Wang Cheng did not concern himself with what Mary decided in the end.
After leaving Duke Austen’s estate, he and Chu Yifeng took the duke’s private plane back to Italy. Emily wanted to remain in Britain for a couple more days to visit old friends she had not seen in years. Wang Cheng would not hear about Mary again until Emily told him what happened later.
When Sophie heard that they were back, she came looking for Wang Cheng the very next day and pestered him with questions about the wedding banquet. For all her declarations that she wanted to be like Mother Emily, Sophie was still a girl in her teens, with girlish dreams of a wonderful wedding and the person she might one day marry.
After a few days’ rest, Wang Cheng settled back into his routine, commuting to and from work with Chu Yifeng every day like an old married couple.
Old Locke still wore the same stern expression, but he now included Wang Cheng whenever he reminded them of important matters.
During this leisurely period, Wang Cheng also met other members of the Aimer family and learned something of its history.
The Aimer family was a large clan, but by Old Locke’s generation its numbers had begun to dwindle. The family still controlled an enormous commercial empire, yet unlike other wealthy families, its members were not fighting bitterly over the business. There were too few of them, and those who were technically qualified lacked the ability to shoulder the burden of running Aimer Group.
Old Locke had a brother. The two had once turned against one another in a struggle for the family, stirred up by an illegitimate son their father had had outside his marriage. Their feud became so bitter they could scarcely bear to meet. In the end, his brother lost the fight, the illegitimate son died, and the brother was expelled from the family. He also became addicted to drugs, which left him unable to have children. He died years ago without leaving any descendants.
As for that illegitimate son, Old Locke later discovered that he, too, had fathered a child out of wedlock. Having himself suffered because of an illegitimate child, the man had ended up passing that same suffering to the next generation.
Old Locke never brought this younger relative into the Aimer household, but every year he sent him money under the guise of a charitable benefactor, supporting his education and helping him marry and raise a family. The man now lived a fairly happy life with his wife, a son, and a daughter.
“Boss Chu, wouldn’t it have been better to let his own blood relative inherit the Aimer family instead of you, his grandson through his daughter? Why didn’t Old Locke do that? Is it really just because you’re Mother Emily’s son and being related through her is enough?” Wang Cheng couldn’t understand it. People from other families fought to the death over an inheritance, whereas Chu Yifeng seemed to have obtained his far too easily.
“How do you know there was never a fight?” Chu Yifeng replied casually.
Wang Cheng gaped and sat upright at once. “Seriously? Something happened before? Tell me! What exactly went on?”
“That illegitimate son actually knew who he was. At first he even managed to deceive Old Locke. His father had secretly left him a letter explaining his identity and asking him to avenge him if he failed. The son had little attachment to his father, though. He simply coveted the Aimer family’s fortune. Later, he got his mother to imitate his father’s handwriting and write another letter, then took the forged letter to Grandfather.”
“And then?” Wang Cheng asked. He had a weakness for gossip himself.
Chu Yifeng smiled and gently brushed his thumb along Wang Cheng’s brow. “There is no ‘then.’ How could a petty trick like that ever work against me? He was out of the running from the start.”
Wang Cheng pressed him afterward to explain exactly how he had eliminated the man from contention, and why he had let him off, but Chu Yifeng refused to say.
June in Italy was not yet very hot, but there was a special pleasure in drinking afternoon tea beneath the cool shade of a tree while gazing across an endless lawn beneath blue skies and white clouds.
A lively, brightly dressed figure came running toward them from a distance, a vivid splash of color against the landscape. It was Sophie, who had recently celebrated her nineteenth birthday. She had only returned from a trip yesterday and had already rushed over to see them. Full of energy, lively and adorable, she was liked by everyone in the main residence. She reminded Wang Cheng of his younger sisters.
Zheng Jingxue was cheerful too, but she often behaved more like a mature, sensible adult. She had opinions of her own and rarely gave her family cause to worry. Wang Cheng was more concerned about Wang Ziyu. She was clever, but in some respects she could be rather absentminded.
“Brother Leo! Brother Cheng! I’m back! Did you miss me while I was gone?”
Sophie stopped in front of them. Her skirt fluttered, revealing part of her slender legs. With her innocent expression and brilliant smile, she resembled a princess from a fairy tale. When she matured into a woman, her charm would surely be extraordinary.
Behind her, a plump butler hurried to catch up, panting under the weight of several packages. They were presents Sophie had brought back. Some were little trinkets, while others were valuable. The gift for Wang Cheng, for instance, was an expensive Swiss watch because she had noticed he never wore one.
“Isn’t this too expensive?” Wang Cheng examined it. It had to be worth at least several million.
“Not at all! Wasn’t the birthday present you gave me even more expensive?” Sophie waved away his concern.
For her birthday, Wang Cheng had bought her a red sports car, the very model she had long admired. Her family had refused to buy it because she could not drive, but she had never stopped thinking about it. When Wang Cheng gave it to her, he set some firm ground rules. She could not drive the car until she got her license, and until she became proficient, she had to take an experienced driver with her whenever she wanted to go out in it. Sophie agreed.
Sophie’s gift to Chu Yifeng was an ice sculpture modeled on him and Wang Cheng. It showed the two sitting on a sofa, with Wang Cheng lounging comfortably across Chu Yifeng’s lap. Sophie had decided on the gift because Chu Yifeng lacked nothing. She had happened to go skiing one day and got the idea. The miniature figures were carved from a photograph she provided, and their likenesses were astonishingly accurate.
“This ice sculpture is wonderful, Sophie. You chose such a lovely present.” Wang Cheng liked it too and praised her without reservation.
Sophie was delighted. She lifted her skirt and gave them a proper little curtsy. “Thank you.”
At that moment, Butler Zhande approached with a mobile phone and respectfully handed it to Wang Cheng. “Young Master Cheng, there’s a call for you.”
“Thank you, Butler Zhande.” Wang Cheng took the phone, expecting a call from home. But the caller information showed the number of the Zhou family’s main residence.
After he hung up, both Chu Yifeng and Sophie noticed his peculiar expression.
“Who was it?” Chu Yifeng asked.
“Butler Zhou,” Wang Cheng said, looking baffled. “He says Grandfather wants me to find time to return to China, and the sooner the better. He wouldn’t say why. I wonder if something has happened at home.”
“Call your parents or your brother and ask. They should know if something serious has happened,” Chu Yifeng suggested.
Wang Cheng thought that made sense and called Zheng Jingen immediately, without worrying whether he might interrupt him. His brother kept an eye on Zhou Group’s affairs, so if anything serious had happened, there was no way he would not know. But Zheng Jingen had heard nothing either.
“Grandfather really told you to come back?” Zheng Jingen had received no word of it and was just as surprised.
“That’s what Butler Zhou said. He told me to come as soon as possible. I’m worried something might have happened to Grandfather, so I wanted to ask you first. Maybe I should take a flight home tomorrow.”
“Don’t panic. If something had happened to Grandfather, Mom wouldn’t be able to sit still, and he wouldn’t have contacted only you. But since he asked you to return, tomorrow is fine. I’ll make inquiries here and let you know if I hear anything.”
“All right, then.”
Chu Yifeng instructed Butler Zhande to book a flight to China for the following day. He had originally intended to reserve two tickets and accompany Wang Cheng, but he had a crucial negotiation scheduled. The other party was a government official, and Old Locke was visiting an old friend and would not return until the day after tomorrow. Chu Yifeng had to attend personally. The negotiation was important to Aimer Group’s future, so he could not leave.
Wang Cheng called Xie Wenzhi to arrange his work, only to be told that Grandfather had already contacted Xie and instructed him to reorganize matters because Wang Cheng would be returning to China. Wang Cheng was dumbfounded. Was Grandfather really acting first and informing him afterward? Why was he in such a hurry to get him home?
That evening, the more Wang Cheng thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Zhou Group’s overseas business was doing extremely well. Although things had stabilized, his cooperation with Xie Wenzhi was going smoothly, and Grandfather knew that. Wouldn’t it make more sense to let him stay longer? There was no reason to summon him back now.
Zheng Jingen called at nine that evening, but he had no satisfying answer. He had found nothing. It seemed to have been Grandfather’s sudden decision, and nobody knew why. Not even Feng Yifan was aware of it. In the end, Wang Cheng still decided to fly home the next day.
Chu Yifeng told him not to worry. Whatever happened, he would be there for him.
The following day, Wang Cheng boarded a plane back to China.