Chapter 304 Family of Three

&#lt;p&#gt;&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Mom, Mr. White said it’s not his son. I trust him,” Leila said so firmly, but she still wondered if she
should trust him.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“He said that to you, didn’t he?”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Yes.” Leila nodded. Looking up, she found Theodore’s car was going out from the entrance. She
became nervous immediately. “Mom, I’ve got something to do. Got to go. Please don’t worry.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;As she spoke, she hung up the phone. She turned around and wanted to hide behind the stop board,
but Theodore’s car had been pulled over. He also pressed down the window.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Leila, where are you going? I can give you a ride.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“No, thanks, Professor Hall.” Leila could only turn back. Then she saw the bus was approaching from
afar. “The bus is arriving. See you, Professor Hall.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Oh!” Theodore looked back and saw the bus, a hint of helplessness flashing through his eyes. He
didn’t insist. “All right. Be safe on the way. See you.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Bye!” Leila didn’t expect that he would agree so easily. Without overthinking, she got on the bus.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;The bus stopped in the busy downtown area. Leila was thinking of buying the Armani jacket. She didn’t
know how much it cost yet, and for a moment, she didn’t know how she could compensate it to Arthur.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She was wandering in the mall. Then she was in front of Pippa’s store. A saleswoman was standing
there. She asked Leila with a smile, “Good day, Miss. Do you need anything?”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila was a bit surprised. She nodded. Then she looked around and asked, “By the way, isn’t your boss
here today?”&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Oh, our boss? She went to Japan for a vacation. Miss, do you know her?”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“She went to Japan for a vacation?” Leila was taken aback, her whole body stiffened.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Mr. White went to Japan, didn’t he? The entertainment news said that the family of three boarded the
plane. Leila wondered if Pippa truly had gone to Japan with Mr. White. What on earth was the
relationship between them?
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila was in a daze, turning around to leave.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Miss, our boss will come back in a week. You can come to find her then.” The saleswoman was quite
friendly.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Oh, I see. Okay. Thank you!” Leila nodded, looking quite awkward.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;After walking out of the shopping mall, Leila suddenly lost her confidence. She felt like a ghost without
a soul, wandering around on the busy streets while feeling so empty in her heart.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She didn’t want to go home, because she would be alone after going home. Seemingly she was always
alone from the beginning.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Pippa also went to Japan for a vacation, didn’t she?
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;A family of three?
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Reechoing the words in the newspaper, Leila felt extremely depressed.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Passing by a showcase of a store, Leila saw her reflection on it -- she didn’t put on any makeup,
looking quite childish.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Suddenly, she recalled Pippa’s elegance. Comparing herself, she looked like a typical student. She
never put on the makeup, only makeunder. She had nothing on her hair. She always wore a t-shirt and&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;jeans. When she went to work, she would dress in a shirt and jeans. In this way, she couldn’t be
compared to any woman around Mr. White.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She wanted to buy something to vent her depression. However, she didn’t have much extra money in
her pocket. She didn’t make much money from her job. All she earned from her part-time job had been
used as the tuition fee for taekwondo. The allowance from her mother would be spent as her daily
expenses. She still owned Arthur an Armani jacket. Although she has a bank card from Vincent, she
didn’t want to use it.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;In the showcase window, the gorgeous jewelry, beautiful dresses, a lot of pretty and delicate bags, and
stylish shoes.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Those never belonged to her before. She never paid special attention to them before. However, until
today, she realized that it was not that she didn’t love them, but she didn’t have time to pay attention to
them because she had always been busy.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;It turned out that she wished to dress herself up as most of the girls wished.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;It turned out that she also had vanity.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Although she was leading a fulfilling life and she always told herself that she was quite satisfied, when
she faced those things, she couldn’t help feeling down. ‘Leila, it turns out that you also long for those
things,’ she thought to herself.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;‘Daddy has planned to let me be a government officer. Should I go on like this? Leading a plain life
without any change and earning an average income that wouldn’t starve me to death. But if I lead such
a life all my lifetime, will I be willing to?’ she asked herself inwardly.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She couldn’t help wondering if she was willing to work in the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of
Municipal Government after graduating from the university. Then she would have a stable job and lead&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;a boring life.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She passed by a jewelry store. A delicate and dazzling sapphire necklace was hanging on the model’s
neck in the showcase window. It was so resplendent that Leila was totally obsessed for a moment.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She didn’t notice that a man was standing next to her for a long time. He was staring at her all the time.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“What a coincidence!” Arthur stared at Leila with a slightly evil smile. Although he was smiling, he
brought her a strong feeling of pressure. She wondered how long he had been standing there and
staring at her.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She raised her head and found it was already the dust. All the neon lights along the street were on,
their colors overlapping and shining. She checked the time and found that the afternoon had passed
already. She didn’t expect that she would wander for a whole afternoon.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Oh, yes. It’s a coincidence indeed.” Leila felt surprised. “I didn’t expect to encounter you. I was about
to find you.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Have you found anything that you like?” he asked Leila with a smile.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila blushed. Unexpectedly, when her gazes were glued on those luxuries, she was seen by
someone, and that person was even Arthur. Judging from her look just now, anyone could see that she
liked that sapphire necklace a lot.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;However, so what then? She couldn’t afford it and she wouldn’t want others to buy it for her.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“It looks so pretty,” Leila said in a soft voice, “The showcase is beautiful and the model chosen has a
strong personality. The necklace is more beautiful.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;He was still staring at Leila, his eyes presumptuous without any disdain. His gaze even seemed quite
serious, but Leila felt quite awkward. “I’m sorry, your jacket...”&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“I’ve said I don’t want it back.” His tone was quite calm.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“I’m sorry. This is the thing -- I’ve washed your jacket, but it shrunk. One of my family thought it was
trash, so it was tossed away. I wanted to compensate one for you, but I don’t have much money now...”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“So?” Arthur raised his eyebrows.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“So, I’m terribly sorry.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“I’ve told you I don’t want it back,” he said seriously again, “You don’t need to return it to me.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“But, I must return it to you. Could you give me more time, please? When I’ve earned money, I’ll give it
back to you for sure.” Leila felt so embarrassed, but her most embarrassing moment had been seen by
Arthur already, so she couldn’t care much about her dignity. She just wanted to make it clear to avoid
making him misunderstand that she deliberately kept his jacket.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“You are so stubborn. Let’s talk about it later.” Arthur smiled. He cast a glance at the showcase and the
sapphire necklace. He asked gently, “Do you like this necklace? I’ll buy it for you.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;His tone was quite casual, making Leila feel that he was greeting her. She knew the necklace must be
quite expensive. Armani was costly, but he directly didn’t want it. Unexpectedly, he wanted to give her a
necklace. She was sure that if she nodded in agreement, Arthur would buy it for sure, but she was not
that kind of woman.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Let’s go. We’ll buy it.” He grabbed her wrist, dragging her into the jewelry store directly.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Ah! I don’t want it!” Leila shook her head and wanted to break free from his grip, but he was so strong.
She failed to break free. “Hey! I don’t want it. Arthur, why are you so overbearing!”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila hadn’t met such a person before. How could he do such a thing to a person who he had only met
for the third time? And he would give such an expensive gift so casually. She wondered if he took her&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;as a prostitute. Was he hitting on her?
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Arthur didn’t explain, only dragging her into the store. “You don’t want it, do you? I must buy it for you!”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Arthur, let go of me. If you are rich, just donate it to Project Hope!” Leila growled. “I’m not that kind of
woman you’ve thought. Stop dragging me!”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;It seemed that she found Arthur so weird when she first met him. He was quite evil and domineering
without rhyme or reason, quite similar to Mr. White. No wonder Arthur was his vice president. They
rubbed off on each other, and both were so evil.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Even if you are rich, you don’t need to show off in such a way.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;From the corners of her eyes, Leila could see that his lips were curled up to a deeper smile. He looked
excited as if he was going to playing an interesting game. After they entered the store, they found the
decoration inside was quite luxurious. Beautiful piano music was playing on the stereo.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;There were not many guests -- only a few couples. They were selecting the jewelry next to the counters
in which the spotlights were shining.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila thought that tearing and tugging with him in such an atmosphere was so embarrassing. Some of
the salespersons and guests were looking over at them because they heard their argument. Leila could
only stand firmly, inhaling deeply. She cast a glance at the price tags on the jewelry and found how
expensive things were sold in this store.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;At this moment, Arthur had already put on a gentleman’s face. The smile on his face also became quite
official. “Lexi, you know what? It’s so embarrassing to be rejected by pretty women. This is the first time
that I'm treated this way.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“I don’t care,” Leila said in a light voice, “I’ve got to go. I’m in a hurry.”&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She didn’t want to become the focus, and she just wanted to escape, the sooner the better.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;The next second, he pulled out his purse and casually showed it to her.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila saw there were a lot of gold cards and a thick pile of cash in it. Sure enough, he was rich. She
wondered if the money in any of the bank cards in his purse could be enough for a poor one to live for
a whole lifetime.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Even if he was rich, he didn’t need to spend money in this
way, did he? Did he truly mistake her a whore? “Mr. Lane, you are so humorous. I’m sorry, I’ve really
got to go.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila was on the way to take the taekwondo lesson in the gym.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;However, when she was about to leave, Arthur suddenly reached out and wrapped her waist. He said
ambiguously, “Honey, hurry up and pick one. It’s my fault. I’ll never piss you off again. Select one as
you like as my compensation for you.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Ah--” Leila gaped. She had never expected that he would play such a trick. “You--”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;How could he call her honey? This man was so easy.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“What are you doing? Hurry up, honey!” He had already walked her to the counter, hinting at her to look
at those gorgeous jewelry and diamond rings.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila was afraid that more people would pay attention to them if she struggles, so she could only stiffen
her body and said in a low voice, “I know you’re so rich that you want to spend money. You can give the
whole store to me as a gift. I wouldn’t worry that it would be too much.”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;She was so angry. How could there be such a kind of overbearing man?&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;

&#lt;p/&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“No problem!” Arthur was quite generous. He agreed without a frown.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;Leila was startled for a moment. She just wanted to scare him and made it difficult for him so that he
would give up. Much to her surprise, Arthur said to a saleslady, “Excuse me, Miss. Please inform your
boss that I want to buy out this store. Could you ask him or her to come out please?”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“One, one moment please, Sir.” The saleslady was shocked, feeling that Arthur was making trouble
here.
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“Arthur Lane!” Leila growled, without caring about her public image at all, “Are you nuts?”
&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p&#gt;“I’m quite sober. I didn’t drink at noon. Recently the police’s paying attention to driving while intoxicated.
It’s checked quite strictly. I dare not to drink.” Arthur blinked, looking quite serious. “You want this store,
don’t you? I’ll buy it out and give it to you as a fit. I meant it.”&#lt;/p&#gt;
&#lt;p/&#gt;