"Let go of me... you pervert, you filthy pig... let go... let go..." Tserveni struggled incessantly.
"Shut up!" Daniel hoisted her up and headed towards the staircase.
"What are you doing, you pervert? Put me down... put me down..." Tserveni was startled by his rough actions but couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried.
A flutter passed through her heart; she realized she had been lying to herself all along. She did want him, and her body was giving the most direct and honest response. Unable to hold back any longer, he dragged her downstairs. At that moment, Tserveni's phone rang, the crisp ringtone startling them both and dousing the flames of passion.
Tserveni froze for two seconds before pulling out her phone. Seeing the caller ID, she was so embarrassed she nearly hit the wall. She had completely forgotten about her friend.
She was already half an hour late for her meeting with Jaffelicity, who must be getting impatient.
She quickly answered the call, her voice still breathless. After taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she spoke.
As soon as the call connected, Jaffelicity's voice came crashing in: "Tserveni! Are you trying to stand me up? Get your butt over here now..."
Tserveni laughed nervously, "I'm on my way, darling... five minutes, just five minutes..."
She put away her phone and started running upstairs, seemingly forgetting the person standing behind her.
"Darling? Ha..." Daniel chuckled, "How come I've never heard you call me that?"
Tserveni stopped and seemed to just realize he was behind her. "You have so many people calling you that, one less won't matter," she said nonchalantly, though her tone was tinged with jealousy.
Seeing his smug smile, Tserveni glared at him and turned to head upstairs.
"Are you jealous?" he asked with a hint of a smile in his voice.
Tserveni stopped, turned to look at him, and said, "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not that petty..."
Unbothered by her words, he climbed the stairs and put his arm around her shoulders as they left the stairwell.
Once Tserveni was out of sight, Oliver burst into laughter. "Bro, this is hilarious. So, you have such a cute woman around... I like her; she's different from your other women. They're all so fake, pretending to be pure. Is she the one you spent a fortune to chase after? You have to marry her and make her my sister-in-law. I have to tell Mom; she'll love her too..."
"Don't cause trouble for me. If you tell Mom, I won't let you off..." Daniel glared at Oliver.
"Pfft—you're so mean to your sister. Watch out, or I'll go and mess things up with your little woman..." Oliver retorted, puffing up her cheeks.
"What does Mom want?" Daniel asked, glancing at Oliver.
"NONONO, this time you're wrong. It's Dad, not Mom. Dad said Mr. Pei wants to pick a good day for you to get engaged to Scott's granddaughter..." Oliver's eyes widened as she spoke, "Bro, really? If that's the case, won't we lose our sister-in-law?"
Daniel glanced at her, smiled, and walked away without another word.
"Bro... Bro... I don't want that... I want my sister-in-law..."
In the bustling mall, Oliver's sweet voice echoed above the crowd...
When Tserveni arrived at the ice cream shop, she saw Jaffelicity with an angry face. Knowing she was in the wrong, Tserveni quickly put on a smiling face and walked over.
"Sorry, sorry... darling, I'm late... don't be mad... okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say... I'll listen to you... don't be mad... I won't do it again..." Tserveni's submissive demeanor finally made Jaffelicity burst into laughter.
"Alright, alright... look at you..." Jaffelicity pouted and smiled, "What were you doing just now?"
"Nothing, nothing... Jaffelicity, I finally found a job at the biggest travel company here—Nature Travel Company... haha, congratulate me..." Tserveni said excitedly.
"That's great, that's great. Next time, you have to take me along... But did Uncle Tan really agree? If you don't go to the company, doesn't that mean Zoe will take over?" Jaffelicity asked, puzzled.
"We'll talk about it in a few years. Let my dad manage for a few more years..." Tserveni said nonchalantly while eating fries. "Oh, by the way, I have good news too..." Jaffelicity's face turned slightly red, "I'm getting engaged soon..."
"What? So soon? Is it your childhood sweetheart?" Tserveni asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes..." Jaffelicity nodded, her face showing a girl's shyness, "I don't know, but Grandpa said they arranged it before we were born, so..."
"Ugh, people still do that these days?" Tserveni said, unimpressed, "Are you really willing to be their puppet?"
"No, no... if I didn't have any feelings for him, I wouldn't agree. But Tserveni, you know, marrying him is my lifelong wish. That's why I haven't dated anyone abroad..."
"All these years, just for him?" Tserveni rolled her eyes.
"Pfft, didn't you give up a whole forest for one Vincent?" Seeing Tserveni's smile fade, Jaffelicity quickly apologized, "Sorry, Tserveni... I..."
"It's not a big deal, no need to apologize..." Tserveni smiled and poked Jaffelicity's forehead.
After coughing for a while, Tserveni asked with wide eyes, "What... what did you just say?"
"Huh?" Jaffelicity looked at Tserveni's fearful face. Did she say something scary?
"Which brother?"
"Daniel, Daniel Harris, the CEO of Harris Group... the one I'm getting engaged to..." Jaffelicity emphasized, worried she hadn't been clear.
Tserveni's face turned pale, her ears buzzing. The sunlight outside was so intense that she couldn't even see Jaffelicity's worried face clearly...