Faced with Zhou Yi's question, Susan opened her mouth but found herself unable to answer.
She wasn't the person in charge of the project, and strictly speaking, she had no authority to negotiate how future profits would be divided.
She understood very well that even though she and Zhou Yi were friends, an investment of this scale was beyond what friendship alone could settle.
Space exploration had never been a small undertaking. Even a simple trip around Earth's orbit required funding measured in billions. Once money reached that level, ninety-nine percent of friendships in the world could begin to fade.
As a result, Susan felt rather awkward.
Seeing her discomfort, Zhou Yi smiled and came to her rescue.
"You don't have to answer me right now, Susan. Perhaps you can discuss it with your team first and then give me a reply."
This understanding was exactly what Susan needed at the moment.
She gratefully glanced at him and smiled warmly.
"I don't know how to thank you, Yi. But I promise I'll do my best to secure the greatest possible benefit for you."
"That benefit isn't particularly important, Susan," Zhou Yi replied. "I just need something to silence the people below me. If I truly cared about profit, I could drag things out until the very end and force you to offer me the maximum return."
He leaned back in his chair and gave her a knowing look.
"To be honest, I'm not especially optimistic about investments whose future value isn't obvious. The main reason I'm willing to help is because it's you, Susan. You're worth helping. That's enough."
Hearing those words, a different kind of light appeared in Susan's eyes.
"Wow... I don't even know what to say. Thank you, Yi. Really, thank you."
"That alone is enough for me."
Zhou Yi smiled and let the subject drop.
This change of topic suited Zhou Lan perfectly.
She certainly didn't want her son sitting beside such a beautiful woman and discussing nothing but business. That would be a terrible waste.
Even though some people already called her "Grandma," she still hoped Zhou Yi would settle down soon and give her a real grandchild.
Watching grandchildren grow from infancy was one of life's great joys, and Zhou Lan didn't want to miss that experience.
From another perspective, she was extremely satisfied with someone like Susan.
Susan came from a good family, was educated, graceful, intelligent, and beautiful.
After spending so much time together, Zhou Lan had grown very fond of her.
If arranged marriages still existed in modern society, she might already have dragged her son to the Storm family and proposed on his behalf.
Still, the current situation wasn't bad.
The social skills Zhou Yi had developed during his younger, more carefree years seemed surprisingly effective on Miss Storm.
To Zhou Lan, that looked like the first ray of hope toward her wish coming true.
Once business was off the table, the conversation naturally shifted into the hands of the two women.
Zhou Lan was a leading figure in the fashion industry, while Susan was clearly one of her biggest admirers.
The result was inevitable: fashion became the main topic.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yi had absolutely nothing useful to contribute.
His understanding of fashion amounted to:
"You spend a fortune waiting months for someone to make clothes, and then a bunch of people judge whether they like them."
He had no idea why his mother enjoyed this line of work so much.
Thankfully, he'd long ago learned the valuable skill of staying quiet.
Unfortunately, silence didn't save him.
Before long, the two women somehow shifted the topic onto him.
"Tell me, my dear son," Zhou Lan asked, "who picked out that outfit you're wearing?"
"Uh... me?" Zhou Yi replied. "Why?"
"I knew it!"
She pointed at him dramatically.
"Look at that shirt. If I remember correctly, you were wearing the same style the last time I saw you. How long do you intend to wear that design? Until the next century?"
"If possible, I don't really have a problem with that," Zhou Yi answered weakly.
To his disappointment, that did not end the conversation.
"Oh my goodness. You actually mean that."
Turning to Susan, Zhou Lan exclaimed:
"Susan, can you imagine a man being this careless? He wants to wear the same style forever!"
Susan smiled.
"That does sound a little terrifying."
Soon, talking wasn't enough.
Under Zhou Lan's command, Zhou Yi was marched directly into her design studio.
What followed was, in his opinion, a complete nightmare.
By the time Mrs. Hamilton informed them that dinner was ready, he had finally escaped.
As for the details?
He refused to think about them.
Ever.
Dinner, however, was wonderful.
Zhou Lan had hired an excellent chef who prepared outstanding French cuisine.
The traditional British roast beef was equally delicious.
And with a beautiful woman sitting beside him during the meal, Zhou Yi felt the suffering of the afternoon had not been entirely in vain.
After dinner and dessert, Susan prepared to leave.
At that moment, Zhou Lan glanced outside and said:
"The weather doesn't look very good tonight, Susan. Why not stay here? I'll have Mrs. Hamilton prepare a room for you."
Susan smiled apologetically.
"Thank you, Mrs. Zhou, but that's not necessary."
Then, slightly embarrassed, she added:
"You know... with Zhou Yi staying here, it wouldn't really be appropriate for me to stay as well."
Zhou Lan nodded approvingly.
A respectable young woman with strong principles only increased her favorable impression.
"Very well," she said. "Then I'll have Zhou Yi drive you home. London's public safety hasn't been very good lately. There have been quite a few gang shootouts recently."
She was referring to the violent conflicts that had been troubling London police.
The opposing sides appeared to be exceptionally dangerous criminal organizations.
For several nights in a row, severe battles had erupted across the city.
Many people were rumored to have died.
Yet the police had found almost nothing.
No bodies.
No suspects.
No useful clues.
It was as though the participants simply vanished into thin air.
The lack of progress had created enormous public pressure.
Even the Prime Minister had publicly criticized the police force.
Despite increased surveillance, the violence continued and seemed to be escalating.
As a result, many London residents felt increasingly uneasy.
Susan was no exception.
If she hadn't wanted advice from Zhou Lan—and information about Zhou Yi's company—she probably wouldn't have ventured out at all.
Originally, she had hoped to get home before dark.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yi's arrival had disrupted her plans.
After thinking it over, she finally surrendered to her concerns.
Looking down shyly, she smiled and said:
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
"Of course."
Zhou Yi flashed a bright smile.
"Safely escorting a beautiful lady home is an honor."
Seeing her son handle the situation so smoothly, Zhou Lan smiled with satisfaction.
Soon afterward, Zhou Yi took on the role of chauffeur and drove Susan's car toward her destination.
At this moment, he couldn't help but appreciate Google Maps.
Without it, someone completely unfamiliar with London would have been hopelessly lost.
Because the trip was smooth and free of awkward stops for directions, Zhou Yi was free to chat.
"I never expected someone as elegant as you to drive a sports car. Do you enjoy speed and excitement?"
"Absolutely not," Susan replied immediately.
"This is actually my brother's car. Only someone as reckless as him likes these terrifying machines. Honestly, I barely dare touch the accelerator."
"Oh, that's unfortunate news."
Zhou Yi grinned.
"I remember you mentioning your brother before. Johnny, right? A pilot?"
"That used to be true."
Susan sighed.
"He had a very promising career, but thanks to his own foolishness, he got himself fired. Wonderful, isn't it?"
"Oh? That sounds like there's a story there."
"There certainly is."
Susan immediately launched into a list of complaints.
"Impulsive. Reckless. Never thinks about consequences."
She continued:
"I still can't believe he smuggled a group of models into a flight simulator and fooled around with them. Then somehow he managed to eject the entire simulator module!"
"Seriously?"
Zhou Yi burst out laughing.
"You know, if you hadn't told me you were talking about your brother, I'd think you were describing my sister."
"Really?"
"Oh, absolutely. Sharice is exactly the same. The only difference is she hasn't started fooling around with the opposite sex yet."
He shook his head.
"Not long ago she came to me demanding to graduate early so she could join the special task force I established in Radiance City."
"You know what that city used to be. You know how dangerous it is."
"When she suggested that, I thought I was going to lose my mind."
"You mean the city that's still undergoing biohazard cleanup?"
Susan stared at him in disbelief.
"How could she even think of doing that? Doesn't she realize how dangerous it is?"
"Dangerous means exciting."
Zhou Yi laughed.
"I know exactly how young people think. Your brother is probably the same way. They'll do anything for excitement and leave you worrying yourself sick."
"You're absolutely right."
As fellow members of the universal club of exhausted older siblings, Susan instantly agreed.
The two of them spent the rest of the drive sharing increasingly outrageous stories about their troublesome younger siblings.
And before they realized it, they had arrived in central London.
(To be continued...)
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