The manager then gathered all the models around. Francesca was among them, and she immediately recognized Calvin.Life hadn’t treated her well, and she was the oldest model in the agency. She basically couldn’t get any gigs anymore, and she had been increasingly strapped for cash. After reality had taught her a harsh lesson, she had long since lost her arrogance from her youth, and her lackeys had quickly tossed her aside. She didn’t expect to get selected at all; why would anyone choose her over someone much younger than her? Calvin’s appearance was a surprise to her, though.In high school, she had been infatuated with him. Many people knew she had a crush on him, and she was ecstatic to see him in Riversouth City. She even went so far as to think that perhaps life had been so tough on her so she could be saved by a knight in shining armor. Francesca tried her best to catch his eye.Calvin didn’t seem to recognize her. His gaze swept over the models, and he couldn’t help thinking
Though Lady Luck’s manager agreed to it, Francesca wanted to leave early. She wanted to return to Genovia with Calvin because he was driving. Riversouth City was several hours away from Genovia—it was such a good opportunity for them to get to know each other!He was an eligible bachelor, and she wouldn’t have to worry about money and her future if she could get together with him. Though she was getting a little old to be a model, it wasn’t too late for her to start an acting career. It wasn’t like she wanted to become an A-list celebrity; being a C or D-lister was fine as long as she could earn money.Besides, Calvin had picked Cheryl along with her. Cheryl was only twenty-three and had always been hostile toward her because of her age. She had done her best to show Francesca up whenever she could. Now that they were both going over to the new company, Francesca had to take this opportunity to make Calvin think the worst of Cheryl. Anyway, perhaps she was a better actress than Chery
Calvin glanced at her again, this time with a suspicious and wary gaze. “Is that so? Are you two good friends? Are you going to tell her about this? I don’t think I said anything today that could make both the Lawrence family or myself look bad.”Francesca giggled. “Does that mean you’ve said things like that on other days?”He didn’t respond, but it gave her the impression that his relationship with the Lawrence family wasn’t as harmonious as it seemed. After all, she had heard that he was the one basically running the shots while the actual president, Neil Lawrence, barely even showed up for work. Yet, New East Corporation belonged to the Lawrence family—it was only normal for Calvin to feel resentful about this. He was outstanding and capable, but Neil would always be one step above him.If that were the case, Francesca had nothing to worry about.“You should try to keep away from them in the future. I’m only secretly providing the fund for this entertainment agency; the legal r
Calvin was taken aback for a second. Then, he asked, “Bullying? Why?”“It was because she had a crush on someone. She secretly wrote that guy’s name in her notebooks and constantly talked about how amazing and smart he was. Someone else had a huge crush on the same guy and hated her for always boasting about her relationship with that guy, and beat Ashlyn up. It happened in the girl’s washroom; it was so bad that she vomited out all her food. They even took her clothes off and made fun of her for looking like a twig. Then, they threatened her to stop clinging to that guy because she was disgusting and repulsive. It probably traumatized her or something—I don’t think she told anyone about it,” Francesca narrated.Was this the truth?Never in his life had Calvin imagined Ashlyn would be a victim of bullying.He trembled, and his eyes turned red. He wanted so badly to pull the little girl from back then into his arms. Ashlyn told him that she had a crush on him since she was a little
Calvin brought Francesca to a villa in Genovia. There would be about ten actresses staying here together, and Francesca was the first to move in.When he saw the greedy look in her eyes, he wanted nothing more than to rip her to shreds. However, he knew this wasn’t the right time. He wanted to take this slow.He was merciful enough to let her enjoy half a month of freedom. Cheryl would be joining her shortly.Calvin told his people to speed up Moonlight Entertainment’s registration while he hurried over to Lyrdell.Ashlyn was done with her project, and she was so excited she couldn’t sleep when she heard Calvin was on his way.They met up at Nevera Designs’ entrance.They had been apart so long that her bones ached with longing for him. She flew into his car and his arms, burying her head against his chest; as if aggrieved by their separation and was now relieved to have him back.This time, Calvin remained in the back seat. He didn’t move to the front, and the chauffeur wasn’t
Ashlyn’s eyes were bright when she heard that. “Really? Are you still going to stay at a hotel?”“Yeah. The renovations at the villa will only be done by the end of summer. What, do you want to move in with me?” he teased.“I do, but do you want me to?” She was still upset at how well he had controlled himself back in Windmere City. To her, it seemed like there was always something else more important than her. Why else would he keep his hands off her? There had to be something more important that was holding him back.“Why wouldn’t I?” Calvin said. “You’re still young. Let’s wait another year.”“You always use my age as an excuse!” She then mumbled, “In the past, have you…”Ashlyn felt that since he was already twenty-nine, he had to have some sexual experience.“No!” Calvin didn’t even wait for her to finish her sentence.He answered her so swiftly and bluntly that she didn’t know how to respond. “How’d you know what I was going to ask?”He laughed. “That’s all you care about
The next day while Calvin was working in the subsidiary company, many of his employees kept passing documents to him to get his signature. Still, he wasn’t as busy as when he was in Genovia. While signing the documents, Ashlyn’s face flooded her mind. When he thought about what Ashlyn had to go through as a child, his heart went out to her. Turning to look at his wristwatch, he was shocked to discover that it was only 10 in the morning.In the past, he felt that time was never enough for him. Now, time was dragging slowly like chains. He was waiting anxiously for Ashlyn to get off work.Somehow, he felt that he was getting infatuated with Ashlyn.Around 11 in the morning, he drove to Ashlyn’s company and sent a message to her.Calvin: [I’ll prepare lunch for you later. You can ask Shawna to join us too.]Ashlyn: [I don’t think Shawna will join us. She doesn’t like intruding when we spend time together.]Calvin: [What does she like to eat? I’ll prepare her favorite food. She’ll de
After lunch, Calvin told the ladies to go to work and even offered to clean the dishes for them. After that, he left.On the way back, Calvin made a call to Francis.Since Calvin had never called Francis before, Francis felt anxious when he saw Calvin’s name on his phone screen.“Mr. Conrad, is there anything I can help you with?” Francis asked.“Mr. Saunders. I have one favor to ask of you. Can you please look out for Ashlyn and Shawna in Nevera Designs? Just make sure they don’t get into any trouble,” Calvin said with a solemn tone. It almost seemed like he was threatening Francis to do his bidding.“Of course. Ashlyn is an outstanding designer in our company. Since she’s working closely with my daughter, I assure you nobody dares to harm her in any way. Also, who in the world dares to harm her knowing that you have her back?” Francis said.Calvin hung up. He was just doing what he could to protect Ashlyn. Knowing Ashlyn’s sad and sorrowful childhood, Calvin didn’t want anythin
Benjamin walked to her side and suddenly hugged her. It was as if there were thousands of words that could not be said. Jacey did not refute. It was as if the two of them had known each other for a long time. It was as if they had known each other for a long time."Your mother did a good job with this exhibition," Jacey said."It's good. After all, you're an expert in this field," Benjamin said. "Or if you have any requests when you get married, tell my mother and let her customize the most beautiful jewelry for you.""Married?" Jacey didn't understand.She had never thought about marriage. Why did she feel so close to her when Benjamin mentioned it?She still felt quite confused."I'll treat you to a meal later?" Benjamin said. "What do you want to eat?"Jacey's eyes lit up. "Hotpot? How about a hotpot?"Benjamin smiled and said, "I thought you had a profound hobby. This is it."Jacey smiled again.Jacey didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by people, so she chose the
Kenny smoked as he spoke. He had the look of a veteran in society. It was hard not to believe that he was a nouveau riche who did not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of his subordinates to save money."Sir, you've found the right person. Come and take a look." The workshop owner said. Then, he whispered a few words into Kenny's ear and asked, "Can you accept it?""What's so unacceptable about that? I'm definitely showing it to Party A. These people grew up in the countryside. What kind of milk have they drunk? I can't tell if it's true or not," Kenny said."Alright, alright," the workshop owner said with a smile."Just don't make it obvious. I'll go take a look at the manufacturing workshop." Kenny said.The owner of the workshop was initially quite shy, but Kenny said that he had ordered a lot, so the other party agreed.As soon as he entered the workshop, Jacey secretly turned on the pinhole camera when the workshop owner was not paying attention and filmed the production proce
Jacey felt that under Kenny's serious and unsmiling appearance, there was a soft and warm heart.This note looked like it had been around for a long time. It was unknown how long Kenny searched last night before he found it and gave it to Jacey so easily.Jacey left.However, she did not expect that something would happen on her first day there.She brought a vacuum camera and made her clothes look like rural women's. After finding the milk production point, she said that she wanted to order milk in large quantities because she heard that the milk here was very cheap.The people in the workshop looked at each other and said, "I'm not selling!"The people in the workshop were very smart and vigilant. Their workshop had a fixed delivery channel. This woman was alone and was unlikely to be here to order. They found an excuse and sent Jacey away.No matter how much Jacey dawdled, the other party refused to let her in.For a moment, Jacey didn't know what to do. She was quite depres
Jacey was a little stunned. She really didn't know much about what the parents were talking about.Moreover, she hadn't interacted with Benjamin for a few days. Moreover, when Ashlyn came to visit this time, she didn't say a word about him. It made her feel very uneasy. She even wondered if he didn't mean that at all. It was all her own wishful thinking…For the past few days, Benjamin had not come to look for Jacey. She had not contacted him either.However, a few days later, Jacey received a Whatsapp message from Benjamin. There were many photos. It was a rather high-class living room. There were boxes in the living room. The living room was simple and noble, like a top-notch courtyard house.[This is the showroom and display cabinet for my mother's medieval jewelry. How about letting your mother take a look?] Benjamin said.[Where is this place? This place is so beautiful.][My mother's dowry. The courtyard house in Genovia.] Benjamin said.Jacey thought to herself, "As expec
Today, Benjamin had already returned home."How is it? How's your first time meeting your in-laws alone?" Calvin teased Ashlyn."It's quite good. I'm preparing to hold a medieval jewelry exhibition and then let my employees learn medieval video skills. I said that I wanted to use their jewelry as an exhibition, but they didn't even want the deposit. How generous," Ashlyn said lazily as she leaned against the sofa."It's… it's over?" Calvin looked at Ashlyn and said in surprise.Benjamin sat there and smiled."What else?" Ashlyn asked."What are you going to do this time? Aren't you going to look for your daughter-in-law? Did you see what she looked like?" Calvin poured a cup of tea for Ashlyn.After so many years, Ashlyn still hadn't changed from her usual macho self. In fact, she was even more macho than before. Perhaps Calvin had been the one to deal with everything after marriage, developing Ashlyn's habit of not using her brain.Of course, it only meant that she didn't use
For some reason, Ashlyn felt like crying when she saw this. In the past, these jewelry had traveled to another country. Now, these jewelry were all back with stories.She thought about how the person who owned these jewelry had brought them overseas and brought them back…She felt that the Irving family was worthy of admiration.Linda had gone out at some point. Seeing that Ashlyn was looking at her very seriously, she didn't disturb her.When she came in again, she was carrying a cup of coffee. The fragrant Americano she'd just ordered from the coffee machine on the first floor. It was made from good coffee beans.She handed the coffee to Ashlyn."Have a cup of coffee when you're tired. Anyway, these jewelry don't have long legs. They won't run away on their own," Linda said. "You can come and take a look whenever you want. I've always been here."Only then did Ashlyn feel that she had been watching for an hour or two, but she had always been like a pious primary school student
On Saturday afternoon, Ashlyn drove to Jacey's house, a very simple villa.Ashlyn knew that writers liked to live in such a quiet place because they had inspiration in such a place.Jacey's mother, Linda, was already standing on her steps to welcome her.Linda was dressed in a Chinese-style robe. She looked very ancient, but because she was slender, she looked especially good. She looked like a fairy.Ashlyn was dressed in a very fashionable modern outfit. She was wearing a knee-length skirt, pearl earrings, and earrings. She looked especially round and beautiful. One look and one could tell that she was the kind of person who had never experienced the blow of life."I'm Jacey's mother. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Conrad." Linda reached out and held Isobel's hand. "Jacey said that you're coming to our house to take a look. I am so happy. I specially brought all the jewelry from the other houses here and packed them up. If these jewelry can be displayed in the exhibition and let everyon
"Excuse me, how did you know about me?" Jacey asked."Oh, Benjamin's phone was on the table that day. He went to the washroom and I happened to see the photo album he was looking through. I picked it up and saw these few pieces of jewelry. You know it too. As jewelry makers, we won't let go of those rare jewelry no matter what. I asked Benjamin where these pieces of jewelry came from and he told me about you," Ashlyn said neither servile nor overbearing.She understood a girl's mentality very well. She knew that if the woman found out that the man had taken the initiative to leak her news to her parents, she would be very disgusted and feel passive. Therefore, she did not say that. Instead, she said that she had seen it herself. She even said that Benjamin was looking at these photos at that time.Jacey's heart would probably feel warm. After all, a man was looking at her photo behind her back. She should have a good impression of this man.Jacey really thought so. When she heard A
After Benjamin returned home, he showed Ashlyn the jewelry he had taken for Jacey.Ashlyn was very knowledgeable. One look at this jewelry and she knew that it was priceless.Moreover, the girl wearing the jewelry also had extremely good skin and was extremely delicate.Calvin, who was sitting at the side, also watched.However, Ashlyn didn't just look at the jewelry. She said, "You only bought jewelry. Who is this person wearing jewelry behind you?"Ashlyn asked Benjamin gossipily."Don't ask," Benjamin said.Ashlyn smiled. "You said that you only took photos of the jewelry but didn't take photos of her. Aren't you trying to arouse my curiosity? Now that I'm curious, you're not making a move. However, I've been working on researching National Jewelry recently, so I'm lacking samples in this area. When are you going to ask this girl out? Let me take a closer look. From her appearance, I think she's dressed very well. Moreover, I can see her face from her bone structure. I think