Chapter 91: Meeting Adrian Kane Again
His sister had the biggest headaches dealing with this little niece. She looked harmless and adorable, but she was actually a mischievous little imp with a mind of her own, which caused his sister no end of trouble.
Today, his sister had asked him to watch his niece. When the girl said she wanted to go to the library, he thought she’d finally come to her senses and decided to take her studies seriously. He never expected her plan was to get manga from the library because his sister had confiscated all of hers.
"Uncle, if you let me read my manga, I’ll introduce you to a girlfriend. She’s really pretty," Nora said. Seeing that Adrian Kane was genuinely angry, she didn’t panic in the slightest and actually started trying to bribe him.
"No, thank you. You’d better worry about yourself. Your mom said your task for today is to learn five new English words." Adrian Kane was completely unfazed by Nora’s attempt to bribe him. He hadn’t forgotten the task his sister had assigned her.
His sister was about to move abroad with her daughter, so she was having Nora brush up on her English.
"Noooo!" Nora wailed. Still, she put down the manga and picked up a nearby book to start reading. As much of a little devil as she was, she was still quite scared of her mother.
’She thought her uncle would help her, but who knew he was already on her mom’s side.’
Seeing Nora finally focused on her book, Adrian Kane breathed a sigh of relief and went back to handling his work on his laptop.
’And a part of him resented the person who had gotten the manga for Nora. Why did she have to be so nosy? She must have seen Nora with me and helped her get the book just to get my attention.’
Meanwhile, Chloe York had no idea Adrian Kane was inwardly blaming her for being a meddler.
Scholar System: [Congratulations, Host. You have completed the task: Study in the library for two hours. Reward: Wisdom value +5, Memory Value +5.]
The system’s notification chimed. Although the task was complete, Chloe York didn’t rush to leave. She wasn’t just pretending to study for the sake of the Scholar System’s rewards.
She genuinely wanted to work hard and improve her grades.
’Studying in the library is great,’ she thought. ’If I don’t understand something, I can find a book on it right away.’
Chloe York studied until late in the afternoon. When the sun began to set, she finally put down her book and stretched lazily.
"Chloe, should we head back?" Evan Shaw asked. They had been studying all afternoon and had lost track of time, though he’d actually noticed it was 4:00.
But seeing Chloe York so completely absorbed in her book and solving problems, he hadn’t wanted to disturb her.
’Who knew she’d keep going right past 5:00.’
Chloe York glanced out the window. It was indeed getting late. "Yeah, let’s head back," she agreed.
The two of them packed their things and left the library together. Just as they reached the entrance, they ran into Adrian Kane and Nora, who were also about to leave.
An idiom suddenly popped into Chloe York’s head: ’enemies are bound to cross paths.’
Adrian Kane, for his part, hadn’t expected to run into Chloe York here. A pleasant surprise washed over him. ’Looks like coming to the library today was the right call after all. But why is this boy standing next to her? What’s their relationship?’
"The pretty lady!" Nora spotted Chloe York and waved her hand happily in greeting.
Adrian Kane was stunned. ’The "pretty lady" my niece mentioned was Chloe? And here I was, just complaining about some meddler... only for it to be my savior, Chloe York, the very person I want to get along with.’
Adrian Kane quickly recovered. "Chloe, thank you for helping Nora with that book earlier."
"You’re welcome," Chloe York said, already filled with regret. ’I was just thinking that helping this little girl couldn’t possibly connect me to the main cast,’ she thought wryly, ’but it turns out she’s Adrian Kane’s niece.’
"Pretty lady, is this guy your boyfriend?" Nora asked, her eyes landing on Evan Shaw standing beside Chloe York.
A flicker of unhappiness crossed Nora’s mind. ’Even though this boy is pretty handsome, the pretty lady is the wife I picked for my uncle. She’s supposed to be my aunt! How can there be another man next to her?!’
Adrian Kane hadn’t expected Nora to be so blunt. Fearing Chloe York would be offended, he quickly pulled Nora back. "Nora, you can’t just say things like that."
Nora pouted at being scolded. "Uncle, don’t be so mean to me. You’ll give the pretty lady a bad impression of you," she reasoned, sounding like a miniature adult.
Throughout the exchange, Evan Shaw simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying anything. He just stood to the side, silent.
’Of course, he recognized Adrian Kane. He was the man he and Chloe had saved that night: Adrian Kane, the CEO of the Kane Group.’
’The only question was whether this encounter was fated... or planned.’
"I’m sorry, Chloe. My niece just says whatever’s on her mind," Adrian Kane apologized, hoping she wouldn’t take it to heart.
Nora’s eyes shot wide open. She looked from Chloe York to Adrian Kane and back again. ’My uncle knows the pretty lady? He called her Chloe... so her name is Chloe?’
Chloe York shook her head. She didn’t really mind. ’Kids are just brutally honest. How could I get angry at a child?’
Looking at Nora, Chloe York gave her a gentle smile. "Nora, I have to go now."
"Bye-bye, Chloe!" Nora waved her small hand. ’If my uncle didn’t know this pretty lady,’ she thought, ’I definitely wouldn’t have let her go so easily. I would have made her give him her contact info. But since they already know each other, that’s not necessary. They just need to meet up more often.’
"Oh, right! Chloe, can I come play with you sometimes? I really, really like you!" Nora asked Chloe York. ’I can’t let such a pretty, kind lady that I like so much get away.’
"If I have time, you can come play with me," Chloe replied.
"Then let’s exchange phone numbers, Chloe!" Nora said, holding up her little hand. "Chloe, tell me your number."
"Nora," Adrian interjected, "Chloe is a high school senior right now, so her studies are very important. You can’t be bothering her all the time. Let’s not get her number, okay?"
’Of course, Adrian hoped Chloe would give her number. He could easily find her contact information himself, but he much preferred for her to offer it. That way, contacting her wouldn’t feel so intrusive.’
’But he also remembered that Chloe was facing her college entrance exams, and his niece was a little terror. It would be terrible if Nora ended up affecting her exam results.’
Little did he know, his attempt to dissuade her was the very thing that made Chloe York agree.
"Okay," Chloe York said, and she recited her number for Nora. As he watched his niece save the number in her phone, Adrian Kane couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face.
’This way, he’d gotten Chloe’s contact information indirectly.’
Evan Shaw, who had been watching the entire time, naturally noticed Adrian Kane’s suppressed delight. And as Chloe York had recited her number, he had carefully memorized it too.