Victor Mo took Serena Li to the parking lot, but instead of letting her drive back herself, he gave her car keys to his driver, Xiao, and then took her to his Bentley, where his assistant, Andrew Xu, drove her back.
Serena Li still had some questions to ask him, so she didn’t refuse his arrangement.
Before getting in the car, Xiao told Andrew Xu the address. Andrew Xu had never been to Serena Li’s house, so he drove his Bentley behind Xiao’s white BMW.
Serena Li felt more awkward talking to Victor Mo because of the presence of a third person , especially since his two subordinates clearly misunderstood their relationship.
She took out her phone and checked the class schedule. She remembered that she had to be on duty for the students’ evening self-study session tomorrow night, so she told Victor Mo , “I just remembered, I have to be on duty tomorrow night.” After saying that, she was afraid that Victor Mo would not believe her, so she showed him the class schedule on her phone.
Victor Mo said, “I’ll come pick you up then, it won’t take you long.”
Serena Li thought for a moment and then nodded.
Then, she heard Victor Mo ask her,
you close to Stella Jiang ?
“Huh?” Serena Li looked at him in confusion, not expecting him to ask that.
“I ran into her at a social event last Friday, and she mentioned inviting you to a TV show,” Victor Mo said.
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on participating.” Serena Li said, tapping her phone screen with her right hand.
She wasn’t surprised that these businessmen met for business purposes, but when the conversation turned to her, she couldn’t help but be surprised. She also thought about that time at the party in MD, when she danced with Victor Mo. Stella Jiang must have seen it and probably misunderstood their relationship.
It’s like one wave after another.
Victor Mo gazed at her fair profile, a handsome smile curving his lips. He noticed that when she was thinking, she liked to tap her fingers on things. These subtle gestures amused him and helped him understand her better.
After a moment, Victor Mo said again, “Do you know why she invited you to the show?”
Serena Li certainly wouldn’t say that Stella Jiang thought her looks would boost ratings. She paused and then said, “She said it was a technology challenge show and asked if I was interested in participating.”
Victor Mo smiled, and Serena Li looked at him, only to see him say, “How much do you know about Stella Jiang ?”
When he said that, Serena Li immediately sensed that he definitely had some opinions about Stella Jiang , but he didn’t say it outright, probably because he wanted to see her opinion of her first.
To be honest, Serena Li never liked gossiping about others behind their backs. Even if she knew some of Stella Jiang ‘s private matters, she didn’t intend to talk about them. She simply said, “She’s quite outstanding.”
Victor Mo understood what she meant; Serena Li didn’t want to discuss her old classmate any further.
But there were some things he had to remind her of: “She must have her reasons for inviting you to the show. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t give up easily what she wants. She’ll come back to you in the future, but you don’t need to agree just because of our friendship.”
Stella Jiang , Victor Mo knew that she would stop at nothing to climb the social ladder. Although he didn’t understand why she invited Serena Li to participate in a TV program, he was sure that the reason was not simple. Every step this woman took was carefully considered. Her profit-driven nature as a businesswoman made him realize at once that her intentions were not pure.
Serena Li had previously thought she wouldn’t participate in this kind of program, so she hadn’t thought much about Stella Jiang ‘s intentions. Now, hearing Victor Mo say this, she couldn’t help but have some doubts. Could there be another reason why Stella Jiang invited her?
Upon arriving at Four Seasons Garden, Xiao drove the BMW directly to the underground parking lot, and the Bentley followed.
Serena Li got out of the car, she returned the suit jacket to Victor Mo. Victor Mo followed her to the emergency exit and handed her the BMW keys.
Serena Li took it, he grabbed her right hand.
Serena Li’s face flushed. She pulled her hand away from his grasp, paused for a moment, then looked up at him and said, “Thank you for today. But aren’t you afraid of Frank Wang …?” She had just thought that Victor Mo ‘s appearance today must have had ulterior motives, but after today’s encounter, Frank Wang was definitely not a good person. She was afraid that he might do something bad behind her back.
He continued, ” Frank Wang seems to be quite familiar with people in the tax department. Um, you…”
Serena Li felt that Victor Mo, with his intelligence , would definitely understand what she meant.
Victor Mo smiled and said, “Serena, are you worried about me?”
Serena Li remained silent, her brows slightly furrowed and her eyelashes fluttering. He always spoke in an ambiguous way, and she wasn’t good at responding.
Victor Mo spoke softly, “Don’t worry, he won’t bother you anymore, and I’m not afraid of him. He’s a cautious person, and he knows better than to have any designs on you.”
Serena Li nodded, said goodbye, and turned to swipe her card to open the door, not daring to linger at the door any longer.
His gaze had been so intense that it involuntarily reminded her of their passionate kiss in the parking lot last time, causing her heart to race uncontrollably.
Victor Mo returned to Bentley after Serena Li left.
After getting into the car, both the assistant and the driver saw in the rearview mirror that their boss had a unique and charming smile on his lips.
***
The next day, Serena Li returned to school, taught two geometry classes, and then organized the notes from the meeting the previous afternoon. She sent them to Principal Liu’s email, indicating that she did not plan to go to the administration building to find him again.
In the years since graduation, when she goes back to meet with classmates, she occasionally hears those classmates who work in companies talking about unspoken rules and being dragged to dinner parties by their bosses. At that time, she would just laugh it off, thinking that as long as she held firm to her bottom line, she wouldn’t be afraid of getting into trouble.
Hearing is one thing, experiencing it yourself is another. After last night, she had a profound realization. Her experience was still not deep enough; in front of those seasoned old foxes, her little bit of cleverness was simply not worth mentioning.
During the afternoon meeting to prepare for the school’s sports meet, Serena Li ran into Principal Liu.
Principal Liu stopped her, saying he had received her email and praised her for taking good meeting notes. He said a lot of polite things, but made no mention of the social engagement the night before.
On her way back to her office, Serena Li’s mind was filled with Principal Liu’s hypocritical words.
What kind of “continue to perform well and strive to be selected as an outstanding teacher in the district at the end of the year” is this? Those who have power love to exploit their subordinates, using them as public relations tools, and then want to give them some sweet treats as a consolation.
She couldn’t argue with the vice principal, who was several levels above her, about what happened last night. Being able to communicate with him normally today was already the biggest concession she could make.
Serena Li didn’t know how other teachers would handle such a situation, but she herself planned to no longer accept any tasks assigned by Principal Liu other than her teaching duties at school.
She couldn’t just quit, so she had to endure some things, but there’s a limit to endurance. The worst thing she could do was to report it to the principal, because she believed that Principal Liu wouldn’t want anyone to know about it.
After evening self-study, Serena Li walked out of the school gate and saw Victor Mo ‘s Bentley across the street. The rear window was in the emergency landing position. She saw him on the phone, but his gaze was always looking towards the school gate. He smiled when he saw her.
Serena Li crossed the street, opened the car door and got in. Victor Mo looked at her and said to the person on the other end of the phone, “Let’s change the plan like this.” Then he hung up the phone.
Serena Li sat down and fastened her seatbelt, Victor Mo told Xiao to drive.
Victor Mo reached for a thermos, carefully unscrewed the lid, and handed it to Serena Li . “You’ve been teaching all day, have some honey water.”
“Thank you.” Serena Li smiled and accepted the gift.
Victor Mo sat to the side with his legs crossed, his gaze fixed intently on Serena Li . His men’s suit jacket was casually draped over his long legs, and he leaned back lazily.
Serena Li noticed his intense gaze, her heart racing involuntarily. After taking a sip of honey water, she asked, “Where are we going?”
Victor Mo said, “I’ll take you out for a late-night snack.”
He didn’t give her a specific address, so she didn’t ask again. Subconsciously, she thought he was a man of magnanimity and composure who wouldn’t use underhanded means to coerce people.
Twenty minutes later, the Bentley pulled into the underground parking lot in the CBD. After they entered the elevator, Victor Mo pressed the button for the 10th floor. Serena Li suddenly remembered that this was the restaurant where she had dinner with her cousin that day, and it was also here that she saw Victor Mo flirting with that sexy woman.
The thought of this made me feel uneasy again, and I unconsciously frowned.
Victor Mo’s eyes never left her; he noticed every little expression on her face.
With a “ding,” the elevator arrived at the 10th floor. After the doors opened, Victor Mo looked down at her and said, “Let’s go in.”
Serena Li followed behind Victor Mo , completely baffled as to why this man had brought her here.
The lobby manager led them to the door of VIP room number 9. Just as the door opened, before the two of them could even enter, Victor Mo was stopped by someone.
Just then, a blond, blue-eyed young man and a middle-aged man walked over from around the corner. The foreigner greeted Victor Mo , “Hi-Mo!”
Victor Mo nodded to the person who came in, then turned to Serena Li and said, “Excuse me, Serena, these two are my foreign clients. I’ll say hello to them first. Can you go inside and wait for me?”
Serena Li nodded and pushed the door open to go inside.
Serena Li entered, the waiter brewed her a pot of tea, poured her a cup, and then left.
The aroma of tea filled the air, but she had no interest in it.
This VIP room is truly luxurious; it’s a suite with a reception room, an entertainment room, a dining room, and a huge terrace.
A terrace? Could it be…?
Serena Li quickly walked onto the terrace and, sure enough, saw a floor-to-ceiling glass wall diagonally opposite the terrace. Through the glass, she could see the private room where she had dinner with her cousin last time.
At this moment, she somewhat understood why Victor Mo had brought her here.
As she turned back to the meeting room, she saw Victor Mo leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets, watching her.
Their eyes met, Serena Li stopped in her tracks, and Victor Mo walked towards her.
Even though we were so close, he had a faint smell of tobacco about him.