On the other side of town, Fu Zhiyan and Henry Hart were on their way to the airport. Fu Zhiyan sat in the back seat, a laptop resting on his knees, his head lowered as he read. The seriousness of his expression gave his side profile a particularly cold edge.

They exchanged a few words every now and then.

Before leaving the company, he'd arranged for two bodyguards to keep watch outside the old Chen family house. If they saw Cecilia stepping out, they were to follow her from a distance—close enough to keep an eye on her, but not so close that she’d notice. The last thing he wanted was to upset her.

At this hour, the roads weren’t congested, and they reached the airport in no time. Their flight was at 11, heading to Country Y. It would be morning when they arrived, and the deadline for their project bid was the next day. They had more than enough time.

Fu Zhiyan knew that Charles Chase wanted to win this project too. He’d briefly wondered if he should go easy on him for once, but knowing Charles Chase’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t appreciate anything handed to him on a silver platter.

So it was better just to do things by the book.

Besides, Country Y was his turf. Fu Zhiyan was confident, but the outcome was never guaranteed.

The two of them entered the airport, and saw from the flight board that they’d board in an hour, so they went straight to the VIP lounge to wait.

With nothing to do, Fu Zhiyan sat on a sofa and pulled out his phone, rereading Cecilia’s last message. His slender fingers caressed those four characters, as if he could never get enough of them.

There were only a few VIP lounges, and it wasn’t long before Charles Chase walked in.

Their eyes met. Both let out a cold snort and looked away—mutual disdain written all over their faces.

Charles Chase lounged on the sofa and casually pulled out his phone. Henry Hart exchanged glances with the assistant next to Charles Chase, raised an eyebrow and made a helpless face.

Naturally, the two assistants followed their own bosses everywhere. How could they not know about the relationship between these two?

Charles Chase’s assistant was named Lin Yu. He was on the short side, and looked fairly young too.

He glanced at his own boss—good, his glasses were still firmly on his face.

As long as the glasses stayed put, everything would be fine. As long as nobody got into a fight, everything would also be fine.

The lounge was quiet, nobody making a sound, until Charles Chase’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, and a grin immediately lit up his face.

It was a call from Cecilia. He could barely contain his smugness—especially with someone who was obviously hung up on his sister sitting right there.

He quickly answered.

"Hello? Cecilia."

Cecilia Ye had just gotten into her car, wanting to ask her brother whether he'd reached the airport yet. She’d also forgotten to remind him this morning to get some sleep during the flight.

"Brother, did you make it to the airport? It looks like it’s almost time for security check," she said.

"Yeah, I’m here. Still got a little time—just waiting around."

He shot a deliberately provoking look at Fu Zhiyan.

From the moment Charles Chase said Cecilia’s name, Fu Zhiyan had been all ears. His eyes were on his laptop, but he didn’t read a single word.

He remembered how, back when he went on business trips, Cecilia would also call to ask if he’d boarded yet.

Fu Zhiyan clicked his mouse several times with unnecessary force. No, he was definitely not jealous—not at all.

On the other end, Cecilia Ye kept chatting, "Make sure you get some sleep on the plane, okay? The trip to Country Y is a long one."

"Alright, I’ll sleep. What are you up to now?"

Charles Chase deliberately repeated everything Cecilia said, watching as Fu Zhiyan’s face grew darker and darker. If he’d been alone, he would have laughed out loud.

"I just left the house—going to the hospital to see Mom. She’s doing much better since yesterday. She even told the doctor to tell me to come home a little early," Cecilia Ye replied, her voice bright with happiness.

"Alright, after you see Mom, make sure you go home early. By the time I’m back, she should be ready to leave the hospital."

"Okay, that’s all, I’ll hang up now. Bye-bye, brother."

"Bye."

Charles Chase ended the call with a broad smile, humming a little to himself. This was the best mood he’d been in for as long as he could remember.

Meanwhile, Fu Zhiyan mulled things over. Cecilia was out, and the bodyguards should be following her. He shot a glare at Charles Chase, thinking bitterly: How did I ever think this guy was alright?!

Two men bound by mutual aversion spent a painful half hour in the lounge together. Anyone passing by could sense the strange atmosphere and promptly steered clear.

The announcement for security screening finally came over the speakers. As soon as the notification ended, Charles Chase stood up. "Let’s go, Xiao Lin."

Hmph. He needed to get as far away from Fu Zhiyan as possible.

Henry Hart turned to ask, "President Foster?"

"We’ll still be waiting inside even if we go in now. No rush," Fu Zhiyan replied coolly, eyes back on his laptop.

Good riddance. He didn’t want to see Charles Chase any longer.

Later, he’d be thankful he arranged two men to follow Cecilia before leaving—he couldn’t imagine what might have happened otherwise.

……

The two bodyguards Fu Zhiyan had arranged were still waiting in their car, a discreet black sedan parked on the road that led out from the Chase family’s old estate. When they saw that it was Madam Cecilia in the car, they followed at a distance, just as instructed.

Because of Fu Zhiyan's orders, they kept their distance. It was because of this that they noticed something off: there was another car shadowing Madam Cecilia, running between their vehicle and hers.

They turned two corners, and the other car maintained the same distance. It wasn’t a coincidence.

Cecilia’s car entered the hospital, and she went up. The driver stayed waiting by the parked car as usual.

All the doctors and nurses on the twelfth floor already recognized Cecilia Ye—not to mention, she was the young lady of the Chase family. She was greeted with even more warmth.

"Miss Ye, you’re here to see your mother again?" a young nurse at the station called out sweetly.

Cecilia Ye took a box of candies from her purse and reached up on tiptoe to place it on their desk, giving the nurse a wink. "Yep, I’m here to see Mom. These are my favorite candies—try some!"

Every time she called her "mom," her heart overflowed with happiness—a feeling she’d never quite experienced before.

This was her mother. Out of everyone in the world, this person was hers and hers alone.

It felt almost unreal, this happiness.

The young nurse thanked her with a smile. Miss Ye always brought them treats and was always so kind—nothing like what you’d expect from the haughty, spoiled socialites of wealthy families.

"Mrs. Ye’s been looking much brighter these last few days. Yesterday her doctor even said she might be able to go home soon."

"That’s great—please thank the doctors for me. I’m going to see Mom now."

She pointed toward her mother’s hospital room, her radiant smile dazzling enough to make the nurse blink. Truly, she was beautiful.

Through the glass, Ye Jing was awake, her face turned toward the window—as if she’d been waiting for Cecilia to arrive. As soon as Cecilia appeared, she smiled and waved; Ye Jing waved back.

Hopefully, in a few days, she’d be moved to a regular room, and Cecilia longed to finally have a proper conversation with her. Every day, the doctors would relay a few of her words, and convey messages from her mother back, but Cecilia wanted to hear her mother’s voice for herself—gentle and soft, just as her brother had described.

He’d told her that Cecilia’s name was chosen by their mother, who used to be a schoolteacher in the town.

Her name meant: No matter when the morning bell rings, no matter how long the night drags on, the dawn always comes.

She loved that meaning.