"Well, I want to ask you another favor."
"Take you away again?"
"No, we have been found once, so it wouldn't be easy to leave again. I… want to date you."
"Date me?" William is a bit surprised.
"I mean pretending to, not for real."
Karin is actually embarrassed to say it. It's quite too much to ask after all.
"Using me to irritate Troy, am I right?"
"You can totally say no. You have the right to do it."
William thinks for a while and nods, "Alright, I'll do it."
She doesn't expect him to agree so readily and she feels even more embarrassed.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I told you I would always do anything for you anytime you need."
"Why are you being so kind to me?"
"Because we are friends."
"Are you so kind to all your friends?"
"Basically."
Since he said it, she is relieved and feels less guilty.
"Stay for dinner tonight. I'll cook."
"You can cook?"
William smiles, "Don't underestimate me. I am not only good at work, but also at cooking. I'm a
peerless man."
"Alright."
Karin nods, "If you insist."
They go grocery shopping together. After they come back, she tries to help, but he waves his hand, "It's
okay, just wait for the food."
She pauses for a while and turns around to walk out of the kitchen.
How familiar it sounds. It seems that she has said the same thing to Troy, "Just wait for the food."
She walks around out of boredom and goes back to the kitchen. She stands beside the door and
watches William chopping. His chopping skill is dizzying, cutting sharply and neatly.
"A man who cooks is so attractive."
She leans against the door and praises him heartily.
"Just praise me. Don't ever fall in love with me."
"…"
A fancy dinner is quickly served under his superb cooking skills. The steamed fish is exuding savory
scents. She is about to pick some with chopsticks, but he stops her with his chopsticks.
"What?"
"Let me help you."
William moves his chopsticks to the head of the fish. He slowly picks out its eyes and put them into her
bowl.
"How should I eat it?"
"With your mouth."
"I mean, why do you give me the eyes?"
"Don't belittle these eyes. They are only served to your favorite one."
She opens her mouth in surprise, "Favorite… You're not saying that you love me, are you?"
"Can't I?"
"Of course you can't. You just told me not to fall in love with you."
"I told you not to fall in love with me, but I didn't say I couldn't fall in love with you."
Karin gasps and says seriously, "William, don't joke about it. It's not funny, really."
"Failed."
He throws a glance at her, "It was only a joke. Look how scared you are. How could you ask me to
pretend to be your boyfriend? Luckily Troy isn't here, if he were, I could only give you a ten out of 100
for your reaction."
"…"
After dinner, William drives her back to Ziteng Garden. When she gets out of the car, she is amazed to
see Troy's car parking outside the gate. She immediately blooms a pleasant smile on her face, walks to
William and deliberately talks with him for a long while.
"It's getting late. I should go."
"Okay, drive safe."
She waves her hand and sees him off until his car disappears. A sullen voice comes from behind, "You
really took my words off your ears, didn't you?"
"What words?" She asks knowingly.
"I told you not to get close with him."
"I'm sorry. You have the right to choose whom to marry. So do I. I have the right to choose whom to
date. Just mind your own business."
Karin walks into the garden with her chin up. After a few steps, she turns her head and says
deliberately, "William cooks really well, unlike someone who can only do well in his work."
Troy is so angry that his eyes are flaming. He hurries forward and stops her, "Do you think you can get
what you want by pushing me in this way?"
"I am not pushing you. You still have the right. It's your own business whichever to choose. But I know,
that in your heart, I have never been that important!"
This night, Karin and Troy start to sleep in separate rooms. She moves into the guest room next to the
bedroom and completely keeps him out. He knocks on the door, but she doesn't open and the door is
locked from the inside. He gets furious and stays at the study for the whole night.
During the day after Troy gets to the company, he calls Robert to the office with a grim expression. He
orders him to do two things. First, to investigate William, the other one, to report Karin's schedule to
him every day.
He has to make sure that whether his woman really has a relationship with this man.
In the evening, Robert reports to him with the results found.
"William, male, 29 years old, from Edinburgh, graduated from University of Zurich with a Ph.D.,
currently serves as Director of Planning Department in Triumph Group."
"Triumph Group?"
Troy is quite surprised, "Isn't that the company where Uncle Emmanuel holds shares?"
"Yes, it is."
He pauses as if absorbed in thought for a while and asks, "What about her?"
"Miss Karin left the school at five, then went directly to William's apartment. At 5:30, they drove away
from the apartment."
As Robert finishes reporting, he suggests, "Would you like to call Miss Karin, and…"
"No need, she is stubborn, plus she is angry now. It's useless to say anything. Go teach a lesson to
William."
"How? Should I get some men?"
"Of course not, do you think the stubborn girl will let it go easily if you get him beaten up?"
"I see."
Robert understands what he means and goes out of the office. The sun is setting down, and the light in
Troy's eyes is getting dark as he overlooks the whole city.
The next day, he receives a call from Emmanuel at noon, inviting him to have lunch with him.
When he arrives at the appointed hotel, Emmanuel pats his nephew on the shoulder and says, "Troy,
you haven't eaten with your uncle for a long time, have you?"
"Yeah, you seem to be very busy recently."
"You are not that free, too. Haha."
After they are seated, they greet for a while and Emmanuel gets straight to the point, "I heard that you
bear grudges against one of my employees recently?"
He is stunned and then chuckles slightly, "Are you talking about William, uncle?"
"It's exactly him, I heard from another shareholder that Robert went to Triumph Group this morning, and
claimed to expel William at any cost?"
"Yes."
"I'm very curious, how can you and William bear grudges against each other? He hasn't offended you
in any way, has he?"
"He messes with my woman, does it count?"
Emmanuel is taken aback, "You mean, William and Miss Karin…"
"Basically what you think."
"Haha, I'm afraid it must be a mistake. How could Miss Karin fall love with someone else? She must
have been angry because of the thing between you and Mia. Don't you ever make your uncle lose a
talent just because a woman is acting up with you."
"It seems that William is quite capable that even my uncle would stand up for him. It really makes me to
look at him with admiration."
"So, my nephew is buying what his uncle said?"
"Uncle, you seldom ask anything from me. Without a doubt I should not reject you."
After lunch Troy goes back to the company. As he walks past Robert's office, he hooks his fingers at
Robert, "Come."
Robert follows him right away to his office. As soon as the door is closed, he says, "Don't lay a finger
on William for now."
"Why?"
"Uncle Emmanuel came to me this noon. He seemed to value that man very much from what he said."
"Did he tell you not to mess with William?"
"Yeah."
"But William is too defiant, how could he take your woman!"
"I can't ignore Uncle Emmanuel's words. Just let him be proud for a few days. Karin is just angry for
now; she won't really be with him."
"Alas, not necessarily."
Robert sighs, "Miss Karin doesn't have classes today and William even applies for annual leave to stay
with her."
Troy clenches his fist, and spits out two words through gritted teeth, "So what?"
"So I have to worry about you. If he keeps doing things like this, they will have feelings for each other
even though they don't now. There is a saying that love grows along time. In my opinion, you'd better
call off the marriage with Mia as soon as possible. Before Miss Karin is fully into William, take her back
quickly, otherwise, one day when you realize that you can't live without her, her heart might not be
yours, and it would be late to get her back..."
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