Royce: "?"
There are five days Royce will never forget in his lifetime.
The first day: The day he found out Lily had gone missing. At that time, he still loved her, so he remembers the feeling of helpless panic.
The second day: The day Lily was brought back by the police. He remembers the joy of finding her again.
The third day: The day everyone around him said, "Lily was sold into the mountains, she must be dirty now." He went from steadfastly trusting her, to wavering, to realizing he didn't trust her at all. He remembers the feeling of wanting to hold and comfort her, but being physiologically repelled.
The fourth day: The day he saw Lily and Uncle Edmond's marriage certificate. He could never imagine the two of them ending up together, and he still can't come to terms with it.
The fifth day: Today, when he heard a secret. His father had just come over when he decided to listen to him and apologize in the group chat.
He understood his father's intentions. If his father didn't step in, he and his mother wouldn't apologize, especially him. Once he apologized, it would mean indirectly admitting his infidelity in front of so many people. But now, with his father apologizing first, they could follow suit to save face for his father. They were forced to apologize, not doing it willingly. They were compromising to his father, not to Lily and Uncle Edmond. Apologizing would end this farce; otherwise, the standoff would continue, and neither side would back down. Uncle Edmond asked his father to send red packets, considering his father's face, giving them an out.
...Nelson dragged Malika into the study, leaving Royce in the living room to send messages in the group chat. He started by sending one for his mother.
Malika: [I'm sorry. @Lily.] After sending it, he also sent a red packet on her behalf, knowing all her passwords because they were his birthday. After that, he took out his own phone, thinking of writing a lengthy message to salvage his reputation over the "infidelity" issue. But he figured if he did, that fiery pepper Lily would get riled up again. With so many people in the group, ending this farce quickly was the best strategy.
Royce: [I'm sorry. @Lily] He then called Nadia, "Send the same message as I did. Just say sorry, nothing more."
Nadia was lying alone in her hospital room, her face still swollen, everything hurting, and her neck scratched by Malika. She was full of resentment, unwilling to apologize. "Even if it's all my fault, I didn't do it on purpose. I never said it was Lily's fault. Your mother misunderstood, wanting to take this opportunity to deal with Lily. She made the mess and beat me up. If I apologize, what will I become?"
The group was full of people sending red packets to Lily, making her already envious and uncomfortable. Apologizing in front of over three hundred people was beyond humiliating for her. If Royce and the others hadn't stayed in the group, she would have left already. It was self-torture to stay in such a disgusting group.
Royce was exhausted. "My dad already apologized. If you don't, it's like slapping him in the face. We are saving face for him. I'm very stressed now, don't cause more trouble, okay?"
Nadia heard the impatience and blame in his voice and bit her lip, not daring to continue complaining. "I understand."
Royce waited for two minutes and finally saw Nadia's apology in the group chat. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, there was a loud bang from the study, like a cup smashing on the ground. Worried they were fighting, he rushed over. Just at the door, he heard his mother's hysterical scream.
"Nelson, you couldn't marry Guan Ling back then because your father fancied her. It was your father who broke up the couple. If you want to blame someone, blame your father. Don't take it out on me!"
"Edmond is your brother, not your son. Royce is your real son. You can't be so biased!"
....When Lily saw the message from Royce, she was in Aria's office. She had brought chestnut croissants from the dessert shop for everyone at the studio to share and then started talking to Aria about the family group chat. Aria was excited about the red packet rain from the sisters-in-law.
"You're amazing! How much was it in total?"
Lily didn't know the total because she hadn't accepted any of it. Since it included collateral and distant relatives, and since Karina had sent it, it was awkward not to accept. So, she didn't take any. Instead, she sent out several big red packets for the younger generation to grab.
Edmond said to keep the group as her tribunal. If anyone bullied her in the future, she could expose their crimes in the group, making them lose face everywhere. Lily thought, this group would be her court, and she must maintain it by throwing money around to win hearts. She planned to send red packets during festivals to win over the younger generation, promoting herself as the best and most formidable wife of Edmond.
Aria admired her grand ambition and threw some resumes at her. "That's for the future. No one will dare mess with you for a while after today's stunt. Your immediate task is to look at these resumes and quickly choose an assistant."
Lily's previous manager was ruthless, taking all the few employees with her when she left, not leaving a single one. They couldn't be retained because they were all people the manager had hired, her acquaintances, and relatives, even the cleaning lady was her aunt. After reopening, Aria had hired a few people: a stylist, a retoucher, a receptionist... but several positions were still vacant. The most urgent was to quickly hire an assistant for Lily, as they were about to get busy, and they couldn't manage without one.
Previously, Aria had shown her several candidates, but she was too picky and hadn't liked any of them, which was frustrating.
...Lily used to rely on Royce's judgment for hiring, but now she trusts her instincts. The previous candidates from Aria didn't impress her.
Out of eight resumes, Lily was on the fourth one when her phone rang. She glanced at the WeChat message.
Royce: [Do you want to know why Uncle Edmond married you? Tomorrow at 9 AM, East Street, the café at the end.]
The phone was on the table, and Aria saw it immediately. She used to support Royce wholeheartedly, but now she found him disgusting. Seeing Lily staring at the message, she hurriedly advised, "Lily, don't go. Royce is definitely still holding a grudge from you calling him out in the group today. He apologized because his father did first, but he's still angry and up to no good."
Talking about the group, Aria started praising Edmond. "No matter why Edmond married you, his treatment of you is impeccable. From the wedding onwards, he's always indulged you. Just look at today's grand gesture, just to vent your anger. Which man could do that?"
Aria pushed the coffee closer to Lily, urging her to stay awake and clear-headed. "A man like Edmond is hard to find. You've got him; don't mess it up."
Lily felt her worry was unnecessary. "I initiated using Edmond for this marriage. Whatever his reasons, I can accept them."
Aria saw her take a screenshot without replying and exit the chat. "Are you going or not?"
Lily found Edmond's WeChat and sent him the screenshot, answering Aria, "Meeting the ex-fiancé alone is a big deal. I must report it to Edmond first, or he'll be mad and make a fuss tonight."
Aria was speechless. Well, she worried for nothing! After sending the message, Lily remembered Aria's earlier comments and sighed, losing interest in the resumes. "You said I've got Edmond in my grasp, but that's not right. Have you forgotten about the short-haired businesswoman I mentioned? Although Edmond is good to me, I feel a strong sense of crisis."
...A short-haired businesswoman? Aria remembered Lily mentioning her amidst the chaos of Mishan's return, not having time to ponder. Now, listening calmly, she felt something was off. "Lily, I think the person you're talking about resembles someone I know."
"Really?"
"She resembles Alistair's cousin, Qin Yingzhi."
Aria greatly admired Alistair's cousin but hadn't met her often.