Sophia just smiled and didn't say anything, not bothering to explain further.
There might not be any future interactions, and if they did happen to meet again, people would naturally find out if she was telling the truth.
Sophia didn't stay long and finally saw Amelia arrive.
Although Amelia got to Peng City a little earlier, she had gone on behalf of Professor Zhou to attend another event. It ended late last night, so she only came over today.
When she saw Sophia, they waved and greeted each other.
Amelia first went to greet Haiwen.
Instead of bringing a gift, Amelia gave a big red envelope directly.
Luckily, she didn't know many rich second-generation heirs—just one or two—and this time, the red envelope was mainly from her teacher.
"Professor Zhou couldn't come back in time because of other commitments, so she asked me to pass this on," Amelia said.
Haiwen's bridesmaids helped hold things nearby.
After greeting Haiwen, Amelia went over to Sophia.
Sophia finally had someone she could talk to.
She had chatted with those wealthy girls earlier, but the conversations didn't really click.
Sophia and Amelia sat off to the side. The first thing Sophia said was, "Senior, you've lost weight again!"
Amelia gave a helpless smile. "Yeah, I've just been too busy lately."
"I don't even know how it happened—suddenly a few ancient tombs were discovered, and I've been going around doing research with my teacher."
People in their field couldn't resist diving into study when tombs were uncovered—they'd become fully absorbed.
It wasn't pressure from work; it was just genuine passion for their profession.
"Will Professor Zhou still be able to make it to my exhibit?" Sophia asked. "If she can't come, I'll just set aside the items she specifically asked for."
Amelia looked unsure. "It's hard to say right now."
"She booked an early flight for tomorrow morning. Once she lands, she'll head straight to your place."
Once again proving that saying—young people look tired and old folks are full of energy.
Professor Zhou really could keep going.
Amelia laughed at Sophia's comment. "You're not wrong. Sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with my teacher at all."
Even though she was the younger one, she had less stamina.
They chatted while waiting for Haiwen to finish her makeup and styling. Around ten o'clock, Mr. Ze showed up with his group of friends.
The room instantly got livelier. Since both sides' friends often hung out together, everyone was very familiar.
While the others caught up and talked, Sophia and Amelia went downstairs.
Soon, the sounds of laughter and chatter from upstairs grew louder. Sophia and Amelia stood up from the couch, and as expected, Haiwen and Mr. Ze—both looking sharp and elegant—came down the stairs, surrounded by their friends.
Soon after, several cars left the Wu family's villa. When Sophia and Amelia got to the hotel, Laoyezi and the others hadn't arrived yet.
No wonder they had been partying late the night before—they didn't need to get up early.
About half an hour before the engagement banquet began, the elderly guests arrived slowly.
But Haiwen's family didn't mind. The Wu family had some influence and assets in Peng City, but not enough to act senior in front of those people.
The elders of the Wu family welcomed Laoyezi and the others and took their seats with them.
Around 11:30, the engagement banquet officially began.
The process wasn't complicated and ended in about half an hour.
Finally, it was time to eat. While people at the front were still chatting, Sophia and Amelia started digging in.
They were starving. They had gotten up early, eaten early, and after all this running around, their stomachs were completely empty.
Luckily, they were sitting toward the back, so they could eat freely without needing to socialize.
Throughout the day, Haiwen and Mr. Ze still had to attend to the guests.
After Sophia and Amelia finished eating, they didn't stay much longer. Seeing Haiwen surrounded by friends and family, they waved from afar, greeted him quickly, and left.
Sophia and Amelia hadn't seen each other in a long time and originally wanted to go out for a stroll, but they were too tired. In the afternoon, they went back to the hotel and took a nap.
When they checked their phones, it was already around four or five o'clock. They also noticed that Laoyezi had left several voice messages.
Sophia opened WeChat and saw that Laoyezi and a group of others had gone out again and were asking if she wanted to join them.
"Senior sister, want to go?" Sophia asked, since Amelia was also in the group chat.
"Sure, no problem. We're leaving tomorrow anyway, let's go out for a bit."
They quickly booked a ride to head over.
But unexpectedly, just half an hour into the ride, they got stuck in traffic. The cars weren't moving at all.
"Forget it. Why don't we just eat nearby?" Amelia suggested.
They were near the high-speed rail station, and the roads around there were all jammed.
Sophia agreed, "Okay. Luckily, we didn't tell Laoyezi yet. I'll just reply in the group and let him know we're not coming."
What neither of them expected was that they had only planned to eat nearby—yet they ended up buying a house.
As they were leaving, Amelia still hadn't fully processed it. "Are you crazy? Why'd you buy a house here?"
Sophia replied, "So next time I come, I'll have a place to stay."
Even though she usually stayed at five-star hotels when she visited and it wasn't bad, she couldn't help thinking that the beds, the bathrooms—everything—had been used by others. It always felt uncomfortable.
Back when she didn't have money, she could endure these things. But now that she did, why should she put up with that anymore?
Amelia could only shake her head helplessly.
But honestly, that apartment was really nice. In a city like Pengcheng where space is super limited, it was rare to find such a large flat with a big balcony. It would be very comfortable to live there.
Cramped living is something working people have to deal with. If you have money, you can enjoy space wherever you go.
The place was about 300-400 square meters. It hadn't been handed over yet, but it was already available for purchase. Everyone said the real estate market was bad, the economy wasn't doing well—but there were still a lot of people at the sales office.
And you had to show proof of funds just to get a viewing.
"Should we just go back tonight?" Sophia asked.
After dinner and buying the apartment, it was already around 7 p.m.
Amelia agreed. She would rather go back early than wake up super early tomorrow.
They said a quick goodbye in the group chat and then headed straight to Sophia's place.
After two days of nonstop activity, they were both totally exhausted.
When they got to Sophia's home, it was already past ten, close to eleven.
They had originally planned to stay up and chat, but ended up falling asleep almost immediately.
When they woke up, there were already people downstairs.
Ronin had brought staff from the planning and security companies to prepare.
Since Sophia wasn't around yesterday, the planning company had already nearly finished the setup with Ronin's help.
"Miss Sophia, good morning! Did we wake you?" Manager Yang from the planning company greeted her.