"The president is waiting for you at the hotel."
Polly Sutton, resigned to her fate, was taken to the hotel by Andrew Lindsey, but as soon as she exited the elevator, she clung to the corner of the wall and refused to move forward.
"Aren't we already divorced? I don't plan to cling to him. Does he still want to strangle me?" Meeting Victor could be the end of her.
She had met Victor three times before: the first time at a bar, resulting in a ridiculous drama; the second time at a café, under threats from Madam Parker for a match-making session with Victor; and the third was on their wedding day when Victor almost strangled her.
Thinking back still made her shudder.
"I've already taken the money. What if Mrs. Parker finds out I'm meeting her son and asks me to return it? I've spent it all." Polly struggled, just imagining Victor made her neck ache.
Andrew Lindsey: "Perhaps the president has other matters to discuss with you."
"He doesn't even remember me. Can't we just part ways quietly?" Polly said, attempting to discreetly leave.
"Miss Sutton, I think it's best not to defy the president's intentions. After all, the old madam is no longer around."
Implying, there's no one left to back you up.
Polly's footsteps, intending to flee, quietly halted. Resigned, she sighed and turned to Andrew, "Have you ever seen him while he's on a rampage?"
Andrew looked at Polly.
"I've seen it. Scarier than a dinosaur, just squeezing my neck, just..."
Polly mimicked strangling herself to evoke some sympathy from Andrew, but before she could finish, she sensed something off.
Andrew respectfully spoke while looking behind her, "President."
Polly: "..."
Polly silently dropped her hands, retracted her tongue, and turned to look at the man leaning against the wall watching her, then glanced toward Andrew. Such troublemakers should just be taken out and cut down, shouldn't they?
"Come in." Victor said, then turned back inside.
Polly glared at Andrew, dejectedly followed inside.
Just as Polly entered, a gust closed the door, startling her into a tremble. She stealthily nudged the door open a crack with her foot.
Victor noticed her subtle action but paid it no heed.
"Dinosaur?" Victor turned back to look at the woman clinging to the wall, unwilling to come in, yet laughing almost wagging her tail with another man. Now she's pretending to be pitiful?
"The bar incident still left me at a disadvantage. Your grandma threatened me with death to date you; that wasn't my fault. Besides, even in a match-making session, you could have refused." Polly argued, raising her neck at Victor. Her voice faded as she ended; she was still feeling aggrieved.
Victor coldly eyed the woman picking at the wall's paint by the doorway, "What qualification do you have for the Parker family's matriarch to force you into marrying?"
"I..." Listen to that. Is that even human talk?
Polly took a deep breath, muttering under her breath, "Who knows if you have some hidden ailment, prompting your grandma's urgency."
Victor walked over, and Polly instinctively tried to flee, but Victor suddenly blocked her path and grabbed hold of her foot.
"Snap..."
The door was shut.
Victor pressed a hand against the wall, only inches from her, "I heard that."
Polly couldn't help but swallow; her heart was thumping, "Well, if you heard it, you heard it. Anyway, the terms are clearly signed in black and white. I'm not returning the money; don't even think about it, President Parker."
"Black and white and clearly signed. Did I sign?" Victor moved even closer to Polly.
Now he finally understood why his mother had been trying all sorts of ways to introduce women to him lately.
Polly leaned against the wall, her palms pressing into it. Her fingertips were almost gouging out a hole in the wall for a desperate escape.
"Let's make a deal."
Polly, contemplating escape routes, glanced at Victor upon hearing this.
"My mother is recently arranging match-making sessions for me."
"You're not getting any younger." Almost hitting thirty, his mother was eager to drive her away and quickly find him a well-matched partner, wasn't she?
Victor looked at the timid and reckless woman before him, "Help me fend off those women, and I'll divorce you. The kind that gets a divorce certificate."
"Do you think I'm stupid? Are any of the women your mother finds easy to deal with? My life is important and..."
"I'll give you another thirty million at that time."
"Deal, a fellow Chinese doesn't deceive another Chinese." Polly's change of expression was faster than the weather, immediately ready to sign a contract with Victor.
Victor: "..."
"Life isn't important anymore?" This woman truly carries a vibe of mischief all over.
Polly didn't care much; life isn't as important as money. After all, she still had to raise a family. There were two little money-guzzling beasts at home.
"Can I leave now?" Polly cautiously pointed at the door; being around Victor always entailed life-threatening danger.
Victor stepped aside, and Polly secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly opened the door but turned back at the doorway to look at Victor, "But you can't tell my teacher or my senior and junior classmates about our relationship."
"What, scared your senior might find out?" Victor leaned against the door, remembering her demeanor in front of her senior.
"Afraid, terrified." Polly said, running away faster than a rabbit; it was clear her fear of Victor wasn't pretended.
Watching Polly leaving, Victor sneered, "Look into what kind of person her senior is."
Andrew mysteriously responded, and Victor slammed the door and returned inside.
Polly brought the milk tea back to the small hotel where they stayed, or rather a small lodge, humming merrily as she handed the milk tea to Emma Turner.
Emma was engrossed in refining design drafts, accepted the milk tea, and noted Polly's evident cheerfulness, "Did you meet a handsome guy while buying milk tea?"
"Found money." Thinking of thirty million, how could Polly not be happy? She was virtually ecstatic, soaring in joy.
Emma scoffed while sipping milk tea, continuing to edit her designs, "Your mother-in-law called saying Benny and Tommy fought at school."
"Did they win?" Polly immediately asked eagerly.
Emma: "..."
That's definitely a mother.
"Oh, the Parker Corporation's bidding project proposal is on the table. The deadline for bids is two months away. The teacher feels you should lead the drafts, and senior and junior will assist."
Polly's disposition shifted, faster than a weather change. She fell onto the bed, feigning lifelessness, "Projects for rich clients are really challenging; why don't you believe me?"
Emma pointed at the bidding document on the table, "President Parker specifically requested you to be the lead designer, so beauty still counts for something."
Suddenly revived, Polly sprang up, "Who specifically requested?"
"President Parker specifically requested, requested." Emma repeated.
Polly's face contorted into a menacing little bun, her tiny fists clenched. She only earned his thirty million, a life-earned sum, mind you! And now he wanted her designs for free? Did he realize how much her designs cost?
"I don't..."
"If you win the bid, the designer can receive an extra five million in design fees from Parker Corporation."
Polly stretched her stiffened fists and grabbed her laptop, "I'll start designing right now."
What a joke, who would even refuse money?
"Polly, you haven't actually known Victor for a long time, have you?"