Before Ethan could speak, Dean Xie's expression had already changed.He did not know the relationships between the people in this room. He did not need to. What he had just heard, a young woman calling the appointment letter he had personally prepared and delivered a forgery, was not something he was willing to let pass without correction."That's because Dr. Vale chose not to take a permanent position," he said. "The honorary deanship was offered to him and accepted by him. If he had wanted the full role, I would have given it to him without hesitation."Sun Xiaomei laughed."Very convincing. You've hired good extras, Ethan. This one has really committed to the performance."The relatives around the table found their footing."He hired a fake actor, that's a new level""All this trouble just for a blind date""Young people today, completely no sense of shame""The old man's acting is quite believable though"Then the uncle, Zhao Quan, stopped laughing.He had been watching the man wh

Tang Sheng completed the handover and left the hotel.Ethan returned to the private dining room.The family he had left there had, in his absence, arrived at a collective decision about how they felt about Ethan Vale. The decision was visible immediately, the postures had changed, the expressions had changed, the specific quality of the room's attention had changed in the way a room changes when the social calculus has been significantly revised.Sun Xiaomei's mother came forward first, with the particular warmth of someone whose warmth has a new engine."Ethan Vale," she said, using the diminutive as though they had always been on those terms, "our family has absolutely no objections to you and Xiaomei. We support you completely. One hundred percent."Sun Xiaomei's father, "From the moment I saw you, I knew you two were well-matched. The connection is obvious."Sun Xiaomei herself was looking at Ethan with eyes that had taken on a different quality, the specific brightness of someone

Ethan and Charlotte came out of the hotel's main entrance.Clara was waiting under a tree across the street, watching the entrance with the focused attention of someone who has deployed a resource and is waiting to assess the results.She stood up when she saw them.She looked at Charlotte.Her expression moved through several stages very rapidly, landing on something that was almost exactly what it would have been if she had arranged this blind date specifically."Son," she said, "is this the girl from the last introduction? I knew the third one would be right. Look how beautiful she is""Mom," Ethan said. "This is Charlotte Quinn. She's my girlfriend. I told you about her before. She's not from the blind dates."Charlotte was experiencing something she did not usually experience, which was a degree of nervousness. She was someone who walked into boardrooms and negotiated with industry figures and managed a major company's operations. She had presented to her father's board at twenty

Donovan looked in the direction the Ferrari had gone and sighed."Boss, we've made an enemy of Stellar Media. That's going to cause problems.""It's fine," Ethan said. "He's just a bully with a megaphone. Even if he controls every media outlet in this district, he can't cover what this place actually is. When the units are ready, people will line up. We won't need promotion."Donovan exhaled slowly, the exhale of a practical man who has worked with optimistic bosses before and has developed patience for it.He went back to the site.Ethan stayed through the afternoon, watching the work, checking in with the crew leaders, making himself present until the last worker had packed up for the day. When they left, they left with the specific body language of people who had come in uncertain and were leaving having decided something.He drove back to the city as the sun was finishing its descent.The next morning, when he arrived at Hargrove's Table, Clara was already there.He stopped in the

Ethan's expression changed the moment he understood what had happened.He knew the tea. The loose-leaf black tea in the plain packaging, he had seen it in the street market stalls near their old apartment in the Bronx. A few dollars a bag. The kind of tea you bought because it was tea and you needed tea and price was the primary consideration.The Dragon Well in the elegant box was a different category entirely. The packaging communicated its price before you opened it.Ouyang Hui had brought one gift bag containing two items. She had kept the expensive one for herself and handed Clara the cheapest variety available, in a plain bag, in front of her own son."Aunt," Ethan said. "What exactly is the meaning of this?"Ouyang Hui looked at him with the flat certainty of someone who does not perceive themselves as having done anything that requires justification."What meaning? Your mother drinks this kind of tea. That's appropriate." She settled the Dragon Well box beside her own place at