Chapter 335 One Less Rival In Love


    Maria said hurriedly, "I was just joking. Carry on with your work. Bob hasn''t gone to sleep yet, so I''ll


    go and spend some time with him."


    "Okay," James replied with a chuckle. "I''ll finish my work soon."


    "Alright. See you," she replied before hanging up the phone.


    Sitting in the CEO''s office, James called his assistant and ordered, "Ask Summer toe to my


    office when she returns."


    "Yes, Mr. Xi."


    As soon as Summer came back to thepany, she was told that James wanted to see her.


    Without so much as taking a sip of water, she went straight to the CEO''s office. "Mr. Xi, what can I


    do for you?" she asked politely as she entered.


    James raised his head and asked, "What work have you been doing recently?"


    Although she couldn''t understand why he was asking her such a question all of a sudden, she still


    answered him in detail.


    After thinking it over for a while, James made up his mind and said, "Hand over the trivial tasks to


    Gary. From now on, you''re only responsible for following up on the contracts at hand and keeping


    track of my daily tasks."


    "Mr. Xi, what''s wrong?" Summer was filled with dread. Why was he suddenly lightening her


    workload? Was she about to be reced?


    "Nothing. Maria has be really fond of Bob, but it''s hard for her to take care of him alone. From


    now on, you can use your spare time to help her take care of the baby," James exined


    indifferently.


    Summer breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, Mr. Xi, understood."


    "Well, if you have nothing else to do, you can get off work now!"


    "Okay, Mr. Xi," she replied obediently, discreetly taking a nce at her watch.


    Fortunately, it was a reasonable time for her to get off work.


    Summer had barely left the office when James received a call from Ethan. "James, let''s go for a


    drink tonight!" he said in a jovial tone.


    To his surprise, James instantly refused. "No, I promised Maria that I would be home early."


    Hearing this, Ethan raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Did James really have to show off his love life


    every time he opened his mouth? "Oh, James, you''ve changed! Are you so in love with Maria that


    you’ve forgotten me?"


    "Shut up."


    ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.


    "Fine, let''s go out for a drink tomorrow night. I''m sure that Lawrence will only leave after his


    engagement party is done." Tomorrow night was the night of Lawrence and Meagan''s engagement


    party. After that, Ethan would be the only single man among the three friends.


    "I''ll let you know tomorrow night," James said in a nonmittal way. He couldn''t give Ethan a


    straight answer since he didn''t know whether Maria had any ns tomorrow night.


    "Now that you have Maria, you''ve forgotten your best buddy. Well, fine. I guess I should also find a


    woman to spend the long nights with," Ethan said in mock despair.


    "Shut up, will you?" James irritably massaged the space between his eyebrows.


    "Yeah, yeah. Bye!"


    Ethan was about to hang up when he heard James saying, "I''ll drink with you tomorrow night."


    "Really?"


    "Yeah. Come to my vi when you''re free." James knew that it was good to have Ethan on his side


    when it came to certain matters.


    "Oh, my God! Are you trying to imply something? Well, anything you say, James! I don’t mind being


    your lover."


    "Fuck off!"


    "Hey, don''t be so mean to your best friend! Hello? Are you still there?" Ethan lowered the phone


    from his ear and looked at the screen only to find that the call had been disconnected. He snorted,


    not at all pleased with the fact that James treated him like a piece of disposable tissue.


    Lawrence and Meagan''s engagement party was small and low-key. Their two families just gathered


    to have a meal together. The Lu family also brought some betrothal gifts to the Su family, as a token


    of engagement.


    Although it was a small party, the atmosphere was lively, with the elders of both families


    enthusiastically chatting with one another. In fact, Lawrence and Meagan were the only ones who


    remained silent, as if they were strangers.


    Of course, they had only met each other twice before, so they could barely even be considered


    acquaintances.


    As soon as the engagement party was over, Lawrence wanted to excuse himself, but before he


    could open his mouth, Meagan beat him to it. "Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt, I''m growing a


    herb nt at home and it needs to be watered three times a day, so I really need to get going now."


    Elizabeth urged her grandson, "Lawrence, why don''t you give Meagan a ride home?"


    "Grandma, it''s just a short walk to the subway station. I can go home by myself," Meagan protested.


    Elizabeth turned to her and clucked her tongue in displeasure. "From now on, you are part of our Lu


    family. Don''t take the subway anymore. Let Lawrence drive you home. Lawrence, take Meagan to


    buy a car when you are free."


    Meagan looked back at her hesitantly. Should she tell them that she didn''t even have a driver''s


    license?


    But before she even got the chance to say something, she found herself being ushered out of the


    restaurant with Lawrence by their overly zealous rtives.


    Standing on the pavement, the two of them stared at each other awkwardly without making eye


    contact. Needless to say, they both felt a little embarrassed.


    Atst, Lawrence cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Let''s go then."


    "Sure." Meagan didn''t want to seem uptight by insisting on taking the subway, so she obediently


    followed him to the car instead.


    The two of them stared straight ahead at the road, driving in silence. Not long after, the car reached


    the gate of hermunity. Lawrence was about to enter the gates when Meagan quickly said, "Mr.


    Lu, you can just drop me here. Thank you!"


    She hastily reached out and twisted the handle, but it was locked.


    Lawrence turned off the engine, looked at her, and asked calmly, "Have you made up your mind


    yet?"


    In the deathly silence of the car, Meagan could almost hear her heart pounding faster and faster


    against her chest. After hesitating for a while, she whispered, "Yes, I have."


    "Okay. Don''t regret itter," he said, fixing his eyes on her.


    Shifting ufortably under his gaze, Meagan looked away and nodded slightly. "I just hope you


    can keep your word."


    "What?" Lawrence frowned. He didn''t remember promising her anything.


    "You said that you''ll onlye back to H City once a year, or perhaps even once every few years. I


    hope you can stick to that," Meagan reminded, trying to keep her voice steady.


    His face twisted in displeasure. If she wanted to avoid him that badly, why had she agreed to marry


    him in the first ce?


    He felt a stab of annoyance. He leaned forward to observe whether she was being serious. His


    sudden movement sent a jolt of surprise through Meagan, who instantly shrank back against the


    door of the passenger seat.


    She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Seeing her reaction, Lawrence almost scoffed out loud.


    Was this woman afraid of him?


    A mischievous idea shed through his mind. He continued to lean closer to her. Ignoring the way


    her eyes widened in rm, he put his palm on the door next to her, trapping her in the seat.


    Their faces were so close that if he just lowered his head slightly, he would be able to kiss the tip of


    her nose.


    "What are you doing?" Meagan had never been this close to a man before. She was so scared that


    her mouth went as dry as a desert.


    The corner of Lawrence''s lips curved up into a smirk. "Since we''re officially engaged, I want to


    exercise my right as your fiance.


    Do you have a problem with that?" Meagan immediately wrapped her arms around her chest and


    twisted away from him. "No way! We are not that familiar yet."


    "Miss Su, do you n on being just a nominal wife?" he asked dully, staring closely at her reaction.


    Meagan hadn''t expected him to guess that so soon. Feeling a stab of guilt, she turned red and


    avoided his gaze. "Don''t be ridiculous. It''s just that I''m not ready yet."


    Of course, Lawrence had no intention of doing anything to her, so he just leaned back and scowled.


    Pressing the button that would unlock the car, he said, "Since Grandma likes you, you should spend


    more time with her when I''m not in H City."


    Meagan, who was in the process of clumsily unbuckling the seat belt, nodded repeatedly. "Yeah,


    sure."


    Even after she left his car, the faint fragrance of herbs lingered behind.


    By the time Lawrence reached the appointed venue, both James and Ethan were already there


    waiting for him.


    Upon seeing him, James smiled and gave him a thumbs-up sign. "Congrattions!" Deep down, he


    was happy that he now had one less rival in love.


    Lawrence, who knew exactly what was on his mind, snorted. "I appreciate your sincerity."


    "Congrattions," Ethan also said with a handsome grin. "So, when is the wedding?" "We will get


    the marriage licenses at the end of next month," Lawrence said indifferently as he poured himself a


    ss of liquor and downed it in one go.