"You're right, Mr. Giblo. I'll make sure to learn as much as I can from you."
Carla didn't seem affected by his words at all. Smiling long and meaningfully, she turned and left with her bodyguards in tow.
"Oh, move out of the way!" Freda made sure to give Benard a hard shove as she pushed past him.
"You…" Benard gnashed his teeth, furious.
Seeing that Carla had left, everyone else dispersed quickly, knowing that the show had ended as quickly as it had begun.
However, it had been an exciting show-down while it lasted. As everyone walked away, they started discussing the matter amongst themselves.
"Gosh, did you see how haughty Ms. Lierger was? She kept on mocking Mr. Giblo, but he remained gentlemanly and refused to lose his temper. If it was somebody else, however, he would've exploded at them immediately."
"Doesn't he hate being mocked by people the most? What happened just now? Why did he let her off so easily?"
"In my opinion, Mr. Giblo knew the value of retreating in order to advance."
"Yeah, right! I think he was just trying to get that beautiful girl out of her bind."
"Haha!"
Hearing this, Benard's face turned steely with rage. However, Zayn seemed rather nonplussed. His eyes continued to follow Carla as she walked further and further away…
A few businessmen wanted to network with him, but their friends held them back. "Mr. Giblo is probably stewing right now. If you go up to him now, nothing good will come of it!"
The businessmen felt that their friends were right. Timidly, they went up to Zayn and said hello to him before darting away quickly again.
As he gazed at Carla, Zayn's heart swelled with emotion. He tried to keep them under wraps…
He had thought of her day and night for two years, tormented by the guilt in his heart. He finally had a chance to set those feelings free today…
She had returned at last!
She had really appeared in front of him in flesh. This time, she wasn't a mirage or a dream he had conjured up in the middle of the night— she was actually here.
He had stood close by her just now. Their short conversation stirred up some of Zayn's memories from the past…
Back then, she had enjoyed bickering with him thoroughly. Although she never managed to beat him in a battle of wits, she liked issuing a challenge to him anyway.
As he thought about this, his lips curved into a smile. The expression in his eyes became much gentler than before.
Had she pretended not to recognize him because she was still mad at him about what had happened all those years ago?
No matter. He would take it one step at a time.
Slowly but surely, he would erase whatever negative feelings she had towards him, and make her return to his side.
"Mr. Giblo, Ms. Lierger is young and reckless. Please don't take her words to heart, " Mr. Laco said, trying cautiously to calm Zayn down. "When I find the chance, I'll make sure to give her a good talking-to."
If another person had mocked Zayn like that, the fight would've ended horribly for them. Even the event organizers would've been implicated in the matter. Hence, Mr. Laco felt obliged to apologize for the earlier altercation.
"What a woman! She has some character."
Zayn smiled brightly and walked away.
Benard and the bodyguards hurried after him.
"Um…" Mr. Laco stood rooted to his spot, feeling a little lost for words. "W-what just happened?"
"Couldn't you tell what happened, Mr. Laco?" his assistant asked with a smile. "Mr. Giblo has developed feelings for Ms. Lierger."
"That can't be true!" Mr. Laco exclaimed in horror. "The Giblos and the Liergers are arch-enemies!"
"All's fair in love and war."
Mr. Laco was speechless.
He thought the entire situation was unlikely, but since Zayn had decided to let the matter slide, Mr. Laco decided not to cause more trouble for himself.
Seeing that Zayn was about to leave, he snapped out of his daze and chased after him. "Mr. Giblo, wait for me! I'll lead the way for you."
…
Ashenville Garden had very nice scenery. It was located on sprawling grounds and complete with a golf course, a hot spring resort, a racing ground, and a luxurious banquet hall.
It was already late in the evening. The businessmen had returned to their hotel rooms to get ready for the banquet that night.
The Aploth Chamber of Commerce had reserved the entirety of Ashenville Garden for that night. Because there were a limited number of rooms, each participant could only bring two of their aides with them. The others would have to stay in the hotel over at the golf course.
As two of the most prominent families, representatives of the Giblo Group and Lierger Corporation found themselves staying at the best villas Ashenville Garden had to offer.
However, the villas at Ashenville Garden were all duplex houses. Since both families had similar statuses, members of the Giblo family and the Lierger family had been assigned to adjoining houses.
Remembering the fiasco from before, Mr. Laco asked if Zayn wanted to switch to a different house. However, Zayn replied cheerfully, "No need to change! I like this place."
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