There was a mother addicted to manipulating her daughter. Aside from accepting her fate, Laila didn't have any other choices. Didn't Grandfather fall under her schemes? His decades of experience couldn't withstand her tactics. Even though she had just started cultivating recently, she was still meek and submissive.
So, from that day on, tails began to appear around her. She didn't know how he did it, but as long as there were no other members of the opposite sex around her, he would pop up like a groundhog, staring at her with a frustrated look.
During meal times, he would dash away, because Theron and the others would return to eat with Laila. He still feared any woman except Laila.
"How long do you intend to keep staring at me?" Laila leisurely read her book under the umbrella. The sound of gentle waves echoed in her ears, a pleasantly warm sun shone down without being too harsh, a refreshing drink was within arm's reach, and the beach was adorned with attractive men and women.
Despite this idyllic scene, even her calm disposition felt a bit put off by a pair of eyes fixed on her.
"If you don't want me to stare, then go tell my father you can't cure me!" Al Nadeem pouted, widening his eyes.
"Did you think I wanted you to stay here?" If she had the choice, she would have kicked him into the sea long ago. She had not been ignoring him all this time out of respect for her mother, but now it seemed like she was the one having to deal with him.
The prince choked up, "Well, I don't care. Anyway, my father listens to you now. If you say the word, he'll withdraw his request!"
"Heh." Laila pulled the corners of her mouth into a nonchalant smile. She didn't feel like engaging in conversation with such a naive kid. Anyone in his position, given the opportunity to cure a son's chronic mental illness, would they let it slip away?
Not to mention he was a prince. Even ordinary parents wouldn't let such a precious opportunity go to waste.
"Don't smile in such a creepy way, okay?" Al Nadeem shivered slightly, "I'm not going to talk to you, and I don't want any communication with you under any circumstances. The only reason I'm talking to you is so I can be friends with the lovely Miss Theron through you!"
Laila wanted to slap him, "If you're not going to talk to me, then who are you talking to right now?"
"If not for Miss Theron, I wouldn't be talking to you!" Al Nadeem said stubbornly.
Laila loved stubborn people, so she pointed out a key point without hesitation, "Very well, it seems you remember that I'm Theron's boss. Her managerial contract is in my hands. If I don't want her to bother with you, it's just a matter of one word."
"You can't do that!"
"You know, I can do that." Laila replied with a very "friendly" smile.
The prince was dumbfounded. He had never encountered someone who would talk to him like this. Thinking that he might never be able to be friends with the girl of his dreams, his confident posture immediately crumbled.
"What do you want then? Money? How much money would it take for a chance to be friends with Miss Theron? One million? Or ten million?"
Due to her past experiences, Laila detested people flaunting their wealth in front of her, "Are you shameless enough to bring such a small amount of money in front of me? Should I tell you how much I can earn from just one movie?"
Al Nadeem then remembered Laila's status. She wasn't someone who could be brushed off with money like those people he used to meet. She was a woman who could earn more money than he could, maybe even more than he could. Apart from money, he had no idea how else he could handle the situation.
"Some people think they're gods just because they have money," a sarcastic voice came from behind them. Without even guessing, besides Roy, there was no one else who would dare to speak to a prince in such a tone.
It seemed like Al Nadeem had been through this before, as he heard the sarcasm and merely huffed, "Only those without money would think like that."
"Yeah, I don't have money. At least I dare to tell the girl I like that I love her. Can you?" Roy approached Laila with his skateboard, picked up the drink she had placed on the small table, and drained it in one gulp. Then he smacked his lips, "This tastes weird, not good."
"Would you like to request another one in a few minutes?" Laila was used to his occasional "thieving" of her food. As if her food was the best, every time he came to her office, his first task was to devour the fruit she had laid out on the table.
"It's too hot." Roy shoved her legs aside without ceremony, making room for himself to sit down.
Laila noticed that the foolish prince seemed to be silent. She looked over to the sun lounger beside her and saw him wearing a mournful expression, "killing her with his eyes."
"Oh." She remembered that Roy had said something quite impactful just now. "Roy, sometimes the truth can hurt."
Roy glanced at the prince, understanding what she meant, and nodded in agreement, "I know. That prince isn't bad. At least I'm chasing after girls, while he's being chased by them."
This guy! Laila almost burst out laughing. He knew how to be obnoxious.
Al Nadeem was on the verge of flipping the table. Even if he had never liked showing off his prince status in front of others, he was indeed a real prince. How could they treat a prince like this? Is this how Americans behave with a prince? Is this their sense of decorum?
After the incident with the bodyguards, the steward contacted someone to gather information about Laila Moran for him. From the information, he learned many things about her and realized just how remarkable she was.
What frustrated him was that apart from his higher status, he seemed to be lacking in various other aspects compared to her.