The silence in the ballroom was so heavy you could hear the hum of the air conditioning. Diana Song stood inches from Ethan, her eyes searching his for an answer to her question.
When Ethan had mentioned the "forty-dollar motel room," the guests around them looked confused. They didn't know the context, but the name "motel" sounded dirty—beneath someone like Diana Song.
"What did he just say?" Elaine whispered, her face turning pale. "Did that idiot just insult Ms. Song by mentioning a cheap motel?"
Oliver saw a chance to crush Ethan. "Ms. Song! I apologize! He's drunk! He's rambling about some trashy motel because that's the only place a loser like him belongs. I'll have him removed immediately!"
But Diana didn't move. Her heart was racing. That specific detail—the price of the room—was something only two people in the world knew. She looked at Ethan's calm eyes and realized he was testing her. He was acknowledging the past, but his stance told her: Not here. Not now.
Before she could speak, Ethan's phone vibrated. He pulled it out—a gesture that was incredibly rude in front of the "Empress," but he didn't seem to care.
A message from Butler Han flashed on the screen:
Young Master, do not reveal the Lu name yet. The internal investigation in the Capital is not finished. If your cousins know you have regained your status, they will target the Lin family to get to you. Keep your 'shell' for now.
Ethan tucked the phone away and looked back at Diana. He lowered his voice so only she could hear.
"I remember the tea, Ms. Song. Just as I remember the rain. But today, I am just a guest at Table 12. Don't let me distract you from your gala."
Diana caught the hint. He was protecting something—or someone. She looked over his shoulder and saw Rachel Lin, Ethan's wife, watching them with a mix of fear and confusion.
Diana smoothed her expression, turning her "Iron Empress" mask back on. She looked at the surrounding crowd, who were waiting for her to explode in anger at Ethan's "insult."
"He is right," Diana said loudly, her voice cold and professional again. "I once stayed at a motel during a business trip gone wrong, and this man was the only one who showed me professional courtesy. I see he hasn't changed."
The room exhaled. Oh, he was just a helpful worker back then. The "threat" of Ethan being someone special vanished instantly in their minds.
"However," Diana continued, looking directly at Oliver Lin. "I find it distasteful when a host insults someone who has been helpful to me. Mr. Lin, I believe you were asking for an investment?"
Oliver's eyes lit up. "Yes! Our logistics proposal—"
"Forget it," Diana interrupted. "I don't invest in families that treat their own members like dogs. It shows a lack of character in leadership."
Oliver's smile froze. It was like being hit by a freight train. In one sentence, Diana had blacklisted the Lin Group from her empire—all because of how he treated Ethan.
As Diana walked back to the VIP section, she handed her card to her assistant. "Make sure he gets my private number. Not the office line. The private one."
The gala continued, but the Lin family was in shambles. They had been publicly shamed by the woman they were trying to impress.
"You!" Elaine hissed at Ethan as they walked to the parking lot later that night. "This is your fault! If you hadn't opened your mouth about some stupid motel, Ms. Song wouldn't have been offended by Oliver!"
"She wasn't offended by me," Ethan said, his voice flat. "She was offended by him."
"Quiet!" Wesley, Rachel's father, roared. "We are ruined. The bank will call in our loans by tomorrow morning. We'll lose the house, the cars... everything."
Rachel didn't say anything. She kept looking at Ethan in the rearview mirror. Something wasn't adding up. The way Diana Song had looked at him wasn't the way a CEO looks at a "helpful motel worker." It was the way a woman looks at a man she has searched for her entire life.
When they arrived back at the Lin villa, a large, wooden crate was sitting on the doorstep. It was wrapped in heavy industrial plastic with no return address.
"What's this? More debt collectors?" Oliver grumbled, kicking the crate.
Ethan saw the small, crimson dragon stamp on the corner of the wood. His eyes narrowed.
The Butler said a gift was coming, but he didn't say it would be this soon.
"Open it," Wesley commanded.
Oliver grabbed a crowbar from the garage and pried the top off. As the wood splintered, a collective gasp came from the family.
Inside the crate were stacks of legal documents, all bound in gold-leafed folders. On top was a single, heavy key made of solid titanium.
Rachel picked up the first folder. Her hands began to shake. "This... this is the deed to the Riverview International Warehouse District. The one we were about to lose."
"And these," Wesley whispered, picking up another set of papers. "These are debt clearance forms. Every single one of our family's loans... paid in full."
"Who sent this?" Elaine gasped, her eyes wide with greed and shock.
Ethan stood in the shadows of the porch, his phone vibrating. A text from Han:
The warehouse is yours, Young Master. Consider it a small 'office' for you to run while you wait for the Capital to clear. The Lin family will assume it's a miracle. Let them.
Ethan looked at the family who had spent three years spitting on him. They were currently dancing around the crate, crying with joy, thinking they had been saved by "luck."
Only Rachel turned around, looking at Ethan standing alone in the dark.
"Ethan," she whispered. "Did you... have anything to do with this?"