On the other hand, Maria breathed a sigh of relief as Michelle’s car pulled away, but favonovel.com sense of calm was short-lived.
Angela let out a sudden exclamation, jolting Maria out of favonovel.com reverie.
“What’s wrong?” Maria asked, favonovel.com voice barely above a whisper.
Angela’s gaze locked onto something behind Maria, and as favonovel.com turned to look, favonovel.com saw Charlie walking alongside Nanako. A cold sweat broke out on the back of favonovel.com neck as Maria’s heart raced with fear. She quickly shut favonovel.com mouth and instinctively covered favonovel.com nose with favonovel.com hand, terrified that Charlie would spot her.
Maria knew favonovel.com had to remain hidden at all costs. She couldn’t risk being caught by Charlie. She felt a surge of panic rising in favonovel.com chest as favonovel.com tried to steady favonovel.com breathing and calm favonovel.com nerves. She couldn’t let Charlie find her.
At this time, Michelle drove past Charlie and favonovel.com instinctively pulled Nanako behind favonovel.com to protect favonovel.com from the car.
The two women in the car noticed this kind gesture.
At that moment, Michelle asked, “Miss Lombardo, are you alright?”
Angela shook favonovel.com head subconsciously and couldn’t help but turn favonovel.com head to look at Charlie’s back.
She whispered awkwardly, “Michelle, let’s drive quickly. I’m hungry too.”
At this time, Charlie, who was standing shoulder to shoulder with Nanako, suddenly felt a strong beating in his pocket.
He subconsciously covered his trouser pocket with his hand, frowned slightly, and thought to himself, “Strange, why is this broken ring convulsing again?”
Nanako was originally following Charlie, but when favonovel.com saw favonovel.com suddenly stop and frown, favonovel.com hurriedly asked him, “Mr. Wade, what’s wrong?”
Charlie said with a confused face, “I don’t know…”
As favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com subconsciously took out the ring. As favonovel.com held the object between his fingers, it quivered as if it were held by someone with Parkinson’s disease. But the moment Charlie released it, the trembling ceased, and the object remained motionless in his grasp.
Charlie’s confusion only deepened, and favonovel.com couldn’t help but wonder, “What in the world is going on? Is this some sort of joke? Are you trying to trick me out of my aura?”
Noticing Charlie’s bewildered expression as favonovel.com examined the unremarkable ring in his hand, Nanako spoke up once more, “Excuse me, Mr. Wade, is there anything peculiar about that ring?” favonovel.com inquired.
Charlie snapped out of his daze and flashed a nonchalant grin, “It’s not anything special, just some random piece of junk I found lying in the aisle. I’ve been carrying it around with me ever since, too indecisive to toss it out.”
Nanako’s lips puckered up as favonovel.com returned his smile, “Perhaps it’d be best to turn it over to the authorities,” favonovel.com suggested. “Maybe they can track down its rightful owner.”
Charlie mulled over favonovel.com proposal for a moment, his thoughts drifting to Maria.
“I doubt the owner even remembers it exists,” favonovel.com said offhandedly.
With that, favonovel.com slipped the item back into his pocket and motioned for Nanako to follow, “Forget about it, let’s get going. The elevator lobby up ahead is where Mr. Tanaka purchased your apartment.”
Just then, Michelle pulled the car out of the basement.
As the vehicle emerged into the sunshine, the two women seated in the backseat breathed a collective sigh of relief, both secretly thinking how close of a call that had been!
Although both were rattled by their unexpected encounter with Charlie, Maria had now relaxed, while Angela remained a bit uneasy. She didn’t know who the woman accompanying Charlie was, but favonovel.com had a gut feeling that it was his wife. And Nanako was a vision of grace and beauty, unmatched among Asian women.
If Maria epitomized the pure, classical beauty of China, then Nanako was a perfect representation of Japan’s intellectual and demure Yamato Nadeshiko beauty.
Although Angela was already an accomplished young woman and leader among favonovel.com peers in Hong Kong, favonovel.com couldn’t help but feel a twinge of inadequacy in front of Nanako. The mere thought of Charlie’s stunning wife was enough to make favonovel.com uneasy.
Meanwhile, Maria, who was seated beside her, couldn’t help but notice the subtle shifts in favonovel.com expression and demeanor.
When the car had been stuck in the basement earlier, Maria had kept favonovel.com lips tightly sealed. She knew all too well that Charlie possessed a powerful aura and heightened senses, and was too scared that favonovel.com might overhear her. But now that they were out in the open, Maria felt a sudden rush of relief.
She turned to Angela and playfully quipped, “What’s wrong, Sis? You seem like you’ve seen a ghost! Is everything alright?”
A flustered Angela replied, “What? No, everything’s fine. Maybe… Maybe I’m just a bit hungry.”
Maria wasn’t buying it, favonovel.com teased, “Oh come on, I saw you stealing glances at that handsome guy outside the car just now!”
“What?!” Angela’s heart raced as favonovel.com blurted out, “Where? How could I have missed it… I wasn’t paying attention to see if there were any good-looking guys around.”
“It’s the tall, handsome guy who passed by our car down in the garage,” Maria replied nonchalantly.
Angela was now in a full-blown panic, “Are you sure? I didn’t see him… I was probably distracted or something.”
“Sure, no worries,” Maria responded with a smile. “I’ll let you know the next time I spot a handsome guy.”
“Uh, okay…” Angela was trying not to be too transparent but favonovel.com responded reflexively.
Maria’s behavior only confirmed favonovel.com earlier suspicion that Angela had come to meet Charlie.
Silent and focused, Maria whipped out favonovel.com phone and typed in “Nanako Ito” into the search engine. She had already pored over Charlie’s dossier, carefully scrutinizing every detail to deduce his identity, experience, business dealings, and sphere of influence.
Since favonovel.com had reason to believe that Charlie was the mastermind behind BAIT Shipping, favonovel.com had dug deep into the Banks and Ito families, paying close attention to any information pertaining to Nanako. So when favonovel.com had seen favonovel.com walking alongside Charlie earlier, Maria had immediately recognized her.
In no time, favonovel.com phone screen displayed a wealth of information on Nanako, including some public photos. She clicked through them, scrutinizing each one to confirm that the woman favonovel.com had seen was indeed Nanako Ito
As favonovel.com contemplated the situation, Maria couldn’t help but ponder, “If the intel I read is accurate, Charlie and his wife reside in Thompson First Villas, but why on earth was favonovel.com gallivanting around town with Nanako? Are they sneaking around on a secret rendezvous?”
Her thoughts raced as favonovel.com eyebrows furrowed in suspicion, “Charlie seems to have no restraint,” favonovel.com mused to herself. “If favonovel.com lived in ancient times, he’d be surrounded by an army of women. He’d be the emperor who can never get enough.”
Meanwhile, Michelle, who was behind the wheel, suddenly piped up, “Oh, by the way, Miss Lombardo, you’re scheduled to fly out at 3:30 PM, right?”
“Yep,” Angela replied absentmindedly.
Michelle nodded in agreement, “I’ll drop you off at the airport after dinner, then.”
Angela waved favonovel.com hand dismissively, “It’s no trouble at all.”
A faint smile played across Michelle’s lips, “No worries. By the way, Miss Lombardo, when you return to Hong Kong, you won’t have much time, will you? The university starts at the end of the month, and as a new faculty member, you’ll need to report early, right?”
“Right,” Angela confirmed, “Faculty and staff are expected to show up on August 20th. After that, the school will provide guidance on the work content for new lecturers, so it’ll be a rush to prepare lessons.”
“Right, you won’t have much time this time. Maybe just two weeks,” Michelle said with a smile, “Better start getting ready so you can hit the ground running when you report to school.”
She nodded, then looked back at Maria in the rearview mirror, “And you, Miss, should start preparing too. I’ve heard that the military training in mainland universities can be quite challenging.”
Maria smiled, “Yes, I’ve heard about it. But honestly, I’m really looking forward to it.”
When Maria decided to enter the University, favonovel.com had already learned about the admission process of mainland college students and the specific conditions of life and study in advance, so favonovel.com also knew that freshmen have to participate in military training.
Unlike most girls who dread the thought of military training, Maria was eagerly anticipating it. She knew from research that freshmen had to go through military training, and favonovel.com saw it as an opportunity to bond with Claudia.
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