Knowing there was no time left to delay, Huangfu Jue raised his palm and gently rubbed the top of her head with a sense of reluctance and quickly walked towards the door.
As she watched the man’s tall figure recede, Gan Yuan suddenly felt a pang of unwillingness to let him go.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Gan Yuan smiled, "Not at all, I just wanted to remind you to be careful and to come back early."
"I know, wait for me."
With a smile towards her, he opened the door and walked out, instructed Helen and the butler briefly, and then descended the stairs to leave.
Listening to the sound of an engine coming from downstairs, Gan Yuan picked up the bowl of porridge again, but she had little appetite, only managing to force down a few mouthfuls before setting it on the table.
She felt inexplicably restless, her subconscious nagging her as if something was about to happen.
Frowning, she considered the events of the past few days—something was off, but where exactly?
"Manager!" Helen entered quietly, "Are you alright?"
"I’m fine," Gan Yuan lifted her face, "There’s nothing much here, you can go back and reorganize tomorrow’s press conference."
"The sir asked me to stay and protect you," Helen said.
Gan Yuan crossed her arms, "So, are you his assistant, or mine? This is the Duke Residence, surely no one would dare to drive a car up the stairs to hit me?"
Helen chuckled lightly, "Alright then, I’ll head back to the hotel first. Call me for anything, and I’ll come right away."
Gan Yuan nodded with a smile, having specifically conceived a gourmet week event to boost the hotel’s popularity, which would be announced to the public at the press conference tomorrow.
The hotel business had become a significant part of her life, and she certainly could not let a minor car accident stop her midway.
After Helen left, Gan Yuan handed the bowl of porridge to the butler and asked him to go downstairs to rest. She then entered the study and began revising her speech for the next day’s conference on her own computer.
The night grew deeper.
A figure nimbly flipped over the railing, using the cover of darkness to approach the main building. After jamming the signals of the infrared cameras with a jammer, the slender silhouette swiftly climbed up to the third floor and made its way to the window of the lit study.
The figure inadvertently brushed against the ivy on the wall, creating a rustling noise, and quickly ceased movement.
The faint light from inside outlined her eyes, visible beyond the mask, which were as clear and pale blue as lake water.
This intruder was none other than Jessica, who had secretly planned with Paul to ensure that she would take Gan Yuan away with her.
Earlier, she had been lurking outside the Duke Residence for a while and noticed Huangfu Jue leaving. Realizing it was an opportunity, she immediately used the cover of night to infiltrate, hoping to take Gaia away during the chance.
Gan Yuan, who had been typing at her keyboard, stopped her fingers, frowned, and listened for a moment. Then she moved her fingertips to the mouse and opened the built-in camera software on her computer.
Quietly shifting the computer in one direction, she continued to pretend to type.
Outside, listening to the continued tapping sounds, Jessica breathed a small sigh of relief.
Extending a hand to brace herself on the window, she nimbly leaped into the room and pointed a finger at Gan Yuan, who was on the sofa.
"Raise your hands, stay quiet, don’t move, or else... I will take your life!"
The computer’s camera clearly captured all her movements, and with the help of the screen display, Gan Yuan had taken in every action of hers.
Jessica was, of course, unaware, observing the "focused" Gan Yuan still sitting on the sofa, her lips curling into a small smile.