The L Group branch was located in the CBD building in A City.
Elegant doors greeted outsiders. Anyone would assume that Liam was a romantic. Perhaps this was
because the L Group sought to be sophisticated. While it couldn't compete with the AN Group in terms
of financial resources, its market shares still shouldn't be underestimated.
"Mr. Liam, you're here." The general manager of the branch was excited to see Liam.
"Yes, I'm here to look around," Liam replied plainly.
In reality, he didn't pay much attention to the business in this country. More often than not, he only
came here to make use of his connections in the branch.
If Valentina hadn't told him otherwise, he would have asked Selma directly. He knew he couldn't ask
what he had on mind until he had enough evidence in case there would be a rift between the Fu Family
and the Luo Family.
"Then what do you need me to do, Mr. Liam?" the general manager inquired.
"I need you to look into someone. Her name is Anne Luo and she's from the Ye Clan. I need to know
everything about her parents and their current situation."
At that moment, he couldn't help but be reminded of Kiana Ye. His chest tightened at the thought of
such warm memories ending in tragedy.
He sighed as he entered the branch.
In the MH Villa.
It was noon. The windows were closed but the curtains were drawn—letting the sunshine in.
An empty cup that previously contained coffee sat on the table. It was surrounded by several bags of
instant coffee.
Ian was sound asleep, lying on the edge of the bed.
However, in just a few hours, he woke up.
He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Anne wasn't awake yet.
He glanced at the bags of instant coffee on the table, frowning. He disliked the taste of instant coffee so
he had to grind the coffee even if it was time-consuming.
Worried sick about Anne, he was forced to drink such terrible-tasting coffee.
Perhaps, it was the sunshine that was glaring through the window that Anne slowly opened her eyes.
Not an ounce of emotion could be traced in her eyes.
"Are you awake?" Ian's voice was a little hoarse but his tone was gentle and caring.
"How long was I out?"
Anne glanced at the bright scenery outside, almost in disbelief of what she was seeing. Only pain filled
her heart.
"One day and one night. Do you believe me?" Ian teased in an attempt to ease the visible tension in
Anne's face.
"Okay," Anne responded indifferently.
Fatigue suddenly overcame her. Perhaps, her situation wasn't as bad as she made it out to be. At the
thought of Eddy, she pulled herself together.
"You were asleep the entire day. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?" Ian asked.
He was completely different from Anne's memory of him before she passed out.
"Ian, have we met a long time ago?" she asked without warning.
The look on Ian's face suddenly turned cold before he let out a chuckle. The joy on his face was
undeniable. As expected, Anne still remembered him. What more could he ask for? This was the best
thing he could have ever hoped for.
"Yes. For a long time, I was so disappointed because of you," Ian said, feigning nonchalance.
Of course, Anne knew what he was talking about.
In her languidness, her mind drifted off. Ian took the opportunity to change the topic. "I'll make noodles
for you. I checked the fridge earlier and there are only eggs, tomatoes, and noodles left."
Initially, Anne wanted to refuse but when she glimpsed the sincerity in his eyes, she responded, "All
right."
In the YS Bar.
It was still daytime but the lights were dimmed inside.
The light beamed down on the people that they were unable to tell if this was real or not.
The place reeked of alcohol and perfume. Not only did people frequent the place at night but also
during the day to enjoy themselves.
Rose stood in a corner quietly, wearing a light purple dress that showed off her bare shoulders,
perfectly outlining her beautiful figure.
Her curly hair hovered about her chest. She showed just the right amount of skin. Her charm made her
stand out in the YS Bar.
At that moment, Rose was visibly unhappy.
She slowly slipped her wine.
All the wine on the table were quite strong which was something that she hated the most. Oftentimes,
some malicious bosses would endlessly fill her glass with wine even without her consent.
That day, she was disgruntled.
Kevin didn't show up. What did this say about her place in Kevin's heart?
"Hey, gorgeous, it's boring to drink alone. Come on, let's drink and have fun together." A man's voice
came, dripping with lust.
Even though Rose was already intoxicated, she was still mindful. She could sense that this man had
wicked intentions.
"Fuck off!" She shoved the man's hand away, knocking the glass over.
"Oh, she's feisty. I'll teach you a lesson. You won't have to suffer if you're a little bit nicer."
As the man spoke, he looked around, trying to check if Rose had any company. Upon confirming that
she had come alone, he became even more brazen as he reached out to grab Rose by the shoulders.
Rose immediately resisted but the man was too strong for her.
She rarely came to bars because her parents had warned her about places like this. Considering what
was happening, it seemed that they were right.
Despair filled her heart. Was she going to be taken away by this stranger?
"Let go of me!" Rose demanded. Unfortunately, the man had already pulled her away to his private
room.
Since he was a regular patron at the YS Bar, no one dared to stop him.
"Stop!" A cold voice came. Rose opened her eyes to check who it was but she couldn't see the face
clearly. She just had a feeling that she knew who this person was.
"Is that Kevin? That's great."
The man who was hitting on Rose came from a rich and powerful family. While he had never met Kevin
before, he had heard of his prominence. He immediately shrank back and ran off in utter fear, thinking
that the man in front of him was Kevin.
Rose stumbled as Mark reached out to steady her.
"Miss Rose, are you okay?" he asked gently.
Leaning against his arms, she looked up and found that the person who had saved her was Mark.
"Mark, you saved me for the second time." Then she fell into his arms.
"Miss Rose?" Mark pressed.
No response came.
The bedroom door was open so the scenery outside could be sighted.
The bed was so evened out save for the spot where Anne was sleeping that at first glance, Ian thought
no one was there.
At that moment, Anne could see Ian cooking clad in his apron.
Whenever Ian got busy like this, Anne would fall into the pretense that she was home. Just as she was
settling into ease, she would suddenly remembered that this was Ian's home.
Ian put the noodles and vegetables into a bowl, neatly topping it with a fried egg. While it might have
seemed plain, it looked more appetizing than anything.
"Try it. I'm pretty good at cooking, you know," Ian said coolly as he placed the bowl in front of Anne.
Anne took a bite but she couldn't taste anything, overcome with sadness. However, as she swallowed
the noodles, warmth instantly filled her inside.
"Thank you," she said politely.
"Rest well. No matter how bad things may seem, there's always a way out. I'll help you." Ian reached
out his hand and touched her hair.
"Why would you help me?" she asked seriously, putting her chopsticks down.
Ian was taken aback, not expecting such a question from Anne. For a while, he seemed lost in thought,
pondering on her question. After a long pause, he finally said, "Kevin defeated me. For years, you were
all I could think of. I couldn't stand seeing you get hurt over and over again especially by Kevin. Is that
good enough for you?"
The casualness in his tone showed just how much their relationship had grown.
Suddenly, Anne felt a little guilty.
"Sorry, I..."
"No need. If I lost, I lost. How can I be a CEO if I'm always afraid of failure? I remember that time pretty
well. My family was going through a crisis. My father had just passed away. I had to break away from
my social life to deal with the crisis the company was undergoing. Before I left, I wanted to defeat Kevin
who was the epitome of powerful. In the end, I learned from my mistakes and the mess that followed. I
was humbled. From that experience, I learned to be strong and hold my head high."
As memories of the past flooded his mind, a lighthearted smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
If anything, he was even grateful for going to Kevin at that time—that was how he met Anne after all.
"Oh, I see," Anne said in a low voice.
She intended to apologize but decided against it since she figured it wouldn't make a difference
anyway.
"What are you doing just sitting there? Eat up. I rarely cook for anyone. If you don't finish your food, I'll
kick you out," Ian said, feigning anger.
"Then I might just end up homeless," Anne teased back.
With that, she couldn't help but be astonished. Was she really comfortable with Ian already?
As a little girl, she had always been playful and fond of jokes.
Noticing this sudden shift in Anne's attitude, Ian broke out into a huge grin.
It didn't matter if he was late—just seeing her smile and be more comfortable was enough
compensation for him.
"This is your home now but you need to clean the room for me when you get the time. I heard you're
very talented. Mark told me that you can be the designer of the M Group if you like."
"Okay, please thank him for me."
At first, Anne was quite skeptical at how eager Ian and Mark were to help her. Eventually, she learned
to set her cynicism aside and realize that there were sincere people out there who was willing to help
without any selfish motives.
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