Chapter 309: Unanimous Speculation
Hearing his words, Yvonne didn’t insist anymore. She had been bored at home alone. So, she laid down on the sofa. When James saw this, he took out his notebook and began to work in the living room. Yvonne was lying on the sofa, but she couldn’t sleep at all. She couldn’t help but raise her head to glance at James who was sitting not far away. James noticed her gaze and looked over, asking, "What’s the matter?"
Yvonne paused, then slowly got up from the sofa, and asked, "Why do you think a man would avoid the woman whom he had just expressed his love to?" Hearing that, James was confused at first but soon guessed what had happened. He thought she must be talking about Stanley.
His eyes flashed with cunning, and he said in a casual air, "Maybe he regrets it."
Yvonne was stunned. When Janice had said so, she had been dubious, but she hadn’t expected James to say the same words. Did Stanley regret it? Yvonne’s mood instantly became bad. James was sitting not far away from her. Seeing her drooping head, he raised his brows slightly and thought she had believed his words. A successful smile appeared on his lips, and then he closed the notebook, got up, walked over, and said, "Since you’re not sleepy, what about we play video games?" James asked.
Yvonne had originally wanted to refuse, but James had already turned on the screen and handled her the game controller. Yvonne furrowed her eyebrows and thought, "Things have gotten to this point anyway, so it’s useless to think about it." So, she decided to play video games to her heart’s content.
At the thought of this, she reached out and took the game controller.
After resting at home for a day, Yvonne felt much better. The next day, she planned to go to work, so she called the laboratory to cancel her sick leave. At the elevator entrance, she ran into James who was going out to work like her. "Have you recovered? Are you going to work so soon?" James asked.
Yvonne replied, "Yeah. I’ve recovered, so I will go to work today." James didn’t say any more. He just walked over and stood beside her. Yvonne remembered how he had taken care of herself when she had been sick, so she said sincerely, "Thank you."
James smiled at her. When Yvonne arrived in the laboratory, she came across Stanley. When she saw him, she couldn’t help but remember James’s and Janice’s unanimous speculation. She didn’t blame James. After all, she had never expected him to express his love to herself. She even had never expected that he would like herself. Now, since he regretted it, she would just let him go. After all, love could not be forced. At the thought of this, she paused and walked over. "Hi, Stanley."
Stanley’s expression was weird when he saw her.
"Hi, Yvonne."
He was avoiding eye contact intentionally. Yvonne knew what he was thinking, so she paused and said, " Stanley, you don’t have to avoid me. If you regret it, we can pretend nothing had happened."
Yvonne turned around after speaking.
"Wait!"
Stanley stopped her from behind. Hearing that, Yvonne stopped but didn’t look back. Although she kept reminding herself not to get angry, she couldn’t help feeling a little upset. Stanley paused and stepped forward, saying, "Yvonne, I don’t regret it, but..."
"But what?" Yvonne asked impatiently.
...
Stanley didn’t know how to put it. He hesitated for a while and said, "To be honest, I am forced to do so." "You’re forced?" Yvonne was surprised.
Stanley nodded, "Do you remember your neighbor?" Neighbor? Yvonne suddenly realized who the "neighbor" was and asked, "You mean James?"
Stanley nodded, "I had reached an agreement with Watson Pharmacy, but they suddenly decided not to invest in my project a few days ago. I’m not sure about the reason, but I met your neighbor at the dinner that day."
Hearing this, Yvonne was confused and asked, "What does it have to do with him?" Stanley said, "I saw Mr. Roger of Watson Pharmacy flattering him with my own eyes." Yvonne said, "But this cannot prove it is him that hindered you from getting the investment. Besides, I think he has no reason to do that." Stanley stared at her, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Yvonne, tell me the truth. Is he chasing you?"
When asked by Stanley, Yvonne was taken aback, and she understood what Stanley meant. She said, "You mean, he did that because of me?"
Stanley looked at her silently. Yvonne recalled what had happened recently. James hadn’t talked about pursuing her recently. And his attitude toward her had become much more irreverent. Judging from these, she thought he must have lost interest in herself. After all, none of the rich kids had perseverance. After thinking about it, she still felt it was impossible. "Stanley, is there any misunderstanding?"
"It’s not a misunderstanding. I am a man, and I can feel it."
Yvonne frowned and thought, "James, how dare you play this kind of trick behind my back. I shouldn’t have defended you just now." So, Yvonne went to find him immediately and rushed into his office. James was talking about business affairs with his assistant when Yvonne came. He was stunned for a short while, then got up, and went to her, asking, "Why are you here?"
Yvonne did not answer his question but said, "James, I have something to ask you. Do you want to stay here or go out?"
James saw that she was a little angry, so he winked at his assistant. After his assistant got out of the office, he said, "Sit down, and we can talk." Yvonne refused, "No need. I’m here to ask you why you made things difficult for my boyfriend."
Hearing her words, James guessed the reason. He walked to the bar slowly, poured a glass of water, and handed it over, asking, "Your boyfriend? Who is he?"
Yvonne didn’t take the glass he handed over but said, "Drop the act! Don’t you know Stanley Levingston?"
Only then did James pretend to have suddenly realized who her boyfriend was and said, "It turned out to be him."
"Have you admitted it?" Yvonne asked.
"What should I admit?" James looked puzzled.
Yvonne said, "You should admit that you hindered him from getting the investment." "I don’t know what you are talking about." James was confused.
Yvonne saw that he was still pretending, so she asked bluntly, "Watson Pharmacy had agreed to invest in Stanley’s project, but because of you, they backed down. Don’t you know about it?"
James frowned, "I don’t know about this. Although Mr. Roger of Watson Pharmacy is my friend, I can’t influence his decisions on investments. You think too much of me."
...
Seeing her not believe him, James said, "What about I will call Mr. Roger now? You can ask him why in person." While speaking, he picked up the phone. It didn’t take long for the call to be connected, and a male voice came into Yvonne’s ears, "Hi, Mr. Taylor." James didn’t bother to beat around the bush but said directly, "Mr. Roger, sorry for bothering you. My friend said that I prevented you from investing in Dr. Levingston’s project. Can you tell her if it is true?"
William on the other end of the phone was smart. How could he not be able to hear what James meant? He quickly said, "This is a fictitious rumor! Watson Pharmacy is also a big company. How could others influence my decision easily? My decision not to invest in Dr. Levingston’s project was based on the evaluation of the whole project. It has nothing to do with you."
Yvonne was dumb after hearing William’s words. After hanging up the phone, James looked at her meaningfully. Yvonne was so awkward that she wanted to sink through the ground. After all, she had been proven wrong too quickly. It was not only embarrassing but also insulting. "I wrongly blamed you."
After saying this, she found it was too shameful to stay here, so she turned around, intending to leave. James sneered behind her, "You wrongly scolded me. Do you think it is proper to leave like this? Do you still want to be friends with me?"
Yvonne stopped abruptly and asked, "Then what do you want?" She was too guilty to look back. James took a step forward and said, "It’s noon. Buy me a meal, and I will forgive you."
He put it in a casual air. Yvonne thought, "it’s not a big deal to treat him to lunch. Otherwise, I will feel embarrassed when meeting him."
She said, "Deal."
"Deal! But I don’t want to go to that beef noodle restaurant. I want to go somewhere else."
"No problem," Yvonne readily agreed.
Half an hour later, the two drove to a Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of the city. Yvonne was surprised and asked, "You like to eat spicy food too?" James nodded. This was beyond Yvonne’s expectations. The two walked in together, sat down, ordered a few dishes. While waiting for the dishes, James asked, "The man who disappeared after expressing his love to you is Stanley?"
Yvonne was taken aback and asked, "How did you know?"
James smiled, "I guessed it."
Yvonne was a little depressed. She had wanted to make Janice and James think she was talking about someone else, but both of them had seen her through. She nodded.
James asked, "Did he say that he has avoided you recently because of me." Yvonne was startled and asked the same question again, "How did you know?"
James sneered, "How could I not know? This is an old trick." Yvonne kept silent for a moment.
James continued, "To be honest, I did meet him at the dinner that day, but I ignored him because I didn’t recognize him. As you know, businessmen like me like to talk business and make money not to make friends with scholars. Moreover, I have no interest in his project."
Yvonne thought his words made sense. She believed that businessmen wouldn’t like to make friends with scholars unless there was something profitable because they were from two different worlds. She said, "I believe you."
Hearing her words, James said nothing more.
"Yvonne, how is it? Have you asked him?" Stanley asked as soon as Yvonne entered the laboratory.