Chapter 172: He Also Remembers You

Her phone buzzed. Amanda Vance glanced at it and said, "Can you be a good boy and wait here for Mommy, okay? Mommy has to go out for a bit."

"Can’t you take me with you?"

"I’m just going downstairs. I’ll be back very soon."

She needed to go take a look at today’s auction items first. She couldn’t see the actual objects, but there was a promotional brochure she had forgotten to grab on her way up.

"Okay, then. You go, Mommy." Knowing she wasn’t going far, Felix Ford felt relieved. He waved at her obediently, a wide smile on his face.

Amanda couldn’t resist pinching his little cheek. "Good boy. Wait for Mommy, I’ll be right back."

"Okay." He smiled and nodded, being exceptionally well-behaved. He even added, "Don’t worry, Mommy. I won’t run around."

"Laura is the best."

Hearing his new name, Felix was clearly even happier, practically buzzing with delight. Seeing this, Amanda couldn’t help but lean down and plant a kiss on his little cheek. "Wait for Mommy."

"Mhm, mhm."

The auction was on the first floor, but the exhibition hall was a bit far. It took Amanda over ten minutes to walk there.

’Turns out, a place being too big isn’t always a good thing.’

She grabbed a brochure and opened it to the page with the Jade Pendant, but she froze.

’It’s not mine.’

Back then, Hayden Grant had only photographed the front. This brochure was more comprehensive, showing both the front and back, and only now did she realize the pattern on the back was different from hers.

It wasn’t completely different, but more like a mirror image—completely reversed.

If the two were put together, they would form a complete flower.

Amanda had thought it was strange when she’d first examined her Jade Pendant, wondering why it was only a half. She had asked her mother about it, but her mother never answered, only looking very sad.

Judging by her reaction, it seemed she knew about the other half of the pendant.

’So who does this Jade Pendant belong to? What’s their connection to my mother?’

Amanda couldn’t figure it out. She had been too young when her mother left and didn’t know many things. By the time she grew up and had the means to investigate, too much time had passed, making many things impossible to uncover. She only had a partial understanding.

But regardless, since this Jade Pendant was a pair with hers, there had to be some connection.

No matter what the relationship between the pendant’s original owner and her mother was, she had to get this Jade Pendant first.

Still, realizing it wasn’t her missing piece left her feeling a little disappointed.

’So where on earth is my Jade Pendant?’

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Amanda turned and started walking back.

In the distance, someone with a scarf wrapped around their head secretly followed her, their eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, full of resentment.

’Why should Amanda get to be fine when my parents are in prison?’

She once thought that submitting herself to Bob Rhodes was the worst time of her life, but she never imagined things could get even harder. The company’s assets were frozen, which was as good as bankruptcy. She had nothing now.

And Amanda was still completely fine.

The thought made her grind her teeth in hatred.

Clenching her fists, she remembered something. She walked over to the brochure stand and picked one up. She thought she’d seen Amanda staring intently at this earlier.

After flipping through a few pages, she saw something familiar. She remembered Amanda seemed to have one of these jade pendants too. ’So, is this what she’s here for?’

A glint in her eye, Shirley Vance’s lips slowly curved into a smirk. Looking in the direction Amanda had gone, a venomous look flashed in her eyes.

She snapped a photo of the Jade Pendant, then walked to a corner and made a call. "Hello, Mr. Ford? It’s me, Shirley Vance. I’ve discovered something..."

Brochure in hand, Amanda walked quickly to the elevator, not expecting to run into someone there. Tilting her head to look at the man inside, she asked quizzically, "President Ford?"

’How come I keep running into him everywhere?’

Samuel Ford was also a little surprised to see her. He held the elevator door open. "Dr. Vance, what floor?"

"The twenty-third floor."

Now he was even more astonished. "What a coincidence."

That response...

"President Ford is, too?"

"Yes, I have a meeting."

Of course, the hotel had more than one event hall. Amanda remembered now; she had seen another sign for an international conference right next to the auction hall. No wonder he was here.

Nodding, Amanda said, "That is a coincidence."

She waved the brochure in her hand. "I’m here for the auction."

Samuel Ford knew about this auction; he’d even received an invitation, but unfortunately, the timing conflicted, and he didn’t have time to go.

And today’s meeting was impossible to postpone.

Feeling a little regretful, he asked, "Is there something here that Dr. Vance likes?"

"Yes," Amanda nodded, but didn’t elaborate.

Seeing this, Samuel Ford was smart enough not to press for details.

They soon reached the twenty-third floor, and both stepped out. This floor was also quite large, with several corners. Although they were on the same floor, their destinations were not close.

As she watched him turn a corner, Amanda couldn’t help but marvel at how small the world was, running into him wherever she went.

She smiled without saying anything. Just as she was about to swipe her key card, the door opened from the inside. The next moment, a small head popped out. "Mommy!"

It was Felix Ford. He had heard a noise and rushed to open the door, and sure enough, his mommy was back.

Amanda smiled too, taking his hand as she walked in. The little boy was still complaining softly, "Mommy, didn’t you say you’d be back soon? It’s been almost forty minutes."

He had been watching the clock.

"The place was a bit far," Amanda explained softly.

"Oh, so that’s why." Felix was happy again. He pulled her to sit on the bed, his little hands balled into fists, lightly tapping her legs. "Then Mommy must be exhausted. You sit and rest, I’ll give you a massage."

The child’s hands were tiny and not very strong. He alternated between patting and squeezing, which wasn’t very effective at relieving fatigue and was, in fact, a little ticklish.

Amanda didn’t mind. She let the child massage her for a little while before pulling him to sit beside her. "Much better. I’m not tired anymore. Thank you, Laura."

"You’re welcome," Felix said with a grin. He was discovering he liked this name more and more; it sounded much better than Felix Ford.

"By the way, Mommy, how do you write the ’Lance’ in my name?"

Amanda wrote out the character on a piece of paper. "Like this."

"Oh, okay." Felix stared at it for a moment. ’Sure enough, it doesn’t just sound nice, it looks nice too. And it’s much easier to write than the character in my old name.’ "I like it! Jean Vance, Lance Vance. The names even make us look like a family, don’t they, Mommy?"

"Yes." Amanda patted his head and pulled him onto her lap. "How did you and Jean meet?"

’Wait,’ she corrected herself. "Are you in the same kindergarten?"

Jean had come back midway through, and she had picked him up from kindergarten.

Since she’d already figured it out, Felix couldn’t hide it anymore. He nodded. "Yes."

’It makes sense. The two boys are the same age, and Sunshine Kindergarten is the best one around. Everyone would want to send their child there.’

Even so, Amanda couldn’t help but think it was too much of a coincidence.

’The boys are twins, they got switched by a strange twist of fate at the airport, and they even ended up in the same kindergarten.’

Amanda stroked his little cheek. "So how do you two get along?"

’Our relationship? It’s not that great. Jean is too smart, just like Dad, and he was always stopping me from seeing Mommy. We didn’t get along very well.’

In the moment he hesitated, Amanda could already tell. "Not well?"

"Uhm, that’s not it exactly," Felix pouted. "Jean was just afraid I’d steal Mommy away from him."

Amanda paused, but she wasn’t too surprised. Jean looked easygoing, but he was actually a bit possessive. She ruffled the boy’s hair. "It’s okay. Mommy will talk to him later. He actually misses you a lot, you know. Your birthdays are on the same day, and every year when he eats his cake, he always sets aside half of it."

It was for him.

Not only did Amanda have a habit of buying two of everything, but Jean also remembered that he had a brother.

Even when they thought he was no longer in this world, they still remembered him.