Ethan went on.
"If she blocks you, use a different number. Whenever you're free, flirt with her and make her happy. Then, you move onto Step 2 romance."
"All women like romantic things, especially dreamers like your ex–wife. If you're romantic enough, she's as good as yours."
Ace pushed his glasses into place and recorded everything carefully in his notebook. He was very serious the whole time.
He even raised his hand and asked, "How do I be romantic?"
"That's an entirely different lesson. I won't go into that today because there's simply not enough time. You can try watching some romantic dramas, especially Korean dramas, and see what the male protagonists do. I'll find the time to make some PowerPoint slides to teach you the specifics."
"Okay."
Ace nodded. "Go on," he ordered like he was Ethan's boss.
"Step 3 is relaxing. After a period of fierce pursuit, you have to stop for a bit. This is called emotional push–and–pull. It's a very important stage. You must control how much you push and how much you pull. If you do it well, you can take back the initiative. If you don't, she might run away."
"Step 4 is investment. You must be willing to invest your feelings. No amount of skill in the world can match this thing called " sincerity". When she can see your sincerity, you've already won. Step 5 is to pull the net. If you successfully reach this stage, that means it's time to enjoy the fruits of victory."
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and said. "That's about it. Digest all this information and ask me if there's anything you don't understand. The most important thing is to practice. Theory is useless!"
Ace browsed the notes, looking thoughtful.
He was naturally cold and extremely rational, so he had no experience in courting women. He only had experience in rejecting women.
Ethan's lesson sounded very practical. He felt like he had opened the door to a whole new world. He hoped the lesson would be useful!
When Ethan saw that Ace's mood had brightened somewhat, he decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Ace, don't forget what you promised me. Now that I've taught you the techniques of courting women, you have to do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"It's the thing I told you about last time. A woman died in my club. Now, the woman's family wants me to go to jail because I'm the person in charge. They wouldn't settle for money so I have to go to court. The evidence is very unfavorable against me. Only Zack has ever won a case like this. Can you think of a way to let Zack represent me?"
Ethan said that with a worried look on his face.
There's no way a person of his status and background would go to jail for something like this, but if news of it spread, his old man would lock him up, which was like going to jail anyway. Therefore, he could not lose this case.
He went to many top lawyers, but all of them said the case was impossible to win. He had no choice but to seek out Zack.
He had already delayed the first hearing of the trial several times and it was impossible to delay it any longer. He must acquire the service of Zack, pronto!
"I can't help you with that."
Ace said, "I told you, I'm no longer the boss of Morans & Co. Law Firm."
"I know, your ex–wife is!"
Ethan smiled bitterly. "You two have such a unique relationship. Surely you can pull some strings for me?"
"If I could do that, I wouldn't need to learn how to court women from you."
Ace sighed helplessly.
His ex–wife was really merciless. Ethan wanted him to use his connections to pull some strings, but he had not even solved
his own problem yet!
If he had known that the "useless lawyers" in Morans & Co. Law Firm were actually that amazing, he would not have given her
the law firm that easily.
In less than a month, those lawyers had done a lot of things to help Joanna out.
"Oh, right, I forgot. She blocked you. There's no way you can pull any strings. Even I would have a better chance. At least I'm not blocked…"
Ethan rubbed his chin and pondered seriously, "Maybe I should try going after her too. If I make it, surely she'll let me borrow her lawyer, right?"
Ace stared daggers at him and said, "Piss off!"
Ace's murderous intent made Ethan take three steps back. He quickly said, "It's just a joke, man. I wouldn't dare. Besides,
she's not the kind of woman I would touch. She's trouble."
Now that Ethan knew even Ace could not help him, he was at wit's end.
"Never mind. I'll figure it out myself."
He sighed. As he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. He turned back and said tentatively, "By the way. there's something else I need to tell you about. Chris is getting engaged next week. Are you going?"
Ace's handsome face was calm. He merely raised his eyebrows slightly and asked the cautious– looking Ethan, "Why not?"
Christopher and him, as well as Ethan, became sworn brothers a long time ago. They were even closer than real brothers.
Now that the eldest brother was getting engaged, as the younger brother, there was no reason for him not to go.
Ethan thought Ace was just putting on a brave face. He comforted Ace, "It's okay, bro, Christ said if you don't want to go. you don't have to. He understands. After all, the relationship between you, him, and Emily is a bit complicated…"
"It's nothing complicated."
Ace said nonchalantly, "One's a brother, the other's an old friend. They're getting engaged. I'll definitely go to the engagement."
"But… alright!"
Ethan heaved a long sigh with an even stronger look of sympathy on his face.
In his opinion, Ace was obviously just acting nonchalant.
Emily was Ace's first love. Now that his first love was getting engaged to his brother, one could imagine how painful it was for Ace!
Alas. Ace had the perfect family background, career, and appearance, but in the matter of the heart, he had always been struggling. His first love ran away, his wife ran away… Poor guy.
Hopefully, the "6 Steps in Courting Women" he taught Ace today could help Ace out. May he never suffer from love troubles again…
After Ethan left, Ace flipped through the notes he had just taken with intense concentration, his thick eyebrows slightly
furrowed. "Step 1…"
Joanna and Nancy returned home in the afternoon after a walk at the nearby river.
From afar, they saw a row of large trucks parked at the villa gate. Several men in overalls were looking around for someone
they could talk to.
"Excuse me, who are you looking for?"
Joanna asked the men.
When the men noticed Joanna, one of them asked enthusiastically, "Hi, are you Miss Pierce?"
"I am. How can I help you?"
Joanna looked at the trucks behind them ominously.
"Well, a gentleman named Mr. Moran purchased some furniture, appliances, and ornaments for you. He bought a lot and they're pretty expensive. Please check that you've received all the items on this list and sign here."
As he said that, he handed a thick stack of papers to Joanna.
Joanna skimmed through the list and saw that there were tons of things on it, ranging from sofa to television to vases.
It was no exaggeration to say that if she were to open a furniture store now, she would have more than enough products to sell.
Seeing the long row of trucks, Margaret could not help but sigh. "Mr. Moran? Could it be your ex– husband? How nice of him. It seems he's not as cold and heartless as you said."
But that just made Joanna mad.
"Of course he's being nice. Otherwise, his lover is going to jail. He's trying his damnedest to save her."
Joanna told the men. "Take these things back. I don't want them."
"What?!"
The men looked hesitant. One of them said, "Mr. Moran has already paid for them. They're non– refundable. Please, Miss Pierce, don't make it difficult for us!"
"I'm sure Mr. Moran means well. These furniture and appliances are all really expensive. A single one of them could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars. All the things here must cost over a million dollars in total. You should just accept them, Miss Pierce."
"Is that so…"
Joanna looked at the rows of trucks again. A cunning smile appeared on her face. "You're right. Mr. Moran definitely means well. I really should accept them."
The man was overjoyed. "In that case, please check the items and sign here, Miss Pierce."
"After I sign, these things will be mine and I can deal with them as I see fit, correct?"
"Of course, of course."
"Great."
Joanna took the pen and signed on the paper, then told the man. "Now take these things to a second– hand furniture shop and sell them all for 50% their original prices. If you can sell them for more than that, the difference in price is yours to keep."
"That's…"
The man did not expect Joanna to do something like that. He seemed at a loss.
"What? If you don't want this job, I know plenty of other people who do. I'll call someone else."
"We'll do it! Of course we'll do it!"
The man nodded hastily.
Brand new furniture, she'll only take 50% of the original price, and they get to keep the difference in price? That's a windfall of a few hundred thousand dollars for them. Who wouldn't want this job?
Nancy felt bad. She tried to talk Joanna out of it. "Is this really alright, Miss Joan? Wouldn't Mr. Moran be mad if he finds out?"
"That's none of my business. All that matters is I'm happy!"
Joanna looked overjoyed. "This is perfect. My heart still aches thinking of how much I paid for the villa. And now, someone's
here to give me money. Of course I can't refuse his goodwill, am I right?"
That evening, Ace received a feedback call from the staff.
"She accepted them?"
Ace smiled.
Looks like she was not so stubborn after all.
But after that, the staff stammered. "Miss Pierce did accept them, but she immediately resold them to a second–hand. furniture shop. We couldn't stop her."
"She resold them?!"
Ace almost passed out from anger.
"Such an impressive business mind you have, Joanna Pierce. I'll make you pay for this!"