The study was big and dark, with rows of bookshelves.
Ace turned on the light expressionlessly, only to find Old Mr. Moran sitting on the sofa, causing him to step back in shock.
"Grandpa, why are you trying to scare people instead of sleeping?"
Old Mr. Moran's face was stiff. While leaning on his cane, he scolded, "I'm trying to scare myself to death. I'm sick of worrying about my children and grandchildren every day. I'm better off dead!"
"There you go again…"
Ace rubbed his forehead and stabilized his emotions, then walked up to the old man and squatted to meet him in the eye. He patiently asked, "Did something happen today that make you unhappy?"
"It's nothing, I'm lamenting my own uselessness, that's all. My old eyes are so blurry that I can't even see a person clearly now."
The old man shook his head, sighing.
He thought back to the time when he followed General Pierce and fought against enemies on the battlefield. He used to be so brave and spirited.
But now, he couldn't even walk steadily, or talk properly, or see clearly…
Old Mr. Moran suddenly took out his phone. His old fingers pressed the screen a few times before he said, 'Oh no, my eyes are not that good. Ace, come and help Grandpa take a look. Who's the woman in this video? Her skills are good."
"Which one?"
Ace leaned over to take a look.
It turned out to be the viral video of Joanna.
He instantly understood what the old man was doing.
Therefore, he squinted slightly and feigned ignorance, saying, "Yeah, who is she? Probably a small time influencer. These are probably all scripted.
These people would do anything to be famous. Let's not watch it anymore. It's all fake."
Ace tried to grab Old Mr. Moran's phone, but the trembling old man suddenly became extremely lively. He warned, "You stinky brat, stop feigning ignorance. Open your eyes wide and take a good hard look at the woman in the video."
"Okay, I'll take a good hard look."
After watching it again, Ace said without hesitation, "I remember now, this is the actress that Ethan's company has been promoting in recent years. Her name's Shirley White… Do you wanna see other photos of her?"
He did not want the old man to know that Joanna had returned to the City. Otherwise, considering the old man's style of doing things, it would surely cause a storm in the city.
Besides, Shirley and Joanna looked kinda similar, so he should be able to bluff his way out of this.
"Nonsense!"
Old Mr. Moran was furious. He gave Ace a hard slap. "Do you really think I'm blind? This is my granddaughter-in-law, Joanna! How could you not tell me that she's back? Do you really think I don't go online?"
"Let me tell you, not only do I know that she's back, I even watched her live stream! I even gave her a donation!"
When the old man said this, his expression was very proud. He sneered," There's a fool who donated 4 million dollars. I wonder who he is. If you have that kind of awareness, I might have two great grandchildren by now!"
Ace:"…"
He was surprised to find out that his grandfather, who was nearly a hundred years old, who was almost completely out of touch with the outside world, and who rarely used electronic devices, actually surfed the internet regularly. He even saw Ace's embarrassing moments!
If Ace's identity as the top donor got exposed, he would really die of shame!
"Grandpa wants to see her. Invite her over for dinner."
The old man waited for Ace all night for this.
"You'll have to do that yourself. I don't think I can get that appointment. As you can see, she's really popular now so she's very busy nowadays."
Ace said sarcastically.
Joanna had already cut off their relationship cleanly. He did not want to take the initiative to contact her because that would be too embarrassing!
"Can I? Okay, as you wish."
Within the vigorous and shrewd eyes of Old Mr. Moran, interesting ideas emerged..
The next day.
Joanna and Clara arrived at a high-end seafood restaurant together.
"Joanna, look, that's my boyfriend, William Jones. Isn't he handsome?"
Clara pointed to a young man in the VIP area and said shyly.
Joanna looked in the direction Clara was pointing at and saw a man waiting there anxiously, occasionally fiddling with his clothes and tidying up the tableware. He was clearly a bit nervous and probably placed great importance on this meeting.
"He looked very gentle. I can't believe this is the type that you would fall so hard for."
Joanna joked.
She always thought that Clara would like the domineering CEO type. After all, the male idols she liked were all of that type.
But the gentle type was good too. At least they're considerate and reliable. He would complement the carefree Clara quite well – provided he truly was what he seemed.
The man had also noticed them by now. He immediately flashed them a warm smile while waving to them.
"Clara!"
He quickly walked over and took the bag from Clara's hand thoughtfully. He then grabbed her hand and said, "Baby, are you tired? Are you hungry? I ordered your favorite coconut crab. I hope you'll like it."
"Thank you, baby."
Clara smiled sweetly. She proudly introduced Joanna to him, "This is my best friend Joanna. We're even closer than real sisters. Let me tell you, she's really talented. She's the perfect blend of beauty and wisdom. She could run a company and kick butts. She's a top student in college and is an amazing hack…"
*Ahem*
When Joanna noticed that Clara was about to sell her out, she quickly interrupted her. He smiled at William and said, "Hi, I'm Joanna."
"Hi, I'm William."
The man pushed his glasses up his nose and responded with a graceful smile.
Throughout the dinner, William was very gentle and considerate. He peeled shrimp and crabs for Clara and maintained a polite distance from Joanna, respecting her boundaries.
According to Clara, William was born overseas. He was a third generation immigrant.
His father ran a dental clinic while his mother was a university professor. He was a philosophy student at the University of New York. It could be said that he had a scholarly background and a wealthy family.
Joanna could hardly find any flaws in William. He was perfect in terms of appearance, manner, and family background.
But it was this "perfection" that made Joanna feel suspicious.
"William, I heard from Clara that you guys will be getting married at the end of the month. Isn't that too soon? You've been going out for less than 3 months."
Joanna took a sip of wine, then looked straight into the man's eyes and asked the sharp question.
"It's not too soon if the person is right. It only took Clara and I three days since we met to confirm our relationship. The first time I saw her, I was already certain that she was the one true love of my life. That's why I want to marry her and protect her for the rest of my life!"
William and Clara clenched their fingers together and gazed at each other. The love overflowing from their eyes was so thick that it almost felt like it had physical form.
"Remember what you said today. If you dare do her wrong, I'll make sure you die a tragic death!"
After Joanna said that, she touched her glass with his and drank all the wine in one gulp.
Her love life was a mess, and she would never let Clara go down the same path!
After the meal, Joanna used a random excuse to leave so that she would not be the third wheel.
While strolling around a mall, she took out her phone and dialed a number." Kevin! How are you, my old friend? I'd like to ask you about someone."
Kevin was a friend of hers from the same laboratory when she was studying overseas. They were very close.