Since meeting her, Victor Mo wouldn’t say he fully understood Serena Li , but he was certain she was a person of strong principles. He had thought she would refuse his offer to take her home, but she didn’t. From the restaurant to the parking lot, she seemed lost in thought, and he knew she was plotting something.
Serena Li felt embarrassed that her thoughts had been read, but after a pause, she still spoke up: “Mr. Mo, thank you very much for your help this time, but I feel that we…”
But before he could say anything, Victor Mo ‘s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and quickly answered. After hearing what was said on the other end, he frowned, said “I’m coming right now,” and hung up.
Turning back to Serena Li , he said, “I’ll take you home first.”
The carriage was already cramped, and now they were sitting close together. He had just been on the phone with his right ear, and Serena Li vaguely heard the word “hospital” mentioned on the other end. He also said he was coming right away, so it must be something important. So she quickly said, “You have to go ahead and take care of your urgent business. I can take a taxi back.”
Victor Mo gazed at her silently without speaking, then leaned closer. Serena Li instinctively reached out to push him away.
He pulled out her right-side seatbelt, walked around her, fastened it, and sat back down.
“It’s on my way, I’ll give you a ride first,” he said while turning the steering wheel.
Serena Li breathed a slight sigh of relief. When she saw his handsome face suddenly approaching, she thought he wanted to kiss her again, like last Saturday. It turned out she was just imagining things. Given the situation today, she couldn’t say anything more to him. So, the two of them didn’t exchange a single word the rest of the way.
As the car drove off the overpass and the red light ahead came on, Victor Mo took out his phone and made a call. Serena Li recognized that he was contacting a cardiovascular specialist.
After he finished his call, out of concern, Serena Li asked, “Are you going to the hospital later?”
Victor Mo glanced at her and said, “My grandmother just fainted at home and was taken to the Second Municipal Hospital.”
“Is it serious?” Last time Lynn Yan said he was at least 34+, so his grandmother must be at least 80. It’s very dangerous for an elderly person of that age to faint.
“They’re still trying to save him.” Victor Mo’s tone was calm, but his expression was far from relaxed; his brows were furrowed.
Since they first met, Serena Li noticed that everyone around him treated him with utmost respect, likely due to his status and wealth. He also seemed assertive and omnipotent. But at this moment, Serena Li clearly saw the worry in his expression.
No matter how capable a person is, they are powerless in the face of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Serena Li had this feeling before, around the time her mother passed away.
If it were a close friend, Serena Li would have offered a few words of comfort. But facing this man with such a sharp and imposing aura, she didn’t know what to say.
Without further communication, the Bentley quickly drove to the Four Seasons Garden residential complex.
After unbuckling her seatbelt, Serena Li said goodbye to Victor Mo.
He nodded, closed the car door, and the Bentley quickly merged back into the traffic.
Serena Li had just sat down at home when Joyce Wu called her.
“Serena, where are you now?”
“At home.”
“Seriously?! You guys didn’t even go to a bar to have a few drinks and have some fun?”
“What are you thinking! We’re not in that kind of relationship!”
“But Victor Mo wants to be in that kind of relationship! He’s so infatuated with your looks! You two look good together, the age difference is okay, and neither of you is married, so it’s perfect for you to start a relationship!”
“Joyce, putting aside whether we’re compatible or not, I just can’t accept his private life!”
“What private life? I’ve asked my friends in the media, and he doesn’t have any scandals!”
“That day in the VIP room at SOHO, I saw him being quite intimate with a woman.”
“Is that so? I’ll go and find out more for you… I have to go now, my cousin drank too much and threw up in the bathroom, I’m going to check on her. Goodbye!”
After hanging up the phone, Serena Li shook her head helplessly; her friend just loved to gossip.
For the next while, Victor Mo didn’t contact Serena Li again . She assumed his momentary interest had worn off and stopped thinking about it.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was fast approaching, and this year the holiday, combined with the National Day holiday, lasted for eight days. When Serena Li returned home to G City, her father had already come back. Daniel Li hadn’t been back to China for six months, and upon his return, many friends invited him out for tea and gatherings.
That day, Serena Li drove Daniel Li ‘s company-provided car to take him to a hotel to meet with his friends.
“What are you planning to do this afternoon?” Daniel Li asked casually.
“Maybe I’ll go to the bookstore.”
“Is it the one in Tianhe City?” Serena Li used to go to that bookstore often, and Daniel Li accompanied her a few times.
“Yes, there are more books over there.”
“Hmm.” Daniel Li said casually, “Pay attention to the time, I’ll call you this afternoon.”
“Okay, I will pick Dad up on time.”
Upon arriving at the hotel entrance, Daniel Li spotted his college classmate from afar. The two greeted each other warmly, their joy evident in their expressions.
Daniel Li first introduced Serena Li to his friend , saying, “This is my daughter, Serena Li .” Then he said to Serena Li , “This is Uncle Lin.”
Hello, Uncle Lin.
Uncle Lin smiled and nodded, his smile kind and easygoing, his eyes crinkling when he laughed. He looked at Serena Li and praised, “The young lady is beautiful.”
Serena Li smiled but didn’t say anything.
She was beautiful and had a quiet temperament. Uncle Lin was increasingly pleased with her and couldn’t help but say, “The man who marries you will be very lucky!”
Daniel Li knew his daughter was outstanding, of course, but hearing his friend praise his darling like that made him happy. So he raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and said, “Alright, alright. Let the young people worry about their own affairs. Nobody can predict fate!”
Uncle Lin nodded, “That’s true.” He then smiled at Serena Li and said, “Alright, I’m going to catch up with your dad now!”
Serena Li nodded, and only turned to get into the car after watching the two enter the hotel.
She spent the afternoon in the bookstore and picked out several books.
Daniel Li finished his gathering with his friends and told her that they were at a cafe in Zhengjia Plaza, so she drove over to pick them up.
Serena Li arrived at the location, she saw her father, Uncle Lin, and a young man sitting in an open-air cafe, chatting and laughing.
She went over to greet him, and as the boy turned around, Serena Li felt he looked vaguely familiar. The boy said, “So you’re Uncle Li’s daughter! What a coincidence!”
Serena Li was puzzled—Hmm, do they know each other?
Uncle Lin smiled and introduced, “This is my son, Derek Lin .” He glanced at the two of them, somewhat surprised, and asked, “What, Xiao Bin, do you know Serena ?”
Derek Lin glanced at Serena Li and said, “I wouldn’t say we know each other. We just ran into each other on three floors while looking for books at the bookstore.”
Serena Li smiled, still puzzled—when did she run into him? She had no recollection of it; he just looked vaguely familiar…
Daniel Li clapped his hands and laughed, “Wow, these two kids are really destined to meet! They’ve run into each other three times in just one afternoon!”
Serena Li immediately understood.
This is a unique blind date!
It’s amazing that her father could come up with this.
Serena Li felt a little embarrassed after realizing what had happened, but she couldn’t just say she had no impression of Derek Lin on the spot , as that would make things even more awkward. So she smiled again and said, “What a coincidence.”
“Perhaps this is fate.” Derek Lin winked at Serena Li . Serena Li quietly tugged at her father’s hand from the shadows and said nothing more.
Daniel Li sensed it, but didn’t show it on his face. He said, “Since the two kids are so destined to meet and both work in Pengcheng, they can go out and have fun together sometime. It’s getting late, so we’ll head back now. We’ll keep in touch later.”
Uncle Lin nodded: “Okay, okay, we’ll keep in touch.”
Back home, Serena Li looked at her father with a half-smile.
Daniel Li asked softly, “How are you feeling?”
Serena Li sighed. “Dad, didn’t you say there was no rush when we were in the US last time?”
Daniel Li looked at her and said, “Haven’t two months passed already? Xiao Bin is also a science student, and I thought that since you’re about the same age, you’d have common topics to discuss.”
Serena Li pouted and said, “Dad, who said that people who study science have common topics to talk about?”
“Alright, alright, since you don’t like today’s, I won’t mention it again.” Daniel Li still favored his daughter quite a bit. Before leaving, he seemed to have forgotten to exchange contact information with the two of them. He wanted to go home first and ask his daughter’s opinion before deciding whether to let the young people contact each other on their own.
Serena Li sensed that Daniel Li intended to continue introducing people, so she quickly refused, “Dad, don’t try to introduce other people! You rarely come back, let’s not waste time on these boring things. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, we’ll go to Pengcheng. I made plans with Joyce and Lynn before I came back , and I’ll treat them to dinner when I get back.” She quickly changed the subject.
“Okay, I haven’t seen those two girls for more than half a year. Tell them that I’ll take them out for a big meal later.” Daniel Li knew that the three of them were friends for many years and now worked in the same city. They also took good care of his daughter, so they would always get together for a meal whenever he came back.
The father and daughter chatted for a while longer in the living room before Serena Li turned and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Daniel Li sat in the living room drinking tea, sighing to himself, wondering if his daughter was still thinking about that young man, Gary Gu .
He had once thought highly of that young man; they were childhood sweethearts, and he had been incredibly caring towards her during their innocent youth. Their relationship had always been good, but unexpectedly, they broke up after graduating from university. Gary Gu went to study in the United States, while his daughter stayed in G City to pursue a master’s degree. It’s been five years now, and his daughter still has no plans to date again.
His daughter was well-behaved, sensible, and extremely independent from a young age, so he was always at ease. But after all, she was his daughter, and he still had to worry about her. Although she started school early and would only turn 26 at the end of the month, what parent wouldn’t want their child to have a fulfilling life? Especially since he was currently not in the country, his wife had passed away early, and he couldn’t take care of many things, he really hoped that someone could take care of his precious daughter.
“Sigh…” Daniel Li sighed. In the blink of an eye, his daughter has grown up so much. He’s starting to worry about her marriage. He wonders which lucky guy will be able to marry his darling!