The following morning, Cassandra went to the laboratory early.When she got there, she saw through the glass door that Ned was in her office and seated on her chair.She frowned. It looked like he wasn’t going to let her off the hook.She strode into the office and hung her bag up. Then, she washed her hands, put on a pair of gloves, and got ready to start her experiment.“You’ve got a lot going for you. Three out of the four men last night had something to do with you. One’s your ex, one’s your current boyfriend, and one more…” Ned trailed off and let out a mocking laugh. Then, he looked her up and down and asked snidely, “What’s so great about you?”Cassandra knew he was referring to himself as the last man, but she didn’t know what he wanted from her. Was he playing with her? Trying to make a fool out of her? Or just having some fun?She paused, then put a mask on and started on her experiment. She also placed a piece of paper before her to record her observations.“Have you
Ned got to his feet and saw the tears in her eyes. Cassandra looked both enraged and shattered.He lifted a hand to wipe her tears away, but she dodged him obstinately.He suddenly felt bad for pushing her so far, but it was quickly replaced by anger when he remembered how affectionately Jeremy had treated her the night before.“I’ll only say this one more time—whatever you and Jeremy do, I’ll make sure to repeat it!”After that, he left.Just as he disappeared, Cassandra threw the scones he had brought into the trash can.Despite how she had struggled earlier, she didn’t actually feel repulsed by him. Man, was she cheap!At around 10:00 a.m., the factory manager created a WhatsApp group chat and named it “Work Benefits”.Cassandra ignored it.He added some people to the group chat—Sam, Cassandra, Annie, and the other four members of the rhinitis research team.There was also one more person—Ned.Though Cassandra had blocked him, here they were, in the same group chat.Fact
When Cassandra took the wheel, she still habitually veered to the left of the road. Jeremy’s tone was gentle even when he was reprimanding her. “Cassandra, Cassandra…”It was too late; she was already in the other lane.“Just be blunt with me. You don’t need to be shy,” Cassandra said.“Alright.”This time, she was about to turn a corner. Things were going fine when she veered to the left again. An old man on a scooter was coming from the opposite direction, and rammed right into her car.Cassandra was stunned when she saw she had crashed into someone.Jeremy got out of the car to check on the old man’s injuries—he had a fractured leg.He called an ambulance.Jeremy wanted to settle this privately, but the old man adamantly refused and insisted on calling the police. The old man knew Cassandra was in the wrong for going against traffic; they didn’t want to get into trouble by asking to settle things privately. Old people like him hated it when youngsters tried to get away with
Cassandra thought, ‘I definitely can’t drive this car anymore. It’s basically a tracking device! Ned will know where I am at all times.’“Get the key. I’ll teach you how to drive,” Ned said.“I’m not going to drive it!” she spat stubbornly.“Do you want to keep your job at the laboratory or not?” Ned asked threateningly.Cassandra glared at him. She knew he only had to say the word to get her kicked out. Though she had more money than she could spend, the Addaway family was no longer the powerhouse it used to be. Besides, she was in Merania now—how could she possibly win against the Lawrence family?She didn’t want to suffer such a horrible defeat, so she grabbed the car key.Having Ned in the car with her was a far more horrible experience than having Jeremy around. She didn’t dare to slip up at all, afraid that her slightest mistake would invite insults.However, she still couldn’t help veering to the left.“Clement’s standing to your left,” Ned suddenly said.Cassandra inst
Cassandra didn’t expect someone to respond to her ad so quickly, nor did she expect Ned to be the one to answer the potential buyer’s call.Though Ned was handsome to a fault, attractive, and constantly made her heart race, she knew how insecure she would be if she were to marry him. She would always worry about another woman sleeping in her bed; if he were appealing to her, he would be equally appealing to other women. Besides, the whole mess with Stephanie was enough to show how much of a rotten bastard he was. There was no way Cassandra would allow herself to get involved with a man like him.A relationship that constantly interred fear in her wasn’t one that was worth her time; she couldn’t take it.Since she had already decided to cut ties with him, it was best to make it a clean break.So, after a pause, she said, “I’ll sell it as long as they pay up.”“As long as they pay up, huh?” Ned repeated.Cassandra didn’t say anything else. They were almost at the pharmaceutical fac
Ever since he had seen her keying in the password for her computer, he guessed that her passwords and pin codes all had to do with “pharmacist” or “pharmacy”. He tried a few variations of the corresponding numbers and finally managed to get in.It looked complicated, but was easy enough to decode once one figured out the pattern.Tonight, he had shown her how intelligent he was by breaking into her apartment.“What do you want?” Cassandra demanded.“To watch a movie with you.”She put her bag down, washed her hands, and snorted. “You really are as calculative as you said.”“Well, you pissed me off this morning. I don’t think this can be considered payback.” Ned then said commandingly, “Come here and watch a movie with me!”“Don’t you think you’re being a little too immature? I have to watch a movie with you just because I did the same with Jeremy?” Cassandra’s blood boiled.Ned narrowed his eyes. “You watched a movie with him?”“Don’t act like you don’t know it!” She was so an
Ned pursed his lips tightly. So, she was giving him a taste of his own medicine.The desire burning through his veins slowly cooled down. He got up and grabbed the remote control.“What do you want to watch?” He was plastered to her side.“I don’t want to watch anything.” Cassandra wrapped her arms around her knees, looking like she was trying to protect herself.Ned glanced at her. “You have to pick something.”“The Shawshank Redemption, then.” She knew he wouldn’t leave until he got what he wanted.He narrowed his eyes. Did she think he wouldn’t get what she meant?The Shawshank Redemption didn’t have a female lead, let alone any steamy scenes. She was probably afraid of him losing control if he were to watch anything with the slightest hint of steaminess.He still went ahead with it, though.Ned turned the lights off, and the flashing lights on the TV screen reflected off their faces.At one point, Ned leaned close to Cassandra and said, “Don’t you know movies can be steam
Cassandra checked her phone to see several unread messages and a missed call from Fiona. She had left her phone on the bed earlier, and hadn’t heard it ring with Ned around.Fiona: [Cassandra, don’t forget that it’s mom’s birthday next week. Are you coming home? I ran into Jeremy’s sister-in-law the other day, and she told me he was planning on making a trip back soon. Why don’t you consider coming with him?]Cassandra was thankful for Fiona’s reminder. Otherwise, she would’ve forgotten all about it. She also had to prepare a gift for her mother.Cassandra: [I’ll see how it goes.]As for how she was going to get the gift to her mother… She probably would have it couriered to Lesia. She had studied abroad for years, and was used to not being by her mother’s side when she celebrated her birthday.Madam Addaway wasn’t as money-minded now as she was in her youth, but she still had a soft spot for jewelry. She loved Ashlyn’s designs and sang Ashlyn’s praises several times. Since Cassan
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