7

“Mr. Antonio, I have long admired your name, and meeting you today, I can confirm that your reputation is well-deserved. Please give my regards to the Godfather.”

Hearing Xu Qi's voice, Qiangwei quickly lowered her head, avoiding the piercing gaze of the blond man opposite her. She hadn't expected that this only son of the Sicilian godfather was actually Anthony, the man who had been pestering her just days before! Antonio is an Italian male name, equivalent to Anthony in English. So he was an Italian man.

Antonio reached out and grasped Xu Qi's outstretched hand, revealing a bright smile: "Mr. Adam, Uncle Yao once told me that his future son-in-law is a first-rate young talent, far superior to a spendthrift like me."

Qiangwei was startled; Yao Yinxiang indeed had a close relationship with the Francesco family! If that was the case, why not marry his daughter to this man? From any perspective, Antonio was the more suitable candidate. As for Yao Yinxiang's own opinion of Antonio, it was definitely not as this man had just said. Because this Antonio was internationally renowned, certainly not the spendthrift he claimed to be.

So, either the Yao family has ulterior motives, or the Francesco family doesn't want their heir to marry a woman of a different race! Rose frowned, suddenly thinking, could this young master be unwilling to marry because he likes men? He shook his head; that possibility was very small.

Throughout the process, Rose felt the seemingly casual glances from the man opposite her from time to time. Afraid of being noticed by Xu Qi, and unable to openly avoid him, she could only try to ignore them.

Both sides reached an agreement, and both guests and hosts enjoyed themselves. Qiangwei breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over. Unexpectedly, Antonio suddenly asked Xu Qi if he could borrow one of his entourage members as a tour guide, since he was unfamiliar with New York.

Xu Qi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and smiled, "Of course. Which one would Mr. Antonio like as our guide?"

Rose felt a chill run down her spine; she knew things were in trouble.

Antonio glanced around, finally "coincidentally" stopping on Rose: "I think it's best that this gentleman is here with you. Would you mind if I borrowed him for half a day?"

Xu Qi was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Of course. I hope you have a good time in New York."

Antonio smiled subtly. God truly loved him.

Xu Qi looked at Qiangwei: "We must make sure Mr. Antonio is satisfied."

Rose could only reply, "Yes, Young Master." A pang of bitterness welled up inside her. This man only ever pushed her away. Although she knew this wasn't fair to Xu Qi. Firstly, Xu Qi was unaware of Antonio's ulterior motives towards Rose; secondly, as his master, this was the only normal reaction. If even this request couldn't be fulfilled, the other party would have ample reason to doubt "Dragon's" sincerity.

He knew it rationally, but he still felt hurt. He turned to look at Antonio, a barely perceptible chill in his eyes.

In the afternoon, Rose was ordered to bring Antonio out, but she ignored the guest and walked ahead with a sullen face. Antonio followed behind Rose, trying to persuade him: "Calvin, please don't be angry. I couldn't find you for the past few days, and I knew you must be no ordinary person. But now we've met again. Don't you think this is God's arrangement?"

Without even glancing at him, Rose was furious: Damn Italians! They're like a persistent ghost!

"This is... the Statue of Liberty?" Antonio looked up at the world-famous Statue of Liberty, both amused and exasperated. Calvin had actually brought him to this bustling city center!

Rose glanced at him sideways: "What are you doing in New York if you don't see the Statue of Liberty?"

Antonio winked at him: "It's an honor to see the Statue of Liberty with Calvin." He was secretly delighted: Calvin was finally talking to him—a good sign!

This man perfectly embodied the characteristics of an Italian man: handsome, dashing, and tender-hearted. Rose sighed inwardly, hoping that the man's passion would pass quickly, so that he could be free.

The two sat on Liberty Island for the entire afternoon, with Rose remaining expressionless the whole time. Antonio couldn't help but feel frustrated, and he asked Rose in annoyance, "What do I have to do for you to look at me?"

"If you stop bothering me." A crisp and decisive answer.

He was overwhelmed with troubles, and Xu Qi's situation was also a mess. Yao Jinghan brought Jiang Fan to the Xu family. Xu Qingjue and his wife were even more pleased with this lady. Shao Minyu directly advised him, "Such a good woman, only a fool wouldn't marry her!"

Xu Qi was somewhat annoyed that his rose had been inexplicably "borrowed." The Italian man seemed to have some... feelings for the rose. He hadn't wanted to agree, but he had to at the time. Now, faced with this situation, he was truly at his wits' end.

He and Yao Jinghan were once again forced into a "date". After leaving the Xu family's gate, Yao Jinghan bluntly suggested that the two of them go their separate ways.

Xu Qi was naturally more than happy to oblige. He took Wei Lan directly to the "Dragon Underworld" office building—on the surface, he was the young master of a large corporation. Of course, his employees weren't just ordinary white-collar workers. As for Wei Lan, ostensibly a doctor, he was actually a renowned assassin in the industry, codenamed "L," exclusively for "Dragon Underworld."

After a whole afternoon of commotion, Qiangwei finally managed to escape. However, he seemed to be having really bad luck today, because he was actually "kidnapped" by a group of people on his way back to the Xu family.

He calmly analyzed the situation: this was a warehouse, and the other side consisted of seven people, each with at least one weapon. The leader was likely the woman. None of them concealed their appearance; they all had East Asian features, and the woman in the lead was particularly beautiful, elegant, and of noble birth. It seemed this might be the daughter of some force hostile to "Dragon Underworld," here to cause trouble. However, it was no small feat for them to even approach him. His conclusion was that he could only obediently listen to what this woman had to say. Fortunately, in the instant of the attack, he reacted quickly and left a distress signal. "Dragon Underworld" reinforcements would certainly take considerable time to arrive, but if he could stall long enough, there was a chance of rescue.

"Are you Calvin?" the woman asked after carefully examining his face.

Rose, of course, pretended to be clueless: "Who is Calvin? Miss, you must be mistaken."

"Indeed, a beauty. No wonder Antonio took a liking to you. But..." The woman looked down at him, a somewhat malicious smile appearing on her beautiful face, "If a beauty is no longer a beauty, then what do you think will happen to him?"

Rose nearly fainted. She'd gotten herself into this mess for such a reason! Jealousy? How could she have encountered such a cliché? She'd really overestimated these people's ambitions.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll be frank. I have absolutely no interest in that Antonio.” He rolled his eyes helplessly. “If you’re talking about what happened this afternoon, I was just following orders.”

Upon hearing this, the woman sneered, "Based on your one-sided account?"

“You can check. I saw him at a bar a few days ago, and I haven’t been back to that bar since. If it weren’t for business today, I would never have met him,” Rose said calmly.

The woman considered for a moment, then shook her head. "Perhaps some of what you said is true. But I'm not at ease." She couldn't tolerate anyone stealing that man's attention. In the past, if she could, she would make sure that no man or woman who got close to Antonio could be with him again. Anyway, that man was fickle and heartless, and he had always turned a blind eye to her behavior.

Rose really wanted to swear. Heaven knows how long it had been since he'd felt this urge to curse since she'd left her life as a thug! "Crazy!" he thought, staring coldly at the woman. "So what will it take to put your mind at ease?"

"Unless you slash your face and blind yourself, I'll let you go," the woman said slowly.

I've really run into a freak today. For a man, getting his face smeared isn't a big deal, but going blind is absolutely unacceptable. He slowly turned his head: "Don't you think this request is a bit excessive? That Antonio has absolutely nothing to do with me, yet I have to pay this price for a complete stranger?"

The woman's eyebrows shot up: "You still dare to bargain with me now?" With a wave of her hand, a man behind her suddenly stepped forward, squatted down, and held a knife to his neck.

Rose turned her head, letting the sharp blade slice a line of blood across his pale neck, splitting a red birthmark in two. He sneered, "Looks like you just want my life."

The man in front of him stared at the red birthmark, then suddenly spoke, his voice trembling slightly: "You are... Si Yuan's..."

Rose's expression changed drastically: "Who are you? Why..."

The man examined his face carefully, then put down the knife: "So...you really are her son, aren't you?"

When he first saw this person's face, he could hardly believe his eyes. It was so similar! That beautiful, pale face had always been etched in his memory, never fading. This young man's face had a touch more ruggedness, but it was almost a carbon copy of that person's. He couldn't immediately recognize her, so he decided to observe her further. It wasn't until he saw the birthmark on her neck that he was truly certain. He had personally witnessed the red birthmark on the baby's neck when Si Yuan gave birth to their son.

Rose looked at him, a sudden thought flashing through her mind. She asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Are you Jiang Fan?"