Chapter 84 Unity Knot

Life cannot always be smooth sailing. An occasional mistake may be understood and forgiven, but if similar situations keep happening, it can only lead to the complete end of this bond. Thinking back to how I once responded to him with goodwill, it now seems particularly ironic. William Foster smiled bitterly, "Clara, if I really wanted to test you, would I have set up flowers and cushions downstairs? This shows that I didn’t mean any harm." He tried hard to suppress the unease in his heart, using as gentle a voice as possible to continue his explanation. To add credibility, he even pointed to a finely decorated small area not far away, where roses and comfortable cushions were placed as supporting evidence. All of this was obviously meticulously prepared, involving significant investment of both money and effort. It hardly seemed like a part of a conspiracy. Clara raised an eyebrow, with a tone that carried a hint of displeasure and confusion, "Then why are you doing all this? What’s the meaning?" William opened his mouth slightly but seemed to struggle for words, his voice hesitant and low, "It’s just... it’s a special event of the restaurant, I thought it was quite fun and maybe you could join me in trying it." Clara furrowed her brows more deeply, her face showing obvious discontent and confusion, "What kind of thing? Explain clearly." William took a deep breath, cleared his throat, as if trying to make his explanation sound more reasonable, "The restaurant’s game is designed for those who want to propose. They claim that danger is what tests real feelings." "They say many people use this game to test if their partner is their true love. When I heard about it, I thought, well, it doesn’t really have anything to do with true love. But if it’s you, I’m sure you wouldn’t leave me no matter how miserable I looked." Clara sneered, her lips slightly curling, her eyes full of sarcasm and coldness, "Do you think just saying a few nice words can make me forgive you?" Of course not! The slap she gave him didn’t feel satisfying enough, and she even felt a slight ache in her knuckles. She kept pondering in her mind whether to give this troublesome fiancé another slap to make him remember better. Thinking of how William was pretending just now, acting as if he was amusing, even a bit narcissistic, immediately sparked Clara’s anger, almost drowning out her rationality. Incredible! This guy not going into acting is a real loss to the film industry. Those who don’t know might really think William is the one aiming to make a career in show business! William obviously felt Clara’s fury, quickly putting on an admitting mistake posture, lowering his head, speaking earnestly and eagerly, "I’m sorry, Clara, I know I indeed took it too far. Honestly, when you were tying those things on me, I realized I shouldn’t have kept this from you in secret. My intention wasn’t to test anything, I just got carried away. Besides, they also mentioned that if we passed the game successfully, there would be gifts, which I thought was interesting." Clara heard these words, and her anger eased slightly, but more than that, a sense of unexpected curiosity was aroused, "What gift? Is it real?" Seeing his explanation taking effect, William forced himself to nod, his voice still soft but revealed a certain firmness, "Yes, gifts, I am not lying to you." Actually, he made it up on the fly; there was no such thing. It was purely to distract Clara from thinking about hitting him. William was well aware his apology might merely be mere words, utterly incapable of truly quelling Clara’s anger. But he also knew rather than stubbornly enduring the displeasure, he might as well add some other tactics to ease the atmosphere. Moreover, he wasn’t entirely making it up, but was seizing an opportunity to adjust his strategy. William knew very well a simple apology might not be sufficient. He wasn’t the kind of person who is self-righteous and only perfunctory. On the contrary, this time he genuinely thought mere words were not enough to resolve the current conflict. After all, Clara was stubborn and extremely hated being deceived or tricked; casually apologizing wouldn’t suffice as it would be seen as underestimating her. If spending money could resolve the issue and calm Clara down, he was willing to try it. In his understanding, money isn’t the most precious thing, at least compared to his relationship with Clara, such an investment wasn’t much. If spending money could quickly turn the situation toward peaceful negotiation, then this choice was undoubtedly the most cost-effective. So even if he had to open his wallet, he was not stingy. Moreover, coincidentally, the supposed gift was something he had already prepared before. This gift had originally been intended as a backup plan in his mind, just now it was conveniently put to use. William privately felt fortunate for having kept a backup plan, not being caught off guard due to the change in situation. After all, for someone familiar with the rules of business battles like him, always having a backup plan is the key to staying undefeated. Clara raised her eyebrows, deliberately sneering, "Oh? What kind of thing could even get your attention?" Her tone carried a hint of mockery, clearly not believing he would easily take out something satisfactory. In fact, at this moment Clara’s psychological state was a mix of vigilance and scrutiny; on one side she still harbored caution against William, yet on the other hand couldn’t help but be curious about what kind of item could be deemed "rare" by him. Clara muttered to herself: This person just offered a billion-dollar betrothal gift, what kind of gift could he find rare? One must know the billion-dollar betrothal gift was enough to shock the audience, and in this case, what could arouse her interest must be something beyond imagination. Could he be bluffing? Clara’s mind raced, trying to find deeper information beneath the surface. Yet, she couldn’t immediately expose it, choosing instead to silently watch his next move. William said solemnly, "Some items are priceless and cannot be bought with money. The owner of this restaurant is an antique collector, and he has two pieces of Unity Knot carved from millennium-old jade. As long as you finish the game within the stipulated time, you can take them home." Saying this, William’s tone suddenly became serious, even carrying an undeniable attitude, instantly making the entire situation extraordinary. Two Unity Knots made from millennium-old jade. Such a description was enough to whet anyone’s appetite, never mind the meaning and more astounding artistic value it contained.