Chapter 202: Chapter 200: Old Habits Die Hard
"Grandpa, I’m here again."
Elliana Lyle walked to the counter, where the old man was still wearing reading glasses and watching videos in his free time.
Seeing her arrival, the old man put down his phone, smiled kindly at her, and asked, "How’s it going?"
To be honest, after drinking it, she didn’t really feel much, but she hasn’t felt uncomfortable lately, so it seems to be working.
"Come, stretch out your hand, let me have a look."
After checking, the old man concluded, "Hmm, there’s some improvement, but you need to continue taking care of it to get better."
"I’m here to get more medicine from you. I’ve finished the ones from last time."
Though she didn’t like the taste of traditional medicine, even hated it, she endured it for the sake of her health.
Not long after, she left the pharmacy with the packaged medicine. It was close to Melody Harmony’s place, so she headed towards it.
Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Summer Hue and Zane Bennett walking out arm in arm.
...
― Office.
"Mr. President, currently Susan is the prime suspect, but there’s no concrete evidence yet." Raymond Wood reported with his head lowered, occasionally glancing at Norman Bennett’s expression.
However, Norman Bennett nonchalantly said when he heard the news, "In the future, don’t report things that aren’t confirmed to me."
"Yes." Seeing that Norman Bennett wasn’t angry, Raymond Wood immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about being criticized for the slow progress, as it had been quite some time without results.
Just as he thought of this, a low voice came, "Your efficiency has declined recently. Take a break and rest for a while."
"!"
A red exclamation mark seemed to pop over Raymond Wood’s head. At first, he didn’t understand what Norman Bennett meant.
But when the boss says something like this, it usually means one of two things: first, it’s a subtle way of telling you to resign, or second, it means exactly what it says.
Though he knew Norman Bennett wouldn’t be subtle, he also knew many were eyeing his position at the top.
If he left, he feared that upon returning, he would have to step down.
This realization tensed him up, and he quickly said, "Mr. President, it was my negligence. I will do better in the future."
"Hmm? Mm."
Upon hearing this response, Raymond Wood felt relieved that his position was secured, so he continued to report, "We have bought the raw materials for the next half-year at a low price from Mr. Davis. White Orchid originally terminated cooperation with Roland due to product issues, but thanks to Brian White’s planning efforts, they reconciled."
"Brian White?"
This name did catch Norman Bennett’s attention. His deep eyes reflected a bit of coldness as he focused on Raymond Wood.
Raymond Wood said, "Mr. President, should we investigate further? This person is merely a company planner, yet he managed to reconcile two companies that were supposed to terminate cooperation, and filled such a big financial gap from his own pocket. This ability is quite unusual, not typical for an orphan adopted by an old traditional doctor."
"No need to investigate, just pay attention to his interactions with Nathan Dawn." The man raised his hand slightly, saying, "Continue."
"Additionally, Roland accepted foreign capital investment, which has more than doubled Roland’s value and has now surpassed Lyle Corporation. It’s evidently a bad sign."
This news didn’t elicit a reaction from Norman Bennett, as if it was expected. He just continued working on his documents and said, "Any news of Eleanor Llyod?"
"Still..." Raymond Wood hesitated for half a second before saying, "Still no news. Mr. Qing said he is unavailable and handed it to someone else to handle, but there’s been no progress yet."
Norman Bennett glanced at Raymond Wood with a slightly sinking face and asked, "Did he say what he wants?"
"Yes." Raymond Wood immediately replied, "Mr. Qing said he wants you to do something for him and said not to let the wind take away his moon."
In fact, he didn’t quite understand what Mr. Qing meant, it felt inexplicable, but he still conveyed it to Norman Bennett.
Norman Bennett showed no expression upon hearing it and didn’t find it odd, just responded lightly, seemingly in agreement.
This confused Raymond Wood even more, but he dared not ask further, thinking he would just report back later.
...
― Starry Sea.
This was the most popular quiet bar for young people in North City, with a dimly lit hall creating a tranquil atmosphere.
Of course, in the private rooms, the lighting could be as bright as you wanted.
At this moment, Elliana Lyle was sitting on the sofa next to Summer Hue, already beginning to regret coming here.
Because in front of her were several familiar faces!
Like Shane Donovan, Nicholas Llyod, and Zane Collins, Summer Hue had told her that she only knew Zane Collins and had never met the other two.
At this moment, Shane Donovan held a beautiful woman in his arms, grinning and saying, "Wow, sister-in-law, long time no see, you’re looking more and more radiant."
"..." Elliana Lyle said nothing, just sat there with a stern face, easily showing she was not one to mess with, like a black cat disdainful of interacting with others.
"Huh?" Summer Hue was a bit surprised, looking at Elliana Lyle, "You know each other?"
"Don’t know him!"
...
In contrast, Zane Collins, after looking at Elliana Lyle, whispered softly in Zane Bennett’s ear, "You brought sister-in-law here, aren’t you afraid your brother will skin you alive?"
"Why should I be afraid? I’m here to discuss business with you, and besides, weren’t those two brought by you?" Zane Bennett responded while frowning at Shane Donovan and Nicholas Llyod across from him.
And then he said to them, "You two, behave yourselves today! No funny business!"
"Huh?" Shane Donovan, who was trying to chat with Elliana Lyle, was initially taken aback, but seeing Zane Bennett’s serious look, he immediately knew what was meant.
"Hey, I say Mr. Bennett, could you watch your language in front of sister-in-law?"
...
This group was having a lively conversation, but Elliana Lyle just couldn’t fit in. She found it strange that today, Shane Donovan seemed different from last time.
To put it correctly, very different.
Soon after, Shane Donovan turned to her, offering a glass of wine and smiling, "Sister-in-law, let me toast to you, I was out of line last time."
Unable to beat around the bush, he had to apologize directly. Last time, after a few drinks, he got wild, even though normally he wouldn’t dare show his disrespect towards Norman Bennett openly.
In the past, Norman Bennett didn’t mind how wild Shane Donovan got after drinking.
But last time, he offended not just anyone but Norman Bennett’s wife, which was a serious matter, forcing him to steer clear of anyone with the surname Bennett recently.
Elliana Lyle accepted the drink and downed it in one go. After all, being friends of Zane Bennett and with Summer Hue present, she wouldn’t want to make the situation too awkward.
"Oh! Thanks for your understanding, sister-in-law."
With that drink, the atmosphere softened, and Summer Hue, all curious, whispered gossip in Elliana Lyle’s ear, "What happened? Tell me all about it?"
She lowered her voice and said, "I’ll tell you when we’re outside."
Meanwhile, Zane Bennett only talked business with Zane Collins, hardly interacting with Shane Donovan or Nicholas Llyod. Although they were friends, he found them tiresome.
He originally came to discuss a game collaboration with Zane Collins, but these two had tagged along.
...
Half an hour later.
"Go, get me someone from Mr. Bennett’s side!" Shane Donovan reverted to his fierce and arrogant tone, even shoving a trembling woman.
But who Shane Donovan really wanted replaced was Summer Hue.