Grace Li never imagined that her story of saving someone on Inwood Hill would go viral. She opened Twitter and saw a five-minute edited version of the video of her helping the girl. The retweets and comments had already exceeded ten thousand.

  User A: “This girl is not only beautiful but also kind! Does anyone know her Twitter handle? I need to follow her!”

  User B: “I heard she was kneeling on the ground to help, and her knees got scraped up badly. What a trooper.”

  User C: “She’s basically an angel—pretty and so caring!”

  User D: “I know her! She’s a director at an investment firm. She did a due diligence check at our company. I always thought she was super impressive, and really nice.”

  User E: “Wow, that’s amazing! Are all women this awesome now? She looks so young, and she’s already a director at a firm!”

  User F: “Actually, she quit her job and became her own boss. She even went to the Hengyue launch event.”

  User G: “Anyone know what brand that bracelet is? I need one.”

  User H: “That bracelet is from Hengyue Technology. She’s actually invested in it—talk about a win-win!”

  The next morning, the Verve Capital office was buzzing with excitement. Ryan, Olivia, and Michael Garcia were making a racket, like a busy market.

  “Boss, you're famous! You're a social media star now!” Ryan shouted, grinning ear to ear. “Look at this! On Instagram, there’s already thousands of people talking about you.” Olivia pointed to her phone screen. “And on TikTok, your video is everywhere! Some clips have over 100,000 likes!” Michael Garcia joined in, egging it on. “Grace, even the Hengyue launch video got cut out. You were only on screen for a few minutes, but the views are through the roof!” Ryan continued. “My suggestion? Let’s get you on Twitter and TikTok! We can turn this hype into something real and start a social media career!” Ryan said, practically jumping with excitement.

  Grace Li was getting a headache from all the noise. She stood up and raised her hand, signaling for them to stop. “Hold on, hold on!”

  Ryan stopped, smiling broadly. “Boss, what can we do for you?”

  Grace Li repeated, “I don’t want to do the social media thing. I’m not about being in the spotlight. I helped out because it was the right thing to do, not to get attention. This hype will fade soon enough, so let’s just focus on doing our jobs, okay?”

  Ryan pouted. “But so many people are cashing in on this kind of attention. They’re making a fortune!”

  “That’s their choice, not mine,” Grace Li said firmly.

  Olivia tugged at Ryan’s sleeve. “Alright, stop pushing her, okay?”

  Ryan sighed, deflated. “Fine.”

  Grace Li continued, “I know you mean well, but there’s no need to blow this out of proportion. I’m not a hero, I just helped out. It’s really no different than helping someone cross the street. All this praise feels fake to me, and I’m not into that.”

  Olivia nodded in agreement. “The boss is right. A lot of people become a hot topic for no reason. Some use the attention for self-promotion, but most of them fade out or even get criticized. We’re in the investment business, so let’s stick to that.”

  Michael Garcia chimed in, “Exactly, and even though the boss didn’t publicly come forward after the incident, I’ve noticed a lot of people are super interested in the Hengyue bracelet. Once it officially launches, I bet it’s gonna fly off the shelves.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Olivia smiled. “Yeah, it’s like we’re getting free advertising for the bracelet.”

  Ryan asked curiously, “Hey, boss, how exactly did that bracelet end up on the girl’s wrist?”

  Grace Li, focused on saving the girl at the time, didn’t remember all the details. But she knew that the bracelet was originally on Rex Thompson’s wrist, and it must have been him who had someone put it on the girl. With the bracelet on, it was possible to monitor her vitals, and at that crucial moment, it really made a difference.

  That afternoon, Tom Wilson called Grace Li to let her know that the health bracelets had already received over a dozen orders, totaling more than $30 million. All because of the viral video. Some pharmacies and medical equipment distributors in the U.S. had jumped on the chance and started placing large orders.

  Looks like good things come to those who do good.

  **

  When Aiden Thompson found out that Rex and Mabel Thompson had visited Grace Li, he didn’t bring it up in front of his father.

  Later, Aiden thought it over and realized that Rex’s actions might have something to do with the conversation he had with his father the other day. He had vented about how his parents dismissed Grace Li without really getting to know her.

  This time, Rex and Mabel had secretly gone to see Grace Li, even asking her to show them around. The goal was clear—they wanted to get to know her personally.

  Although his parents didn’t offer any immediate feedback, Aiden saw this as a big step forward. At least they were making an effort to spend time with her.

  Wednesday was Rex’s follow-up checkup day, and Mabel went with him to the hospital.

  After a meeting that afternoon, Aiden finished around five o’clock. Instead of going back to the office, he stopped by the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for dinner.

  The housekeeper, Nancy, was shocked when she saw Aiden carrying grocery bags into the house. In all the years she’d worked for the Thompsons, she had never seen him do that. “Aiden, you went grocery shopping?”

  “Yep,” Aiden replied as he walked into the kitchen, unloading the ingredients into the cabinets. He then took off his suit jacket and threw it on the couch. After loosening his cufflinks, he said, “Nancy, I’ll be cooking dinner tonight. You can take the night off.”

  Nancy was taken aback. “What? You can’t be serious. Let me take care of dinner.”

  Aiden waved his hand. “Just this once. I want to cook for Mom and Dad.”

  Seeing the ingredients he bought, Nancy didn’t argue. “Well, alright then. I’ll help you prep the ingredients, but if you need anything else, just let me know.”

  “I’ve got it. You rest tonight,” Aiden said firmly.

  Nancy still seemed unsure. “I’ll stay nearby in case you need anything.”

  “Okay.”

  Aiden had cooked before, but not for his parents. He figured this was the perfect opportunity to do something nice for them.

  He was comfortable in the kitchen now—everything from chopping veggies to stirring the pan seemed like second nature.

  Nancy stood by, amazed. She had been working for the Thompsons for years and never knew Aiden could cook. When had he learned?

  At 6:30 p.m., Rex and Mabel Thompson returned home from the hospital. Nancy quickly took Mabel’s bag and grinned. “Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, Aiden went shopping and is cooking dinner for you.”

  Mabel’s eyes immediately lit up. “Really?”

  “Yep, he’s still in the kitchen.”

  Mabel hurried to the kitchen and, sure enough, found her son in a white shirt and black pants, sleeves rolled up, concentrating on cooking.

  She walked up to him, smiling. “Aiden, what’s the occasion? Why are you suddenly cooking?”

  As Aiden stirred the food in the pan, he replied, “I didn’t have much work today, so I thought I’d cook for you both.”

  Mabel was touched and helped him adjust his sleeves. “Well, I’m definitely looking forward to trying my son’s cooking.”

  Aiden made four dishes and a soup. When they sat down to eat, Mabel’s joy was overflowing. “These dishes look so good already.”

  Vera Thompson tried a bite. “Not bad.”

  Mabel smiled even wider after tasting it herself. “It’s really good!” She then served Rex some food. “You should try it too.”

  Rex picked up his chopsticks and tried a piece of the stir-fried broccoli, mushrooms, and carrots. His face showed little emotion. Earlier, he had overheard Mabel and Grace Li talking, and Mabel had mentioned that Aiden could cook. Now, Aiden was cooking for them, so it was obvious someone had tipped him off.

  Rex asked, “Did you decide to make this meal on your own, or did someone suggest it?”

  Aiden answered, “Doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you’re my closest family. Cooking for you is the least I could do.”

  Mabel chuckled. “Right, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that we get to eat a meal made by our son. I’m so happy.”

  Rex glanced at Mabel but didn’t say much. He quietly took another bite of the stir-fry.

  Aiden’s cooking was so good that Rex ate two full bowls of rice. Since his heart attack, he hadn’t been able to finish this much food in one sitting.

  By the time they were done, almost all the dishes were gone, with barely any leftovers.