Chapter 585 - 581: Do You Think This Is Right?

Behind them, the people who had felt a bit awkward about Mr. Young’s "huge" 30-dollar red envelope were now, upon hearing about Cecilia Sterling’s gift, both shocked and relieved.

The reason was simple: when the gap between you and someone else is large enough, there’s no need to feel inferior.

At least now, when faced with Cecilia’s gift, Mr. Young was in the same boat as them.

"Good heavens!" The old woman snapped back to reality, hefting the case in her hands. Her teeth were chattering with excitement. "Cecilia, is... is this five kilograms of gold? Pure gold?"

"It is, Auntie. You can’t fake something like this," Cecilia Sterling said with a smile.

"Oh my, this... this..." Even for a worldly woman like her, the old lady felt that Cecilia’s extravagant gift was too hot to handle. For a moment, she was at a loss, not knowing whether to accept it or put it down.

Seeing this, Cecilia quickly explained, "It’s for Phoebe. I’m just passing it through you today. I’ve already opened a personal safe deposit box for Phoebe at the bank in my sister-in-law’s name. We’ll put this away for her soon."

"Good, good. Phoebe is so lucky to have an auntie like you." The old woman nodded excitedly again and again, finally accepting the gift.

When the younger daughter-in-law was recording the gift, she didn’t know what to write. "Mom, how should I log this? Just ’five kilograms of gold’?"

The old woman shot her a look and instructed, "Wouldn’t that seem stingy? Write ’5,000 grams.’ 5,000 is such a big number!"

"Yes, yes, yes." The younger daughter-in-law nodded hastily. She glanced curiously at the beautiful young woman and asked with some suspicion, "Mom, who is she? How can she be so generous? A gift this valuable must be worth several hundred thousand, right?"

"That’s Jeb’s sworn sister. What? Didn’t Tony tell you?"

"No, I haven’t heard him mention her."

Mrs. Yates smiled joyfully. "I was thinking of adopting her as my goddaughter. That would make us even closer. While Jeb’s been away, your sister-in-law has been relying entirely on her for support."

"Is that so..." The younger daughter-in-law gave a hollow laugh and didn’t respond.

Meanwhile, Mr. Young, looking very displeased, pulled Cecilia Sterling aside. "You little rascal, you... you... was that right of you?"

Cecilia smiled sweetly. "Mr. Young, please don’t be angry. You and I are different."

"How are we different?"

Cecilia explained with a smile, "Think about it. My sister-in-law spent the most difficult final months of her pregnancy under my care. So of course my feelings for Phoebe are different."

"But this is too much!" Mr. Young’s eyes widened as he gestured wildly. "Five kilograms of gold? Does that sound reasonable to you?"

His expression made Cecilia laugh out loud.

"You’re still laughing!" Mr. Young glared. "So you’ve learned to steal your Uncle Young’s thunder, have you? You should have told me earlier! I definitely wouldn’t have presented my gift in front of you."

Cecilia watched him with a smile, saying nothing for a long moment. Finally, she asked, "I don’t think Uncle Young is the type to get upset with me over a little vanity. I think you’re just jealous, aren’t you?"

"Er..." Mr. Young was speechless and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Seeing this, Cecilia laughed. "You don’t need to be jealous. You should go home and work hard with my auntie to have another baby. I promise I’ll give that baby a huge gift too. I would never play favorites!"

"You cheeky girl, you have no respect for your elders! You’ll say anything these days!"

Cecilia put her hand on Mr. Young’s back and gently pushed him inside, replying, "Well, I always keep my word. After all, if you really do have a child in your old age, I’d definitely have to give a gift!"

The doors to the banquet hall opened, and a wave of clamorous voices washed over them. Cecilia had expected it to be lively today, but not this lively.

Mr. Young’s voice followed, accompanied by a cold sneer. "Hmph. Now that Jeb has been sentenced, everyone knows he’ll be out in five or six years. A lot of people are crawling back out of the woodwork."

Cecilia paid it no mind. ’That’s just human nature. No point in getting worked up about it.’

The moment the two of them appeared, many people came over to greet them and curry favor. Cecilia’s accomplishments in Lorcain over the past year had made her a familiar face to many, so she was no longer treated lightly at such gatherings.

She handled the situation with ease, a scene that was noticed by Tony Yates, who stood not far away.

Dressed up in a rare suit, he looked deceptively presentable. He held a glass of wine and stared intently at Cecilia, who was currently chatting with her old friend, James Lockwood.

"Mr. Yates, what are you looking at?"

Someone next to him asked curiously.

Wesley Yates had given his younger brother a nominal position at the company, so he had the title "Mr. Yates" to sound impressive. In reality, it was a no-show job; he held shares in Wesley’s corporation and collected a salary for doing nothing. As his older brother, Wesley was more or less willingly supporting him.

Tony Yates’s lips curved into a smirk. He raised his eyebrows in Cecilia’s direction. "Her... do you know her?"

The person followed his gaze and recognized her immediately. "Isn’t that Miss Sterling?"

"You actually know her?" Tony Yates was a little surprised.

The person beside him nodded. "I wouldn’t say I *know* her, but I’ve seen her around at different events."

In Tony Yates’s eyes, Cecilia was just a very pretty college student in her twenties. He’d never imagined she had any other status.

Hearing this, he was quite taken aback. "She’s pretty well-connected, then. I see a lot of people going up to greet her."

Cecilia was talking to James Lockwood about a collaboration for next year. After all, this year’s Heavenly Destiny as Phoenix had been a massive hit, making a fortune for both James Lockwood’s company and Cecilia, the primary investor.

As their conversation grew animated, Cecilia distinctly felt a pair of eyes staring at her from somewhere. She subconsciously glanced over and met Tony Yates’s unflinching gaze.

When he saw Cecilia looking, he even smiled, raised his glass, and gestured a greeting to her.

Cecilia wasn’t having any of it. She just rolled her eyes and turned her head away.

Being the shameless thug that he was, Tony Yates didn’t get angry at this. He simply drank his wine on his own.

Just then, his wife, Summer Lynn, suddenly appeared beside him. Seeing her, Tony Yates’s brow furrowed. "Shouldn’t you be at the entrance logging the gifts? What are you doing in here?"

"Sister-in-law came and said I don’t need to register them anymore. She told me to come in and rest for a bit."

"Tsk." Tony Yates clicked his tongue in displeasure. "Logging them is the proper way to do things. What does she mean, we don’t need to?"

Summer Lynn pulled the impatient Tony Yates aside and said in a low voice, "They’re all about the same. Mr. Young gave the most, 30 dollars. And big brother’s sworn sister brought a longevity lock for Phoebe..."

Before Summer Lynn could finish, Tony Yates interrupted, "What’s so special about that thing? A few bucks at most."

Summer Lynn held up one hand, spreading all five fingers and waving it in front of Tony Yates’s face.

Tony Yates shoved her hand away. "Five bucks, so what? That’s not much. But that Mr. Young really sees my brother as a true friend, huh!"

Summer Lynn grabbed Tony Yates’s wrist tightly and said through gritted teeth, "Five *kilograms*!"