Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

After he won the necklace, Emerson also bid on a pair of matching earrings and a bracelet.

Halia looked at the man curiously as he smiled at her. What was a grown man doing with women's jewelry? Was he giving it to his mother?

After the auction ended, Emerson excused himself and went to the backstage to collect his winnings.

But, while he was gone, a man that had been watching Halia the entire night, finally approached her - it was Thomas Sun.

"Director Feng, I'm Thomas Sun, Director Wu's assistant. We met yesterday," Thomas reintroduced himself.

Halia immediately recognized the man, but she was surprised that the man was suddenly talking to her when he didn't say a word the previous day.

"I heard you mention yesterday that you would love to visit Macau, is that true?"

Halia nodded her head cautiously.

"Well, I work for a junket operator on the side and I have a special package I want to offer you. I can give you one week free accommodation at Golden Dream Casino in Macau, plus return flights to and from Beijing. What do you say? All you have to do is spend at least 100,000 yuan on chips and play inside our VIP room for at least 2 hours every day. As long as you stick to those rules, you are welcome to cash out whatever you don't use or whatever you win at the end of the week," Thomas offered.

"But, it's illegal to take more than 20,000 yuan out of the country," Halia pointed out.

"That's fine, we have a representative in Beijing who you can give the cash to. After you arrive in Macau, we will give you the equivalent in chips. If you run out, we can lend you money in Macau. And if you win or have funds left over, we can give it to you in HK dollars or US dollars. All exchange of cash will be private, the government won't know about it," Thomas winked.

Halia smirked with interest. "When's the next available date that I can take up this offer?" she asked.

Thomas quickly checked his phone, "In 3 weeks time."

"OK, well I'll be in Hong Kong for the rest of this week, so ask your representative to contact me when I get back to Beijing and we'll go from there," Halia said.

Thomas immediately nodded his head.

...

Meanwhile, over in France, Jackson and Amelie were sitting on the sofa next to each other. Jackson had his shirt off while Amelie was undoing the stitches on his shoulder and arm.

"Which hospital did you go to? Whoever stitched you up should get fired," Amelie complained as she carefully undid the crooked stitches.

Jackson glanced at the light scar left behind from the stitches and laughed to himself. "A beautiful nurse did it for me," he smiled.

Amelie glared at the man. How could he be praising another woman in front of her, especially when she left a scar on his arm?

"Look how bad this scar is. You should sue the hospital when you return to China," she exclaimed.

Jackson took another glance at the scar, "I think it looks quite good. Besides, it's not from a hospital. My girlfriend did it for me."

"Your girlfriend's a nurse?" Amelie asked nosily.

"She's a multitalented woman," Jackson replied with a secretive smile.

He gave Halia a bracelet and Halia gave him a scar - they were even, right? Now, whenever he looked at the scar, he was reminded of Halia. It was like she had branded him and he belonged to her. Was Halia still wearing his bracelet and did it remind her of him? This thought made Jackson's heart flutter. How could this woman make him feel this way even when she wasn't around? Perhaps, like people often said, distance really did make the heart grow fonder.

...

Back at the charity ball, the lights dimmed and a beautiful melody danced across the ballroom. Couples began to make their way onto the dancefloor as they moved elegantly in sync with the music.

Halia watched quietly from the side as she admired the music. It had been a long time since she attended an event like this. The last time she went to a ball, she was 15. Back then, she remembered admiring the ball gowns and suits on the adults and watching her parents dance. As she thought back on her childhood, she suddenly remembered that a little boy had asked her to dance that night. Who was that little boy?

While she was deep in thought, a hand suddenly appeared in front of her. "May I have this dance?" a familiar voice asked.

Halia looked up in surprise...