Just entering the restaurant, a sour aroma wafted over, and instantly, Vera Sheridan’s mouth watered. Upon seeing a golden bowl of sour soup rice noodles topped with a blossoming starch sausage, she smiled knowingly.
Vera was like a high and unattainable flower, yet Ian Kane had once caught her buying starch sausage in a university town alley.
The strong contrast made him even more infatuated.
The starch sausage looked crispy and was slathered with the sweet sauce she loved. Vera couldn’t wait to take a bite.
Ian Kane ca out of the kitchen, watching her adorable, greedy expression, his eyebrows filled with a fond smile.
The two happily spent the day together.
...
On Monday, as usual, Ian Kane personally drove Vera Sheridan to work at the dance troupe.
When Vera arrived at the won’s changing room of the dance troupe, she hadn’t even entered the door when she heard the girls gossiping.
"Nina Sullivan was fooling around with her boyfriend at Bvlgari over the weekend, she couldn’t even close her legs. I just saw her get into the Phantom parked at the back door of the dance troupe, it must be her boyfriend’s car."
"Phantom? You must be mistaken, that should be Ms. Sheridan’s car."
"No, it’s really the Phantom, but the license plate was covered by the greenery, I didn’t look closely."
Vera let go of the door handle, limping away from the changing room, and quickly walked downstairs to the back door of the dance troupe.
At a glance, she recognized the Phantom parked behind the bushy greenery was indeed her family’s car.
Logically speaking, Ian Kane should have left ten minutes ago, so why was he still here? And why was the car parked at the back door of the dance troupe?
Vera walked around the greenery, her heart pounding, as she approached the Phantom step by step. The driver, Old Man Woods, saw her and quickly ca forward, "Ma’am—"
It was obvious he was trying to stop her.
By this ti, Vera had already knocked on the rear window.
The car hadn’t been turned off.
The car window rolled down, slowly revealing Ian Kane’s cold, handso face, the air inside thick with cigarette smoke.
The seat on the other side was empty.
Vera instinctively glanced at the front driver’s seat, which was also empty.
"Honey, why did you co out?" Ian Kane asked gently.
Vera looked at him, "I heard you hadn’t left yet, so I ca to check. Why are you sitting in the car smoking alone?"
The man inside the car, his tie was loose, and two buttons at his shirt collar were undone, with a few scratch marks faintly visible.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking sowhat tired, his eyes flashing with a hint of gloom, "It’s work stuff, a bit annoying, just having a smoke to relax, don’t be mad at ."
Vera’s fingers kept picking at her palm, her face accommodating as she said, "I’m not angry, just roll down the windows for so air, smoking with the windows closed is more harmful."
Ian Kane smiled, obediently rolling down the windows, then looked at her with a gaze full of gratitude, "It’s getting late, I’ll head to work."
"Old Man Woods, drive."
Vera waved inside the car, then watched the Phantom drive away.
Only when the car disappeared far down the road did she release her tightly clenched hand.
Back at the dance troupe, Nina Sullivan was nowhere to be seen.
After a while, she saw her in the dance studio’s practice mirror.
The girl, wearing a nude pink training outfit, had a vivid green jade on her wrist. With slow steps, her legs not quite together, she asked, "Ms. Sheridan, I heard you were looking for ?"
Vera glanced at her, continuing with her side waist stretch, only asking her when she straightened up, "Where did you go?"
Nina Sullivan spread her palm, with a tube of ointnt lying on it. With a flushed face, head bowed, she murmured, "My boyfriend just helped apply ointnt in the car..."
Looking shy.
Vera frowned, watching her through the mirror, vaguely understanding her aning.
She also took note of that bracelet.
Nina Sullivan looked back at her, very embarrassed, "My boyfriend is too wild..."
At these words, Vera rembered the anonymous text ssage, her ears ringing for a mont. When she looked at Nina Sullivan again, her gaze was scrutinizing.
Was the text from her, deliberately telling her that Ian Kane was her boyfriend?
Nina Sullivan furrowed her brow, looking troubled, rubbing her side waist, "I practiced legs the day before yesterday, and then he tornted all night. Ms. Sheridan, I need to take leave from today’s training."
There was no sign of guilt on the girl’s face, as if she considered her a close friend, sharing intimate details about her relationship.
Vera blinked, crossing her arms, her expression a few degrees colder and more stern, "The national tour is next month, you keep taking leave, this won’t do."
"You must practice the whip turn twenty tis every day from now on! If you don’t et the standard, I’ll have Evelyn Rivers replace you as the lead in this tour!"
Nina Sullivan’s face fell.
Twenty tis, that would kill her!
Facing Vera’s stern gaze, she finally lowered her head obediently, "Ms. Sheridan, I’ll work hard to train."
"I’ll tell my boyfriend not to always cling to ..."
Vera shot her a look, "I’m not interested in your personal affairs, don’t bring it up at the troupe."
Nina Sullivan was stifled.
"Nina Sullivan, let remind you one more ti, you’re just one step away from the lead dancer!" With that, she left the dance studio.
When Vera returned to the office, Secretary Lewis was getting water at the water cooler. He greeted her and then asked, "Ms. Sheridan, has Nina Sullivan paid you back?"
The sudden question caught Vera off guard.
Seeing her reaction, Secretary Lewis knew Nina Sullivan hadn’t paid her back.
Nina Sullivan’s hotown was in a poor county in Norcross, her family was in poverty, both her father and brother suffered from congenital cartilage disease, and the family was heavily in debt.
She was a born dance talent, selected by the local dance troupe for free training.
At seventeen, Nina Sullivan participated in a national competition, where Vera saw her potential and brought her to the Ardendale Dance Troupe.
She walked over with her thermos cup, speaking in a pure Ardendale accent, "Nina Sullivan got a wealthy boyfriend, even wearing an imperial green bracelet, said it ca from Jubilee Auction House’s spring auction, amazing, doesn’t she rember to pay back all the expenses you covered when you took her abroad for performances?"
Vera had previously taken Nina Sullivan to many international competitions, all expenses were borne by her, but her focus wasn’t on that, it was on the "Jubilee spring auction."
"Are you sure it’s from Jubilee’s spring auction?" The imperial green bracelet Ian gave her also ca from this Jubilee spring auction.
Director Lewis said, "Of course, that’s what she said, even flaunting it in the group."
Vera opened the group chat ssages she usually ignored.
In the photo, Nina Sullivan’s slender, fair wrist was adorned with a Jade Bracelet, her pretty face gleaming with spring.
"Gift from my boyfriend, Jubilee spring auction model, purchased for 2.9 million."
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