Chapter 23: The Fish Has Taken the Bait Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation The Lawrence family’s manor was still as lively as ever. After the luncheon ended, most of the people stayed for entertainment. The Lawrence Residence also had a large and luxurious entertainment venue. Monica liked to play mahjong. After lunch, she called Nox and Jeanne to play mahjong with her. Of course, she did not dare to invite Fourth Master Swan. It just so happened that she was short of one, and Eden suddenly volunteered to join them. Monica thought about how she could not get revenge on Eden when he cheated on Jeanne previously. Today, she had to make that b*stard lose terribly. Jeanne did not want to join in the fun, but she could not resist Monica’s hospitality. She let George go back to his room and followed her to the mahjong room. The Lawrence family’s mahjong room was also a private room. When they walked in, the maid immediately went forward and asked respectfully, “What would you like to drink?” “I’ll have black tea,” Monica said, “Jeannie likes lemon juice, right?” “Yes.” Jeanne nodded. “I’ll have coffee,” Nox said, “Coffee boosts my energy.” “Given your mahjong skills, it’s useless even if you take stimulants.” “Monica, do you have poison in your mouth?” Nox was displeased. “I abandoned Fourth Master Swan to play mahjong with you, yet you’re being ungrateful?!” “You’re more addicted to mahjong than I am. We met at the mahjong table back then. Don’t give me that crap!” Monica did not appreciate his kindness at all. She looked very serious as she asked, “Tell me honestly, are you and Fourth Master Swan a couple?” Nox rolled his eyes. Jeanne was also speechless. The waiter asked at the right time, “What would you like to have, Eldest Young Master Swan and Second Young Lady?” “Milk,” Monica answered for them, “Since he likes a cow, of course, he’ll have milk..” Nox could not help but laugh. He was quick to realize what Monica was implying. At that moment, Jasmine’s expression changed. In order to show her upbringing, she forcefully swallowed her anger. Jeanne also could not stop laughing. It was worth noting that Monica was truly astonishing sometimes! Eden pretended not to hear it and said to the waiter, “Jasmine and I will have coffee. She’ll have a cappuccino with more sugar, and I’ll have a latte with less sugar.” “Okay.” The waiter left respectfully. Monica clicked her tongue. It was obvious that she was sneering at Eden’s deliberate thoughtfulness and gentleness. Once they were done ordering their drinks, the game began. Everyone became serious right away. Jeanne had not played mahjong for a long time. Her skills were not good, to begin with, and her luck seemed to be very bad today. She had two crucial tiles at the moment. Just as she was trying to figure out which tile to play, a phone suddenly rang. Nox stopped her for a moment and picked it up. “Fourth Master Swan.” “Where?” “Playing mahjong. Didn’t I tell you just now? Monica asked me to play mahjong with her.” “I asked where.” The voice from the other end of the call seemed to have turned a little colder. “You want to come?” Nox raised his eyebrow. “Yes.” ‘F*ck, since when was he interested in playing mahjong?’ “Where are you? I’ll go get you.” “The main hall.” “Okay.” Nox hung up the phone and said to the others, “Wait for me for a while. Fourth Master Swan is coming. I’ll go get him.” “Hurry up!” Monica urged. Nox nodded and left quickly. The other three people laid down their mahjong tiles. Jeanne said, “I’m going to the washroom.” “Go, go, go. Remember to wash your hands to get rid of bad luck. Your luck is too bad today,” Monica urged. Jeanne also wanted to get rid of bad luck. She would be unhappy if she kept losing. She got up and walked out of the mahjong room and into the public washroom outside. As the washroom was shared, she heard two familiar voices from outside. “Mom, it’s boring for me to watch you play mahjong here. I don’t want to play mahjong either. Just let me leave. I’ll be back before dinner!” It was Thedus’s voice. “Brat, it’s Old Master Lawrence’s birthday banquet today. How can you leave? If your dad finds out, he’ll beat you to death!” Octavia said fiercely. “Isn’t he discussing business financing with Uncle Lawrence? Why would he care about me? Just let me leave. I’m so annoyed whenever I see that woman, Jeanne!” “I’m also annoyed whenever I see that woman.” Octavia’s face was unsightly. “Just thinking about how she embarrassed us in public today makes me want to strangle her to death!” “That’s why I want to take revenge on her!” Thedus said in a softer voice. “I’m going to go meet another woman...” Thedus responded. “Are you crazy?!” Octavia still had a sense of propriety. She knew she could not do anything out of the ordinary at this time. “That woman doesn’t know what’s good for her. Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be careful.” Octavia still wanted to say something else. Thedus said, “Don’t tell me you really want your son to fall in love with that woman, Jeanne...” “Alright, alright! Don’t cause any trouble for me!” “I know you treat me the best! Don’t worry, once Jeanne marries me, I’ll surely take it out on her for you!” Thedus said with a fawning look on his face. Octavia grinned. The two of them left. Jeanne walked out of the bathroom emotionlessly. She took out her phone and typed a message: [Help me keep an eye on Thedus.] [Got it.] Jeanne put her phone into her pocket, washed her hands, and wiped them. The moment she walked toward the private room, she suddenly stopped. She turned around and walked through a corridor into an elegant tea room at the innermost part of the room. She hid behind a pillar and heard the conversation inside, “Alex, I heard that Asia’s largest e-commerce company, MUK group, is preparing to enter Harken’s market. They’re currently looking for our local companies to finance an e-commerce project. Instead of us doing e-commerce ourselves, we might as well use this platform.” “MUK? It’s naturally a good thing to be able to cooperate with them!” Alexander was a little excited. “That said, how can you guarantee that they’ll choose us? Once everyone knows they’re going to enter the market here, the local companies will rack their brains to compete with each other, right?” “That’s why we have to take advantage of the fact that the news has yet to be released. We have to be one step ahead of them. I have an old friend who has a good relationship with the person in charge of MUK’s project. As long as their conditions are met, they’ll consider cooperating with us! Don’t worry, I have all those conditions. Once I meet them, I’ll take the initiative to discuss the collaboration with them. By then, the other companies won’t stand a chance! It’s just that...” “What’s the matter?” “Didn’t we agree to give your family 300 million dollars to develop an e-commerce project? Now, in order to meet MUK’s conditions, I won’t have enough funds, so the financing will be slightly delayed. Don’t worry, as long as the collaboration with MUK is settled, it’ll be a piece of cake to get funding from the bank.” Alexander thought for a moment and said, “Working with MUK is the priority, of course. In any case, it’s all for working on an e-commerce enterprise together. Isn’t there a platform that suits our needs now?! By then, we’ll have both your collaboration with MUK and the Lawrence Enterprise.” “Don’t worry. As long as the collaboration is successful, I’ll let you work on a 300 million dollar project for free.” “That’ll be great!” “We’ll be a family in the future... but your daughter, Jeanne, really needs to be taught a good lesson.” “It’s true that I didn’t educate her enough. Don’t worry. Before she gets married, I’ll make her apologize to the Lockes properly...” Jeanne turned around and left. She did not want to waste any more time on unimportant matters. The corner of her mouth suddenly curled into a sneer. The fish had taken the bait. It was that simple!