Chapter 703


    The car sped along the highway. As it passed through a tunnel, Heather’s face appeared vaguely


    before Matthias’s eyes. Matthias hated such a hallucination, so he sped up the car and quickly passed


    through the tunnel. The lights inside made him feel very ufortable, and he felt sick as scenes


    about Heather kept popping up in his mind. He tried his best to shake off such a state of mind since


    there were many other things he needed to aplish. Hence, he couldn’t bepletely under


    Heather’s control since now wasn’t the right time to be wrapped up in a rtionship.


    There wasn’t much distance left between Matthias and Caliph Nightclub after he passed through the


    tunnel, and he tried his best to recognize the signs around him as Caliph Nightclub was hidden among


    them. As his car slowly drove in, he found the nightclub with his sharp eyes. Then, he parked his car in


    front of it with a half-smile. Who would’ve thought this was such a ce by looking from the outside?


    The ce looked ordinary, and it was a pretty good disguise.


    He stopped his car and gracefully got out of it with his face devoid of expression. Then, he pushed


    open the door to the nightclub right away. The front desk receptionists were still the same people as


    before, and they recognized him because he had an outstanding air about him. With a face so stony


    that no one could guess what was on his mind, he told the front desk receptionists about the reason for


    his visit. However, they looked at him with troubled expressions because the request he made was


    against the rules.


    “Tell your boss toe out and meet me.” Matthias could tell that they were in a difficult situation.


    Indeed, it was useless to talk to the small fries about such things. He didn’t like making things difficult


    for ordinary people, and he even often took care of their feelings. Sometimes, he felt he was incredibly


    gentle, yet he was unwilling to show such tenderness to profit-seeking businesspeople in the business


    world—he felt that he had asting hatred for the rich in his bones.


    Since it was Matthias, the nightclub’s owner came out without any hesitation. Matthias looked at the


    owner and asked him, “Can we find somewhere quiet to discuss things?” He had always been well-


    mannered, and the owner naturally had no reason to turn him down when his features softened.


    The owner then led Matthias to his private space; he lived at the nightclub most of the time because the


    ce often had emergencies he needed to personally deal with. “Please have a seat, Director Locke.”


    The owner had a shy smile on his face.


    Only then did Matthias get to see the owner’s face clearly. They merely came across each otherst


    time, and only this time did Matthias find that the nightclub’s owner’s face showed signs of aging


    together with pure shyness simr to a high schooler’s. Such a discovery surprised him, for few middle-


    aged people could retain such shyness. What a strange person he is, he thought to himself. “Is Ether


    here?” he asked straightforwardly.


    Meanwhile, the owner looked at Matthias in a troubled manner. “You probably don’t know this, but she’s


    already quit her job.”


    No wonder the front desk receptionists had that look on their faces, Matthias thought to himself. It


    seemed like they were unaware of Ether’s resignation and merely thought that Ether wasn’t here today


    for some personal reasons. “She quit her job?” he asked in bafflement. Indeed, this answer caught him


    by surprise.


    However, the owner was very surprised too, for he thought Ether quit her job so easily because she


    had be acquainted with Matthias. After all, he knew Ether’s family situation very well, and she


    needed this high-paying job. However, it seemed that he had misunderstood her.


    As he looked at the strained expression on the owner’s face, Matthias asked again, “I need her


    address.” He believed the owner knew where she lived.


    Thetter looked at him; when he saw how serious Matthias appeared to be, he guessed what had


    happened between him and Ether. This was a profound mystery, but he readily gave Ether’s address to


    Matthias—the man had an aura about him that made him lookmanding even though he didn’t look


    angry, so the owner didn’t dare to lie to him. Besides, he thought Matthias could even help her out.


    Unlike other owners who bore no conscience, this nightclub owner still maintained his morals. Matthias


    discovered this after several rounds of conversation, though he wasn’t interested to know too much


    about the story behind it. He gave the owner a nod and said politely, “Thank you.” Naturally, it gave


    people a sense of kindness.


    The owner smiled a smile of gratification as he watched Matthias leave this small space of a few


    square meters. Perhaps because he was used to seeing those garishly and frivolously dressed


    dandies, he couldn’t help feeling a little excited at the sight of an exception like Matthias.


    Meanwhile, Matthias looked at the small note in his hand with Ether’s address written on it. As he stood


    in front of the car, he hesitated for a bit. He had gone beyond reason by suddenly rushing to the


    clubhouse, so he thought he must have gone crazy since he wanted to go to Ether’s house as well.


    Upon thinking of her resignation, he had to connect it with himself. Would Ether have quit her job so


    quickly if it weren’t for him?


    He then looked at the envelope he was holding, which was some form ofpensation that the owner


    wanted to give Ether. In other words, the owner entrusted him with the task of delivering this to Ether


    during his visit. It seems like I already have a reason to go to Ether’s house, he thought to himself with


    a relieved expression. In reality, he could easily find out Ether’s bank ount number and transfer the


    money to her directly by remittance. In an instant, a reason that necessitated the visit became far-


    fetched.


    Matthias got into his car as he was considering this. He wasn’t prepared to actually meet Ether, not to


    mention that Ether hadn’t prepared herself for this either. Such a scene had been portrayed too many


    times in novels and TV dramas, but Matthias didn’t think he was the prince who fell in love with


    Cindere. Therefore, his reasoning made him unable to start up his car and go to Ether’s house.


    Still, he couldn’t throw away the note he was clutching in his hand, though he had tossed the envelope


    containing the money onto the passenger seat. Deep down inside, he was in an unusual dilemma. He


    slowly started up his car, and he had to be on the road no matter what choice he would make.


    Meanwhile, Niki and Lara had stopped in a field in the countryside and were regretting that they


    didn’t drive a cross-country vehicle over. “The wilderness?” Niki asked while looking at Lara in


    bafflement. He didn’t expect Lara’s secret garden to look like this.


    “What’s the problem? Do you not like it?” Lara stared fixedly at him. She couldn’t guarantee his safety if


    he dared to give any wrong answers.


    Niki could tell the threat in Lara’s eyes, so he waved his hand. “No, I like this ce very much.”


    Even the smile on his lips became hypocritical.


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    “It seems that you don’t like this ce. I regret sharing my secret garden with you,” Lara said in


    annoyance.


    It was winter, and flowers had withered in Lara’s secret garden. Only some wildflowers that could


    survive hardships were scattered here and there, and even the thick growths of grass were in low


    spirits. The ce was overgrown with dead greenery, and it looked as though they could be destroyed


    by wildfire at any time. Lara felt somewhat sad as she looked at her secret garden. As it turned out, she


    hadn’t been here for a long time, and the garden had withered.


    Upon seeing Lara’s sad eyes, Niki felt embarrassed instead; he felt the need tofort her. “Cheer


    up, Lara. This ce is really beautiful.” He instantly felt hecked the ability to describe things, and he


    disliked himself inwardly for that.


    “Really?” Lara cast Niki a disdainful look as she didn’t find what was beautiful about this ce. She


    almost forgot that she had not been here for half a year; this was not because she had nothing to be


    sad over, but merely because she was unusually busy. “You know that I was born and raised in Bradfort


    City, Niki. I visit Bradfort City every year, but do you know how happy I was when President Locke


    said he wanted to develop a business in Bradfort City and moved the Locke Group’s headquarters


    here?” She closed her eyes. This way, she would be much closer to her secret garden and could often


    never been here even once. Lara was thoroughly disappointed with herself. When she moved back to


    Bradfort City at that time, she thought she was back to her home ground. Unfortunately, she was


    wrong. Not only did she lose Matthias here, she also lost those past joys.


    “I remember that. You chuckled like a cat that sneakily caught a fish back then, but I never saw you


    chuckling like that again afterward.” Niki reminisced about the past with Lara. Before arriving in


    Bradfort City, they had been an unbeatable trio. It seemed like they shouldn’t havee here, and


    Niki knew that the changes in their rtionship had been caused by the woman named Heather. He


    would never deny Heather’s charm, but he still regretted the changes in their rtionship very much.


    “Have you decided what to do in the future, Niki?” Lara asked him. She didn’t know where her new


    starting point was.


    “Perhaps we can team up and start a business,” Niki suggested jokingly. This wasn’t the first time he


    had such thoughts; he thought about this possibility during the days when he had a secret crush on


    Heather, but he didn’t think of being together with Lara back then.


    “It sounds like a nice idea.” Laraughed, but tears identally streamed down her cheeks.


    “Why don’t we imagine how we’d divide up thebor and work together in the future right now?” This


    was better than what Niki had imagined, for he still had Lara keeping himpany at the very least.


    He became increasingly doubtful of his capabilities after working under Matthias for a long time. He


    didn’t know where his limits were, nor did he know if he’d be able to make some achievements after


    leaving Matthias. Starting a business was the best way to prove oneself. As Niki looked at Lara


    beside him at this moment, he strengthened his resolve even further.


    “Why should we discuss something boring like work in my secret garden?” Lara disagreed with him.


    She had just regained her freedom, so why would she trap herself in the workce again?


    “Okay, let’s talk about something interesting then,” Niki suggested. In reality, he didn’t know what


    was interesting.


    “In that case, we might as well travel together.” The days in Bradfort City made Lara feel very


    oppressed. In particr, she felt as though she was living on the edge of a de recently, so traveling


    might be able to get her to rx temporarily.


    “In that case, may I ask where you would like to travel, Miss Locke?” Niki hadn’t backpacked for a


    long time, so the idea of traveling together sounded really nice to him.


    Lara was seriously considering the idea of traveling. “We need to find a ce where we both like. Why


    don’t we reduce the scope first? The entire world is too big of a scope.”


    “In that case, we’ll just travel within Sria,” said Niki, suggesting an area that sounded much


    smallerpared to the globe.


    “Great. Let’s visit the south then.” Lara smiled innocently, for she liked that ce.


    ……


    As the young pair continued to chatter, the secret garden would be disturbed…