Zoe glanced at the door the moment it was lunch break and grinned when she saw Zhang Wei standing there.
She hurriedly walked towards him, attracting the attention of the other guys, who looked at her with interest. How come Zane was friends with the President of the dance academy already? They wondered.
"How has the classes been?" Zhang Wei asked her curiously.
"Not bad. I'm really enjoying myself," Zoe said with a grin as she walked side by side with him.
"Where are we going to?" She asked when she noticed he was walking in the direction of his office.
"To my office. There are snacks and food there for you. And I also need you to help me come to a decision on something," Zhang Wei said before suddenly remembering he hadn't taken permission from the dance instructor.
"Let's go inform your dance instructor you're with me, just in case you return late for your next class," Zhang Wei said before leading her back to his office.
His secretary watched them with curiosity. He didn't understand his boss' newfound friendship.
Zoe cleared her throat. "So, what did you want me to help you with, dude?" She asked immediately after she sat on the seat opposite him.
"You said you are related to Chairman Jiang, right?" Zhang Wei asked, making Zoe's heart skip a beat.
"Yeah, kind of. But our families are estranged. Both families hate each other," Zoe lied.
"Oh! Could that possibly be the reason why your family hates rich people?" Zhang Wei asked, making Zoe frown in confusion before she suddenly remembered she had told him that the previous night.
"Yes. Let's not talk about that. But wait. Why did you suddenly ask me about that?" Zoe asked curiously.
"Because of this," Zhang Wei said, bringing out the photos of the ladies from an envelope.
"Damn! This shoe is hot!" Zoe exclaimed, making Zhang Wei look at her with a frown. How could a normal guy notice the shoes of a lady before looking at her face?
As though she had just realized what she had just said, she hurriedly added, "But she is way hotter than the shoe."
"I'm a shoe guy. Shoes turn me on," Zoe said, winking at him before returning her attention to the photographs.
She knew all five ladies in the pictures. They were all daughters of influential men and had met some of them once or twice on different occasions. While she had also heard of some of them from Grace.
So she browsed through the five pictures with feigned interest before raising her head to look up at him.
"What has the pictures got to do with the Jiang family? And who are these ladies?" She asked, looking at him curiously.
"I'm to select three ladies from among them whom I'm to go on a date with, after which I'll likely choose my wife from them. I already picked out your relation, Jiang Zoe as my number one candidate. I was hoping you could tell me what you think about her and then help me pick out the other two candidates," Zhang explained.
"Can I see her picture?" Zoe asked with a frown. Even though her mother had told her about the arrangement, she hadn't thought there was going to be a selection process like this.
Zoe's frown deepened when she looked at her picture, which Zhang Wei handed to her. She looked far more beautiful than that. Why had her mother picked such an unflattering photo? Zoe wondered.
"Why did you pick her?" Zoe asked, eyeing him curiously.
"Because she reminds me of you, and I think I might get along with her. Or what do you think?" Zhang Wei asked, pulling his ear thoughtfully.
"Then you should probably save her for last. You can go out with either of these two first," Zoe said, handing him pictures of the only two she considered to be well-behaved.
"That was fast. What factors influenced your choices?" He asked as he took the pictures from her to check the out.
"Let's just say I'm a good judge of character. These two are the best options amongst the five," Zoe assured him.
"And Zoe? Would you have picked her if she was among the five?" He asked.
"Probably," Zoe said before rising to her feet and dipping her hand into her pocket. "I have to return to my class now," She said as she walked over to the door.
"You didn't touch the snacks," Zhang Wei said, pointing to the snacks and drinks he had arranged on the table.
"I'll just take them with me. Thanks," Zoe said, picking up the snacks before opening the door.
She needed to prepare herself physically and mentally for the date with Zhang Wei. Hence she had asked him to save his date with her for last. She didn't want to be caught when she had only just started living her dreams.
***********
Ann, Grace, Tae-Joon, and Brad all sat down at the same table, and everyone was quiet as each tried to process different things in their head.
While Ann was still busy looking at both Tae-Joon and Brad and wondering why they looked so alike, Grace was busy avoiding Brad's gaze and wondering why she felt disappointed knowing he was Ann's cousin.
It didn't just sit well with Brad knowing he had brushed lips with his cousin, and worst of all, knowing he possibly would have taken her back to his hotel room for sex had she not been too drunk.
And Tae-Joon was looking at them all in confusion. Knowing that Grace had given her credit card to her personal assistant had come as a surprise to him, and it had helped him understand why it had been in Brad's bedroom, but now he was wondering why Brad seemed so shocked that her name was Ann.
"What is going on?" Tae-Joon asked impatiently after a while.
Grace knew it was up to her to explain things since she was Brad's supposed cousin, so she forced out a laugh. "Brad here happens to be my cousin," Grace said and winced at the half-hearted way it came out.
"I take it you both didn't know you were cousins?" Tae-Joon asked with curiosity. This was really interesting.
"Can you excuse us, please? I need to speak with her privately," Brad said, making Grace and Ann exchange a quick look which didn't go unnoticed by Brad, who had his eyes fixed on Grace.
"Sure," Tae-Joon said, standing up to leave but frowned when Ann remained seated.
"Can't she sit in?" Grace asked Brad. She had no idea what she was to say to Brad. She and Ann were yet to discuss Ann's family details. She had no idea what Ann's parents' names were.
"No. It's a private family business I need to discuss with you alone," Brad said, shaking his head before turning to look at Ann.
Had he not been too preoccupied with this mission and had she not been engaged to his doppelganger, he would have given her his attention. She was his exact spec, both body and looks.
"She is family to me too," Grace insisted, making Brad glance at her.
"But not to me. If you feel the need to share with her when we are done, then by all means, do so. But she has to excuse us," Brad said before returning his attention to Ann.
"Please excuse us. It won't take long," He said, flashing her one of his charming grins, he expected her to blush or smile, but she seemed immune to it as she exchanged a brief look with Grace again before walking out with Tae-Joon, who was waiting for her.
"You're Ann Peters?" Brad asked Grace the moment they were alone.
"Obviously," Grace said, rolling her eyes.
"I learned your mother passed away," Brad said, looking at her curiously.
"Yeah, Ann's mother passed," Grace said, reducing her voice when she said, 'Ann' She couldn't bring herself to say her mother passed away when her own mother was still very much alive.
"How long has it been since her death?" Brad asked curiously and frowned when Grace bit her lips like she was thinking about it. How could she be thinking about something like that?
"Actually, I was involved in an accident recently, and I kind of lost my memory. So I may not be able to answer your questions. I don't even remember my mother's name," Grace said, making Brad look at her sadly.
"Oh! I'm sorry to hear that. So you have no one here anymore, I guess? That is apart from your guardian and your boss, who you say is family to you," Brad added.
"Yeah, something like that," Grace said sadly.
"Well then, I guess it's not so bad that I'm here. Our Grandmother, your maternal grandmother, has sent me to find you and bring you to her," Brad said, watching her closely. He was going to address the family issues first before talking about what happened last night. They both needed to wipe it out of their memory.
"Huh? Where is she?" Grace asked, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
"She's in country C. And she would really love to see you," Brad told her.
"Country C?" Grace asked with bulging eyes.