Chapter 126: Chapter 92: Are We Friends Now?

Lily angrily slapped Catherine’s hand away.

Catherine’s hand froze in mid-air. She frowned. "Don’t be like that. You can’t stop your mother from pursuing her own happiness, can you?"

"You’re not my mother," Lily said stubbornly. "Not anymore."

"Tch, ungrateful." Catherine scowled, then turned without another word. Her high heels went CLICK-CLACK-CLICK as she walked away and got into a Porsche parked at the curb.

Li Wei leaned against the wall. No matter how he looked at it, the whole situation felt bizarre.

There was no denying that Catherine was a blonde beauty. When she married Don Quixote, she was only in her twenties, so it was understandable that she had him wrapped around her finger.

But now, although she had kept herself up well, she was still approaching 40. Logically, a super-eligible bachelor who could spend over a hundred thousand USD on her in just two weeks would never be *this* infatuated with her.

’Wait,’ Li Wei suddenly thought. ’A family trust?’

Just as Li Wei was leaning against the wall watching the Porsche disappear around the street corner, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate.

"Hello?" Li Wei answered the call.

"Good afternoon, Li Wei," a gentle, familiar female voice said. "This is Elizabeth Mellon."

"Miss Mellon," Li Wei said abruptly. "A very unlikely event just occurred at my home. I was wondering if you might know anything about it?"

"Perhaps I know a little something," Elizabeth replied. "Are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner."

「6:50 PM. Nobu, a Japanese restaurant on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan.」

The high-end Japanese restaurant was famous for its signature birch decor and minimalist design. After Li Wei gave his name, a waiter respectfully led him to an exceptionally private table in the corner.

Elizabeth had already arrived.

She was wearing what looked to be a very soft, cream-colored mohair sweater. Its wide neckline revealed a hint of her delicate collarbones, and the slightly-too-long sleeves covered the backs of her hands, making her seem a size smaller than usual—less intimidating, more gentle.

Her long, blonde hair wasn’t elaborately styled, but simply draped smoothly over her shoulders, held in place by a simple pearl barrette.

Her head was bowed as she looked at her phone, her slender fingers swiping across the screen. Her other hand unconsciously cradled her chin. Her makeup was much lighter than usual, a "no-makeup" look that revealed the natural, rosy complexion of a young woman. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

As if sensing Li Wei’s gaze, Elizabeth looked up and offered a smile devoid of any pretense.

"Sit," she said, gesturing to the seat opposite her. Her voice was much lighter than it had been on the phone. "What? Never seen me out of a suit before?"

"It is a bit of a surprise," Li Wei said honestly, pulling out his chair and sitting down. "This outfit looks... much more approachable."

"It’s Sunday, Mr. Li Wei. Even capitalists need a day off," Elizabeth said with a wink, a glint of slyness in her blue eyes. "I took the liberty of ordering the house specialty for you—yellowtail with jalapeño. I hope you don’t mind raw fish."

Li Wei looked at her harmless appearance, but it only made him more guarded.

He decided to stop beating around the bush and cut straight to the chase. "That Robert Anderson... is he your man?"

"Robert?" Elizabeth tilted her head, poking at the edamame in front of her with silver chopsticks. "To be precise, he was a senior vice president at a Mellon Family trust. However, he embezzled at least four million USD. He was originally supposed to spend the rest of his life in prison."

"But then I discovered the problem you were facing," she continued. "I was worried she might pop up in the future and use her connection to Mr. Don Quixote to get close to you, or fabricate scandals about you for the tabloids. So, Mr. Anderson agreed to take her away from New York in exchange for six final months of freedom and luxury."

"So you instructed him to approach Catherine?" Li Wei asked, sitting down. "You investigated me?"

"Listen, Mr. Li Wei, I’m very sorry," Elizabeth sighed. "The lighting in the Dolores boutique was too dim, and I didn’t get a perfect look at your face. But I did remember that there was an employee like you working there. My original plan was to go back after the event, make a purchase, and have it credited to you as a tip."

"But I’m guessing that now that you have the scholarship," she said, staring into Li Wei’s eyes, "you probably won’t be working part-time anymore, will you?"

"Don’t say that," Li Wei suddenly laughed. "You make me sound like some petty grumbler, holding a grudge over a tip of a few dozen dollars."

’Although I was, before,’ he thought. ’But now a few dozen USD isn’t something I fret over anymore.’

His words did, to some extent, close the distance between them. Even Elizabeth Mellon laughed.

"And regarding you getting the scholarship," she said, "I... I truly didn’t know about that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had you do this."

"So, Miss Mellon, you think my pride was wounded by you?" Li Wei asked. "And you wanted to compensate me by helping me deal with Catherine?"

Elizabeth nodded crisply. "Yes. I wanted to use this to express my apology and sincerity."

"Alright," Li Wei said after a moment’s thought. He picked up a slice of sashimi with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. "On this matter, I really do have to thank you."

After all, not even Susan had been able to make Catherine give up her custody rights. As things stood, Li Wei and Don Quixote had no way of getting custody of Lily on their own.

"So, are we even?" Elizabeth blinked. "If you’re still not satisfied—"

She waved off the sommelier and personally poured Li Wei a glass of Daiginjo sake.

"Then this humble one apologizes," she said, her attempt at archaic Chinese coming out stilted and awkward.

Then she downed the sake in her cup in one gulp.

"Alright, alright," Li Wei said. "You’re giving me goosebumps. Let’s not talk about being even. The two things aren’t equivalent at all. I’ll consider myself to be in your debt for this."

"But I still have one small question," Elizabeth said, looking a little puzzled. "Am I not your type, aesthetically? Or did I do something wrong? Why do I always feel like you’re deliberately avoiding me?"

"Because you’re a bit pretentious," Li Wei said after thinking for a moment. "By ’pretentious,’ I mean you put on too much of an act. You don’t seem like a real person."

"Wow," she said. "That’s the first time I’ve ever gotten that feedback—’not like a real person.’"

"It feels like everything you say and do is a calculated performance," Li Wei shrugged. "But maybe it’s just that I haven’t been around high-society types. I’m not sure if you’re all like that."

"It’s true, we are all pretentious," Elizabeth considered for a moment, then let out a laugh. "Especially when we’re out. If you’re not, you won’t make it."

"I get it," Li Wei nodded. "Every circle has its own rules. I don’t mean to judge, it’s just that I might not be able to get used to it right away."

"Thank you for understanding," Elizabeth said, extending a hand. "Are we friends now?"

"Of course," Li Wei said, shaking her fingertips. "It’s my honor."

"That’s wonderful," Elizabeth beamed, a brilliant smile on her face. "Then let’s start enjoying this dinner. Nobu’s winter menu is something to look forward to."