We walked arm in arm, attracting the curious eyes of passersby.
"Whoa, am I seeing things, isn't that the gorgeous Ms. Jones!"
"Damn, who's that pretty boy with her!"
Along the way, people were utterly shocked.
Once we stepped out of the building and there were fewer passersby, I finally let out a sigh of relief. The entire way, I was on edge; the eyes of those passersby were so intense, it felt like they were going to skin me alive.
Jessica chuckled and teased, "Thompson, how do you feel? Feeling the pressure?"
"I'm okay! Really! Jessica, your charm is truly overwhelming," I said with a wry smile. "Right, Jessica, won't this affect your reputation?"
"What reputation? I don't even have a boyfriend, so what's there to be afraid of? Unless... you could just be my boyfriend!"
Jessica giggled.
Her tone was teasing, but there seemed to be a hint of seriousness, and her gaze at me was a bit unusual.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
My heart suddenly started pounding inexplicably.
Suddenly, Jessica laughed, "Just kidding! I'm not even thinking about finding a boyfriend right now. But if I did, I'd definitely consider you, Thompson."
I smiled wryly, "Jessica, you're really teasing me!"
"What? Don't you think you're good enough for me?" Jessica said, "Thompson, you're just not confident enough. Look at you now, so handsome! If your words were a bit sweeter, you'd be breaking many girls' hearts."
I was highly embarrassed.
At this moment, Jessica let go of my hand and reached out to straighten my clothes.
Seeing my embarrassed look, she found it very amusing and couldn't stop giggling.
"By the way, why did you finally decide to buy clothes?" Jessica asked.
"Oh! It was Jay who told me. He said his friends want to see me and set a meeting for tomorrow, also suggesting I buy some good clothes," I replied.
"Justin Miller actually did a good deed this time. Otherwise, I bet you wouldn't even bother to change your clothes!" Jessica said.
After a pause, she added, "Tomorrow, huh? I'll go too. I'm acquainted with Justin's friends, don't worry, I'll talk to Justin myself."
"Okay!"
I responded.
"How come I never noticed before, Thompson, how amazing you are? That beauty cream is truly miraculous. I've heard there's also weight-loss tea and even some potency pills."
When she mentioned the potency pills, her cheeks turned slightly red.
"You know about it all?" I felt awkward.
"Of course, Justin is praising you to the skies, saying you're a true master from the outside world."
I scratched my head, feeling awkward, "I'm not some master!"
Jessica laughed softly, "If not you, then your ancestors surely were, to have left behind such magical formulas."
I chuckled and didn't refute her.
We chatted as we strolled. Unknowingly, we arrived in front of a sleek red sports car, which was Jessica's Ferrari, reportedly worth over five million.
"Need a ride?" Jessica asked.
"No, it's okay, I have my own, an electric tricycle."
Jessica was taken aback, then burst into laughter, "You! You're too humble. You've made quite a bit already, haven't you? You should get a driver's license and buy a nice car. A man shouldn't be without a good car."
"There's no rush!" I said.
"True, see you tomorrow then! Oh, and bring me some more beauty cream tomorrow. My girlfriends need some. Do you have any left?"
"I have a few boxes left."
"Great! See you then!" With that, Jessica opened the car door and got in, waved at me, started the sports car, and soon disappeared from my sight.
I watched her leave, then turned around to find my tricycle.
I took off my suit, jumped onto the tricycle, and headed towards Thompson Village.
The next morning, I delivered five boxes of beauty cream to Jessica.
By evening, I was back at Azure Vista Pavilion, dressed in a neat suit, my hair carefully styled.
Upon seeing me, Mr. Jay was stunned, "Holy cow, is that you, Thompson!?"
He exclaimed, rushing forward to examine me carefully, "Thompson, you're in such great shape and look so handsome. I have to admit, you beat my younger self by a slight margin."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sarah Garcia came up and pinched his ear, "Stop exaggerating! You can't compare to Thompson!"
"Ouch! Honey, let go!"
Mr. Jay yelled in pain.
Sarah snorted, released Mr. Jay, and walked over to take a good look at me, smiling.
"Oh my! Thompson, you don't want me to set you up on a date? Someone like you shouldn't go to waste!"
"No need, really!" I quickly replied.
Recently, every time they met, Garcia would try to set me up with someone, which was starting to scare me a bit.
At this moment, a red sports car drove up on the road, and a stunning figure stepped out of the open door.
She was wearing a black jumpsuit, quite different in style from yesterday's, looking more exquisite and grand, adding a touch of elegance and nobility to her aura.
"Wow! The beautiful Ms. Jones is here!" Mr. Jay shouted.
"Sarah! Mr. Jay! Thompson!" Jessica called to each of them in turn.
"Thompson, are you riding with me or with the gorgeous Ms. Jones?" Mr. Jay asked.
I hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll go with Jessica!"
"What the heck, you're just prioritizing beauty over loyalty!" Mr. Jay grumbled, "Fine, go with her then! It's getting late, let's get going!"
With that said, he jumped into his own Range Rover, while I got into Jessica's car.
We left Azure Vista Pavilion, heading north, and after about twenty minutes, we arrived at Celestial Tower, one of the county's most upscale restaurants.
"Let's go, room 503."
Mr. Jay led the way upstairs.
Upon entering the private room, we saw it was already filled with people, all well-dressed and clearly wealthy.
"Oh! Mr. Jay is here! Huh? And the beautiful Ms. Jones too?"
The people stood up one by one, showing surprise upon seeing Jessica.
Next, their eyes fell upon me.
"Mr. Jay, could this be the Thompson you were talking about?"
"That's right, it's him!"
Justin Miller stepped aside and pointed at me, introducing, "This is Charlie Thompson, everyone! What do you think?"
"Wow, Thompson, you truly are a remarkable young man! What a coincidence, I also have the surname Thompson. My name is Christopher."
One gentleman stepped up, excitedly shook my hand firmly.
This man was in his fifties, with ordinary looks, appearing slightly overweight.
"Thompson, don't judge me by my appearance now, just a few days ago, I was much heavier. Thanks to your weight-loss tea, I lost 40-50 pounds in just a few days, it's really amazing."
He held onto my hand passionately, "I say, Thompson, do you have more of that weight-loss tea? Hurry and get me a few bottles."
"Hey! Old Thompson, what are you doing? This isn't right!"
Just then, a plump man pushed forward, nudging Christopher aside, and grabbed my hand, grinning warmly, "Thompson! Don't mind him, give it to me first. Look at him, he's already thin, no need to rush."
"Oh! By the way, I'm Brian Anderson. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Anderson."
I pulled my hand back and greeted both of them, "Brother Anderson, Brother Thompson!" Then said, "No need to rush, more will be ready in a few days, and I'll make sure you two get some first."
"Great! Make sure to give it to me first!" Brian Anderson chimed in anxiously.
Then, the other three men also came up to greet me.
"Thompson, this is Old Christopher, he runs a building materials business. This is Old Brian, he's in real estate, and quite wealthy, so don't be shy about the price," Mr. Jay said, pointing to Christopher and Brian to introduce them to me.
Then he pointed to the other three.
"This gentleman, Old Wilson, runs a shoe factory. This gentleman, President Roberts, is in the furniture business. And this gentleman, Ninth Master Thomas, deals in antiques, a well-known figure in the antiques world."
I exchanged pleasantries with each of them.
Mr. Wilson and President Roberts both had ordinary appearances, looking to be in their fifties, while Ninth Master Thomas was a bit special, wearing a dapper traditional suit, in his sixties but still looking particularly vigorous.
"Come on, have a seat!"
Mr. Jay called everyone to take their seats.