Chapter 23 Mature And Enchanting


    If Alina hadn''t used Arthur to insult her, Maria wouldn''t have used her son to get any sympathy from


    James.


    Five years ago, if Norman hadn''t helped her, Maria would have gone with Arthur already.


    Alina went to the hospital for treatment after leaving the parking lot of Miracle Cafe.


    Then she returned to the Tang family vi.


    She climbed the stairs, as the only people on the first floor were servants. As soon as she reached


    the second floor, she saw her younger brother, Ronald Tang, who just woke up. He whistled happily


    as he got ready to leave.


    When he spotted her, he stopped whistling. "Holy shit!" Ronald eximed in surprise. "Alina, what


    happened to your face?"


    It was the first time in his life he had seen Alina so disheveled.


    Alina narrowed her eyes, hatred evident in every inch of her. "Maria Song did it!"


    "Pardon?" Ronald was blown away.


    Norman and Maria showed upte to Alina''s birthday party. By that time, members of both the Song


    and Tang families had left, so they didn''t get a chance to meet Maria in person.


    After the party, Ronald heard that Maria was back in H City. He never thought she had the guts to


    mess with his sister.


    "Maria Song!" Gritting her teeth, Alina uttered the name of the woman she hated most.


    "She hit you? What the fuck?" Ronald still couldn''t believe it. He remembered Maria as a decent-


    looking, weak woman. She was a pretty tame, acquiescent girl. Almost no one liked her. Maria was


    a nobody in the Song family. Even Ronald treated her like a maid.


    Alina gave him a cold look and said, "That''s enough. Do you have to be so loud about it?"


    After making sure that he wasn''t hearing things, Ronald got angry. "What was she thinking, hitting


    you like that? She doesn''t take our family seriously, does she? Don''t worry, Alina. The city''s not that


    big. When I see her next, she''ll pay!"


    Ronald was young and aggressive. As the only heir of the Tang family, he was usually quite


    arrogant, and his riches shielded him from consequences.


    And it was Maria that made him mad. Plus she was little more than a servant. Ronald couldn''t let


    this go. Alina was still in her Maria-induced rage, and she wouldn''t be happy until everyone in the


    world hated that woman. Hence, when Ronald said he would teach Maria a lesson, she didn''t


    object.


    Ronald had a lot of fun outside the confines of the vi. He hung out with a group of rich young men


    who liked fooling around with women and driving luxury cars all day long. With luck, one of them


    might hook up with Maria. Then he''d get his revenge.


    "She knows martial arts. My bodyguards weren''t able to beat her up. Be careful," Alina warned.


    "She''s just one woman. Who cares how much she knows? Men are stronger. And don''t wait up for


    me. I''ll be out with the boys tonight. Got to go!" Ronald didn''t take it seriously. He would bring a few


    more bodyguards with him to teach Maria a lesson.


    Alina stopped him. "Ronald! Remember, you''re the sole heir. Maybe you should get James to show


    you the ropes, so you can step into the CEO role at-"


    "Save it!" He rolled his eyes impatiently. "You have a serious case of James-on-the-brain. I get it.


    You think he can do no wrong. I admit he''s popr, and knows how to run a business, but I''m not


    him!"


    ''I''m smart, just in different ways. Besides, I''m the guy who gets all the girls,'' Ronald retorted


    inwardly. Alina was used to her brother being like that, and didn''t say anything more. She went back


    to her bedroom while her brother headed out.


    Maria felt far more rxed nowadays. James had stopped his relentless pursuit of her real estate.


    She could go ahead and continue with her original n of opening a salon. She even got the go-


    ahead from someone the day after she shed with Alina and Ste.


    After Alina had caused all that drama at Miracle Cafe, James immediately halted the acquisition.


    Apparently, he wasn''t happy with Alina.


    Maria guessed that Alina probably had her own problems to deal with. She would need to try to


    salvage her image with James, so she might not have time to bother Maria at all.


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?.


    Maria was quite happy with the result. She now had time to deal with her own business and try


    harder to keep in contact with James.


    She knew that it was impossible for him to take an active interest in her, so she had to make the first


    move.


    And it looked like she was right. She hadn''t seen Alina in more than two weeks.


    Dayster, the shop that Maria nned to open a beauty-salon changed to a high-end bath center.


    And Maria wasn''t its legal owner.


    No one knew what was going on there. Maybe she rented out the shop. Recently, the temperature


    in the city had hit 40 degree Celsius. Almost no one was walking around outside.


    A ck Porsche rolled a stop in the parking lot of a five-star hotel. Two valets trotted over and


    opened the door. An exquisitely dressed man in a suit and leather shoes stepped out. The valets


    greeted him warmly. "Good day, Mr. Zheng! How are you?"


    Colby got out of the car and nodded with a smile. "Howdy!"


    "Mr. Zheng, please follow us."


    "Okay!"


    Colby entered the hotel with his assistant. The hotel manager then led them to the reserved private


    room.


    A woman suddenly rushed out from a side corridor. Before anyone could react, she bumped into


    Colby.


    "Oops!" the woman screamed. Then she apologized in a hurry, "I''m sorry, sir. I didn''t mean to do


    that. Oh! Hi, Mr. Zheng!"


    Colby was in a bad mood after the sudden bump. He tidied up his suit and looked at the woman.


    "Oh, it''s you!" His tone was full of surprise.


    He remembered this woman, an employee of HM Group. One morning, she rushed into his


    exclusive elevator, trying to get to a particr floor.


    The woman was not in her uniform today. She wore a whitece coat and braces skirt, showing off


    her hot curvy figure. Because of the collision just now, the coat slipped off her shoulder to the crook


    of her arm, exposing her snow-white neck.


    Her eye shadow was skillfully applied, almost appearing natural. Add to that her ming red lips,


    wild-looking earrings, and a ne in the same style.


    Her seven-centimeter silver high-heels were studded with diamonds. She looked mature and


    enchanting, drawing the eyes of every man there.


    "Yes, it''s me," she said in a flirtatious tone. "How have you been, Mr. Zheng? I''m sorry for bumping


    into you. I just came out of a dinner, and I ran too fast. Please forgive me!"


    As she spoke, she put her hands on Colby''s arm and shook it, pretending to be innocent and


    ying at being cute.


    A mature man would always be more generous to a fascinating woman than to anyone else. Colby


    looked at the fair hands on his arms and smiled knowingly. "It doesn''t matter. What''s your name?"


    He had met her twice, but still didn''t know her name.


    "Maria Song. Mr. Zheng, are you going to a dinner party?"


    "Nice to meet you, Maria! And yeah, I have a dinner party to go to. ''I like her name,'' Colby thought.


    Maria flipped her long hair over her shoulders, looking enchanting and gentle. "What a coincidence.


    I just happen to be free. Mr. Zheng, do you have a date? If not, please take me." She winked at him.


    Ophelia GSmSB