People always say that confident women are the most beautiful.
Suddenly, Hansen Ruiz found himself agreeing with this statement.
"I didn't go anywhere," Rachel Bailey blinked. She always felt that Hansen Ruiz's question carried an air of interrogation, tinged with an undertone of dominance, as if she needed to report her whereabouts to him.
"The scent of milk, the smell of coffee... Who did you go have coffee with?" Hansen Ruiz's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous light flickering within them. He had asked her to be his date, and she'd refused. Who would she go for coffee with then?
"Do you have a nose like a dog's? You can even smell that. By the way, what brings you here? It's not another wine party where you need me as your date, is it?" Rachel Bailey laughed, not noticing the change in Hansen Ruiz. In her heart, Hansen Ruiz was just an ordinary friend—oh, no, an ordinary friend to whom she still owed a favor.
"Would you be willing?" Hansen Ruiz reined in his dangerous aura, returning to his usual mild demeanor, and chuckled as he asked Rachel, his deep eyes holding a fleeting, unusual glint.
Rachel Bailey couldn't help but laugh. No way, she thought. I just asked casually and actually hit the nail on the head!
"Hey, buddy, with your status, can't you find a date who matches your social standing? Even if you can't, with just a word from you—never mind your position at the Valence Group—that car of yours alone would have a truckload of women willing to be your temporary date," Rachel Bailey said with a laugh, glancing at Hansen Ruiz's Range Rover.
"It's the birthday wine party for the previous CEO of the Richmond Consortium, starting at seven o'clock in the evening. I'll come to pick you up at six. Don't worry, I'll prepare the dress for you," Hansen Ruiz said with a smile, ignoring Rachel's teasing and making the decision for her. He was the Assistant to the CEO of the Valence Group and had navigated the business circles of T City for many years, possessing connections and power that commanded respect. Naturally, an invitation to Mr. Feng's birthday party would extend to him. Like Glades Horne, he held Mr. Feng in high esteem. Glades Horne often said that Mr. Feng was an upright man who, through intelligence and kindness, had established a significant consortium. He had earned a respected place in the business world and the admiration of younger generations like theirs. "Consider this your way of repaying my favor," Hansen Ruiz then added with a cunning smile. This remark instantly left Rachel, who wanted to refuse him, speechless.
"I'll take my leave now, I won't bother you anymore." After saying that, Hansen Ruiz turned and left, leaving a stunned Rachel Bailey behind.
This style of doing things... Hmph, quite domineering. Just what you'd expect from the eldest young master of the Ruiz Family!
"What was all that about? He left without even giving me a chance to refuse," Rachel muttered in annoyance, her not-so-slow mind beginning to sense something unusual about Hansen Ruiz.
Why did he insist on her as his date? What was his motive? She didn't believe her appearance could captivate Hansen Ruiz.
But then again, I do owe Hansen Ruiz a favor. If accompanying him to this wine party clears the debt, then I'll reluctantly repay him this way, almost like selling myself. Once tonight is over and the favor is repaid, we'll go our separate ways. I won't ask him for help again, and I hope he won't appear before me anymore. I'm very self-aware. He's not someone I can aspire to or fantasize about; I absolutely won't delude myself.
When Julia Bluen took a taxi back to Huayi, she saw a somewhat familiar red Audi parked in front of the company, seemingly having waited for some time.
That was James Horne's car.
Julia's perception of James Horne had always been one of gentle courtesy and unwavering respect towards Glades Horne. She had never seen an illegitimate son show such genuine respect for the legitimate son, without a trace of pretense. To outsiders, however, he was utterly cynical and cold, always wearing a grim expression that made people instinctively recoil, afraid of being frozen by his icy demeanor.
She didn't like James Horne, but she didn't hate him either. Her view on his illegitimate status was different; it wasn't something he had chosen, and he faced it with utter helplessness. After all, Pheobe Rogers was his mother, and he could hardly have demanded from the womb that she not be someone's mistress. Therefore, she never attacked him based on his illegitimate birth.
If he didn't have a mother who was a mistress, she thought, with his abilities, he could definitely be as impressive as Glades Horne and secure an important position at the Valence Group.
She and James Horne didn't have much interaction. When they met, she would only greet him lightly and politely as Brother James. Once, before her wedding, he had appeared alone and inexplicably questioned her about something. Angered, she had called him by his full name.
She had assumed that, like Adele Horne, he disliked her marrying Glades Horne and would join Adele in antagonizing her at every turn after the wedding. However, all her assumptions had been wrong.
He and Adele Horne didn't get along; Adele had bullied him considerably. The two siblings were like enemies.
When they met again after her marriage, his attitude towards her remained as detached and cold as before, but his gaze always carried an inscrutable depth, making him hard to read. She guessed all five Horne brothers were like that, their eyes like bottomless pits, impossible to fathom. When they encountered each other, they spoke even less; he never even called her 'sister-in-law' to her face. Online, however, he was surprisingly talkative. From that one chat, she'd realized he wasn't naturally cold; his life circumstances and status likely forced him to wear a mask of indifference.
What was he doing here now? Julia wondered.
Julia Bluen got out of the taxi and was about to pay the fare when she suddenly realized her handbag was missing. She paled instantly. The bag she had taken out today wasn't her expensive LV one, just a bag costing over a thousand yuan, but inside were her ID, wallet, phone, and other items. Her wallet contained several thousand yuan in cash and an uncapped bank card.
How could it be gone? When I was at the Serendipity Cafe with Rachel, I was the one who paid the bill. I thought I took the bag when I got into the taxi... or did I not?
"Miss, the fare is two hundred and sixteen yuan," the taxi driver said, reminding her to pay.
"I'm sorry, my bag is missing," Julia Bluen said, her face flushed with embarrassment. The bag must have been left at the Serendipity Cafe, she surmised. I probably put it back on the chair beside me after paying the bill and then left without it. My phone is in the bag too, so I can't even call Glades Horne for help!