A beautiful woman with brown curly hair stepped out of the car opposite, her voice full of flirtation: "Ethan Yin, I've sent you so many invitations—why didn't you come to my party?"
Ethan Yin replied expressionlessly, "No time."
Casey Kofi smiled lightly. "Really? Then when will you have time?"
"Never," Ethan Yin's face darkened. "Miss Casey, do you have anything else?"
"Alright, don't be angry. Even if you keep fuming, Sakura wouldn't know." Miles Gu poured Ethan Yin a glass of water. "You used to be great at playing along—why so stiff now?"
Casey Kofi smiled and said, "Ethan Yin, why be so stubborn? You know as long as you agree to be with me, forget just one mountain—every resource here could be yours."
"No need," Ethan Yin replied stiffly.
At this moment, Miles Gu got out of the car and said, "Miss Casey, sorry, but we have other matters to attend to. Could you please let us pass?"
Seeing Miles Gu, Casey's eyes lit up again. She glanced between Miles Gu and Ethan Yin, looking as if she couldn't decide who to choose.
Both Miles Gu and Ethan Yin looked rather displeased.
Casey really has a big appetite!
She actually wants to choose between the two of them?!
To Casey, that's exactly what she's thinking.
Whether it's Ethan Yin or Miles Gu, both are at the peak of looks. Casey really weighed her options for a long time before painfully giving up on Miles Gu and choosing Ethan Yin.
If Ethan Yin and Miles Gu were just regular guys, she'd probably take both.
But one is the CEO of the Yin Group, and the other is a British noble. She wouldn't dare offend two big shots at the same time.
After considering that Miles Gu is already the Yin family's son-in-law while Ethan Yin is still single, Casey decided to go after Ethan Yin and started her wild pursuit.
Now that Miles Gu spoke up, Casey couldn't say much more. She just waved her hand for her people to clear a path.
Casey looked at Ethan Yin, unwilling to give up. "Yin, are you really not going to reconsider?"
Ethan Yin got into the car and left without looking back.
Back at their lodging, Ethan Yin threw his jacket at Quentin Sheng, his face dark and stormy.
"Why are you taking it out on Quentin Sheng?" Miles Gu said.
Quentin Sheng just smiled, said nothing, and walked away.
"I'm not mad at Quentin Sheng," Ethan Yin huffed. "I'm mad at myself."
"Alright, don't be angry. Even if you keep fuming, Sakura wouldn't know." Miles Gu poured Ethan a glass of water. "You used to be great at playing along—why are you so stiff now?"
"The past is the past," Ethan Yin took the glass. "It's because I used to play along with those people that Sakura became distant with me. How could I dare mess around with women now? Sakura would kick me to the curb! But this whole thing has been stuck for days—I'm getting impatient, Miles. I want to try something else."
"Calm down. This isn't our turf," Miles Gu quickly pressed Ethan's shoulder. "We haven't infiltrated any forces in this country. If we act rashly, we'll alert the enemy. Even if we get away clean, all our groundwork will be wasted!"
"The Kofi family has always ruled here, controlling all the resources. And it just so happens, their resources are exactly what we need." Miles tried to persuade Ethan Yin. "Just bear with it for a while. Once we secure enough leverage, then we can go head-to-head with the Kofi family."
Ethan Yin loosened the button at his neck and asked, "How's the defection plan going?"
"We're still in contact," Miles Gu said. "There's still hope."
GJ is a newly established country, and it hasn't officially formed diplomatic relations with many other nations.
So most of the power in this country is held by the Kofi family's local tyrants.
Casey Kofi is the youngest princess of the Kofi family.
Relying on her status and position, this princess basically runs wild in GJ—anyone she sets her sights on never escapes her grasp.
It wasn't until Ethan Yin and Miles Gu arrived that Casey immediately took a liking to them.
If she weren't wary of the Yin family and the Earl of Field behind Miles Gu, Casey would have kidnapped both of them by now.
Now, Ethan Yin and Miles Gu have their eyes on a rare earth mine in GJ. The mine's reserves are astonishing—if they secure the mining rights, the Yin Group's annual report will look incredible, and their assets could increase by 5%!
If the profits and prospects weren't so huge, Ethan Yin and Miles Gu wouldn't be wasting so much time here.
Ethan Yin discovered the mine by accident. He originally came to discuss other projects, but once he found it, there was no way he'd let it go easily.
So, Ethan Yin and Miles Gu have been trying everything to get the mining rights as soon as possible and transfer these precious resources back home.
However, the Kofi family, where Casey belongs, has always kept their stance unclear, causing the negotiations to stall.
So Miles Gu and Ethan Yin discussed planting their own people in GJ, turning members of the Kofi family against each other, hoping to profit from the chaos.
In any family, there's never complete unity—someone always wants to take over or split the family because of uneven resources or other reasons.
Ethan Yin and his team wanted to stir things up—only then would they have a chance.
But the defection plan still hasn't made real progress, while Casey is getting bolder and more aggressive—even daring to block people on the road.
This really annoyed Ethan Yin.
Miles Gu wasn't happy either.
"I don't want to see that woman again," Ethan Yin said to Miles Gu. "Speed up the defection plan."
"Got it." Miles Gu wasn't about to let Ethan Yin suffer—Casey humiliating Ethan was the same as humiliating him, and he wasn't going to take it lying down.
Ethan Yin snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere, a person appeared in the room, kneeling on one knee.
"Whatever it takes, I want Casey to be sick for a whole week," Ethan Yin ordered coldly.
"Yes." The person replied with a single word, then vanished from the room in a flash.
Miles Gu said, "I'll go arrange it and speed things up over there. Let's be careful these next few days—watch out for the Kofi family getting desperate. By the way, I just got word that a businessman from Country K somehow heard about the mine and might try to swoop in and snatch it."
"So even random nobodies dare to jump around in front of me," Ethan Yin said coldly. "If I set my sights on something, let's see who dares to take it from me!"
Miles Gu smiled. "I've already arranged for someone to delay him. He won't get a chance to set foot in GJ."
Only then did Ethan Yin crack a smile. "Let's split up and act."
"Alright," Miles Gu agreed.
Not far away, in a manor, Casey—the Kofi family's little princess—sat on the sofa, looking down at several men kneeling before her, fawning like lapdogs. The more she looked, the more bored and disgusted she felt.
Turns out, a million fakes can't compare to one genuine article.
Casey nudged one man's chin with her shoe, stared for a while, then kicked him aside in annoyance.
"No, none of them look like him at all," Casey said impatiently. "What kind of trash is this? Not one of them is like Ethan Yin. As expected, only Ethan Yin is the man I truly want."
Just thinking of Ethan Yin's cold, icy gaze made Casey feel a shiver of delight all over.
That's the kind of man who could really make Casey's heart race!
"Go, go, go! All of you, get out!" Casey waved her hand impatiently, and the men trying to please her were quickly dragged away.
Knock knock. A servant came in, respectfully handing Casey a cup of milk tea.
"Ling, tell me, what do I have to do for Ethan Yin to fall for me?" Casey asked, holding her milk tea.
The one called Ling quickly lowered his eyes and said, "You're the princess of the Kofi family—any man should be grateful for your affection."
Casey smiled in satisfaction. "You always know what to say. But that Ethan Yin just won't accept me! I'm even willing to offer the family mine as a condition—why does he still refuse? Am I not beautiful enough?"
"Maybe he wants more," Ling replied, head lowered. "After all, he's no ordinary man—he's a king. To capture a king, you have to show enough sincerity."
"You make a good point," Casey nodded. "So tell me, what kind of sincerity do I still need to show? I'm even willing to leave GJ and go back to his country with him—why is he still not agreeing?"
Ling smiled and said, "Maybe he's just shy."
Casey instantly got excited. "Shy? Oh my god! Just thinking about a shy Ethan Yin makes my heart race!"
"Your milk tea is getting cold," Ling reminded Casey.
"Oh, right, I can't let my milk tea get cold." Casey happily drank her milk tea.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ling's mouth too.
That night, Casey suddenly developed a high fever. No matter what the doctors did, it just wouldn't go down.
When the Kofi family patriarch heard the news, he rushed over. "Casey was fine during the day—how did she suddenly get sick? How are you people taking care of her?"
Everyone in the room dropped to their knees—no one dared to look up or answer the patriarch.
"Useless, all of you are useless!" The Kofi family patriarch rushed into the room, seeing his youngest daughter lying unconscious on the bed, feeling as if his heart was breaking.