Why was Curtis there as well?Didn't he hate this mission? Why had he still chosen to approach Conan on his own?Confused by Curtis' appearance, Yvonne secretly followed him out of the school grounds.Curtis suddenly stopped in his tracks after walking a considerable distance. He turned around to look at Yvonne, a cigarette between his lips. "You need to work on your stalking."She flashed him a small smile in return. "Well, you have the chance to teach me now." Then she approached Curtis while sizing him up. "How's your injury?""I'm recovering pretty quickly thanks to your efforts." Curtis turned back to show Yvonne the gauze, which was still taped against the back of his head. "I just need to change the gauze a few more times.""Why did you come all the way here instead of recuperating in bed, then?" Yvonne finally dove into the main topic of the conversation. "Based on the way you made contact with Conan just now, I assume this isn't your first time talking to him, right?""
Yvonne received a phone call from Stanley just as she'd gotten into her car."Do you have time, Yvonne? Let's meet and talk."Stanley was undoubtedly approaching her because of Stephen. She didn't dwell on the intention behind the invitation. Instead, she asked Stanley for the address of their meeting place before driving there.Meanwhile, Stanley and James finished their cups of coffee at the coffee shop when Yvonne finally arrived.The latter sat down across from them. "What do you want to talk about?"Stanley ordered a cup of coffee for Yvonne, which was promptly served a few minutes later. Then he started speaking in a relaxed cadence. "Yvonne, you asked Rachel to probe me about Stephen, didn't you?""Yup," she admitted right away.Stanley gazed at Yvonne sincerely. "Can I assume that you care about him?"The latter went silent immediately. It was true that she couldn't refute his words.Having noticed Yvonne's lack of response, James decided to strike while the iron was h
Stephen's flight was set for that afternoon. By the time it touched down at the airport, it was already the next morning.It was then that Julian received the latest news from the host organization, prompting him to report the changes to Stephen right away. "A representative from the host organization just informed me that something urgent happened, so they had to delay the date and change the venue as well.""Did they tell you the reason?" Stephen asked."No." Julian shook his head in response. "They've arranged for us to stay at a hotel. A welcome banquet will be held at Professor McKinnon's manor three days later."Stephen left the airport and raised his head to look at the azure sky. Despite the bright sunlight, his eyes were still shrouded in darkness.He'd asked Julian to give the flight ticket to Stanley. He'd asked his friends to convey all the things he wanted to say to Yvonne. Yet she'd chosen not to come with him in the end.That woman was seriously testing his limits.
Stephen and Julian were set to stay in a fancy hotel as per the host organization's arrangements.As they were going through the check-in procedures at the front desk, a sickly, pale hand snaked past Stephen and landed lightly on the countertop, passing an ID to the desk agent.Stephen shot a glance to his side before knitting his brows together into a frown.Was that Caleb Turner?Why had the heir of Turner Tech, who'd disappeared for one full year, suddenly reappeared in the lobby of this particular hotel?Caleb's lips curled into a smirk upon sensing Stephen's gaze. He said seriously, "If you keep glancing at me like that, I might think that you've set your sights on me."Naturally, Stephen was left speechless. His eyes hardened immediately; Caleb was just as irritating as before.Caleb tilted his body heavily to one side before leaning against the front desk, a hint of a smile sparkling in his enchanting eyes. Surprisingly, those eyes were capable of seducing any poor soul w
Three days passed by in a flash.The welcome banquet was held at Professor McKinnon's manor. Many experts and specialists in the technological industry, as well as elite businessmen, flew from various countries scattered across the globe just to attend it.The McKinnons were already in their twilight years and preferred a quiet setting to a boisterous one, so the highlight of the banquet happened to be the grand assortment of pastries and wine. Violinists played soothing classical music in the background, relieving the guests' stress while they engaged in discussions and debates on various topics.The banquet had already started by the time Stephen and Julian arrived at the manor. Stephen didn't plan to stay for long, so he and Julian walked over to Professor McKinnon right away.Meanwhile, Noah was already with the professor. He got up to his feet and welcomed his cousin smilingly when he noticed Stephen entering the room. "Hey there, Stephen. Professor McKinnon and I were just ta
"It's Caleb, Rachel's older brother! Holy shit! Why's he here as well?" Yvonne thought.It was a strange coincidence for her to bump into two clients on the same day. The elderly madam of the manor was one of her patients, while Caleb was the other.Two years ago, he'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor and had fallen into a coma after going through surgery. Yvonne had been the one who'd dragged Caleb out of the abyss.After the treatment, she'd heard Rachel mention that her older brother was recovering well, but she'd never have expected to see him here.Yvonne had been a member of Emerald Group for so many years, but this was the first time she truly felt like her identity was on the brink of being exposed.She squeezed out the most natural smile she could muster. "Hello. Who are you?"The combination of the scar etched onto her delicate face and her ugly smile should be able to scare away most of the men who tried to flirt with her. However, Caleb was still a gentleman, so his
"Simone is a celebrity who works with Johnson Talent Agency. She occasionally attends banquets with Noah," Julian replied casually.He couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed the look of surprise on Yvonne's face. "What's there to be shocked about? If anyone from the entertainment industry wants to attend banquets of this importance, they'll need to come up with various ways to get their hands on an invitation. This is a perfect chance for them to make connections with the upper echelon of society, after all. Besides, they get to earn quick bucks on the side, so attending such banquets will only bring them benefits."Julian then turned to look at Simone. "Women like Simone who only have the looks yet lack an influential background are especially desperate to get in. If they hadn't found themselves a sugar daddy, they would've gotten kicked out of the industry a long time ago."Everyone knew very well what Noah and Simone's relationship was like, but they never uttered a word about
Soon, a housekeeper led Mrs. McKinnon, who was sitting in a wheelchair, toward the pavilion.Professor McKinnon got to his feet immediately, a worried look on his face. He quickly took over the duty of pushing the wheelchair and even bent down to cover Mrs. McKinnon's lap with the blanket properly.After that, he berated her softly, "Why did you come here? Didn't I tell you to rest in bed?""How can I just stay in bed when there are guests for me to greet?" Mrs. McKinnon was still very weak, seeing as she'd just started to recover from her illness. She didn't have enough energy to speak loudly, hence her breathy tone.However, her cheeks were a healthy shade of pink. She looked much better, to say the least.Upon making that observation, Yvonne couldn't help but feel weird. Still, she didn't dare ask any questions in fear that she might expose her identity.After Professor McKinnon pushed Mrs. McKinnon's wheelchair to the spot next to his seat, he poured her a glass of warm water