After eating, he immediately packed his simple luggage. He handed it to Tommy Taylor, who had hurried over, to load into the car. Then, he gently held Vera Wave’s shoulders.

"I’ll probably be gone for two or three days. If you want to stay with Grandma, you can stay here for a couple of days. I’ll arrange for Tommy to pick you up and drop you off."

"Okay." Vera Wave leaned on his arm as she walked him to the front door. "Call me when you land, and..."

"Don’t pick the wildflowers by the roadside, right?" the man smirked.

"Oh, so you *think* you can pick them?" She waved her little hand, then made a chopping motion. "Whichever hand you use to pick them will get chopped off!"

"Well, I’d better not then. I still need my hands to eat!" Kris Cooper stopped on the steps. "Alright, don’t see me off. It’s rare that you have a day off today, so stay home and get some good rest. Tell Mrs. Fong to cook anything you fancy. I’ll be back soon."

He kissed her cheek, then turned and got into the car. After Tommy Taylor closed the car door, Kris Cooper still rolled down the window to give her a final instruction.

"Call me anytime if you need anything."

She waved at him with a smile. As the driver started the car, she watched it drive out of the alley before turning back. She hummed a little tune as she shut the door tight.

* * *

「Shanghai.」

「A villa community under Barker’s banner.」

The photographer pressed the shutter and looked at the photo in his hands with satisfaction.

"Good, very good... Let’s take another set on the terrace."

Irene Spencer immediately cooperated and walked onto the terrace. When her gaze fell upon a car driving in from outside, she turned her face in confusion.

A black Mercedes-Benz stopped, and a tall figure emerged from the car. It was none other than Nathan Leafcastle.

Seeing her, Nathan Leafcastle smiled and waved.

Returning his smile, Irene Spencer turned her face to the photographer.

"Let’s take a break, Mr. Leafcastle is here!"

By this time, Nathan Leafcastle had already walked through the villa’s main gate. "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Miss Spencer, are you done with the shoot?"

"Just a few more shots and we’ll be done," the photographer answered.

Nathan Leafcastle glanced at his watch. "How about we have lunch together then?"

A short while later, the photographer finished taking pictures. The staff were still packing up when Nathan Leafcastle invited Irene Spencer into his car, taking her to a clubhouse for lunch.

At first, he only talked about work, discussing with her some of his views regarding the villa community. Halfway through their conversation, Nathan Leafcastle suddenly paused.

"By the way, I almost forgot to mention, the director of the commercial will be here later. To make it more convenient for you by being closer to the film set, I’ve had my staff change your hotel."

"Okay."

Irene Spencer smiled, not particularly minding.

Across from her, Nathan Leafcastle picked up his glass and took a sip of wine.

"As far as I know, Mr. Cooper is also staying at that hotel. I hope that’s not an issue for you, Miss Spencer?"

Kris Cooper?

Irene Spencer’s hand, which was picking up food, paused slightly. She placed the food on her plate, and her beautiful eyes lifted to settle on Nathan Leafcastle’s face.

"Which Mr. Cooper are you referring to?"

"Kris Cooper, the CEO of Ashton." Nathan Leafcastle swirled the red wine in his glass. "If it’s an issue for you, Miss Spencer, I can have them arrange a different hotel for you."

"That won’t be necessary."

Irene Spencer smiled, put the greens in her mouth, and chewed slowly, her gaze fixed on Nathan Leafcastle’s face. Though she appeared calm, she was inwardly scrutinizing him.

Since they signed the contract, Nathan Leafcastle hadn’t contacted her again. This was only their second meeting since then.

With her woman’s intuition, she quickly sensed he had ulterior motives.

For a CEO to be so concerned about which hotel she was staying at... it was indeed suspicious and gave her reason to wonder.