Top Floor of Shunchang Building.
Liu Yutong stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the black Bentley gradually disappear into the flow of traffic.
Gao Min walked over to her, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
"Honestly, just now I thought I had enough courage to say that word, but when it was actually on the tip of my tongue, I couldn't get it out."
Liu Yutong withdrew her gaze, glanced at her sideways, and said, "Normal. It's only human."
Gao Min said, "Actually... I did want to acknowledge her. Seeing her cry like that made me feel really bad inside."
Liu Yutong nodded. "I know. Good thing you didn't."
Gao Min replied, "???"
Liu Yutong said, "Don't look at me with that strange expression. If you had really acknowledged her on the spot, I might have started to wonder: Did I do the wrong thing? Was I too heartless? Should I have taken that opening and acknowledged her too? That would have put me in a very passive position. Luckily you didn't, which saved me from having to second-guess myself."
Gao Min was stunned for a moment, then let out a relieved laugh.
"You're right. After all, we're sisters. I could never put you in a bind."
Liu Yutong snorted softly. "At least you have a conscience."
"By the way, I've already arranged everything for our trip to the imperial capital the day after tomorrow."
Gao Min was slightly startled. "The imperial capital?"
Liu Yutong said, "Lin Dong mentioned that the Jiang family's matriarch is celebrating her eightieth birthday, right? This is a good opportunity."
"You'll make an appearance through the Lin family's connections and let those so-called big shots get to know you as the 'Lin family's cousin' first. That way, when you actually need to use those relationships later, it won't seem too abrupt."
Gao Min was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked,
"Sis, have you been planning all of this from the very beginning?"
"From the moment you had Lin Dong start boosting my profile, you'd already made up your mind to go to the imperial capital, hadn't you?"
Liu Yutong replied, "I'm just helping you crack your big case. I had to get you into that circle first so you could get close to the person you need to investigate. If you can't even get into the banquet, how are you going to solve the case? How will you make contact with that Jiang Yuan?"
Gao Min asked, "Couldn't you just take me in? With your status, you should have an invitation, right?"
Liu Yutong nodded. "I do, but it's a personal invitation. The Jiang family is one of those old, established aristocratic clans with a lot of rules. If the invitation is issued to me, it doesn't mean I can just bring anyone I want inside."
"But the Lin family is different."
"Even though the Lin family has declined, they're still a gentry family with generations of friendship with the Jiangs. It's only natural for Lin Dong to bring a couple of juniors along. No one would say a thing."
"So, using the Lin family's identity to get in is much more proper than if I brought you."
When Gao Min heard this, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"You really... put so much thought into everything. It feels like there's nothing in this world that escapes your calculations."
Sometimes she really didn't know what to say. It always seemed like her younger sister did everything with a strong sense of purpose. It was the same in business, and even something as emotional as a family reunion had been turned into part of her master plan.
"Honestly, doesn't it wear you out?"
Liu Yutong smiled. "The thrill of matching wits with others—there's nothing quite like it!"
Gao Min looked at her, and a sudden pang of sympathy hit her.
Outsiders only saw the splendor of the Wanlonghui heiress: the thousands of people under her command, her tens of billions in assets, how a single word from her could make countless people bow down.
But who would ever guess that she was barely twenty years old?
At twenty, she should have been in the ivory tower of college, dating, shopping, binge-watching dramas, worrying about finals and a secret crush.
Instead, she had to scheme in this dog-eat-dog world, plotting step by step and matching wits with old foxes who had decades of experience.
"Sis..."
Liu Yutong looked at her and curled her lips in disdain. "What? Don't look at me like that. It's creepy."
"Besides, I'm not going to live like this forever. I've already thought it through. In another ten years or so, once Wanlonghui is completely stable, I'll retire and start enjoying life."
Gao Min was taken aback. "Ten years? You'd be, what, thirty at most? Isn't that too early?"
Liu Yutong said, "Early? I think it's perfect."
"At thirty, while I still have energy, I'll first travel around the world and hit all the places I want to go. After that, I'll buy a big house in the most scenic spot in China, keep a few big dogs, wake up naturally every day, and do whatever I want."
"Doesn't that sound great?"
Gao Min, listening to her paint that picture of the future, was also filled with longing. "It does sound nice, but are you sure you can stand being idle?"
Liu Yutong asked, "What do you mean?"
Gao Min laughed. "I know you too well. With your personality, if you actually had to slow down, you'd go stir-crazy. I bet you'd come up with some new scheme to keep yourself busy."
Liu Yutong thought about it seriously and nodded. "You have a point. Maybe when I have so much money I can't spend it all, I'll try building rockets. I want to fly to Mars on one I made myself while I'm still alive."
Gao Min was stunned for a second, then burst into laughter, nearly doubling over. "Mars? You're serious? Don't kid me. If you could actually build a rocket that flies to Mars, count me in!"
Liu Yutong said, "Really? Don't go back on your word!"
Gao Min replied, "Of course! We're sisters after all. Sisters stay together through thick and thin—we go to heaven and earth together."
Liu Yutong said, "Then it's settled. Tomorrow I'll have someone register an aerospace technology company first."
"When the time comes, the two of us will go up there together and be neighbors on Mars. You can keep being a cop, and specialize in arresting aliens on Mars, while I'll build houses next door and be a Martian real estate developer collecting rent from the extraterrestrials."
Gao Min laughed uncontrollably. "Haha... I've got to say, I'm actually looking forward to that day."
Of course, even as she laughed, she just thought Liu Yutong was joking.
What she didn't know was that Liu Yutong had already started thinking seriously about it.
Retiring at thirty had always been her plan, since her precognitive ability only extended about ten or fifteen years into the future. By then, Wanlonghui should be stable and running normally.
Most importantly, by that time she would definitely have a huge amount of money—more than she could spend. With nothing else to do, she might as well look into rockets and race those foreigners to see who gets to Mars first.
Of course, building rockets in China would require policy support. She'd still have to report to the higher-ups.
Once Gao Min had finished laughing, she looked at her sister and said with sudden emotion, "Honestly, sometimes I feel like you're not really my sister."
Liu Yutong asked, "Then what do I look like?"
Gao Min thought for a moment and said, "Like... someone who traveled back in time from the future."
"You know everything, can do everything, and calculate everything so clearly, as if all things are within your predictions. You can even dodge risks that haven't happened yet. This feeling... it's just not real."
Liu Yutong was silent for a few seconds, then she smiled too.
"Maybe it's real."
