had made it clear after seeing Huayan's information that their investment in Haibin City did not include the Cheng family. So, even though Cheng Yunqi looked at him eagerly just now, he pretended not to notice.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Gao Ruqing also couldn't understand why the usually tactful Cheng Yunqi seemed so determined to know who Hu Er was today. The secretary cast a disdainful glance at Cheng Yunqi, silently observing the situation.

Having finally encountered someone who bore such a resemblance to that man, Cheng Yunqi was fascinated and took a few steps forward, grabbing Hu Er's sleeve as if possessed. "May I ask your name? Do you have any brothers?" she inquired.

"Miss, please let go," Hu Er raised his eyebrow, his face growing serious. He could feel her grip on his clothes was particularly strong, as if she wouldn't let go until she got an answer. But such tactics wouldn't work on the resolute Hu Er. After waiting for a moment and seeing Cheng Yunqi still not release her grip, Hu Er raised his eyebrow twice and suddenly applied pressure to her wrist. Cheng Yunqi screamed in pain and let go, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Hu Er, as if accusing him of being too harsh.

"You..." Cheng Yunqi's anger, reproach, and pleading filled her beautiful eyes. "I didn't mean any harm. I just lost contact with a friend. You just happen to look a lot like him. I..." A deep sense of loss enveloped her, and Hu Er hesitated for a moment, then remained silent, following Huayan as they left.

Cheng Yunqi wanted to chase after them, but the secretary, under Gao Ruqing's gaze, happened to support Cheng Yunqi and asked, "Miss Cheng, do you want to go to the hospital and have your hand looked at?" The secretary himself hadn't seen how Hu Er made his move just now.

Cheng Yunqi didn't appreciate the secretary's kindness and shook off his hand before rushing out of the wool exhibition hall. Despite almost tripping over her own dress several times, she persisted.

At this point, many guests were no longer paying attention to the wool materials, instead watching this scene unfold. Wang Wengang, the man who organized the public plate, had heard Gao Ruqing introduce Cheng Yunqi earlier as a beautiful and intelligent woman. Now, seeing her panic and run out, both Gao Ruqing and his secretary remained still, as if they weren't worried about Cheng Yunqi at all, either because they knew what had happened to her or because they knew she wouldn't be in danger.

He wanted to go and ask, but because Cheng Yunqi's image, so beautiful as if she had stepped out of a painting, had been haunting his mind since earlier, he hesitated for a moment. He had never been afraid to challenge Gao Ruqing's authority before, but now his influence was even smaller. Besides, he was worried that his thoughts might be revealed in Gao Ruqing's eyes.

Anyway, sooner or later, the Cheng family would encounter him in the stone gambling world. In order to enjoy Cheng Yunqi's mature body, even if he offended the Cheng family, he would still enjoy it first.

In fact, Wang Wen also had a lustful thought about Huayan just now, but after being discovered by Hu Er and seeing his cold stare, he understood very well that his life was worthless in the other's hands, easier to kill him than to kill an ant. Such blatant danger made Wang Wen temporarily put aside his lustful thoughts about the beautiful and kind-hearted Huayan.

"Boss, look at Wang Wen's lecherous look again!" the secretary glanced at Wang Wen and whispered to Gao Ruqing.

Gao Ruqing laughed and scolded, "You have no filter on your mouth, like a woman. No wonder Yan treats you like her good sister. Haha." Seeing the secretary's face turn darker, he immediately stopped joking and said seriously, "He's always been like that, and you saw Cheng Yunqi's seductive gestures just now. With such a charming woman, how could an old lecher resist?"

"That's her own fault!"

"Hey, it's not all her fault. Didn't you see the lustful look Wang Wen gave Yan just now? I was thinking of warning him later, but I didn't expect Hu Er, that young man, to warn him first."

The secretary was too preoccupied with Huayan to notice this scene. Curiously, he asked, "How did Hu Er warn him? Wasn't he with us all the time?"

Gao Ruqing didn't speak but repeated Hu Er's actions from earlier. The secretary, amazed, whispered, "Could he be from the underworld?" Only people from the underworld sometimes warn others directly like this.

"I don't know. Hu Er's background is still unclear. But based on his usual behavior, he should just be a servant appreciated by some old family for several hundred years."

"Is that so? Then why is he so familiar with Huayan, and more importantly, so respectful?" "Could it be..."

"You're thinking too much, this isn't Huayan's master. As for why he's so respectful to her, I don't know. But no matter what, it's not harmful to that girl." At this moment, Gao Ruqing remembered the strange boss in Myanmar who said that it was because of Huayan that he made an exception and reminded him to buy that piece of Fortune and Longevity wool. Suddenly, he speculated whether Hu Er and that strange boss might also know each other?

"Boss, can I ask you an indiscreet question?" the secretary inquired.

Gao Ruqing smiled indulgently where no one could see and said, "What do you want to ask now?" He looked at the secretary hesitating and encouraged, "Go ahead."

"Why are you so good to Miss Huayan, treating her like a close elder or confidant, and without any ulterior motives? I just can't understand it. I've heard complaints from your family members about it."

Gao Ruqing pondered for a moment before explaining slowly, "I treat the girl differently because of her temperament, which suits my taste in character and behavior. And also because I met her at the right time, at an age and experience when I could appreciate her. A few years earlier, I would have seen benefits as everything in life, but as I've grown older and seen more, I've become more indifferent. Old people tend to feel lonely, and deep down they all hope for a child or a true friend like Miss Huayan, to banter with and have tea together in their leisure time. I know you may not understand all this now, but as you grow older, you'll come to understand. You're better than those in my family, and I hope you won't disappoint me."

The secretary now admired Gao Ruqing even more, and he nodded heavily in gratitude for Gao Ruqing's high expectations of him.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yunqi had a rough time making her way out, stumbling and grazing her arm as she fell due to her ten-centimeter-high heels. Nevertheless, she managed to catch up to Huayan and the others. Huayan looked at Cheng Yunqi standing awkwardly before her, then glanced straight at Hu Er, stepping aside to observe.

Hu Er furrowed his brows in annoyance at Cheng Yunqi's persistence. However, when Cheng Yunqi pulled out a delicately carved antique pocket watch from her handbag, his initially dark expression suddenly changed. Looking at Cheng Yunqi's expression, Hu Er's demeanor became complex, as if he, who had always been in control, suddenly didn't know how to deal with Cheng Yunqi.

Noticing Hu Er's reaction, Cheng Yunqi eagerly asked, "You recognize this pocket watch, don't you? Where is its owner now? Please tell me, I've been searching for him for so long, so long!" Cheng Yunqi's happiness turned into tears, perhaps recalling something as she spoke.

Instead of answering Cheng Yunqi, Hu Er's expression turned worried and pained, and he glanced at Huayan. This pocket watch was Hu Li's personal item, never leaving his side. Now that such an important item appeared in Cheng Yunqi's hands, if it wasn't personally given to her by Hu Li, he didn't know what could have led to its presence here. His mind was in turmoil, unsure of what to do.

"Miss Huayan, please wait here for a moment. I need to make a phone call!" Hu Er could only notify Hu Li and request instructions regarding this matter. He apologized to Huayan and then walked away to make a call nearby.