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Naomi took the thermos from her, though nobody knew whether she believed her or not. “Just leave it
to me. Go upstairs for a rest.” Leanna hadn’t slept well yesterday, so she felt somewhat sleepy at this
moment. Consequently, she went upstairs with a yawn and slept until six in the evening. The last rays
of the setting sun filled the sky on the distant horizon. When she came downstairs, she found that
Naomi wasn’t in her room. She went to the house next door to take a look, only to find that Wendy
wasn’t there as well. Not only that, but they weren’t the only ones missing. It was time to make dinner,
but the surrounding houses were very quiet, with no sound coming from them. As the last glow of
sunset faded in the distance, the lights along the street came on one by one, illuminating the ripples on
the surface of the river. It’s perhaps difficult to find another serene old street that has existed for as
many years as this one, thought Leanna. Just as she was in a sort of trance, Wendy appeared behind
her and patted her on the shoulder. “You’re up, Leanna?” Leanna came to her senses. “Hey, Ms.
Shaffer.” Wendy said, “Let’s go.” Leanna was baffled. “Where are we going?” “Oh, right, you don’t know
this yet.” Wendy clapped a hand to her forehead. Then, she explained, “Well, now that the project to
build the resort hotel has more or less been finalized, everyone’s moving away one after another. It’s
hard to tell when we’ll meet again, so we decided to have dinner together again for one last time.
I dragged Naomi to help with the preparation this afternoon. Now that everyone’s almost here, I came
back to call you.” With that, she dragged Leanna to the community hall. Meant for public use, the
community hall was the place for festive gatherings by the surrounding neighbors, but there had never
been full attendance at these gatherings due to all kinds of reasons. Perhaps because this would be
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇttheir last meeting, there was surprisingly full attendance this time. Underwood Lane’s residents were
mostly middle-aged men and women like Naomi and Wendy, who had reached a certain age but were
unwilling to live with their children. Apart from these people, there were also young tenants like Leanna
and Harry. Despite their age gap, they got along very well. It’d be more apt to describe them as a big
reconstituted family than as landlords and tenants. This evening, these middle-aged residents showed
off their cooking skills by each making one of their specialties, resulting in a sumptuous feast with
dozens of dishes on the round table. Wendy showed Leanna to her seat. “Come on, Leanna, sit here.”
Those seated at this table were all her familiar neighbors, including Wendy and Naomi. However, the
seat on her left was empty. … The meeting for Underwood Lane’s acquisition lasted a full afternoon
until darkness fell. After everyone else had left, Aidan sat in his seat while massaging his temples in
discomfort. Jonathan came over and asked, “President Pearson, do you need painkillers?” Aidan put
down his hand and stood up, saying impassively, “Never mind. Let’s go out and get something to eat.”
Meanwhile, Harry and some of his superiors in his department were still waiting for the elevator at the
elevator lobby. One of the superiors said, “It’s time for dinner. Let’s have dinner before we go back.”
The other superiors agreed, but Harry replied with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, everyone, but I probably
have to excuse myself today.” He told them briefly about the gathering organized by his neighborhood.
The revamp of Underwood Lane into a resort hotel was a big project that carried great importance for
Harry’s department as well. Therefore, upon hearing his words, his superiors immediately replied, “Is
that so? Well, in that case, we can’t hold you up today no matter what.” “Please give our regards to the
neighbors when you go back, Harry.” “By the way, Harry, will Leanna be present at the gathering?”
Harry nodded. “Yes, she will.” His superior patted him on the shoulder and said encouragingly, “Well,
that’s nice. This is a great opportunity. You’ve got to seize it.” Harry felt somewhat shy, but he nodded
heavily nonetheless. “I’ll do my best.” Little did they notice that before they realized it, someone had
been standing quietly behind them with glacial eyes. After leaving the hotel and saying goodbye to his
superiors, Harry stood at the intersection to hail a taxi. However, as soon as he put up his hand, a black
Maybach slowly pulled up in front of him, baffling him. The car window rolled down to reveal the man’s
stony features. He said, “Mr. Mills.” Harry exclaimed in surprise, “President Pearson?” Aidan asked
apathetically, “Where are you going, Mr. Mills? Let me give you a ride.” Overwhelmed by the
unexpected offer, Harry quickly refused, “No, no, no, President Pearson, please don’t bother. I’ll hail a
—” “Get in the car.” Harry was lost for words. Not daring to refuse the man again, he opened the car
door and bent down to get in. It was extremely quiet in the car, and Harry was breathless with extreme
nervousness. He had met with Aidan very often over the past few days due to work-related reasons.
However, his superiors were the ones who talked to the latter most of the time, whereas he was only in
charge of fetching documents, running errands, and doing other kinds of odd jobs. Therefore, he had
never faced the latter alone as he was doing right now. He had long heard of Aidan. The Pearson
Group was a huge family business with a solid foundation, but Aidan wasn’t a wealthy playboy who
only knew to eat, drink, and be merry. Not only had the Pearson Group’s share price doubled since he
took over the company, but it had swiftly expanded its market abroad, resulting in soaring annual
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmprofits. Rumor had it that Aidan was decisive and merciless to the point that even the Pearson Group’s
chairman feared him, which only proved how capable he was. Just as Harry was lost in thought, an
impassive male voice rang beside him. “Mr. Mills.” It took a few seconds before Harry finally came to
his senses. “Yes, President Pearson.” Aidan asked, “I heard that you’re courting Miss McKinney?”
Harry didn’t expect Aidan to have heard of this as well. He replied with embarrassment, “Huh? Uh, well,
yes…” “But Miss McKinney said yesterday that she’s pregnant. Don’t you mind that, Mr. Mills?” Harry
didn’t know why he would suddenly ask such a question. After pondering for a moment, he answered,
“I like Leanna for who she is, and I like her regardless of what has happened to her in the past. As for
her pregnancy… I believe that we’ll have our own kids one day.” Aidan curled his lips into a sneer
without making any comments. Soon, the black Maybach drove into Underwood Lane. Harry said to
Jonathan, “Mr. Stoll, could you please pull over at the front? Thank you
.” Aidan rolled down the car window and darted a look at the outside. He asked in an emotionless
voice, “Do you live here, Mr. Mills?” “No, I don’t, President Pearson. The thing is…” Harry told him
about the gathering. Aidan raised his eyebrows slightly. “Oh? Sounds like a lively gathering to me.”
Harry wasn’t dumb either, or he wouldn’t have achieved his current position. Naturally, he understood
what Aidan’s words meant, so he asked tentatively, “President Pearson, would you like to join us?”
Aidan withdrew his gaze. “Isn’t it unsuitable for an outsider like me to be present at your gathering?”
“That’s not the case, President Pearson. Those in the neighborhood like you very much. They wanted
to invite you to our gathering at first, but they were afraid of bothering you, fearing that you wouldn’t like
such an occasion. If you join us, they’ll surely be very happy.” “Since you said so, I guess I have no
choice but to join you guys.”
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