Emmett walked Stella to her room door and gave her the room card. “Stella, I’m staying opposite your
room. I’ll come to find you if it’s time to go downstairs.”
Stella smiled and nodded in agreement. “Okay. Thanks.”
After entering her room, Stella put down her suitcase, washed her face in the bathroom, and walked to
the balcony to enjoy the breeze.
Her room was facing the artificial lake. From afar, the lake looked prettier. Under the sunshine, it looked
as if there were countless small diamonds on its surface, dazzling.
Stella shook her head to get those messy thoughts out of her mind.
Under the bright sunlight, she stretched, feeling quite cozy. When she turned around, she found a man
standing on the balcony next door.
Stella gaped.
Her stretch was stopped halfway and her hands were in the mid-air. She stiffed.
However, Clarence seemed not to see her at all. He looked ahead expressionlessly.
Stella slowly put down her hands. Her lips parted as if she was wondering if she should greet him.
For such a matter that happened with an extremely small possibility, Stella didn’t think it was a
coincidence.
It happened as if someone had done it so deliberately.
She couldn’t help but wonder what the wretched man doing again.
He couldn’t stop it, could he?
Stella walked up to him. “Mr. Conrad...”
“By the way, Mr. Conrad, these are the annual financial statement of this retort and the development
plan next year. We want to build a water amusement park next to the artificial lake, increasing more
facilities,” a man reported to Clarence.
Stella gaped at the scene.
Right then, the man also seemed to have seen her. He turned around and asked politely, “Excuse me,
Ma’am. I’m the manager of this hotel. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, no. Thanks. Sorry for interrupting you.”
Stella immediately ran back to her room, feeling extremely embarrassed.
She felt so fortunate that she hadn’t finished her words to Clarence.
Otherwise, that wretched man would ironically mock her for flattering herself.
On the balcony.
Clarence read through the financial statement in front of him. Then he handed it back to the manager.
The manager added, “Mr. Conrad, what do you think about our water amusement park?”
“Give me a detailed project plan.” As he spoke, Clarence glanced at the empty balcony next door. Then
he looked at the lake afar and added flatly, “Adding an area for children.”
The manager hadn’t expected that Clarence would give this suggestion. After a short period of
surprise, he reacted quickly and answered, “Yes, Mr. Conrad. I’ll ask them to finish the project plan as
soon as possible.”
Clarence tidied his sleeves and walked back to his room.
Shortly after the manager was gone, Nathan knocked at the door and walked in. “Mr. Conrad, I’ve
found the detailed schedule for Star Ferry Technology’s annual party.”
Clarence sat on the sofa, his slender fingers knocking at his knees. “Go ahead.”
“At noon, they’ll have lunch at the lake restaurant. In the afternoon, they’ll go boating and do other
activities, which are not mandatory. At seven o’clock, they’ll hold the annual party in the banquet hall.
Tomorrow morning, they’ll go climbing. After lunch, they’ll go back to City N.”
Clarence asked, “Have you arranged everything?”
Nathan nodded. “Mr. Conrad, please rest assured. I’ve already informed all different departments.”
Clarence raised his brows and turned to look out of the window, lost in thought.
...
Stella didn’t feel less embarrassed until she had soaked her face into the cold water. She wondered
probably it was because of herself or the room, she found it quite difficult to breathe.
She put on her clothes and aimed to take a walk downstairs, taking some fresh air.
However, much to her surprise, she happened to meet the hotel manager who just finished reporting
his work status to Clarence.
The manager also recognized her, slightly nodding at her.
Stella pressed her lips into a smile. Leaning against the wall, she watched the floor numbers go down.
After a moment, she asked, “Excuse me, Sir. Is your hotel run by Conrad Group?”
Upon hearing it, the manager turned to her and answered, “Yes, it is.”
Then he recalled what had happened on the balcony. With uncertainty, he asked, “Ma’am, do you know
Mr. Conrad?”
Stella let out a hollow laugh. “I’ve met him before.”
The manager guessed that she must come here for Star Ferry Technology’s annual party, so it wasn’t
weird for her to know Mr. Conrad. He stopped asking more and change the subject at random,
“Besides the hotel, the whole resort is run by Conrad Group. Mr. Conrad came here to inspect the
annual work status as usual.”
Stella nodded. After a hesitation, she asked, “When did he arrive here?”
“Last night.”
However, the manager didn’t tell her that Mr. Conrad had never been here personally for the inspection
before.
At the midnight last night when Mr. Conrad arrived, all employees of the retort went panicked,
wondering if something happened.
However, according to what happened in the morning, everything was fine. Mr. Conrad only asked
them to report their work status.
After Stella heard that Clarence had arrived the previous night, the last doubt in her mind faded.
However, she had encountered him on such a small possibility. She felt so unlucky.
The manager also briefed Stella about the landscape nearby and where they could go.
When they reached the first floor, Stella thanked the manager and walked out of the lobby.
However, she didn’t go to the places that the manager told her, just wandering around aimlessly.
Unconsciously, she walked to the artificial lake.
Standing on the bridge and enjoying the breeze, she was lost in mind.
Probably it was because of the environment, since she had come here, she couldn’t help but recall the
period when she stayed in Anqiao Street.
She wondered if the street had been changed and all the neighbors had moved away.
Also, she thought about Ms. Beckham and Ms. Anderson...
She wondered if they were doing fine.
Stella believed that it would be quite difficult for her to find such an ancient and peaceful place again in
her life, and nor would she have such idle and comfortable life.
After a long while, Stella’s phone started ringing.
It was a call from Emmett.
“Hello, Stella. You are not in your room, are you?”
“No, I’m not. I’m outside the hotel. Sorry. I forgot to tell you. I’ll be right back.”
Emmett answered, “It’s alright. I’ll wait for you at the hotel lobby.”
After hanging up the phone, Emmett walked away from the door of Stella’s room. He went to press the
button for the elevator.
Right then, Clarence appeared from a corner, standing next to him.
Emmett said, “Mr. Conrad, it shouldn’t be a coincidence for you to show up here. I never expected that
you would set up such a big scene just for meeting Stella.”
Clarence retorted indifferently, “Mr. Carter, I also didn’t expect that you don’t have any self-esteem. Or,
probably you haven’t understood anything from what you saw that night, have you, Mr. Carter?”
Upon hearing it, Emmett clenched his fists. He turned to look at Clarence with suppressed anger
written all over his face.
Clarence met his gaze, curling up his thin lips into a sarcastic smile.
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