She lingered in Cheng Yaozong’s office for the better part of half a day, chatting until her mouth was almost dry, and only then did Cheng Su get ready to take her leave. Just as she was about to go, Cheng Yaozong called her back and took a velvet box out of a drawer to hand to her.

"What’s this? I just came to chat with you, and there’s even a gift?" Cheng Su asked with a grin.

Cheng Yaozong was amused by her and said, "Listen to yourself. This is for Xiao Qi. I told you to pick something as a first-meeting gift, and what did you do? You picked a piece of clothing and called it a day. If word gets out that as an uncle I gave my nephew nothing but a piece of clothing for a first gift, how am I supposed to show my face?"

Cheng Su stuck out her tongue. She opened it and saw a little golden dragon inside, then said, "You give him this—he can’t eat it, can’t use it. What’s he supposed to do with it?"

"He was born this year, he’s a Dragon, isn’t he? If he can’t eat it, he can just use it as a toy." Cheng Yaozong said with great swagger.

Cheng Su gave him a thumbs-up. "Using real gold as a toy—if I don’t call you a filthy rich tyrant, I’d be lying."

Cheng Yaozong let out a laughing snort. "You’re heading over to Xiao Ya’s, aren’t you? Go on then!"

Cheng Su put Qi Xiaoqi’s "toy" into her bag, thanked him, and left.

Cheng Yaozong shook his head. Now that she was a mom, she actually seemed even cheekier. The look in his eyes was pure indulgence, as if he really were doting on his own little sister.

Thinking of what Cheng Su had said, he pressed the intercom to the secretaries’ office again: "Call in all departments for a meeting..."

...

Back when Ying Xiaoya and Cheng Yaozu had made their relationship official and were already talking about marriage, Mr. and Mother Ying, wanting to be able to stay close to their daughter in the future, bought an apartment in Guangcheng in their daughter’s name. On one hand, it counted as part of her dowry; on the other, when they came to Guangcheng they would have a place to stay.

The apartment wasn’t very big, right in the city center, three bedrooms, all facing north-south. Both Mr. and Mother Ying were cadres; with the combined ability of the two of them, buying one apartment was well within their means.

Xiao Ya had already taken leave and was resting at home, currently applying a pearl powder mask. When she saw Cheng Su come in, she was overjoyed.

"My relatives from my parents’ side are all here. They’ve opened rooms at the hotel and are busy entertaining them. You came at just the right time—I was about to die of boredom!" Ying Xiaoya looped her arm through Cheng Su’s with delight and asked, "How come Xiao Qi’s not here?"

"He’s at home. I just stopped by Second Brother’s place before coming over. It’s not convenient to bring him along," Cheng Su replied with a smile.

"Only you could bear it. He’s still so tiny and you can already stand to have him away from you?" Ying Xiaoya scolded lightly.

Cheng Su deliberately said, "You’ve got a point. I’ll just go back and take care of the baby then!" As she spoke, she made a show of getting up.

"Hey hey, I was only joking." Ying Xiaoya hurried to grab her.

Cheng Su burst out laughing, and only then did Ying Xiaoya realize she’d been played. She curled her hand into a little fist and gave her a light punch, grumbling, "You pest."

"Let that mask dry first, then go wash it off before we talk." Cheng Su pointed at her face. "It’s flaking off in layers. If Cheng Yaozu sees you like this, he might call off the wedding."

Ying Xiaoya yelped and rushed off to the bathroom. She washed all the pearl powder off her face, applied some face cream, then plopped down right next to Cheng Su and rested her head on Cheng Su’s shoulder, acting just like a little girl being spoiled.

"The big day is the day after tomorrow. How are you feeling?" Cheng Su glanced around the apartment. Red decorations were everywhere; it looked very festive.

"Scared. Nervous." Ying Xiaoya snuggled up to her and said, "It feels different from just dating. I feel like there’s a lot more responsibility on my shoulders now."

Cheng Su patted her shoulder. "Don’t be scared. You’ll get used to it gradually."

"After you got married, how did you and Qi Taiguo get along?" Ying Xiaoya suddenly looked up and asked.