It was that time of year again—the annual New York International Tech Expo. Grace Li took the Verve Capital team to check out the event. As usual, they split into two groups: Ryan and Olivia teamed up, while Grace Li took the new intern, Michael Garcia, along with her.
They eventually made their way to Hengyue Technology's booth. When Grace Li visited last year, Hengyue's booth was small and simple. This year, however, Tom Wilson had put a lot of effort into the preparations. The booth was completely revamped, and the foot traffic had increased several times compared to last year. As soon as Grace Li stepped into the booth, Tom Wilson greeted her with a big smile. "Seen anything particularly interesting?"
"Not much different from last year," Grace Li replied. "You go ahead, I'll just wander around."
"Actually, I'm not that busy either," Tom Wilson said as he led Grace Li to a table and had her sit down. "Sit and have some water."
Grace Li sat down, and Tom Wilson thoughtfully handed her a bottle of water, twisting off the cap for her. Grace Li scanned the booth and asked, "How's it going?"
"Pretty good. A client placed an order for a hundred units as a trial run this morning."
"That's great," Grace Li said with a smile. "It's rare to get customers placing orders on the spot."
Tom Wilson chuckled. "Yeah, it's definitely rare to see that kind of commitment from customers."
"By the way, today marks our one-year anniversary," Tom Wilson suddenly said. It had been exactly a year since Grace Li had first met him at this very expo. Grace Li felt like it was just yesterday she was here. "Time really flies," she remarked.
"But a lot has happened in the past year," Tom Wilson replied with a thoughtful tone. It was true—over the past year, Grace Li had left Nova Capital, started her own business, discovered Aiden Thompson's true identity, dealt with the opposition from Aiden's parents, and was now facing a forced separation from him. And the Hengyue Technology she had shown interest in last year had grown and developed with her support.
Just then, a sales associate hurried over, looking a bit anxious. "Tom, we've got some Italian clients here. They have a heavy accent and have been using a lot of technical medical jargon. Most of our clients are local, so we're having a hard time keeping up. Not sure how to handle this."
Tom Wilson looked over at the booth and saw the Italians. Turning to Grace Li, he said, "Grace Li, you deal with international business a lot. Do you speak Italian? Could you help us out?"
"Sure, I'll give it a try," Grace Li said.
Grace Li, along with Tom Wilson, went to meet the Italian clients. It turned out they were medical equipment importers, looking for a manufacturer of smart wheelchairs. After seeing Hengyue Technology's products, they were very impressed. The Italian market was huge, and this was a big opportunity for Hengyue Technology. The clients were very interested and asked if they could visit the factory. Since they were flying back to Italy the next day, they only had today to check it out.
The factory was not far from the expo, so Tom Wilson and Grace Li took the clients there for a tour. Afterward, they sat down to discuss some of the details. Considering the Italian clients' tastes and New York's diverse food scene, Tom Wilson decided to take them to a popular Italian restaurant known for its authentic flavors, giving them a taste of home while also offering a chance to experience the city's multicultural cuisine. The dinner lasted until 9 p.m., wrapping up a long but productive day.
After arranging for a car to take the clients back to their hotel, Tom Wilson turned to Grace Li and said, "Looks like I owe you another thank you."
Grace Li smiled and replied, "It's nothing, really. But we definitely need to start thinking about expanding our international business."
"You're right," Tom Wilson agreed. "I was planning to focus on the domestic market first, but didn't expect foreign clients to show up so soon." It was a pleasant surprise, and you never pass up a business opportunity that comes knocking. Grace Li said, "I'll take care of contacting the clients. You should get HR to start recruiting for international trade positions."
"Got it." Tom Wilson then noticed that Grace Li's face was flushed. Since she hadn't had any alcohol, he asked, "Hey, your face is a bit red—are you feeling okay?"
Grace Li touched her forehead with the back of her hand. "I might be running a fever. It's flu season."
Tom Wilson felt her forehead, and it was burning hot. His concern grew. "You've got a pretty high fever. We should get you to a hospital."
Grace Li had started feeling unwell earlier that afternoon but had pushed through, accompanying the clients to the factory and then to dinner. By the time dinner ended, she was already feeling light-headed. Tom Wilson took Grace Li to an urgent care center nearby.They went through registration and an initial assessment, and after the doctor evaluated her high fever, he recommended she receive an IV for observation. Given the flu season, the emergency room was packed, and the IV area was full of other patients waiting.
As the night grew later, Grace Li turned to Tom Wilson and said, "It's getting late. You can head back. I'll be fine after the IV, and I can head home on my own."
Tom Wilson immediately disagreed. "No way, you're not staying here alone, especially not when you're sick. I'm not leaving you by yourself."
Grace Li was used to handling things on her own after years of working—stomach bugs, colds, fevers, and even IVs were no big deal for her. But Tom Wilson wouldn't hear of it, so she reluctantly agreed to let him stay with her.
Considering Grace Li's condition and the hospital's current situation, Tom Wilson spoke to the doctor. He was told that staying at the hospital would provide more thorough care, but it would also be more expensive. After weighing his options, Tom Wilson decided to admit Grace Li to a room and have her receive the IV there. Grace Li's fever was high, her face was flushed, and she was dizzy. She fell asleep shortly after the IV was started. Tom Wilson stayed by her side, keeping an eye on her hand to make sure she didn't move too much and pull the needle out. Grace Li was in a deep sleep, and Tom Wilson found himself staring at her. He wasn't used to looking at her for too long, worried it would make her uncomfortable. But now, he could gaze at her freely, and it felt both luxurious and guilt-ridden. Sometimes, he wondered if he was a little obsessed—he knew she had feelings for someone else, but still, he couldn't help the way he felt. Raised with strong morals, he kept his feelings bottled up, never letting them show. When he mentioned to her that it was exactly one year ago that they first met, he didn't admit to the fact that, since that day, he had fallen for her instantly.
His heart raced faster. He felt like he was losing control. His thoughts were getting out of hand, and they were almost driving him crazy. He stood up abruptly, stepped out of the room, and took a few minutes to calm down before returning.
As her IV was almost finished, Tom Wilson quietly called over a nurse and motioned for her to be gentle, not wanting to wake Grace Li. Grace Li was still groggy from the fever and didn't wake up when they took out the needle. Tom Wilson didn't want to disturb her; he feared that if he woke her up, she'd insist on going home. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving someone with a high fever alone at home. If it didn't get better, they could handle it immediately at the hospital.
By the time dawn approached, Grace Li woke up and saw Tom Wilson asleep with his head resting by her bed. It took a moment for her to remember what had happened the night before. She felt her forehead again—it was still warm, but not as bad as before. Her head was still heavy, and she felt light-headed.
Tom Wilson woke up as well, and when he saw she was awake, he quickly asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Grace Li replied.
Tom Wilson stood up and felt her forehead again—it was still warm. "You've been burning up all night," he said. "You should rest more."
Grace Li, surprised she had slept the whole night through, guessed Tom Wilson hadn't wanted to wake her. "Sorry for keeping you here all night," she said.
"No worries," Tom Wilson said. "I should be the one apologizing. You were sick, and I still had you help with the foreign clients."
"I volunteered," Grace Li said, rubbing her head. "Right now, I can barely think straight. I don't think I can make it to the office today."
"You need to rest up," Tom Wilson urged.
Grace Li agreed. She needed rest, so she asked Tom Wilson to take her home. Once they got back, she took a quick shower, and Tom Wilson brought her some soup. After eating, she planned to sleep again. Tom Wilson still had to head back to the expo, so once he made sure she was settled, he left.
As soon as Grace Li lay down, her mom's call came through. "Grace, today's your birthday! Your dad's factory doesn't have much going on, so we're taking a few days off and coming over to celebrate with you. We'll be there before noon."
"Okay, you two come on over," Grace Li said.
"You sound different—did you catch a cold?"
"Yeah, I've got a bit of a fever. I'm resting at home today."
"Did you take medicine or get an injection?"
"I did last night. I'm feeling a little better now."
"Good, take care of yourself. Your dad and I should be there by noon."
"Okay, see you soon."
After hanging up, Grace Li opened her phone's calendar app and realized it was indeed her birthday. She hadn't even paid much attention to it. As a kid, she had always looked forward to celebrating with her parents, but as she grew older, the excitement faded. Still, when people who cared about her remembered her birthday, it always felt warm. She couldn't sleep, so she opened her laptop, responded to messages on WhatsApp and emails, and checked files sent by project teams.
Once she got into work mode, she couldn't stop.