Chapter 22

Sloan came over with the room card and saw Adela standing there blankly.

“Did Jerome confess to Angelia?”

Adela glared at Sloan and said, “Who told you Jerome was going to confess?”

Sloan thought for a moment and realized that no one had mentioned it.

He scratched his head and said, “Maybe tomorrow. You don’t have to worry. Angelia is a married woman, so it’s impossible for her and Jerome to be together. If it were possible, they would have been together a long time ago and wouldn’t have waited until now.”

“You killed me,” Adela said irritably as she walked past Sloan and went to the third floor.

Jerome woke up early and stood outside Angelia’s door.

He was worried that it was too early and she hadn’t woken up yet.

He leaned against the wall and opened his phone.

QQ was still logged in, and he noticed that Angelia’s profile picture was lit up.

He immediately sent a message, “Are you up?”

After sending the message, he became nervous and worried that she wouldn’t reply or would block him.

She was capable of doing such things.

Every second that passed made him more anxious, and his heartstrings tightened.

He sent two more words, “Are you there?”

Angelia had already been up since four in the morning, organizing, summarizing, and analyzing what she had learned the day before.

She saw Jerome’s profile picture flashing.

After a night of emotional turmoil, she had regained her composure and rationality.

Jerome was not wrong, but she had developed different feelings for him.

Because of these feelings, she seemed to have fallen into a trance, suppressing her emotions all day and finally exploding for no reason because of Adela and Bea.

In fact, it was normal for him to be with Adela, and it was natural.

Bea followed Talbot and had unique insights into the game.

She was capable of working for a gaming company and was probably better than her, who got in through the back door.

She opened Jerome’s message and replied, “I’m sorry, I drank too much last night and babbled.”

Jerome looked at her message, and a tense part of his heart loosened with the words “I’m sorry” and merged with something warm.

His gaze softened a bit as he said, “I drank too much yesterday and don’t remember what you said. But no matter what you said, don’t say things like that again in the future.”

“Okay, let’s turn the page?” Angelia replied.

“Let’s turn the page. Why did you wake up so early? It’s only five o’clock,” Jerome asked.

“I learned a lot yesterday and am organizing my notes. I’ll send them to you later,” Angelia responded.

“Remember, you can always ask me if you don’t understand something. You won’t learn less from me than anywhere else,” Jerome typed quickly.

“You’re busy, and I can’t keep bothering you,” Angelia politely replied.

“I don’t think you’re a bother,” Jerome said.

Angelia looked at his message. Sometimes people overthink things and add some pink bubbles. She was making trouble for herself. His words were just encouragement for her work. She replied, “Thank you for mentoring me, Jerome. I will work hard.”

She logged off QQ and continued to focus on her document, reading it over and feeling like it wasn’t good enough. She added a few more points and then heard a knock at the door.

She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Jerome.

She opened the door and asked, “What’s wrong, Jerome?”

“I messaged you, and you didn’t reply,” Jerome asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

“Oh, I logged off QQ and didn’t see it,” Angelia said, distant yet polite.

“Let’s go, come with me for a run,” Jerome said in a deep voice.

“A run?”

“Health is the foundation of revolution. Having a healthy body can lead to better work, active cells, and more agile thinking,” Jerome said.

Angelia smiled and said, “Wow, there are so many benefits to running. I guess I’ll have to start running too. But I won’t accompany you today, I didn’t bring my running shoes.”

Jerome: “……”

He looked at her smiling face and wasn’t sure if she was making an excuse or really didn’t have her shoes. His gaze deepened a bit as he said, “Then come walk with me. I have something to tell you.”She didn’t want to walk with him and found an excuse to refuse, “I still have some work to do…”

“Or do you want me to come into the room and talk to you?” Jerome interrupted her.

Angelia thought for a moment and let him into the room. However, she was worried about being seen by others and changed her mind, “Let’s take a walk. I’ve been organizing for too long and feel dizzy. It’s good to get some fresh air.” She turned around, took the room key, and put it in her pocket.

Jerome walked towards the elevator, and she followed him, deliberately keeping a distance of more than one meter.

Inside the elevator, it was just the two of them. He looked at her and asked, “You didn’t eat much yesterday, are you hungry?”

Angelia smiled, “I didn’t eat little. I ate meat, which is the hardest to digest. I won’t feel hungry for 24 hours.”

“Okay,” Jerome replied.

The elevator bell rang, and he got out of the elevator.

It was already light outside at 5:30 in the summer. The air was particularly fresh after the rain, and there was a hint of coolness, which was very comfortable.

Angelia unconsciously slowed down her pace, opened the distance between her and Jerome, looked around, and pretended not to recognize him, so as not to be misunderstood by others.

Jerome stopped walking, and she stopped too. He frowned, “Why are you so far away when you talk?”

“Oh,” Angelia realized that it was too deliberate to act that way. She walked towards him, stopped one meter away, and then stopped again.

“Adela is not my girlfriend,” Jerome said.

“Huh?” Angelia looked at Jerome.

“Adela is doing jewelry business in France. She came back this time because her grandmother had a birthday, and her family wanted her to get married. They didn’t allow her to go back to France, so she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend for a week. The exchange condition is that she will sell me the deep blue water diamond. The deep blue water diamond originally belonged to my aunt, and she gave it away for one of my projects. It’s my aunt’s birthday next month, and I want to buy it back and give it to her,” Jerome explained in detail.

Angelia looked at him steadily.Adela once told her that Jerome doesn’t acknowledge her as his girlfriend because he is pursuing a Japanese girl who plays the piano. But after listening to Jerome’s explanation, she believes him even more and feels a bit uncomfortable.

“It’s really scary when elders pressure you to get married. No wonder there are online services for renting boyfriends and girlfriends during holidays,” said Angelia.

“Yesterday, Bea told me about the current situation of the North Carolina game market and the inside of Manwei Entertainment. I want to recruit her to be in charge of the acquisition of Manwei Entertainment. If you think it’s not a good idea, I respect your decision,” Jerome added.

“Why not? It’s the perfect time for Star Game to recruit new talent, and it’s most appropriate for Bea to be in charge of the acquisition of Manwei Entertainment. It will have a great deterrent effect on them and prevent them from making huge profits. It’s a good idea,” Angelia agreed with Jerome.

However, Jerome felt uncomfortable in his heart. He would rather see Angelia angry and opposed like yesterday, which would show that she cares about him.

“If you have any requests, just let me know,” Jerome said.

Angelia thought for a moment and said seriously, “Yesterday, I talked to them and they said a lot. Because of the development of the Internet and the ease of copying games, there are many games on the market with varying quality and a lot of repetition, which has caused a lot of diversion. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make money from games. In the future, it may be even more difficult, and many game companies may fail to attract investment and go bankrupt. I think instead of having the game department develop new games, it’s better to let them search for potential and innovative game projects and then cherry-pick the best ones. This way, the cost investment will be much less, and we can do more things with the same amount of money.”

“Game investment has a long cycle and a short monetization time. I don’t expect the game itself to make a lot of money. I want to establish an influential game platform, attract stable traffic, package it for listing, and make hundreds of billions of dollars. The more traffic we have, the more things we can do, the more we can invest, and the more revenue we can generate,” Jerome patiently explained.

Angelia understood.If those people talked to her about the gaming market yesterday, Jerome talked to her about the capital market, which was a big leap.

Looking down from top to bottom, it was indeed clearer.

She needed to digest it and adjust her proposal again.

They were not just doing games, they were doing capital.

“Besides these, do you have anything else to say?” Jerome’s voice became a little lower as he looked at her.

Angelia shook her head.

Jerome saw that she was pretending to be dumb, so he made it clear, “Why did you drink so much and get angry yesterday?”

“Didn’t we turn over a new leaf?”

Angelia refused to answer and walked ahead.

Jerome held her hand, “I turned over a new leaf with you, not with our conversation yesterday.”

Angelia let go of his hand and found an excuse, “Yesterday was such a happy day, I drank too much. I have a bad tolerance for alcohol, and I get drunk easily.”

“Happy?” Why did he feel so unhappy?

Since he saw her yesterday, his heart had been entangled by vines, and he couldn’t breathe comfortably.

Angelia also felt guilty, lowered her head, and changed the subject, “There are black swans and white swans over there, they look beautiful. Do you want to go?”

Jerome turned his head, “I don’t want to go.”

Angelia: “…”

“Then I’ll go take a look.” She said in a good-natured tone.

“You can’t go either.” Jerome said directly, looking at her.

Angelia was hesitating when Adela’s voice came, “Angelia, Jerome, are you guys here?”

Angelia turned to look at her.

Adela was wearing a white suspender dress, with delicate makeup and her hair down, but as she walked, you could see the hickey on her neck.

Jerome looked at Adela unhappily.

He didn’t want Angelia to misunderstand again, so he held Angelia’s hand tightly.

Angelia was scared and wanted to pull away.

He held her even tighter and said in a deep voice, “Yesterday, I was alone in a room, and I didn’t leave that mark on her neck.”

“Huh?” Angelia was shocked.

Who did it then?

Jerome lowered his head and kissed her neck.

Until she felt a little pain on her neck, she instinctively took a step back.Jerome looked at the red mark he left on her neck with a heated gaze, his fingers rubbing over it. “This is what I left, it’s different from hers.”

“How am I supposed to face people with that on my neck?” Angelia was embarrassed. “You said you would take care of it.”

“Do you really believe me when you’re so stupid?” Jerome said helplessly, undoing her ponytail and letting her hair fall over the spot he kissed.

He said she did believe him, looking at Adela.

Adela’s face was pale as paper, her fists clenched as she turned and walked away in anger.

“What about the deep blue diamond? What if we can’t get it?” Angelia worried.

“Didn’t you see the mark on her neck? She must have a real boyfriend now. Since she has a real boyfriend, my fake one can naturally step aside,” Jerome said in a calm voice, not caring at all.

Angelia fixed her hair, trying to cover up the mark completely.

Jerome’s gaze softened. “There’s a dinner party on Monday night with the food hygiene bureau leaders. Don’t get drunk.”

“The food hygiene bureau? Are you planning to make food?” Angelia asked, confused.

Jerome tapped her head lightly. “Silly, aren’t we planning to open a supermarket? If we go ourselves, even if we buy in bulk, we won’t get much of a discount. If we get the food hygiene bureau to help us, it will be a win-win situation and the price will definitely be better.”

Angelia thought Jerome was really smart, being able to find the key to the problem so quickly.

However, this also came from his strong network and background. It’s difficult for ordinary people to even invite leaders out to dinner, let alone ask them to do something for them.

“After we go back today, we should still have time. I’ll go to the major supermarkets and register the prices they sell at.”

“You don’t need to go to all the major supermarkets. Just go to the Green family’s supermarket. For other categories of products, we can use the bidding process and import directly from the source. You can categorize these and make a detailed business plan for me,” Jerome said.

“Okay.” Angelia carefully wrote down Jerome’s words, learning a lot from him.After finishing, it was still early, so Angelia went back to her room to write a proposal.

Tick-tock.

The door opened.

Adela came in and sharply looked at Angelia with a cold wind blowing, and asked unhappily, “What do you mean by trying to steal my boyfriend?”

Angelia stood up.

She believed what Jerome had said, that he was only pretending to be Adela’s boyfriend.

But she also didn’t want to argue with Adela.

“Jerome and I don’t have the kind of relationship you’re imagining,” Angelia explained.

“Then I find it even more strange. You, a married woman, are having an affair with another man outside. Is your husband dead, blind, or just useless? That’s why you’re so arrogant,” Adela sneered, staring at Angelia’s neck as if she wanted to bite it off.

Her relationship with Sammie was also not what Adela imagined.

She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to explain her own affairs to outsiders.

Adela would not understand and would twist things around.

It was useless to say anything.

Adela looked at her silent and her anger seemed to dissipate.

“You don’t want to argue with me, of course. Can you justify what you’ve done? My grandmother even wanted to introduce you to my brother. I think she’s not only blind but also blind-hearted,” Adela gritted her teeth.

“Your grandmother misunderstood. Fortunately, the misunderstanding has been resolved, and unnecessary trouble can be avoided,” Angelia replied softly.

Adela stared at Angelia and forgot what to say for a moment.

After about ten seconds, she said, “You and Jerome are not a match. His grandfather’s family is a multinational conglomerate, and his father is one of the top ten generals. What are you? A nobody, a commoner. With just one identity, he can crush you to pieces.””I know and understand that Jerome is only someone to look up to and not someone to covet,” said Angelia rationally.

“Well then why are you still with him?” Adela couldn’t finish her sentence, she couldn’t say that Jerome likes Angelia and give her hope.

Angelia smiled slightly and looked at Adela, “Some people only need to be liked, they don’t need to be obtained.”

Adela was shocked, looking at Angelia, her voice became sharp, “Do you like Jerome?”

“Do you not like him, Ms. Adela?” Angelia asked in return.

Adela was really not calm, “I have never seen someone shameless like you. You have a husband, how can you like another man who also has a girlfriend?”

“Like is an emotion that everyone has. This emotion is not controlled by reason, it is spontaneous. I do not deny that I like Jerome, but I also know the distance between us,” Angelia said calmly.

She also hoped that she would not like him more, just stop here. As time passed and he left North Carolina, she would slowly calm her heart.

“Since you know it’s impossible between you two, you should keep your distance. Is it appropriate for you to be so intimate?” Adela frowned.

“He will leave North Carolina in a month,” Angelia said, taking a deep breath. “If you’ve said everything you want to say, you can leave. I still have work to do.”

Adela looked at Angelia firmly, but found that Angelia was too rational, and whatever she said was not appropriate.

“His family will never accept you. You don’t understand Jerome’s grandmother and mother. They both died when Jerome was young. His aunt wanted to marry Jerome’s father, but his grandmother did not agree,” Adela said.

Angelia laughed, “That’s why there are too many twists and turns in emotions. For me, I don’t have too much energy to waste. I just want to take care of my daughter, she is the most important person to me.”

“Then you shouldn’t lead Jerome on,” Adela said, frowning.

“I told you, he will leave in a month. Even if he likes a new project, it won’t last more than three months,” Angelia said calmly.

“So you’re asking me to give you three months? I don’t have that much patience, watching my boyfriend be affectionate with another woman,” Adela said.If he really is your boyfriend, as someone who has been through it before, I advise you to break up with him.

Kissing another girl in front of you shows a lack of respect and consideration for you.

Even if you get married in the future, your position will only be lower, and you will feel more wronged, depressed, oppressed, frustrated, and less confident.

Enough!

Adela interrupted angrily, “No matter what kind of life I have in the future, it’s my business. Do you think I’m like you, willing to live so miserably? I’ve never seen someone like you who meddles in other people’s relationships and still acts so calm and righteous. You really have no manners. My grandmother’s birthday banquet doesn’t welcome you, so please leave.”

Since Adela had given her the order to leave, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to stay any longer.

“I understand, I’ll leave now.”

Angelia shut off her computer and packed her things.

The more Adela looked at her peaceful appearance, the angrier she became.

“You drank a bottle of wine too, so pay for it. Don’t be so greedy, and don’t try to flatter my grandmother in the future. She’s not someone you can flatter.”

Angelia nodded and didn’t intend to flatter her in the first place.

She thought the old woman was just a regular villager who talked about celebrating birthdays, so she came.

As for the red wine, she wanted to pay for it herself.

She packed her things and went to the front desk, saying, “I’m checking out now. I drank a bottle of red wine and stayed overnight. Please settle the bill.”

“Huh? Aren’t you Mrs. Fisher senior’s guest?” The front desk was confused.

“She’s not. Check her room and see if there’s anything missing,” Adela ordered.

The front desk called the housekeeping staff to check the room.

Jerome went to find Angelia and asked the housekeeping staff, “Where’s the guest in this room? Did she leave?””I am checking out now. Originally, it was agreed that the Shen family would settle the bill, but for some reason, Miss Fisher insists that guests staying in this room pay for themselves and even inspects the room, as if she is worried that the other party has stolen something.” The attendant complained.

Jerome walked quickly downstairs…

“Excuse me, can you help me check out as well?” Jerome said in a deep voice, with one hand in his pocket, walking towards the front desk.

When Adela saw Jerome coming, her heart skipped a beat. “Jerome, what’s wrong? Do you have an urgent matter to attend to?”

Jerome’s cold eyes scanned Adela and he spoke directly, “I think you should have a boyfriend now, and it’s not appropriate for me to stay here pretending to be someone else.”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you my boyfriend?” Adela tugged on Jerome’s sleeve and acted coy.

Jerome shook off her hand. “I don’t want to continue this charade. Who gave you that mark on your neck? Go find them!”

“Listen to me. It’s not what you think. Can you give me one minute alone?” Adela said anxiously. Being exposed in front of Angelia made her feel particularly embarrassed.

“No, if you have something to say, you can say it here.” Jerome said coldly.

“There are so many people watching. Are you really going to embarrass me like this? Have you forgotten our agreement, Jerome? You can’t treat me like this.” Adela’s eyes were red.

“Why can’t I treat you like this? How have you treated me? If you’re not willing to sell the deep blue diamond, then forget it.” Jerome said directly, his gaze flowing over Angelia’s face, and he said to the front desk, “Her bill is on me. How much is it in total?”

His person?

Referring to her.

Angelia’s heart trembled and she forgot to react for a moment.

Adela saw the strange looks from the front desk and the attendants, feeling embarrassed. She frowned and pretended to be a betrayed person, complaining, “She is your person, what am I to you?”

Jerome drifted towards her coldly and said expressionlessly, “You used to be someone I knew, although we weren’t friends, we had no grievances, and we could exchange a nod and a few words. But from now on, I don’t think there’s any need or possibility for us to deepen our relationship.”

“Are you really so heartless?” Adela said very anxiously.

“When you blame others, think about what you have done first,” Jerome hinted, looking towards the front desk.

“Oh, it’s a total of $1856,” the front desk said.

Jerome handed over his card, entered his password, paid the bill, and walked outside. After a few steps, he realized Angelia hadn’t followed him and turned around to look at her. “What are you still standing there for? Let’s go.”

Angelia hesitated, not sure whether to go or stay.

Jerome came back, took her hand, and pulled her forward, scolding her, “They’re telling you to leave, why are you still here?”

“Um, I should pay for the room,” Angelia said.

“I know, I’ll deduct it from your salary,” Jerome said, letting go of her hand.

His car was parked at the door of The Purple Plum, and he opened the passenger door. Angelia thought for a moment and got in.

He buckled his seat belt, leaned over, helped her fasten hers, closed the door, walked past the front of the car, and sat in the driver’s seat, driving away.

“Wow, Jerome is such a gentleman, so considerate, so cool,” said the front desk, full of infatuation.

Adela glared fiercely at the front desk, looked at Jerome’s car, clenched her fists, and the veins on the back of her hand bulged.

Sloan came slowly down the stairs, looked at Adela, and said, “Angelia is Jerome’s favorite, whenever something involves Angelia, Jerome is no longer rational and calm. During dinner, a CEO took a liking to Angelia and was directly ruined by Jerome. I guess he won’t dare to pursue Angelia again.”

“But she’s married, what about her husband, doesn’t he care about her?” Adela said angrily.

“I didn’t know Angelia was married until you told me, and Angelia probably doesn’t like Jerome. Otherwise, according to Jerome’s personality, he would definitely make them divorce,” Sloan guessed.Adela frowned, with a hint of panic in her eyes, “I heard that Jerome will be leaving in a month?”

Sloan shrugged. “If there are no special circumstances, leaving after a month is normal. Jerome’s projects are spread all over the world, so he naturally won’t stay in one country for long. But if Angelia asks him to stay, I bet he will definitely stay.”

Adela became even more uneasy. “I have to go back to France for a while…”

In the car, Angelia looked out the window without speaking, with some strange emotions swirling in her heart.

Jerome glanced at her. “It’s still early now. Should I take you back to your dorm or to your grandmother’s house?”

“Let’s go to the city. I have a friend to have dinner with tonight,” Angelia said softly.

“A guy?” Jerome asked.

Angelina shook her head. “I don’t know. A friend introduced us. We chatted online yesterday. He works in the gaming industry and has some great insights. He happens to be in Detroit, so I invited him to dinner.”

Jerome’s brow furrowed slightly. “Since it’s about work, I’ll come with you tonight. It’s good to learn more.”

“Okay,” Angelia replied.

He felt inexplicably irritable, stopped the car by the roadside, turned to look at her, and said seriously, “You don’t seem to have any sense of safety.”

“What?” Angelia asked.

“You’re a single woman, having dinner with someone you’ve never met at night. If the other person drugs you or does something to you, or if you get drunk, you won’t even have the chance to resist,” Jerome said with a bad expression.

Angelina explained with a smile, “It’s a friend of my friend. Nothing will happen.”

“What do you mean nothing will happen? Don’t you know how attractive you are…” Jerome paused, looking into her autumn eyes like water, feeling a burst of heat from his blood rushing into his heart.

She was very beautiful, the kind of beauty that could attract people’s attention at a glance. It was not a seductive beauty, but a spiritual one, clean, elegant, gentle, and lively.

Sometimes quiet, sometimes cute, especially when she acted like a spoiled child, soft and tender, like a spring breeze that could blow directly into people’s bodies, the kind of person that people wanted to possess.

Adding to her personality, she appears gentle and soft-spoken, but her words can provoke thoughts and make one want to marry her instead of just playing around. Once a man becomes serious, it becomes scary.

“Nowadays, people can become friends just by meeting once, saying a few words, or chatting online. Even after ten years of being together, they may not truly know each other, let alone friends of friends. Many girls are like you, lacking awareness of protection, which is why they get into trouble,” Jerome lectured.

Angelia thought he made sense and said, “I’ll be more careful next time.”

“There shouldn’t be a next time!” Jerome raised his voice, becoming somewhat agitated. She is so naive, easily believing people and being bullied. How can he leave her alone here with peace of mind?

“I will be cautious and put the anti-wolf stick in my bag from now on,” Angelia said amiably. Jerome’s brow did not relax.

“Don’t you have a friend named Darcey? Notify her to come and work with you. She can be your assistant, and you can take her wherever you go,” he said while continuing to drive.

The call went through.

“Has Wettiner called you?” Angelia asked Darcey.

“Yes, he did. I went to his hotel yesterday and checked it out. Although the salary is a bit higher than before, the place is too remote. It’s in Denver, and the roads are all muddy. I might not go,” Darcey said dejectedly.

“Denver? Wettiner’s hotel is in Denver?” Angelia was shocked. That place gave her an eerie feeling.

“Yes, it will open next month. I don’t like it that much,” Darcey said.

Angelia paused for a moment and then got to the point, “Do you want to come and work with me? Currently, you will be my assistant, and there are things to do. Jerome said he will give you an annual salary of 200,000, which is 16,667 per month, and there may be a year-end bonus depending on the situation.”

“Really? The salary is so high! Okay, okay, when can I start working? I’ll quit my job immediately,”

Darcey said happily.”Please calm down first. Here’s the situation: the company is located in Detroit, in the city center, with normal weekends, but sometimes overtime is required, and accommodations will be arranged. Since you’ve resigned from your previous job, you can come here to work.” Angelia explained in detail.

“Sure, I was living alone and renting a place with my own money. My lease expires at the end of this month, and since I’ve resigned, I’ll come and work with you. Thanks, sister, I prefer to work with you.” Darcey said happily.

Angelia also wanted to work with Darcey. “Contact me when the time comes.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Angelia looked at Jerome and said, “Wettiner’s hotel is located in Denver. It will take at least a year to build one hotel. Denver should have been pre-selected.”

“I can tell. You should never go there in your life.” Jerome reminded her.

He had sent people to investigate in Denver, and the results were more complicated than he had imagined…

Angelia’s phone rang and she saw it was from her grandmother, so she answered it quickly.

Alyssa’s voice came through the phone, “Mom, when are you coming back?”

Angelia’s eyes softened and she felt a little sorry, “I’m sorry, Alyssa, Mom won’t be able to come back today. You have to listen to your grandma.”

“What should I do if I miss you? I miss you so much that my heart is breaking.” Alyssa said disappointedly.

Angelia also couldn’t bear to leave Alyssa, but she had to work, “I’ll come back to see you next weekend and bring you some KFC.”

“Okay, Mom, take care of yourself, rest well, don’t worry me. I have to take care of my grandma and think of you, it’s hard.” Alyssa reminded her.

Thinking of Alyssa’s tone, Angelia smiled lovingly, “I know, Alyssa, you also need to take care of yourself, rest well, don’t tire yourself out. See you next week.”

“Okay, bye.” Alyssa hung up the phone with a disappointed tone.

Angelia sighed and put her phone away. Jerome saw her reluctance and said, “I can take you to your grandmother’s house now, and come back to pick you up tonight.”Angelia shook her head,

“I want to go to the supermarket today, look at their sales model and prices, as well as promotional plans, combine their advantages, and then refine the plan tonight.”

Jerome’s expression sank. He helped her open the supermarket to help her regain all the humiliation she had suffered in the past, not to tire her out.

“We still have forty minutes to go back, you woke up too early in the morning, take a nap first.”

“Okay,” Angelia replied, closing her eyes, but with something on her mind, she didn’t sleep too soundly, just squinted for a while and then opened her eyes.

“Jerome, you can drop me off at The White Apron up ahead, and I’ll go straight to the supermarket,” Angelia said.

Jerome frowned. As an employer, he couldn’t say anything about how hard the employees worked.

“Let’s have lunch together, and I’ll come to check your progress,” Jerome said heavily, stopping the car.

“Okay,” Angelia unfastened her seatbelt, got out of the car, waved to Jerome, and walked towards The White Apron. He watched her strong and proud figure. He didn’t object to her work, and supported her to do what she wanted to do. However, seeing her so strong and hardworking, his heart ached and pitied her.

He turned the car around and went to the countryside. He remembered that Angelia’s grandmother lived at number 5 in Diana family. He arrived at Diana family, drove around, but didn’t find number 5. He parked the car in front of a house and got out, ready to ask someone.

Not far away, two children were squatting together playing with mud, their faces dirty. One of the little girls with a ponytail saw him and her eyes lit up with joy. She dropped the river clam shell in her hand, ran up to Jerome, and grinned, “Daddy, what are you doing here?”

“What?” Jerome frowned, looking at the dirty little one in front of him. When did he have such a big child? Why didn’t he know?

“You’ve got the wrong person,” Jerome said, seeing a man walking towards him, ready to ask where Diana family number 5 was.

Alyssa hugged Jerome’s leg like a porcelain doll and rubbed her face against his pants. “Daddy, I miss you so much. Ever since I saw you on TV that day, I can’t forget you. You look like my lover from my past life, and my father in this life.”

Jerome elegantly pulled Alyssa away. “I’m not your daddy, nor your father.”

“I know,” Alyssa looked up at him and said confidently. “Not now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be in the future. Look at my cute little face. My mom is even prettier than me. You won’t lose out if you buy small and get big.”

Jerome felt like he had heard similar words before. A passing man laughed and teased Alyssa. “You little girl, are you trying to sell adults again? Be careful, or your mom will come back and spank you.”

“My mom is gentle. She won’t hit me. If she doesn’t find me a daddy, I’ll have to find one myself,” Alyssa retorted like a little adult, looking at Jerome with a happy smile.

She looked sincere and innocent, afraid of scaring away her beloved dad.

Jerome didn’t mind, after all, children say the darndest things. He asked the man, “Excuse me, where is the Diana family?”

Alyssa tilted her head and widened her eyes, shining like fallen stars. “Are you going to my house? Are you really here to pick me up? I told my mom that dreams do come true. What if I see a ghost?”

Jerome realized that this little girl was Angelia’s daughter, Alyssa. No wonder her words sounded familiar.

Buy her for ten dollars and give her to her mom!

He knelt down in front of Alyssa, wiped her dirty face with a tissue, and revealed a delicate and beautiful face.

She and Angelia really looked alike, with the same fair skin, soft and beautiful face, and big talking-like eyes.

He had seen her photo at Angelia’s place before. She was just younger and her features hadn’t fully developed yet.When he was looking at Alyssa, Alyssa was also looking at him, and she exaggeratedly swallowed her saliva and raised a brilliant smile. “You are so good-looking. If my mom doesn’t want you, I want you. Wait for me for more than ten years, and I will grow up to be a beauty.”

Jerome had a strange feeling in his heart and rubbed Alyssa’s head. He thought he needed some time to adjust to accepting Angelia’s child, but looking at the little one in front of him, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and fondness. Was it because she looked almost identical to Angelia?

“Why are you so good at talking?” Jerome felt happy inside.

“My mom says I’m good at talking too. She can’t beat me. Dad, are you here to pick me up?” Alyssa asked sweetly.

Jerome nodded. He was indeed here to pick her up.

Alyssa was excited, jumping up and down, and shouting at the little boy playing with her, “Baldy, this is my dad. I have a dad now. This is my dad. Hurry and tell your parents. My mom talks too much, and soon the whole village will know. Hurry up.”

“Oh.” Baldy obediently ran back home.

Alyssa didn’t care about Jerome and was ecstatic, running towards the front. Jerome helplessly followed behind her.

They met a woman on the way, and Alyssa politely stopped, “Aunt Harris, my dad is here. My dad is here to pick me up.”

“Oh.” Aunt Harris looked at Jerome.

Jerome felt embarrassed and politely greeted her, “Hello.”

“Hello.” Aunt Harris also greeted him.

Alyssa covered her mouth and laughed, then continued to run forward and entered a house.

Jerome thought it was Angelia’s grandmother’s house, but he heard Alyssa happily shouting, “Village Chief, Village Chief, my dad is here. My dad is here to pick me up. This is my dad.”

Jerome: “……”

A middle-aged man enthusiastically looked at Jerome, “You are Alyssa’s dad.”

Jerome smiled but didn’t say anything.

Alyssa answered happily, “Yes, we stamped it in our past life.”

The village chief patted Jerome’s shoulder, “Angelia has good taste.”

“It’s Alyssa who has good taste,” Alyssa corrected.

“Yes, yes. Yes, Alyssa has good taste,” the village chief coaxed the child.Alyssa continued to run outside.

Ten minutes later, Jerome found that he had followed Alyssa around the village and back to the car.

Was he being led by a little one?

Alyssa pushed open the door and exclaimed happily, “Grandma, my dad is here.”

Abigail Diana came out of the room, saw Jerome, and happily wiped her hands on her apron, saying, “Why didn’t you call before you came? I could have gone to the village to pick you up. Did you contact Angelia?”

“Angelia has work today. I should have called first, sorry,” Jerome said politely.

Auntie saw Jerome for the first time and asked, “Is this the son-in-law?”

“Yes, this is my father. Who can fake that?” Alyssa said before Abigail Diana.

“He’s really handsome,” Auntie said, looking at Jerome.

“Madam, you talk to my father first. Don’t scare him away. I’ll pack my things and leave with my father,” Alyssa said.

Abigail Diana was surprised. “Are you here to take Alyssa away?”

“Not yet. I’m here to take you out to eat,” Jerome explained.

“Not to take me away?” Alyssa was disappointed, pouting her small mouth and frowning her eyebrows.

Abigail Diana glanced at Alyssa and said to Jerome, “Alyssa actually wants to go with you all the time. After all, children want to be with their parents. If you’re not too busy…”

Abigail Diana paused. Nowadays, young people are always busy. She changed her words and said, “Alyssa is easy to take care of, obedient, and sensible. Why don’t you let Auntie go with you to help take care of her? You can save some trouble. I’m in good health now, so it’s okay to go alone.”

“Angelia and I will consider it,” Jerome said in a deep voice.

“Really!” Alyssa was happy, spinning around in the room by herself, humming, “Daddy is the best in the world, and children with dads are like precious treasures, lalalalala…”

Abigail smiled lovingly at Alyssa. “You can take Alyssa with you to eat. I’m afraid of riding in the car.”After Alyssa finished being happy, she suddenly remembered something and looked at Jerome with a tilted head. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, “Where are you from?”

Abigail Diana looked at Alyssa and asked, “What do you mean by ‘where are you from’?”

Alyssa’s eyebrows had not yet relaxed, “My mother came first, then me, right?”

“You child, of course your mother came first, then you. Otherwise, where would you come from?”

“Come with me.” Alyssa took the initiative to pull Jerome to her room and closed the door.

She looked up at Jerome seriously and asked pitifully, “Are you here to kidnap me? My family is poor and my mother can’t survive if you take me away. Although I like you, I love my mother more and can’t go with you.”

Jerome softened a bit and squatted down, patiently explaining, “I am your mother’s boss and really just taking you out to eat. Your mother misses you very much. When you called her, I was in the car.”

“Oh. So you’re the boss.” Alyssa understood, “Last time when my grandmother was sick, you pretended to be my mother’s husband, right? Otherwise, my grandmother wouldn’t have suspected anything when I called you dad.”

Jerome smiled and rubbed Alyssa’s head. The little girl was very clever, with intelligence beyond her years, and was much smarter than her mother.

Alyssa let her guard down with Jerome and curiously asked, “Did my mother divorce that scumbag?”

Jerome looked deeply at Alyssa. He originally thought that Angelia didn’t want to divorce Sammie because their child wanted a father, but now it seems that wasn’t the case at all?

“Do you want them to divorce?” Jerome asked.

“Of course, don’t you know how bad that scumbag is? His mother is even worse, always picking on my mother for giving birth to a daughter and causing trouble every few days. No way.”

Alyssa’s eyebrows furrowed again.”Mom, please tell my stepmom to let me stay with her. I’m really worried about her being alone. They will bully her. My mom is very soft, and I have to help her fight back. That old witch is most afraid of me and even gave me a nickname ‘ghost troublemaker’. Alyssa said seriously.

“You have to express these to your mom and tell her that you hope she divorces,” Jerome also said seriously.

“I keep talking to her, I talk to her when she sleeps, when she wakes up, and even during meals. My mom is most afraid of me being annoying. If I annoy her enough, she will agree. Can you let me stay with my mom?” Alyssa continued.

He definitely had to let her stay with Angelia.

“I will figure out a way, but you have to give me some time. Your mom is very stubborn,” Jerome promised.

“Okay,” Alyssa sighed helplessly, “My useless mom is only left with being stubborn.”

Abigail Diana was worried about Alyssa and knocked on the door.

Alyssa opened the door with a bright smile, “Mrs. Diana, my dad and I are leaving. We’ll bring you something delicious when we come back.”

“Okay, my Alyssa is the most sensible,” Abigail Diana said softly.

Jerome carried Alyssa to the back seat and fastened her seat belt.

The little girl was very happy and curious, looking around the car and tapping the seat.

Jerome smiled slightly and stopped in front of a small shop at the village, “Wait in the car for a while.”

“Okay,” Alyssa nodded.

Soon, Jerome came back with a big plastic bag of snacks and handed it to Alyssa, “Eat in the car.”

Alyssa looked through the plastic bag and saw all her favorite snacks and drinks.

She hugged the chips and looked at Jerome moved, “Did I have to use a hundred bottles of eye drops in my past life to find you? You are my real dad.”

Jerome looked at Alyssa with a sincere expression. If he and Angelia had a daughter, it would be as cute as Alyssa. “What do you want to eat? Call me and I’ll send it to you.””Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.” Alyssa was extremely happy, smiling and tearing open a bag of potato chips. She bit into the chips, crunching away, and said, “Let me correct myself, in my past life I didn’t buy a hundred bottles of eye drops, I bought a thousand.”

“Then remember to give some to your mom, her eyesight isn’t very good,” Jerome joked.

“Great minds think alike,” Alyssa said, shaking her small body triumphantly.

Jerome looked at her, then looked at her again, as if he was seeing a younger version of Angelia…

When they were close to Detroit, he called Angelia, “Go to the Detroit Grand Hotel now. I’ll be there in about five minutes and I’ll give you the room number.”

“I’ll come over now,” Angelia replied.

When they arrived at the hotel and went into the private room, Jerome took Alyssa to wash her hands.

Alyssa was too short, even standing on her tiptoes couldn’t reach the sink.

Jerome saw her struggling to wash her hands, and found her cute and adorable. He held her hand, splashed water on it, and helped her wash.

The little girl’s hands were really small, chubby, soft, and boneless, very cute.

Alyssa looked at Jerome with a bright smile, and coquettishly said, “It’s so nice to have a dad.”

“Doesn’t Sammie wash your hands for you?” Jerome asked.

He felt that the little girl was very likable, the type that everyone loves, and Sammie shouldn’t dislike her.

“He only shows up about ten times a year. Every time he comes, he causes trouble, like an old man sitting on the couch, wanting me to wash his hands, and he washes mine?” Alyssa said disdainfully.

“Are your mom and him separated?” Jerome inquired.

“What does ‘separated’ mean?” Alyssa tilted her head and asked.

“It means not living together,” Jerome explained.

“Of course they don’t live together. He doesn’t like my mom, my mom doesn’t like him. He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him either,” Alyssa said, taking her hand out of Jerome’s hand and putting it on both sides of her face, “Daddy, you washed it so clean, much cleaner than Alyssa washing it herself.”

Jerome felt a softness in his heart, “Let’s go order some food, whatever you want to eat.””Uh huh.”

Alyssa happily placed her small hand into Jerome’s large hand.

Jerome had a strange feeling, as if something had merged into him and was flowing through his blood.

They ordered a simple meal of four dishes and a soup, which was not expensive.

Although Alyssa wanted to order a cake, the cheapest one was 35 dollars, so she didn’t order it.

“Daddy, I’ve ordered. If we order too much, we’ll waste it,” Alyssa said obediently.

Jerome handed the menu to the waiter and said, “Three steaks, three different flavored cakes, a pitcher of watermelon juice, and a Blue Demon.”

“What about the three cakes?” Alyssa asked happily.

“You and your mom can share one, I won’t eat it. You can take my share,” Jerome said softly.

Alyssa playfully leaned on the table and rolled her eyes, “I’m so happy I’m dizzy.”

Jerome laughed and took a sip of his water.

Angelia walked in and apologized for being late.

Alyssa immediately sat up straight and shouted, “Mom!”

Angelia was shocked and asked how Alyssa got there.

Alyssa explained that Jerome had picked her up.

Angelia was surprised to see Jerome and Alyssa together.

Alyssa had previously referred to Jerome as her dad, but Angelia had never taken it seriously.

Jerome had already recognized Alyssa as his goddaughter.

Alyssa praised Jerome for being witty and said that he was more like her father than her mother.

Jerome smiled and told Angelia to wash her hands and eat.

Alyssa sighed and said that although her mother was not very smart, she was kind and gentle to her.

She suggested that they have another child in two years, and she could help take care of the baby.

Jerome was speechless.