Mandy leaned against the elevator wall and said dreamily while taking in the bustling and gorgeous nighttime scenery.
Joanna naturally did not believe in these legends that were meant to fool children. She said with a smile, "So if I miss a founding father really, really badly, would I encounter an elevator filled with cash?"
"C'mon, Joanna. You're not romantic at all. If you don't look forward to a sweet encounter, how would you meet your true love?"
"Let me teach you a life lesson as an older woman, Mandy. To live a good life, true love wouldn't help much. Money is way more important.
Something like true love will only become a weapon for others to hurt you with."
Joanna told Mandy seriously. She did not look like she was joking at all.
Although these words sounded too cruel for an 18 year old girl who had just started to develop romantic feelings, the earlier she understood this fact, the less she would get hurt.
Mandy shook her head and said, "Joan, I don't agree with what you said. True love is a good medicine for curing pain. Why would it cause pain?
You're just scared of love now because you were hurt by it once. You look brave and carefree, but you're actually timid and cowardly because you dare not love again."
"Uhh…"
Joanna was speechless.
'Do all the kids nowadays mature this early?' she thought.
The elevator finally reached the top floor.
The restaurant was decorated elegantly with fresh flowers everywhere. A person was playing the violin. The atmosphere was beautiful and romantic.
"Joan, the top donor is waiting for you. This candlelight dinner is for the two of you, so I won't stay to be the third wheel. I'm going home."
After saying that, Mandy took the elevator down and left the restaurant.
"Welcome, our only female guest for the evening. This way, please."
The waiter bowed 90 degrees and led Joanna into the restaurant.
The man standing in front of the French window had a tall, straight figure. He was dressed in an elegant black casual suit that had good cutting, complementing his excellent figure nicely. His regal temperament gave him the air of a king that came out of a medieval castle.
Anyone would be captivated by his height and his aura. No wonder Mandy nearly fell for him.
Joanna subconsciously quickened her pace. She walked over to stand behind the man and said, 'Hi."
The man slowly turned around. His perfect, handsome face could only be described as a masterpiece of nature. There was currently a mischievous grin on it. "Long time no see, my goddess."
"Ugh!"
Joanna almost fell down.
In those short few steps, she had made countless guesses about the man's identity – she had even guessed that he might be Ethan – but she would never have guessed that it was him!
'Why do I feel like you look a bit disappointed, Bonnie?"
Vernom chuckled and joked calmly.
For four years, he had tried every method possible to trace Joanna's whereabouts, but his efforts were in vain.
He kept decrypting the protection she set up, and she kept using more sophisticated techniques to set up a new protection. It was like a game of cat and mouse. Every attack made his blood boil with excitement.
So when he learned that Joanna was back, he got really excited. He immediately got into a bidding war with Ace during the live stream and ultimately scammed Ace of 4 million dollars while he himself reaped the benefits.
"Vernom, what have you been through the last few years? You look so different now."
Joanna was still in shock.
That was because the Vernom she remembered was an unruly and carefree person. He was always wearing a black hat, a black T-shirt, and a pair of black pants…. But now, he was wearing a black suit like a proper adult! No wonder she couldn't recognize him at first!
Vernom moved closer and closer to Joanna. His deep eyes were passionate and emotional. "We haven't seen each other for four years, and that's the first thing you say to me?"
"Stop!"
Joanna reached out and placed her hands between them while saying with a weird smile, "Not so close. Our relationship is one of purely friendship, so we should maintain an appropriate distance from each other."
"It's purely friendship to you, but not to me…"
A mischievous smile crept onto Vernom's handsome and unruly face. Not only did he not keep his distance, he even grabbed Joanna's wrist and tried to pull her into his arms… Of course, the consequences were dire!
With dexterous movements, Joanna counter-grappled his hand and easily held it behind his back. He might be nearly 1.9 meterstall, but she had him under total control.
'You little brat, how dare you try to tease me. Do you realize your mistake now?"
Joanna kept exerting more and more strength, wishing to teach Vernom a lesson.
Vernom's arm was about to break. He gritted his teeth in pain but did not plead for mercy. Instead, he smiled happily. "What mistake? Is it against the law to like you? You disappeared for four years, and I've been thinking about you for four years. Is that a crime?"
'You…!"
Joanna's face instantly turned crimson.
She could not believe Vernom had become so flirtatious after four years. He was so good at pick-up lines now… No, he was flirtatious too four years ago!
Compared to Ace who was cold and arrogant and had probably never uttered a single pick-up line in his life, Vernom had always been direct and passionate!
If he had 10 points of love for you, he would express his love with 100 points or even 1000 points of enthusiasm.
On the other hand, if Ace had 10 points of love for you, he would express his love with -10 points of enthusiasm.
Men could be really different from one another.
"Looks like you don't want your arm anymore, Justin Baldwin. Fine, I'll grant you your wish and break it for you!"
Joanna did not want him to see that his flirting had an effect on her, so she could only ramp up the violence to teach him a lesson.
Vernom was in so much pain that his forehead was drenched in sweat, but he still maintained a mesmerizing smile on his face. "Go ahead. If I lose my arm, I'll stick to you forever."
"Ugh!"
Upon hearing that, Joanna immediately let go of him and said, "You're so oily. You're oilier than an oilfield. You win."
Vernom waved his arm about and found that it had dislocated a little bit. He kept shaking his head and sighing. "Tsk Tsk, f*ck my life. Why did I fall in love with a female warrior? Looks like I have to sign up for some self defense classes so that I can last longer."
Joanna was speechless and did not respond.
She looked around at their romantic surroundings, pulled out a chair at a table by the window, and sat down.
Vernom elegantly sat down across from her.
The waiter brought roses, steak, and wine, as well as a blue flame fireworks show. It was a more elaborate candlelight dinner than what Joanna saw in TV dramas. However, she seemed disinterested.
"So, you're the second highest donor who scammed Ace of 4 million dollars last night. Why are you here instead?"
Joanna asked curiously after taking a sip of wine.
"What do you mean I scammed him of 4 million dollars? Do I have to remind you that as the second highest donor, I donated close to that amount as well?"
While swaying his wine glass, Vernom looked Joanna in the eye and asked, ' Are you disappointed that I'm the one who came today?"
Joanna shrugged and replied honestly, "I wouldn't say disappointed, just a bit surprised."
"What's so surprising about it? The top donor didn't want to come, so I naturally took his place as the second highest donor."
"How do you know he didn't want to come?"
"It's simple. You and I are both top class hackers. All I need to do is hack into the H Group's internal system to check his schedule for the evening."
Vernom took a sip of wine with smiley eyes.
"Looks like Moran Group's systems are still as bad as ever!"
Joanna snorted and asked, "So what's his schedule for the evening?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Vernom said meaningfully, "If you find out, you might be sad…"
Joanna couldn't help rolling her eyes. She said coldly, "If he could still affect my emotions, I would never have attended this dinner… I don't mind coming here because I'm already over him."
'That's great! That means I have a chance.