Zoey Chow lounged lazily on the sofa, looking at Lucas Lin as she said, "Just remember that. If you dare betray me, you should know—whatever I gave you, I can take back."
"Yes," Lucas Lin replied, his gaze lowered, avoiding Zoey Chow's eyes. "I'll slowly earn her trust and then find a way to get the target."
"Very good." Zoey Chow lifted Lucas Lin's chin, clearly pleased with his obedience. "Rona Muir never gets into scandals, always acting so high and mighty. I've disliked her for ages. Seduce her well. I want to see if she'll choose you or that biochemist."
"Okay," Lucas Lin answered obediently.
Zoey Chow didn't stay with Lucas Lin for long. After threatening him, she got up and left the room.
After seeing Zoey Chow off, Lucas Lin slumped against the wall, his eyes filled with defeat.
He didn't want to betray Rona Muir.
But if he didn't do it, all his future prospects would be destroyed.
What should he do?
Do it, or not?
In the room next door, Amy sat by the window, calmly considering her next move.
Jiro Hirayama was so stubborn—no matter what tricks she tried, he never budged.
But giving up just like that? Absolutely impossible.
Amy calculated her time. If Jiro Hirayama was anxious to wrap up the experiment at Hans's Training Base, they'd probably be done in about ten days.
When Jiro Hirayama left, how would she pursue him then?
No, she had to find a way to make Jiro Hirayama take her with him!
If Jiro Hirayama personally asked Captain Hans for her, Captain Hans would definitely give him that courtesy and let her go with him!
But what could she do to make Jiro Hirayama speak up and take her away from Hans's Training Base?
Amy absentmindedly traced her fingers across the table, slowly laying out her plan in her mind.
After nearly an entire afternoon of thinking, she finally came up with a good idea.
Around four or five in the afternoon, Amy went to knock on Jiro Hirayama's door.
Jiro Hirayama looked a little annoyed. "Why are you here?"
"I... I just wanted to ask, did you give away the silk scarf you bought?" Amy asked cautiously.
Jiro Hirayama suddenly realized!
Right, he actually forgot such an important thing!
Wasn't his whole reason for coming here to buy a silk scarf for Rona Muir?
But after what happened last night, and with plans to leave today, he got delayed because of that little celebrity, Lucas Lin.
Amy watched his reaction and said, "You and Miss Muir still haven't cleared up the misunderstanding? Why don't I go instead? This time, I'll sincerely apologize and make sure Miss Muir accepts it, and I'll deliver your gift too, okay? After all, the experiments at the base still need to keep going..."
This time, Jiro Hirayama finally looked at Amy with some appreciation.
Smart move.
Jiro Hirayama was eager to get back to his experiments, finish up, and return to Japan as soon as possible!
So Jiro Hirayama really handed the silk scarf to Amy, letting her go explain things to Rona Muir.
Jiro Hirayama thought it was simple.
The misunderstanding between him and Amy was just that—a misunderstanding. He hadn't cheated, so letting the person involved explain was the best solution.
And so, he really sent Amy off.
Amy took Jiro Hirayama's silk scarf and immediately went to find Rona Muir.
Originally, Rona Muir didn't want to deal with this woman, but Amy stood at the door and refused to leave. Worried she'd disturb the other researchers, Rona Muir let her into her workspace.
As soon as she entered, Amy apologized to Rona Muir: "Miss Muir, I'm sorry. What happened last night wasn't what you saw—it was all a misunderstanding."
Rona Muir snorted coldly. "Oh, really?"
"Do you know why Mr. Hirayama came to this city?" Amy put the box on the table, her face sincere. "He wanted to buy you a silk scarf as a gift, that's why he brought me here. And what happened in the room last night was just a misunderstanding—just like you and Lucas Lin. You walked out of his room soaking wet, and Mr. Hirayama didn't misunderstand you, did he?"
When Rona Muir heard Amy mention last night's events, her face grew a little awkward.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Last night, both she and Lucas Lin were dripping wet—anyone who saw would definitely get the wrong idea.
But there was absolutely nothing but innocence between her and Lucas Lin.
But because she saw Jiro Hirayama and Amy collapsed on the floor, she maliciously dragged Lucas Lin over and kissed him, just to piss off Jiro Hirayama.
Now that she thought about it, her cheeks were burning.
Oh god, what on earth did she do last night?
Lucas Lin didn't slap her—he must've been holding back, right?
Rona Muir's thoughts were practically running like a live comment feed, but she kept her face calm and cool. "And then?"
"I just didn't want to see any misunderstandings between you and your husband, so I wanted to explain." Amy looked guilty. "I tried to explain last night, but I couldn't get to this floor, so I waited until today to talk to you. I've always admired Mr. Hirayama. Even though I'm just a junior agent, I really love scientific research. It's thanks to Mr. Hirayama's appreciation that I became his temporary assistant and got to join all kinds of experiments. I love doing experiments, so I don't want to lose this job because of some misunderstanding."
Only now did Rona Muir seriously look at this young woman in front of her.
Did she really misunderstand last night?
Was there really nothing going on between her and Jiro Hirayama?
Rona Muir just felt her face getting hot again.
"Miss Muir, as a staff member at the base, I'm not supposed to wander around. But I really love doing experiments—they make me genuinely happy." Amy stood up and bowed to Rona Muir. "Please let me keep working with Mr. Hirayama! I promise nothing like this will ever happen again!"
Rona Muir was clearly wavering.
"This is Jiro's business, not mine," Rona Muir said coolly. "If you want to follow him, talk to him yourself."
Amy's face was full of struggle and hesitation. Then, her eyes reddened as she said, "Even if you're not willing to help me... I'm still grateful. Goodbye!"
With that, Amy turned and walked out.
Just then, Lucas Lin came looking for Rona Muir.
He'd just gotten Rona Muir's permission to access this floor.
He saw Amy running out, covering her face, and instantly guessed why she'd come.
Even though they'd only met for the first time yesterday, Lucas Lin could already tell Amy was definitely not just some innocent girl.
Lucas Lin had grown up in the entertainment industry and had seen all kinds of people.
A lot of people might be young, but they're not naive at all.
This Amy was definitely not as soft and harmless as she pretended to be.
She was even a little tricky to deal with.
As a man, Lucas Lin could clearly sense Amy's intentions toward Jiro Hirayama.
Technically, this had nothing to do with him.
But if his goal was to win over Rona Muir, someone tripping up Jiro Hirayama wouldn't be such a bad thing, right?
All these thoughts flashed through Lucas Lin's mind in an instant.
By the time he stood in front of Rona Muir, he'd already collected himself and spoke calmly: "Here, you forgot to take this just now!"
Rona Muir saw the box Lucas Lin handed her and remembered it was the snack she hadn't finished.
"Your ankle isn't healed yet, so don't run around," Rona Muir said. "I can eat it later when I come by tonight."
"It's fine. I'm bored alone in my room anyway," Lucas Lin said with a smile. "So I came out for some fresh air. By the way, was that girl just now the one who works with Mr. Hirayama? She left crying!"
A complicated expression flashed across Rona Muir's face. "Ah, yeah."
She couldn't tell Lucas Lin that Amy was a special agent, even if she was just a low-level one.
But her identity really couldn't be disclosed, so Rona Muir just nodded vaguely.
Lucas Lin watched carefully and said casually, "Mr. Hirayama has a good reputation—I can tell he's devoted to you. Even if his assistant is a girl, I bet he keeps his eyes to himself, right?"
Rona Muir relaxed and smiled. "Yeah."
"So that girl must've done something wrong and got kicked out by Mr. Hirayama, and that's why she came to you for help?" Lucas Lin put the snack in Rona Muir's hand, pretending not to care. "You're the big boss—if people find out you're petty and jealous, that's not good! Okay, I've delivered your snack, so I'll head back. Dinner together tonight?"
"Sure," Rona Muir nodded. "Just don't run around."
"Got it," Lucas Lin replied sweetly. "I won't go anywhere, I'll just wait in my room for you."
After Lucas Lin left, Rona Muir thought about what he'd just said and realized he had a point.
If she kept jumping to conclusions, she'd just look petty and suspicious.
Since it was all a misunderstanding last night, she decided to let it go.
If anything shady happened again, she could kick them out then.
So that evening, when Rona Muir invited Lucas Lin, Jiro Hirayama, and Amy to dinner, she said, "Since Amy is such a good assistant, you should take her back to Japan with you. Just let Hans know—he won't refuse, right?"
Jiro Hirayama frowned. He hadn't planned on taking Amy back with him.
But since his wife had spoken, he decided to listen to her.
After all, he couldn't afford to make his wife angry again!
"Alright," Jiro Hirayama said simply. "Once we're done with the experiments here, we'll take the equipment and materials back together."
Amy finally felt relieved.