At the dinner table, Brian Perry blended in seamlessly with Steven Joyce and the other team members, the atmosphere lively and warm. With decades of life experience from both his past and present lives and a mind full of wisdom, forging a good relationship with these spirited young college students was an effortless task for him.

Samantha Ford, however, spoke very little, maintaining a reserved smile but hardly joining in the group’s banter and laughter over drinks. She had always been rather reserved and introverted, and given her distinguished background, everyone found this quite normal.

Yet Brian Perry clearly sensed that Samantha Ford had been watching him all along with an extremely complex gaze, a trace of mysterious light flickering in her eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brian Perry glanced over Samantha Ford’s elegant and refined face, and his heart gradually grew more certain.

He was fairly confident about his father’s background. As for the dragon-patterned jade pendant, it was surely well-known to the Ford family; there was no way Samantha Ford wouldn’t recognize it. In fact, her reaction had already confirmed this.

So Brian Perry concluded that when Samantha Ford excused herself to the restroom, she had undoubtedly gone to call her family and report the situation.

If the Ford family took this seriously, there would soon be a next step—this would mean that the old master of the Ford family had always been eager to find his kin, and the chances of a successful reunion would be high. If not, the result would be the opposite.

Brian Perry noticed that Samantha Ford kept glancing at her watch, a hint of anxiety and unease showing between her brows. Sensing this, he pretended to be drunk, stood up, and bid farewell to everyone.

“Coach Perry, why are you leaving so soon? Stay a bit longer.” Seeing Brian Perry about to leave, Samantha Ford grew anxious, stood up to persuade him, and at the same time gave Steven Joyce a look.

Steven Joyce immediately grabbed Brian Perry’s arm and chuckled, “Brother Perry, no way, you can’t leave. Don’t I know your drinking capacity? This little bit of alcohol is nothing! No, we have to keep drinking—no one leaves until we’re drunk!”

“Yeah, keep drinking, you can’t go, Coach Perry!” The other team members chimed in as well.

With a hazy, drunken smile, Brian Perry waved his hand and said, “No, I can’t drink anymore. I have things to do this afternoon, so I’ll head out first. Thank you all for your hospitality. Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll treat you all in return.”

As he spoke, Brian Perry appeared to stagger from drunkenness, but in reality, he skillfully and deftly freed himself from Steven Joyce and the others’ grasp. Before anyone could react, he strode toward the private room’s door and walked out.

Samantha Ford stamped her foot lightly and hurried after him.

But by the time she got outside, Brian Perry was already nowhere to be seen.

Samantha Ford pressed her lips together, her beautiful brows furrowed, and instead of returning to the private room, she went straight to the hotel lobby.

Before long, a middle-aged man wearing black sunglasses, a white shirt, his hair meticulously combed, and standing ramrod straight, strode in. Samantha Ford immediately went up to him. The two stood face to face, speaking in low voices.

At the corner between the hotel stairs and the lobby, Brian Perry stood quietly, watching the two of them, his mind racing.

The middle-aged man was dressed simply and solemnly, yet carried an extraordinary air. Judging by Samantha Ford’s demeanor, it was almost certain he was her elder. After a brief conversation in the lobby, the man hurried off.

Through the lobby’s floor-to-ceiling windows, Brian Perry saw him get into a military-green off-road jeep with military plates, and guessed that this must be her second uncle, Benjamin Ford, a division commander in a field army, soon to be promoted to major general and appointed as chief of staff at a group army headquarters.

Brian Perry let out a long breath.

Benjamin Ford coming in person showed just how seriously the Ford family was taking this matter.

But Brian Perry didn’t want to meet the elders of the Ford family so hastily, because he knew all too well the hidden intrigues and undercurrents within such powerful and prestigious families—far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

He had to be extremely cautious, as there were still some uncertainties, and possibly even risks involved.

This reunion was, for him, a chance to change his fate, a challenge, and a game of chess. He wanted to slowly and carefully keep the chessboard under his own control, to advance the game at his own pace, and avoid becoming a pawn at the mercy of others.

The exposure of the dragon-patterned jade pendant was bound to cause a stir in the Ford family.

Brian Perry understood that perhaps as soon as this afternoon, the Ford family would use their powerful connections to thoroughly investigate his background. Although the only information available was “Brian Perry,” “Class of ’91, Chinese Department, Jinghua University,” with the Ford family’s resources, it wouldn’t be hard to find out everything about Brian Perry.

Brian Perry wasn’t afraid of being investigated; what he feared was the Ford family not investigating at all, remaining indifferent.

As long as the Ford family was willing to look into it, they would surely discover that Brian Perry’s father, Eric Perry, had an unusual background, and that his parents were adoptive. Following the clues, the Ford family would also find that Eric Perry’s adoptive parents were outsiders who had fled from Jiangnan to settle in Jiangbei before the founding of the country.

Before coming to Beijing, Brian Perry had gone to the village to get a certificate from the village secretary, simply to lay the groundwork for the Ford family’s secret investigation.

All this information combined, even without actually seeing the dragon-patterned jade pendant or the handwritten letter of kinship from the old master of the Ford family, would be enough to truly alarm the old master in the inner quarters.