Chapter 718 A Necktie


    As per Leon''s request, the birthday party was canceled.


    Valerie didn''t want Leon to celebrate his birthday with Michelle. Besides, ording to Wynn,


    something would happen on that day, so she must do something to stop it.


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    She went to her cousin''spany to talk to Leon.


    Bryant had set up a venture capital firm called the Feng Group in Lexingport City. The office was


    located in one of the buildings in the HD Square, which itself was the property of the Time Group


    and wasn''t far from the headquarters of the Time Group.


    John also dropped by to visit Leon sometimes. With Leon''s birthdaying up, all Nina, who was


    far away on C Ind, had been talking about was her brother''s birthday. She kept reminding John to


    celebrate her brother''s birthday on her behalf.


    Leon had no intention of celebrating his birthday with them, so he''d been telling them to not go


    through all the troubles.


    He didn''t say with whom he was going to celebrate, but John had already had a guess.


    "So, you and Michelle...?" John left the sentence hanging, but both of them were smart people—


    Leon understood what he meant.


    A faint smile appeared on Leon''s face. "We—"


    Before he could say anything further, a sudden knocking sound from the door of his office rang and


    cut him off.


    John cast a nce at the door, just in time to see a slim woman in a cyan dress walking in with an


    elegant smile.


    He could tell that she was ady from a distinguished family. She gave off a simr vibe as Vivian''s,


    though she looked purer. After all that happened with Vivian, John didn''t really have the patience to


    deal with those richdies.


    Thus, when he saw here in, he swiftly stood up and took his leave. "You must be busy. I''ll take


    my leave first. See youter."


    Valerie smiled politely and stood aside to make way for him. From the moment she came in to the


    moment the man left the room, the man never acknowledged her.


    She didn''t know him, but she knew that his identity definitely wasn''t simple. So how could such a


    person know Michelle?


    She had been standing at the doorstep eavesdropping on their conversation for a long time, and


    she could tell from the man''s tone that he was very familiar with Michelle and was concerned about


    her.


    ording to Bryant, Michelle didn''t know Leon''s identity, so it was impossible for him to introduce


    such a powerful figure to her.


    Valerie stared dazedly at John''s leaving back, wondering about who Michelle really was. She''d


    never investigated Michelle because she was afraid that Leon would find out and get angry at her,


    so she didn''t know much about her. All information she had on her was just those bits and pieces


    she heard from Leon and Wynn.


    "Valerie, what are you looking at? He''s handsome and attractive, right?" Leon couldn''t help but


    narrow his eyes when he noticed her stare.


    His tone was calm and seemed to have a more hidden meaning behind it. Valerie didn''t know what


    it meant, but it was not jealousy. She turned around, just in time to see his warning gaze.


    Yes, there was a warning in his gaze.


    Valerie shuddered. Before she could answer, Leon already spoke. "He''s my brother-inw. He and


    Nina already have two children."


    His voice sounded gentle, but his smile was freezing cold.


    No matter how obtuse Valerie was, she understood what Leon implied. He must think that she was


    interested in that man.


    She hurriedly exined, "You''ve misunderstood me. I was just..."


    ''I was just thinking about what that man has to do with Michelle?''


    She didn''t finish.


    It was none of her business.


    So she couldn''t tell him what she really had in her mind.


    Valerie hurriedly hid her gaffe by changing the topic. With a smile, she asked, "Has Princess Nina


    gotten married? Well, that sure is surprising. She''s even had children now! Congrattions!"


    "Thanks." Upon seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Leon finally dropped the matter.


    After Valerie sat down on the sofa, Leon handed her a ss of water. "Are you here for Bryant?"


    "No, I''m looking for you." Valerie took a sip from her ss and then put the ss on the table with a


    smile. "I want to talk to you about your birthday party again. In fact, I think we should still celebrate it


    together. Just invite Michelle to it. We''re all your friends. The party will be a good chance for us to


    get acquainted with each other."


    Leon seemed a little swayed by her suggestion.


    Valerie continued, "Does she not want to know your friends? I want to know Bryant''s friends. I


    always feel happy whenever he introduces me to his friends. It feels like he holds me dear and


    acknowledges my existence."


    Everyone longed to exist and more than anything, they longed for their existence to be


    acknowledged by the people they liked.


    Some people also hoped that their friends could admit the existence of the person they liked. For


    example, a man was eager to let the whole world know who the woman he liked was.


    Leon was rather a possessive person.


    If he loved someone, he''d let her presence be known and forbid anyone to get close to her.


    Valerie knew him well, so she said those deliberately.


    Leon''s eyes glinted. He remembered how happy Michelle was when he said he wanted to introduce


    his friends to her.


    "I''ll think about it." Since Leon said he''d think about it, the matter could be said as settled already.


    As long as there was no problem, he''d most likely ept her idea.


    "Okay." Valerie picked her ss up and took a sip, hiding her triumphant gaze and smile behind the


    ss.


    Leon''s phone rang.


    The ringtone took her by surprise. It was the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" sung by a girl. Her


    voice was clear and sweet.


    Astonishment shed through her eyes. Such a ringtone waspletely not Leon''s style.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me, I have to pick this up first." Leon nodded apologetically at Valerie and then


    walked away. He stood at the French window with his back towards her as he picked up the call.


    Valerie seemed to look around the office while she waited, but she was actually all ears.


    "Michelle, when will youe back? I''ll go and pick you up." The obvious happiness in Leon''s tone


    made Valerie''s eyes dim.


    Now that she knew it was Michelle calling, she listened even more attentively than before.


    A momentter, Leon said a little regretfully, "It doesn''t matter if you can''t make it on my birthday.


    You can''t break your promise to me, though. You''ve got to my birthday once you''re back."


    Valerie was baffled.


    What did he mean?


    Could it be that Michelle couldn''te back in time to celebrate his birthday?


    So would her n go down the drain?


    Michelle indeed couldn''te back as scheduled, but Leon didn''t mind. He smiled and said, "You


    can buy a necktie for me as an apology. It won''t be considered my birthday present, though. I''ll tell


    you what I want as my birthday present when we meetter. The necktie will be your apology gift. I


    happen to need a new necktie."


    ''A necktie?


    A girl will only give her boyfriend or husband a necktie as a gift.''


    Valerie didn''t know whether or not Leon knew what gifting a necktie meant, but as a woman, it was


    unlikely that Michelle didn''t know. Michelle might now think Leon was throwing hints at her.


    ''No, I mustn''t let this go on, '' thought Valerie.


    Once Leon hung up, Valerie stood up and gracefully took her leave. "I still have something else to


    do, so I''ll be leaving first. See youter."


    Upon leaving the firm, Valerie went straight to the HD Square. She then walked into a men''s


    boutique and skimmed through the necktie area.


    One of the saleswomen was enthusiastically showing her the new styles of the season. As Valerie


    listened, one of the neckties caught her attention, and she automatically held out her hand to take it.


    Before she could even touch it, a fair hand already took it away from the shelf.


    Someone also took a fancy to this necktie.


    Valerie turned her head towards the owner of that hand and saw a girl shorter than her. She looked


    like an immature high school student. She had two friends, who were both taller than her. One was


    dressed casually, while the other was using branded things from head to toe.


    The girl holding the necktie asked, "What do you think of this one? Will he like it?"


    Valerie thought that since the girl seemed to be giving the necktie to her boyfriend, she wouldn''t


    fight for it.


    Just as she was about to turn around and leave, however, she heard one of the girls say, "You have


    good taste, Michelle. This one is good."


    Valerie froze. Her gaze once againnded on the shorter girl.


    ''Michelle?''