In June, the city officially enters the winter season.

The northwest monsoon brings with it a clammy and cold air current, and when the cold wind hits the cheeks, it seems to carry with it the earthy smell of the plateau of the Old World.

So much so that at the scene of the dinner, it even became one of the themes of tonight.

This is what Machiko Kawahara came to when she wandered around the banquet hall of the castle.

This is, of course, just an illusion.

Separated by tens of thousands of kilometers, inverting the northern and southern hemispheres, the elements of nature, even if there is a subtle circulation and exchange, it is impossible for these ordinary people to perceive it. In fact, it is nothing more than a bunch of brothers and sisters, after narrowly revitalizing from death, boasting with lingering palpitations and excitement.

Even though almost a month has passed, strictly speaking, three weeks.

The timing is just right.

Time quietly beautified the memories of the witnesses, washed away their embarrassment and fear, and under the relatively peaceful ending, the legend of the process provided them with a lot of talking points, so that they did not exclude, and were even willing to discuss the seemingly vivid personal experience, and distributed "difficult friends" labels and medals to each other, so that many hateful faces looked cute at this time.

Well, maybe a considerable part of it is pretending to be for her.

After all, the real theme of the banquet was a thank-you dinner for the foundation's donors after the Ronan and Friends Foundation was officially established.

At the banquet, the most dazzling person was not the largest individual donor, the honorary chairman of the foundation, and the well-known wealthy man in Ticheng...... Ah, it's Mr. Lang Li, not Mr. Mu Zhengye, the independent director of Quantum Company, who is specially here to cheer, and not the so-called celebrities in Ticheng.

The only one who can really be called a star is Mrs. Halder, the major shareholder and chairman of the Castle Foundation...... 's agent, Ms. Yin Le, and Machiko Kawahara herself.

In the business world, the Kasbah consortium is only medium-sized, not to mention the world, even in the city of Ti, it may not be ranked in the top five, but such a ranking is meaningless - at the appreciation dinner of the world's richest people, Mrs. Halder can still say that she will not come, and only send an agent to fill the number, and she is still the heart of the audience.

All this can only be because Mrs. Halder is Mr. Ronan's confidant, and Ms. Yin Le is the head of the Foundation arranged by Ronan himself.

The same is true of Machiko Kawahara.

Otherwise, there is no way to explain that a standing director who has just jumped from Toyama Auction House can talk and laugh with these billionaires around him with a net worth of tens of billions or hundreds of billions of dollars as the secretary general of the foundation, accept their compliments, and mobilize their emotions...... In the same way, they also bear the evil thoughts in their hearts.

Machiko Kawahara still vividly remembers the greedy, ugly, and filthy expression of Toshishi Kawaguchi on the "Emerald Light" a month ago. Whether it's Hancheng, Ticheng, or whatever, as long as it's in this circle, there's not much difference.

Just like at this moment, everyone talked and laughed together, talked about the friendship of the one-way trip to the plateau, and jointly touted Mr. Ronan's compassion for the future development of mankind, but God knows what kind of inferior jokes will be arranged in the hearts of these men and women around them, and ask her, or she and Ronan to be the protagonists.

But so what?

Machiko Kawahara enjoyed all of this, and was at home at this banquet full of malice and calculation.

This is the scene she has always pursued, for which she has given up the so-called love and marriage, and she has never tired of it, even if she has been wandering halfway up the mountain—and now she is standing on the top of the mountain, close to the peak.

The price to pay...... What did she give?

Compared with the malice that is deeply hidden around her and may swallow her at any time, this doubt and confusion may be the source of the confusion that occasionally pops up in her heart.

She knew that maybe she would never be able to make such an incredible deal again in her life.

Even if it was likely to be a gimmick deal to enjoy now, the subsequent price would be unbearable for her - but until now, in her mortal eyes, she was far from touching the end, had it?

In a capitalist society, without this awareness, what kind of businessman should you be?

Besides, she is indeed willing to pay any price for this glory now.

Machiko Kawamoto's smile grew brighter.

At this time, the bracelet on her wrist vibrated slightly, she raised her hand, signaled and apologized to the daters around her, temporarily left the crowd, connected the communication, and her voice became extraordinarily gentle:

"Jiya, the call came early today."

"Yes, Mom. Is it disturbing your work? ”

Kawagen Machiko's only son, Kawagen Jiya, grew up in a single-parent family, and in such a depressive environment as the Kawagen family, although he is still a preschool child, he is far more mature than most of his peers, and he is also very sensitive.

"It seems to be a mess over there, I'll call you later."

"No, it's okay, Jiya."

At this time, Kawahara Machiko also had the qualifications to be willful, she had already arrived at the lounge upstairs, sat on the sofa, and relaxed her toes and ankles that had been tight for a long time: "Mom is at a banquet, it's okay." Tell Mom, did you have fun today? ”

He Yuanzhi also laughed over there: "It's the same over here, Mom." Today is Mr. Luo Yuandao, the birthday of Mr. Luo Nan's grandfather, 80 years old! Their whole family is here. ”

Heyuan Zhenzhizi subconsciously straightened up: "Mr. Luo Yuandao? ”

Of course, she knew that the old gentleman with serious mental illness would find it difficult to do anything more with that person's physical condition, even if he was 80 years old...... What's more, she didn't hear the wind at all.

In other words, it's mostly just a family feast.

Machiko Kawahara's heart thumped: "You are there, did Mr. Ronan invite you?" ”

"No, Mom. It's Sunday, and Weiwu and I were going to the hall master to do our homework, and we happened to run into it. ”

"That's right." Machiko Kawahara's mood went up and down, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her body.

At this time, she thought that the time difference between Ticheng and Xia Cheng was 4 hours, and now it was already more than four o'clock in the afternoon on Xia Cheng's side, and the external banquet would not generally last until such a time.

Obviously, Xiaoji just happened to run into it.

That's not bad......

Just thinking about it, He Yuanzhi also lowered his voice over there: "Mom, I still know a secret!" ”

Machiko Kawahara frowned, and before she could respond, Koji was also over there and said, "I just heard it, it seems that today is also Mr. Ronan's birthday, but he doesn't know it." ”

"Really?" Machiko Kawahara's mind immediately popped up with public information about Ronan.

I remember that this person's birthday should be June 16th, and there is still a week to go...... She did a quick search of the perpetual calendar, well, Ronan's date of birth is June 16, 1980, using the traditional East Asian calendar, but it is the twenty-ninth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, which is placed this year, which happens to be June 9 of the Gregorian calendar.

That's right.

After solving a small doubt, Machiko Kawagen thought about another question, and her tone became much more serious: "Jiya, thank you for telling your mother this." But I don't want you to have a next time. ”

"Huh?"

"Remember what your mother told you? From the moment you arrived in Summer City, you should respect Mr. Ronan as you would your mother, learn from him, and ask him for advice...... You should be a worthy retainer, pledge allegiance to Mr. Ronan, and gain his approval! Without Mr. Ronan's permission, he could not reveal his secrets and other information to anyone, including his mother, even if it was just such a small matter. ”

There was silence on the other side.

Heyuan Zhenzhizi is a little worried, she hasn't criticized her son like this for a long time, especially now that she is thousands of miles away, and she hasn't even opened a video, and she is very bottomless in her heart for a while.

When he was about to send a request to open the video, the river source over there asked in a weaker voice:

"Mom, are you Mr. Ronan's mistress?"

“……”

Machiko Kawagen had thought that she would never be bothered by similar problems, and in a way she wished everyone else thought the same way, until this became a reality, and only then could she cement her inexplicably acquired position.

But at this moment, when this question came out of her biological son's mouth, her mood was obviously not as simple as she imagined. She even subconsciously wanted to slap her, but there was no Kawagen Jiya in front of her, and the empty slap finally seemed to hit her in the face.

"Jiya, why do you say that?"

When Kawagen Machiko spoke, he realized that his tone was so dull, like a cracked porcelain, and when he was struck again, it no longer had a clear reverberation.

"It's ...... over there in Xiacheng"

"No, it's in Hanjo, Mom." Hakuya Kawagen's voice was still low, but surprisingly steady, even calm.

"A lot of people have tried to tell me about it, including grandpa and grandma, in all sorts of ways, from all angles...... Looks like I'm your weakness, Mom. ”

"Jiya!" Even if he knew that his son was far more mature than his peers, Heyuan Zhenzhizi didn't want to hear the result of his thoughts, not at all.

About a second or two later, maybe longer, He Yuanzhi also spoke over there, and his voice was a little faster: "Weiwu is calling me, Mom, don't worry...... Mr. Ronan is a very nice person, and a lot of people here are. ”

The next moment, Genji He responded with a very clear voice: "Hey, here, wait for me!" ”

The communication then hangs up.

Machiko Kawagen looked at the bracelet on her wrist and was stunned for a long time.

She almost thought she was going to shed tears, even if it was a few symbolic drops, but as the sound of the people outside the door of the lounge came in, she reflexively straightened her back, and the corners of her mouth curled up to reveal a beautiful, calm, and mysterious arc - as if everything was under control.

In fact, she did manage it perfectly.

Whether it's the external expression, or the inner mood.

Even if there are some ups and downs, they also settle down in sentences like spells, which is what Koji also said:

Mr. Ronan is a very nice person.

Right, a six-year-old child, in two weeks' time, you can see:

Mr. Ronan is a very nice and nice person!

The door to the lounge opened, and the noise from the ballroom flowed again.

Machiko Kawagen is like a mermaid, after a temporary rest, she will fully integrate into the turbulence of this complex interpersonal relationship, and she will never get tired of it!