Weiluoya looked at the panic on Xialvdi’s face that she hadn’t had time to hide, then at the agreement in her own hand, and silently lowered her opinion of the other woman in her mind.
She only needed a partner in name.
The other woman didn’t seem troublesome, and whether she was smart or not didn’t seem that important.
“Alright.”
Weiluoya nodded and put the agreement back into her small bag.
“My carriage is downstairs.”
Xialvdi hadn’t yet recovered from her earlier slip of the tongue when she heard Weiluoya’s decisive answer.
She was stunned for a moment, and then wild joy surged in her eyes.
‘Success!’
She forcefully suppressed the urge to pick the person up and spin her around three times right there.
Maintaining an elegant posture, she stood up and extended her hand to Weiluoya.
“Then, my fiancée, please.”
Weiluoya gave a slightly speechless look at the hand wearing the black glove.
Then she simply lifted her skirt and walked around the table, heading toward the elevator herself.
Xialvdi’s hand remained awkwardly in midair.
Liya, following behind Weiluoya, shot her a complex look as she passed, a mixture of sympathy and “you still have a long way to go.”
The carriage rode smoothly on the way home.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was a bit delicate.
Xialvdi tried to speak several times, but was stopped by the sight of Weiluoya absorbed in reading a book.
She had no choice but to sit up straight, staring intently at Weiluoya’s profile, as if she wanted to engrave every detail of that face into her soul.
The Cromwell family mansion was located in the most expensive area of the city.
When the familiar carriage drove into the courtyard, Arthur Cromwell immediately rushed out of the living room.
He adjusted his bow tie, a hopeful smile on his face, ready to welcome an excellent and perfect man who could keep his daughter in check.
The carriage door opened.
He saw his daughter step down first, still with that expressionless face.
That was normal; he was used to it.
Then, a woman in a black suit, tall and straight, with black hair and black eyes, very beautiful, also stepped down, and very naturally stood beside Weiluoya.
The smile on Arthur’s face froze.
“Father.”
Weiluoya lifted her skirt and walked to him, then pointed at Xialvdi beside her.
“This is Xialvdi. My marriage partner.”
Arthur felt his vision go dark.
He held onto the doorframe to barely keep from fainting on the spot.
He pointed at Xialvdi, then at Weiluoya, his lips trembling, unable to speak.
“Ah… Holy shit…”
He made an incomprehensible sound from his mouth, like a steam engine leaking air.
“My precious daughter!”
“What sin has the Cromwell family committed!”
Arthur finally recovered.
He clutched his chest and let out a mournful cry.
“Your brother likes men, that’s one thing, but this…”
He looked at Weiluoya with deep pain.
“How did you also find a woman? Is the family line going to end with my generation?”
Weiluoya looked at her father’s expression as if the sky was falling, and tilted her head in confusion.
“Father, didn’t you say as long as I don’t follow my brother in liking men, it would be fine?”
Arthur was choked up.
He remembered that he had indeed said something like that that morning, but that wasn’t what he meant!
“Good day, Mr. Cromwell.”
Just as Arthur was about to continue his tragic speech, Xialvdi stepped forward and bowed slightly.
“It’s presumptuous of me to visit.”
Her voice was steady and pleasant, her posture elegant and proper, without a single fault.
Arthur’s anger was forcefully choked back by this polite greeting.
Xialvdi’s gaze fell on the family badge made of gold and diamonds on Arthur’s chest.
“The craftsmanship of this badge is truly exquisite, especially the setting of the main diamond. It uses the long-lost Star Track Setting method, which maximizes the diamond’s fire.”
As the biggest jeweler in Golden City, Arthur’s obsession with jewelry was etched into his bones.
Xialvdi’s single sentence precisely scratched his itch.
“Oh? You know about this?”
He looked at Xialvdi suspiciously.
“Just a little.”
Xialvdi smiled modestly.
“My father was a clockmaker in the city and also had some knowledge of jewelry.”
She paused, then added.
“My father’s name is Albert Van Dorn.”
Arthur’s expression instantly changed.
He stared at Xialvdi with wide eyes, his voice full of disbelief.
“You are Albert’s daughter?”
Xialvdi nodded.
“My God.”
Arthur murmured, the shock on his face slowly turning into a complex expression.
“We… we used to be good friends.”
He looked at Xialvdi, then at his daughter.
His expression changed several times, finally turning into a long sigh.
He waved his hand.
“Forget it, forget it. Come in.”
He turned and walked into the living room, his back looking a bit desolate.
“Your mother was right. As long as it’s your own choice, it’s fine.”
Arthur Cromwell led the two into the living room.
The expression of the sky falling had not yet completely faded.
He plopped down into the softest single sofa, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
Liya, as if nothing had happened, quietly walked to the counter and began preparing black tea.
The metal utensils clinked with a crisp sound.
Xialvdi stood quietly in the center of the living room, looking around this excessively luxurious room.
Her gaze finally landed on the man on the sofa, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
“Is Albert still doing well?”
Arthur finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse.
He rubbed his temples, as if trying to knead some absurd reality out of his mind.
“My father passed away five years ago.”
Xialvdi answered softly, her tone calm, without much sadness.
Arthur’s movements stopped.
He looked up, and the gaze he gave Xialvdi became even more complex, with surprise, regret, and a hint of commiserating desolation.
“Sorry.”
He said.
“He was a good man. We once studied the most complex movements together at the Clockmakers’ Association. He always said that even the most precise gear cannot compare to the unpredictability of the human heart.”
Arthur let out a long sigh.
He waved his hand to signal Liya to bring the tea, then turned his gaze to Weiluoya, who was curiously studying a Star Track Map on the wall.
“Miss Xialvdi.”
Arthur’s tone turned serious.
He pointed at his daughter.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but since you are the daughter of my old friend, I have no choice but to accept it.”
He leaned forward, using a tone of entrustment, and lowered his voice.
“But I have to warn you, this daughter of mine, she’s a bit special.”
Xialvdi’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
She knew what Arthur was referring to.
“She looks like a doll, right?”
Arthur said with a pained expression.
“But don’t be fooled by her appearance. She can lift that grandfather clock over there like a dumbbell!”
“My daughter has loved those bizarre detective novels since she was young. She aspired to become some kind of great detective.”
Arthur rubbed his forehead, looking like he had a headache.
“That hobby is nothing harmful. Young people always have dreams.”
“But she once dismantled the clock tower in the square just to chase a thief!”
“To catch a Phantom Thief running on the rooftops, she threw a neighbor’s alchemy chimney like a javelin!”
“Last month the city hall sent me a bill. They said she shattered three more training dummies from the city guard, and they were embedded in the wall!”
Arthur grew more and more agitated, pointing at Weiluoya, his hand trembling.
Weiluoya heard this and finally looked up from the plate of pastries, adding with an innocent face.
“Father, it was four. I haven’t found one of their heads yet.”
Arthur clutched his chest, feeling like it was hard to breathe.
“Listen to her! Listen to her!”
He pointed at Weiluoya and complained to Xialvdi.
“That’s how she is! She has no self-awareness at all!”
Xialvdi listened to these incredible complaints, looked at Arthur’s face that was both pained and helpless, and barely suppressed the upward twitch of her lips.
She nodded seriously.
She naturally knew, because that elbow three years ago still made her back hurt occasionally.
“Father.”
Weiluoya, who had been silent, suddenly turned her head.
“When can we go to the city hall to take care of the formalities?”
Arthur felt another stab in his heart.
He didn’t want to discuss this topic anymore, so he forcibly changed the subject.
“Before marriage, you must first attend a formal social event together as an engaged couple.”
“This is the rule of Golden City, and it’s also to get everyone to accept your relationship.”
“Tomorrow evening, an exhibition of the ‘Eternal Star’ sapphire will be held in the city.”
Arthur made the decision in a tone that brooked no argument.
“You must go together, as my daughter and son-in-law, to attend this exhibition.”
As he said these last words, the expression on his face was like he had swallowed a whole lemon.
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