Chapter 76 - 75: No Intention of Dating
The moment she finished speaking, Nina Jennings saw his neck flush bright red. The color rapidly spread to his ears, and he looked as flustered as if he’d had too much cheap wine.
’Whoa, he’s actually getting shy? This contrast is pretty interesting.’
’This was so much more interesting than those male models she could hire at a bar—the so-called "pretty boys" or "bad boys." ’
Silas Lynch averted his gaze, his lips parting and closing a few times before he managed to say, "Miss Jennings, you... please don’t joke about this."
"Oh, come on, don’t call me Miss Jennings. It sounds so formal. From now on, just call me Nina."
Nina Jennings took a half-step forward, a wide smile on her face as she looked at him. "And I’m not kidding. I’m serious. So, how about you think it over?"
Silas Lynch instinctively took a step back, dropping his gaze to avoid looking at her. "Please stop teasing me. Besides, I’m not looking to be in a relationship."
’You’re so full of it! In Chapter 60, you said you wanted a girlfriend and were going to learn from your boss how to be a total simp!’
’And I bet your excuse would be: ’I didn’t! It’s not true! I was just running my mouth!’’
"So, you’re not planning on dating, huh? Ooh~ does that mean you want to go straight to marriage? That could work too. When should we go get our license? The Civil Affairs Bureau opens at 9 a.m.!" Nina Jennings asked, tugging on his sleeve.
"I just remembered I still have some work to finish today. I’ll be going now. Goodbye, Miss Jennings."
With that, Silas Lynch gently pulled her hand off his sleeve and strode away, his steps hurried and unsteady.
"Hey!" Nina Jennings hurried after him. When she reached the doorway, she yelled at his retreating back,
"Silas Lynch, I’ve seriously fallen for you! Just you wait, I am going to make you mine! This isn’t a discussion, it’s a declaration!"
Upon hearing that, Silas Lynch visibly stumbled before quickly opening his car door and jumping inside.
After driving away from Leo Grant’s villa, he raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, only to find that his palm was already soaked.
Nina Jennings watched him drive off and pouted. ’Tsk, what a clueless man. Just you wait.’
Warren Lynch, who had just returned from the restroom and ’accidentally’ overheard the whole thing from a corner, was like:
His jaw hit the floor.
He immediately hopped into their four-person group chat, "Unrestrained and Reckless," to share the massive piece of gossip with his other two brothers.
[Warren Lynch: HUGE NEWS!!!]
[Warren Lynch: Forrest just got a confession from a girl! Just now!!]
[William Lynch: Him? I don’t buy it.]
[Ian Lynch: No way +1]
[Warren Lynch: For real! Just believe me for once! She’s Miss Lowell’s bestie, and she just called him Sid!]
[William Lynch: Still don’t buy it.]
[Ian Lynch: Pfft, whatever you say. Color me skeptical.]
[Ian Lynch: Okay, now I’m starting to believe you. And then? Spill it.]
[William Lynch: Pfft. Figures you’d give in.]
[Warren Lynch: And then? Then he turned her down.]
Yes, all four of Leo Grant’s trusted subordinates had heard of Yvonne Lowell and knew a fair bit about her accomplishments, not to mention that she had later helped Warren Lynch successfully awaken his superpower.
Therefore, Ian Lynch and William Lynch were both respectful and curious toward this Miss Lowell, whom they had never met but who was very likely to become the wife of their Family Head.
’Damn it, when would the boss let them get a day off so they could go to Kingsland and meet Miss Lowell too?!’
Just as Warren Lynch finished recounting the whole story and the group chat was about to fall silent, Silas Lynch spoke up.
[Silas Lynch: Warren Lynch, you little punk, you are so dead. [Smile][Bomb][Cleaver]]
[Ian Lynch: Yo, the man himself has arrived? Care to elaborate? Si~i~d~]
[Silas Lynch: Elaborate my ass! Piss off!]
[Ian Lynch: Oho, getting defensive, are we? Did I strike a nerve? Looks like it’s the real deal. So tell us, why’d you turn her down?]
[William Lynch: Alright, now I believe it too.]
Seeing that everyone believed him, Warren Lynch nodded in satisfaction.
’See? He was much livelier on the internet. Online, he never lost an argument or was at a loss for words, unlike in real life.’
’As for Silas Lynch saying he was dead? He didn’t believe it for a second.’
’His dear Forrest doted on him the most; he would never actually do anything to him.’
’Besides, he was tough and could take a punch. He wasn’t scared one bit!’
’If worst came to worst, he’d just go tattle to Miss Lowell.’
...
Because Nina Jennings was there, Yvonne Lowell didn’t let Leo Grant carry her over.
Ignoring the plaintive look from a certain someone, she simply walked back across with Nina Jennings.
Nina Jennings flopped onto the sofa with a carefree air, grabbing a nearby throw pillow to hug.
"I’ve decided! I’m staying in Kingsland for the long haul this time! I’m not leaving until I make Silas Lynch mine!"
Yvonne Lowell’s gaze flickered. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I’m serious! When have I ever lied to you?" Nina Jennings shrugged.
"Actually, I noticed him back at the banquet. But I had more pressing matters, and I was in a hurry to get back to Continent N after it ended, so I didn’t have time to connect with him. I didn’t expect the guy to get even more charming."
’Yvonne Lowell couldn’t stop her lips from twitching. It hadn’t even been that long, only a few months. How could she possibly tell his ’charm’ had changed in that short a time???’
She lit a cigarette and nonchalantly blew a smoke ring. "As long as you’re not just playing around."
Yvonne Lowell considered herself the person who knew Nina best, so it wasn’t that she disbelieved her.
If Nina Jennings and Silas Lynch could really get together, Yvonne Lowell would naturally be happy to see it happen.
But Nina Jennings had always been a free spirit—a bit wild and used to doing whatever she pleased.
She’d never so much as held a guy’s hand, yet she insisted on projecting this "Sea Queen" persona to the world.
Other than the flasks and beakers in her lab and a few of her friends, there was nothing she truly cared about.
So she had to double-check. After all, Silas Lynch was such an innocent guy. It would be terrible if Nina just toyed with him, only to walk away without a care in the world when she got bored.
Yvonne Lowell couldn’t bear to think about it. If that happened, how would she ever be able to face Silas Lynch? The thought alone was a headache.
’The worst part about being in the middle, age-wise, was that after you were done worrying about the younger ones, you had to start worrying about the older ones.’
’Whatever. For years, she’d had to be both the mom and the dad to her friends, even as a young woman herself. She’d made it this far. She was used to it.’
"You can relax. I know what I’m doing," Nina Jennings said, sitting up. "Did you use my medicine on your wound? Need help putting some on?"
"No need. I already took care of it when I got back."
Nina Jennings looked at her suspiciously. "Took care of it when you got back? Who helped you? You’re here alone. I don’t believe for a second you could’ve reached around to apply it yourself."
Yvonne Lowell stubbed out her cigarette. "Weren’t you just having such a lively chat with him a moment ago?"
"Leo Grant?!" Nina Jennings’s jaw nearly hit the floor. "Holy shit, have you two already... you know?!"