Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Meeting the Parents
By now, it was nearing dusk, and Elliana Lyle sat in the front passenger seat of Norman Bennett’s car, feeling extremely anxious.
Earlier that afternoon, she brought Norman some soup she had made, but instead of enjoying it, Norman had to throw it away as he was called into a meeting, leaving her to wait alone in the office.
But after she answered a phone call for Norman in the office, she had been feeling very nervous ever since.
Initially, she thought it was just another client calling, and as she was the only one in the office at the time, she had no choice but to answer it herself.
To her surprise, as soon as she picked up the call, Norman also picked up on his end. Due to the interconnected phone system in the company, she could hear Norman’s voice.
Not wanting to disturb them, she cautiously moved the phone away from her ear. But just as she was about to hang up, she heard her own name mentioned in the conversation, and curiosity compelled her to listen in for a moment.
On the other end of the call was Norman’s grandfather, saying he had come to South City and wanted Norman to bring her to meet him today.
Elliana panicked upon hearing this. Norman’s grandfather was a very mysterious person, the founder of The Bennetts Group, and a legendary figure in the country.
She had heard before that he used to be in the military!
To be honest, she had never met Norman’s grandparents.
And today, Norman hadn’t brought anyone else along, not even a driver—just him and her.
As she was lost in thought, the car pulled into the underground parking lot of a department store.
Elliana recalled Norman mentioning a location outside the city, and asked, "Norman Bennett? Aren’t we going to meet..."
"Mm, let’s buy some things first."
The man opened the car door for her, and after she got out, he held her hand as they walked towards the store.
She initially thought Norman was planning to buy some gifts, but as they wandered through the store, something felt off. Why had he taken her to the seafood section?
"Sir, would you like one?" An employee, wearing a red hat and vest, smiled and said, "This grouper is really fresh."
The man simply replied, "Yes."
She gently tugged at his hand and asked, "Norman Bennett... why are we buying fish?" As soon as she asked, she seemed to realize something. Was it because his grandfather had just returned and the villa was out of groceries?
"To eat."
Brief and to the point, typical of Norman Bennett’s answers.
Then the man bought a variety of groceries, most of which were foods she liked. While he pushed the shopping cart with one hand, he held hers tightly with the other.
Both the staff and shoppers in the mall couldn’t help but take a second look at Norman Bennett.
The man was dressed relatively casually today. Although he still wore a sleek black coat and sharply tailored gray trousers, it lacked the intense formality of a full suit.
He exuded a touch of approachability, but Elliana felt that to outsiders, he had an aura that made people reluctant to approach, compelling them to observe him from a distance.
"..." Elliana, her half-covered face wrapped in a scarf, noticed the young women’s gazes fixed on him with her large, round eyes.
"Norman Bennett, next time you go out, wear a mask," Elliana suggested.
"Why?"
Elliana pouted and sarcastically said, "You’re just too ugly, I’m afraid you’ll scare people."
"Alright."
As they checked out, two bags of chips had somehow appeared in the shopping cart, one lime-flavored and the other tomato-flavored. They were something Elliana had secretly added when Norman was busy getting condiments.
"Hehe~" Faced with his puzzled expression, she merely chuckled.
But from his expression, she could tell that Norman didn’t really want her to have the chips—most likely because of the incident where Hannah Collins had spoiled her with too many chips, which led to a stomach ache and a trip to the hospital.
Reluctantly, yet unable to see her disappointed, he said, "Choose one."
The cashier smiled kindly, "Kids do love these things. Just buy one pack to satisfy your craving a bit. Young lady, listen to your brother. You see, he’s already bought you a lot of groceries."
...
Elliana, now back in the passenger seat, excitedly tore open the bag of chips. The refreshing scent of lime immediately filled the air, making her mouth water from the sourness.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she took out her phone and sent Luna a message: "Luna, I’m about to go meet the parents. I might be back later. Have you finished your personal matters? If you have, check the incoming calls for me."
Buzz buzz~
Luna (Master): "Meeting the parents? Norman Bennett’s? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. Just do your best."
Cat Cat: "okok, thank you so much."
After putting her phone away, she continued snacking on the chips. Then, eyeing the man who was focusing on driving, she asked, "Why did Grandpa make a special trip to South City?" She recalled that Norman’s grandfather’s family home was in North City, and it was Norman’s late mother who was from South City.
In truth, Elliana wasn’t really looking for an answer; she just felt a bit anxious.
Seeing through her thoughts, the man gently reassured her, "Don’t worry, Grandpa is a very easy-going person, easy to get along with."
"Ah? I... I know."
...
At this time, South Joy Hotel.
Luna sat on the white bed, first using the phone number given to her by Fan Lin to search for a WeChat account. The search result showed a man named "Wind Whispers of Yesterday."
After sending a friend request, Luna picked up a bowl of spicy noodles next to her. Just as she was about to take a sip, she heard the notification sound for a new message.
The request had already been accepted.
Her newly changed WeChat name was "Eating Cat Cat," to make her seem more like a university girl.
Eating Cat Cat: "Hello, is this where I can borrow money?"
Wind Whispers of Yesterday: "Yes."
Eating Cat Cat: "I’d like to borrow some money, is that okay?"
She had barely finished asking when the other party readily agreed, explaining that borrowing money was easy with fast processing, requiring only some collateral information.
Eating Cat Cat: "I... I want to borrow a hundred thousand."
Wind Whispers of Yesterday: "A hundred thousand isn’t a small amount. First, send a nude photo of yourself so I can assess."
"..." Luna immediately put aside her spicy noodles, typing with both hands on her phone.
Eating Cat Cat: "Uh... I urgently need money. Can we meet offline? If we meet and you can lend me some money to tide me over, I can do whatever you want."
The other party was typing...
Half a minute later, they called her via voice chat, presumably to confirm.
"Hello~" Luna purred sweetly, her tone saccharine.
"Little sister, how old are you? Which university do you attend?"
The man’s voice over the phone sounded casual.
Luna bashfully replied, "Nineteen, at South University."
Hearing this, the other party eagerly agreed to her proposal, instructing her to book a room at the One Realm Hotel in the suburbs and wait for him there, planning to meet at eight that evening. If talks go well, the funds could be available within two hours!
...
―――Shopping center.
"Were you on a call?" Phoebe Lyle emerged from the restroom just in time to see John Shaw hanging up his phone.
John Shaw turned to her with a smile and said, "Just a client pushing for an order, wanting the building materials this month."
With that, John Shaw sighed but looking at his gentle and sophisticated fiancée, his mood lightened, "We’ve been shopping for a while. Are you hungry? Let’s go grab a bite to eat."
Phoebe Lyle nodded, "Sure."
Holding his fiancée’s hand tightly, John Shaw remarked as they walked, "I can’t believe we’re really about to get married!"
"Silly, why is that so hard to believe?"
"I didn’t expect your mom to agree. You have no idea how worried I used to be that your family wouldn’t approve of us being together!"