A few days later, a strange message suddenly popped up in the perfumer chat group, which had been quiet for a while.

The esteemed Rivermoon was hosting an in-person networking event at his base in Kaelen. He would be offering generous perfumery resources as prizes and inviting the perfumers from the group to attend.

Those who wanted to go were to first sign up privately with the group owner, who would then screen and send invitations to the top one hundred and twenty applicants.

The news didn’t just set the group abuzz; even Eldest Young Master Warren, the group owner himself, was completely baffled.

He had been blocked by the great Rivermoon for months. ’How could he suddenly be entrusted with such an important task?’

He tentatively sent Rivermoon a private message and was delighted to find that he had been unblocked.

What a wonderful surprise!

「Sterling Headquarters Building.」

In the sales department, Eldest Young Master Warren had just gotten into an argument with the head of the Hale Group’s sales department. The man had passive-aggressively mocked him for siding with an outsider, so he wasn’t in a very good mood.

But his foul mood was completely cured after he "rekindled his connection" with Rivermoon.

He closed his office door, dropped everything he was doing, took a deep breath, and initiated a conversation with Rivermoon about the details.

T-Rex Perfume: [Daddy, you finally let me out! I’ve waited so long for this day, my heart was about to break.]

Rivermoon: [There is only one criterion for the invitations.]

Not a single wasted word, straight to the point.

T-Rex Perfume: [Please, tell me, Father! I guarantee mission success!]

Rivermoon: [For those around twenty: their love lives must be frustrating, chaotic, and have ended for no good reason. For those over thirty: their marriages must be blissful and their families harmonious.]

T-Rex Perfume: [The fizzled-out romances are easy enough to find, but it’s the blissful marriages that are genuinely hard to come by.]

Rivermoon: [You figure it out. I just need you to ensure that, at the event, you make Miss Sterling feel that older men are better partners for romance and marriage. Ideally, she should come away with an aversion to younger men.]

’Miss Sterling?’

’Celia Sterling?’

Although he didn’t know the exact nature of the relationship between Rivermoon and Celia Sterling, that single mention of "Miss Sterling" made Eldest Young Master Warren’s heart lurch.

’So he’s going to all this trouble just for Celia Sterling. No wonder Silas Norwood said Rivermoon grants her every wish. Judging by how elaborate this scheme is, they can’t be mere acquaintances.’

T-Rex Perfume: [Father, you may not know this, but Miss Sterling is already married to an older man. He’s nearly ten years her senior, which is a pretty big age gap.]

This time, the other side didn’t reply.

Eldest Young Master Warren had a nagging feeling he’d said something wrong but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. He quickly changed the subject.

T-Rex Perfume: [Don’t you worry, Father, I’ll get it done right! For the twenty-year-olds, even if they’ve had no drama, I’ll have them fabricate tragic tales of life and death. For the thirty-year-olds, I can make flowers bloom even in the tomb of matrimony!]

Rivermoon: [Be subtle. Don’t make it too obvious.]

T-Rex Perfume: [Got it. A light touch is all it needs.]

Rivermoon: [Do this right, and I’ll give you the resources of a large-scale base.]

Eldest Young Master Warren felt like he’d been hit by a winning lottery ticket, dazed for a long moment. ’I was right! Stick with Celia Sterling, and a big shot like Rivermoon will deliver himself right to my doorstep!’

However, he was no longer so short-sighted that a single base was all he could see.

T-Rex Perfume: [You’re too kind, Father! If I really pull this off, I don’t even want the base. I’m one of Delia Caine’s people now. I’ll have to ask you to give the resources to Delia Caine instead, as a testament to my friendship with Eldest Miss Sterling.]

Rivermoon didn’t reply, simply dropping a link to a base in the chat.

The link contained a basic introduction to the base in Kaelen. It was a "super-scale" base, filled with countless rare flowers and exotic plants. Furthermore, it contained numerous high-grade, aged raw materials ready for essential oil extraction. The sight was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

Eldest Young Master Warren took a deep breath and called Celia Sterling.

"Miss Sterling, the group has been active for years, but we’ve never had an in-person event. This is a rare opportunity, would you like to come?"

Celia Sterling mulled it over for a few seconds. "When is it?"

"Next weekend. A lot of the senior perfumers from the group have already signed up. It’ll be a chance for everyone to exchange notes. It may not be as high-end as the Lowell Fragrance Gala, but we’ve all known each other in the group for years, so the atmosphere will definitely be different."

There was another moment of silence from Celia Sterling’s end. "As it happens, I’ll be at my base over in Kaelen next week."

Eldest Young Master Warren made a noise of surprise. "Huh? I didn’t know our Delia Caine had a base in Kaelen."

"It’s not Delia Caine’s. It’s Rivermoon’s." Celia Sterling dropped a statement that was tantamount to a bomb. "Rivermoon has entrusted me with the management of over a dozen of his bases."

"O-Over a dozen?" Eldest Young Master Warren swallowed hard. "Wh-What kind are they?"

"He let me choose them myself." Celia Sterling couldn’t resist teasing her former arch-nemesis. "Three super-scale bases and nine high-level ones."

A sour wave of jealousy rose in Eldest Young Master Warren’s heart, but he fiercely suppressed it. ’This isn’t the time for jealousy. I need to find a way to latch onto Celia Sterling’s golden coattails. If I stick with her, I’ll have everything I could ever want.’

"Miss Sterling, if you’re ever too busy, just say the word. I have tons of experience with these bases. I’m a top-tier workhorse, I swear."

Celia Sterling chuckled softly. "Alright. We’ll see how you do."

Then she hung up, leaving Eldest Young Master Warren walking on air.

「A Base, Overseas.」

Celia Sterling sat on a sun lounger at the base, the smile in her eyes vanishing the moment she hung up the phone.

’If I’m really going to take over these bases after the New Year, I’ll need to find an assistant. The workload is a secondary concern. More importantly, there are many things I don’t want to face Rivermoon directly over. In that sense, Eldest Young Master Warren—who has his own dealings with Rivermoon and is shameless enough for the job—is an excellent choice.’

Thinking of Rivermoon, Celia felt completely disenchanted.

’His conversations with me have become increasingly inappropriate. His intentions are painfully obvious. He’s no longer that devoted husband who always talked about his wife and saved everything for her.’

’Are all men really so fickle?’

Just as she was lost in thought, her phone BEEPED. Another pestering message from Rivermoon.

Rivermoon: [The event is on Miss Sterling’s turf. I’ll have to ask you to do me the honors of playing the host.]

Cece: [You’re too kind. I’m just the caretaker; you’re the real host.]

Rivermoon: [What’s this? You’re not even calling me Father anymore?]

Cece: [...]

Rivermoon: [Let’s meet then. We can discuss the bases.]

’Does he really want to talk about the bases, or something else entirely?’

Celia Sterling decided to cut to the chase.

Cece: [My husband should be there then, too. Perhaps we could all have a meal together?]

The other end fell silent for a long time.

Finally, peace and quiet. He didn’t reply again.

「Norwood Group, Chairman’s Office.」

Silas Norwood scrolled through his phone for a long while before discreetly calling Assistant Thorne.

"Boss, at your service," Assistant Thorne said respectfully.

Silas Norwood stood elegantly by the floor-to-ceiling window, a hint of confusion in his aloof eyes.

"My friend... he’s been using a side account to send a lot of fiery, flirty messages to his wife. But instead of being thrilled, she seems rather annoyed by it. Why do you think that is?"