Chapter 4 Her Intentional Seduction

The clouds, glowing with a tinge of orange, swirled on the horizon, and the passage of time became visibly apparent.

The editorial department of the magazine lit up one desk lamp after another, with everyone immersed in the clattering of keyboards, and even the air was thick with the urgency of the approaching deadline.

Emily was finishing her article for the day when that foggy feeling finally dissipated. She had come to terms with the fact that "the man who tried to flirt with her last night is the small third's (mistress's) uncle, and today he rejected her advances out of spite."

He really held grudges, huh.

Unaware of the strange curve forming at the corner of her lips, Emily stared intently at her screen, typing rapidly with her hands, mumbling to herself as if ideas were pouring out of her, bursting with inspiration.

However-

"All the banks' wealth management companies are expected to enter new financing plans next year, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission urges scumbags to hurry up and die, turn to ash, and be used as fertilizer. The mistress is suffering from menstrual irregularities, acne, and fungal infections."

"What?" Cathy, sitting next to her, squinted and leaned over to look at the screen, then asked, "What are you writing?"

Emily's soul returned to her body, blinking a couple of times before scanning her screen. She calmly deleted the line.

"Nothing."

She closed her computer and looked out the window at the glow of the setting sun, lost in thought.

After finishing the conference article for the afternoon, Emily didn't leave work to go home. Instead, she stayed in the office to write the interview outline for Aiden.

When love life falters, career success must be achieved. Emily was determined to come up with an outstanding article that would shock Bella, so Bella wouldn't think of her as a pitiful soul just because she had broken up.

Emily wasn't just vengeful; she was also proud.

By Friday, Emily packed her recorder and notebook and headed to the Universe Bank headquarters.

Like other office buildings, the lobby of Universe's headquarters required visitors to register their identity.

This office building had a good orientation, with sunlight streaming in, shining on the smiles of the three formally dressed men and women at the reception desk, bringing a touch of warmth to the cold building.

The security guard, standing nearby, glanced at Emily's press badge hanging from her neck and said with feigned casualness, "Are all the reporters from your magazine this beautiful?"

Emily smiled, acknowledging the compliment.

But when she picked up her pen, her gaze suddenly flickered.

Luna?

Why was Luna's name in the guest register?

Though the name was common, it shouldn't be a case of the same name-after all, the purpose listed behind was "interview."

Speaking of Luna, from the first day Emily joined the magazine, she and Luna had never gotten along. Over the past two years, they'd competed for sources of information more than once.

So when Emily saw Luna's name in the register and noticed that Luna had visited at exactly 10 AM this morning, an ominous premonition crept into her mind.

Without hesitation, Emily rushed toward the elevator.

In the elevator, time seemed to slow down. Emily stood straight, but her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, her heart racing to her throat.

Half a minute later, the elevator arrived, and the "ding" sound shattered Emily's calm. She looked up to see Lens passing by in the hallway.

"Lens, Secretary!" Emily called as she quickly exited the elevator in three quick steps. "I'm Emily from The New York Times, here for the 3:30 PM interview with the president."

Lens furrowed his brows, confused. "Aren't you supposed to be busy?"

When Emily heard that, the rest of her heart sank.

Luna had indeed beaten her to the punch.

Sure enough, Lens continued, "Your colleague already finished the interview."

Emily's mind went blank for a second.

Lens glanced at his watch and added, "She arrived in the morning, but President Campbell happened to be free."

Emily,"..."

If curse words could be censored, the "beep beep" sound in her mind would be at an obnoxious level right now.

But what could she do?

Aiden had agreed to the interview with The New York Times, so he wouldn't care which reporter showed up, and wouldn't take any internal disputes into account.

And the article had to be published. The editor-in-chief would at most say Luna was inconsiderate, but there's no way they'd pull Aiden's interview just for some "moral sense."

Emily nodded, gritted her teeth, and forced a stiff smile.

"Sorry, there was a miscommunication on our end."

Of course, Lens could see through the situation, but he was the kind of person who preferred to avoid trouble. He nodded along with Emily's words,"Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Not-" Emily's voice suddenly faltered, and the word "sorry" stuck in her throat as she froze, staring ahead.

About ten meters away.

The door to the president's office slid open automatically, and six assistants and secretaries sitting at the front desk stood up. A young woman in business attire, carrying a pile of documents and crossing the hallway, immediately stepped aside.

In the spotlight, a man casually walked forward, his expression calm and composed, his presence silently yet forcefully drawing everyone's attention.

As his gaze briefly flicked over a spot, the cold gleam from his glasses reflected off his profile, exuding a sense of aloofness.

The surrounding windows were clear, but the atmosphere was unusually quiet.

Emily blinked, confirming that the man in front of her was the one she had been searching for all week-the "uncle" of the mistress.

But instead of feeling the joy of a serendipitous meeting, she felt struck by lightning.

Seeing him in this place, it was almost certain that this man was Aiden, the one she'd been talking about for half a month.

No wonder Carlos ran off with someone else; it turns out there's such a background behind him.

This was one hell of a coincidence!

This was such an unbelievable fate!

-If Emily hadn't previously rejected his flirting and then gone to flirt with him on her own.

While Emily's mind was whirling, Lens had already walked over to Aiden and whispered something in his ear.

Aiden lifted his eyes and looked over, meeting Emily's gaze, which was a mix of confusion, awkwardness, and embarrassment.

Emily froze for a second, her expression stiff, and she couldn't naturally look away, so she just stared at Aiden.

After just one or two seconds of eye contact, regardless of Emily's expression, Aiden remained indifferent to the various messages in her eyes. He calmly looked away and walked toward the elevator.

Emily stood frozen, her mind racing, rapidly listing two possible courses of action.

First, retreat quietly, pretend nothing happened, and disappear from Aiden's world as if she had never existed.

Second, as her elementary school teacher once said, never give up on any opportunity; face challenges head-on. She had to interview him, even if it meant dealing with her "little uncle."

It seemed her body had already made the decision for her.

Emily quickly curved her lips into a smile, her expression serene.

She had thick, smooth black hair, neatly parted in the middle. One side tucked behind her ear while the other naturally draped down her cheek, looking graceful.

But when she smiled, the sparkle in her eyes couldn't be hidden by any stern attire; it was as if butterflies were flapping their wings, eager to escape.

In this solemn office corridor, she seemed to come alive.

Yet, Aiden's gaze never landed on her again. He walked by her as if she were a wax figure, completely ignoring her.

Emily,"..."

Her smile remained unchanged, and she nodded to herself, trying to cheer herself up, then turned and said, "President Campbell, we had an interview scheduled for this afternoon."

Aiden paused and turned his head to look at her, raising his eyebrows slightly.

The air seemed to stop flowing in that instant, and the assistants and secretaries around them looked on curiously, focusing their attention on Emily and Aiden.

Everyone in the room knew that the New York Times interview had already been completed.

Even Lens, standing nearby, was caught off guard.

Had this lady lost her memory?

Emily knew exactly how the atmosphere had shifted, and though she was nervous, she tried to act like she knew nothing and looked directly at Aiden.

But if she didn't take a chance now, she'd leave empty-handed.

Emily pressed her palm against her heart and smiled brightly. "I... I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time, and now it's finally happening. Do you think we can do it now?"

After her words, the hallway was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Aiden's eyelids lowered slightly. Just as he was about to look away, he noticed her tightly clenched fists hanging at her sides, pale from exertion.

Suddenly, the man in front of her furrowed his brow, his lips curling slightly, and he leaned in close, speaking in a voice so low that only he could hear. "Just a small delay, okay?"

Aiden's back teeth suddenly tingled.

A moment later, he didn't even lift his eyes. His emotionless voice clearly resonated in everyone's ears.

"Come here."

The surrounding silence was eerie.

People exchanged confused looks but dared not ask further.

Finally, Emily seemed to snap back to reality.

-You see, it's convenient for me!

She was overjoyed.

As Aiden started walking, she quickly followed him to the elevator.

The elevator descended steadily.

The space went from the spacious office area to the relatively cramped elevator, a perfect place to focus.

Now that Emily had calmed down, she looked at the buttons and noticed the one for the basement parking lot was lit.

Emily had no idea why they were headed to the parking lot, so she glanced at Aiden's back and then at the unbothered Lens beside her. She cautiously addressed the back of Aiden's head.

"President Campbell, are we going to-"

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Emily immediately recognized it as Aiden's phone, so she wisely fell silent.

But Aiden took his phone out, glanced at it, and hung up.

Before long, Lens's phone rang.

Emily couldn't see Aiden's expression when he hung up, but she could clearly see the change in Lens's demeanor.

After looking at the incoming call display, he furrowed his brow and answered.

Before he could speak, Emily clearly heard a sharp voice from the phone.

"Tell him to pick up the phone, little uncle!"

I swear! Little! Third!

Emily's reaction was almost automatic, a wave of disgust rising in her stomach, unable to be contained. She tightened her grip on her shoulder bag's strap, her eyes fixed on Aiden's back.

She wanted to see what Aiden's attitude was toward his niece.

Lens gave a "Hmm" and conveyed the message. Then, the phone call was abruptly ended.

The elevator became quiet again.

When they reached the parking lot, Emily finally started to recover from the shock of Aiden's domineering attitude toward his niece.

This was better than she had imagined.

A strong-willed "little uncle" who was decisive and unyielding was perfect for her to use as a shield for her own advantage.

The door opened, and Aiden stepped out. Emily followed suit.

They reached a car, and the driver opened the right-side door for Aiden. It seemed like he had just realized someone was trailing behind him. He stopped, casually turned his upper body, and looked down at Emily.

"I have a two-hour drive. We can talk in the car."

Though Aiden didn't ask for permission, Emily still nodded with a sense of propriety. "Sure."

The car was good enough!

Aiden didn't respond further. He turned and loosened a button on his suit jacket before getting into the car.

Emily glanced at the car and couldn't help but grin.

Carlos, didn't see this coming, did you? I got into this car first. :P

Though there were four people in the car, it was eerily quiet.

It felt like wherever Aiden was, there was an unusual stillness.

He leaned back in his seat, removed his glasses, and carefully wiped the lenses with a cloth.

Noticing some movement beside him, he glanced over to see Emily, her long hair flowing down like a waterfall, and a faint fragrance wafting towards him.

She wore a cream-colored pencil skirt, and as she crossed her legs, the skirt rode up about ten centimeters above her knees, revealing her slender legs that were even whiter than the tight skirt.

Aiden turned his gaze back and put his glasses on.

The car slowly drove out of the parking lot, and the scent lingered at the tip of his nose.

Aiden suddenly asked, "Are you cold?"

Emily was taken aback and looked up at him.

She hadn't expected him to ask her that.

So considerate and proper!

He glanced back at her.

After a brief second of hesitation, Emily immediately shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

She forced herself to look away as if she had said something silly, unsure if Aiden would be bothered or annoyed. Aiden crossed his legs and calmly instructed the driver, "Roll down the window."

The car window rolled down, and a sharp autumn breeze blew mercilessly against Emily's face, making it hard to even breathe without it feeling harsh.

Emily,"..."

Just because I said I'm not cold doesn't mean I'm hot!