Chapter Seventeen

Zoe was surprised to encounter Nick here. Her expression stiffened, and she fell silent for a moment.

Sampson had spoken ill of Nick, furrowing his eyebrows and displaying an unfriendly attitude towards him.

The atmosphere became tense, with the potential for escalation.

Nick pressed his tongue against his teeth, moving the lollipop slightly. He leaned lazily against the door and raised his chin, "Zoe?"

Sampson glanced at Zoe.

Zoe pursed her lips and explained to Sampson, "Senior."

Upon hearing this, Sampson nodded.

Nick snorted, "I'm not worthy of such a title."

Just as he spoke, a foreman wearing a yellow helmet walked out, holding a form which he handed to Nick. He adjusted his hat and called out, "Boss."

Zoe was shocked.

Nick was the boss of this company?

So the reckless kid mentioned by Sampson was Nick.

Zoe: "..."

Noticing Zoe's expression, Sampson said, "Let's talk as we walk."

Zoe nodded and followed Sampson to the elevator door.

Nick signed the form with a pen, handed the pen back to the foreman, and lifted his eyes to watch Zoe's back.

He chewed the lollipop in his mouth and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Zoe, what do you like?"

Zoe, who was waiting for the elevator, stiffened.

Upon hearing this, Sampson also raised his eyebrow and looked at Zoe thoughtfully.

Nick threw away the lollipop stick and pressed his sweet tongue, saying, "As long as you tell me, I can satisfy you. Or, just like in high school, I can arrange nine hundred and ninety-nine roses for you?"

Sampson's expression became even more intriguing.

However, Zoe pursed her lips and wished she could silence him.

At that moment, the elevator arrived, and Zoe quickly stepped out, moving quite fast.

Sampson followed her in, and Zoe quickly pressed the close button, staring intently at the elevator door.

Nick stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching her with a half-smile, half-scorn expression.

Zoe felt like she couldn't breathe until the elevator door closed, and she finally let out a big breath.

Sampson chuckled beside her and said, "A gentle and refined lady is every gentleman's delight. I just didn't expect you to have such a connection."

Zoe: "It's not what you think, boss."

Although she didn't know what the conflict between Sampson and Nick was, from Sampson's cold snort earlier, she knew they definitely didn't get along.

At this moment, it's essential to maintain distance from Nick and play it safe.

Otherwise, if I give the boss a bad impression from the start, how am I going to get along in the future?

Sampson smiled, calmly and naturally saying, "It's okay, I understand. I just hope that in case of any work-related conflicts in the future, you can stand on the company's side."

Zoe didn't quite understand what he meant at first.

She glanced at Sampson.

Sampson explained with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be so unaware of Nick. His company is also an accounting firm, run with Leo. You should know Leo, right?"

Zoe felt a chill down her spine, Leo again.

She nodded slightly.

"In addition, Nick has another identity, which coincidentally is the same as mine. We both work in investment companies."

Zoe had heard about Sampson's work in the morning and knew he was mostly involved in his investment company.

He himself occupied the top of the capital market food chain.

So Nick...

After exiting the elevator, Sampson led Zoe to the café at the back, talking as they walked, "Regarding me and Nick, we have some history. He helped Licheng Jingwan complete an acquisition at the end of the year, and his methods were too harsh, leaving a certain impression on me..."

He didn't specify what kind of impression, but it definitely wasn't a good one.

Zoe was familiar with the Licheng Group. Before her family's company went bankrupt, this company had just emerged, focusing on real estate. It was still a small developer then and needed to seek cooperation from her father.

In recent years, Licheng had flourished and started to acquire small companies.

Sampson pulled out a chair for Zoe and smiled, "I hope you can be impartial in both work and personal matters."

Zoe tightened her throat and smiled, "Definitely."

It sounded like she had some kind of relationship with Nick.

No, okay?

After lunch, Sampson left first to attend to some matters, while Zoe had to rush back to school.

She walked through the company building and headed towards the subway station.

Just as she stepped down the stairs, a black Jaguar drove up and stopped in front of Zoe.

The car was familiar, and Zoe recognized it immediately. She pretended not to see it and walked towards the subway entrance.

The car window rolled down, and Nick rested his hand on the window frame, driving slowly and lazily following Zoe. His voice was low, "I'll send you back to school."

Zoe pretended not to hear and walked quickly with her head down.

Nick narrowed his eyes, gazing at that slender figure.

He rubbed his lips with his fingertips and suddenly pressed down on the accelerator. A hint of fierceness flashed in his eyes as the car sped forward, only to brake harshly at the intersection.

It directly blocked the path of the traffic light where Zoe was about to cross.

Zoe only felt the car rush by, its speed惊人. She thought he was going to leave, but unexpectedly, he stopped right in front of her.

She stood there, startled and panting.

She glared at the black Jaguar, gritting her teeth.

Nick lifted his face, "Get in."

Zoe clenched her fists and walked forward.

Nick pressed the button to open the passenger door, his gaze still fixed on Zoe.

Zoe approached him step by step, biting her lips. Her white teeth left an indentation on her lips.

With herdelicate and dripping red lips, Nick subconsciously clenched his fist against his throat. A fierce desire flashed in his eyes as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted towards him.

Zoe was nearly upon him.

Nick raised his eyebrows and said, "Get in the passenger seat..."

Before he could finish, Zoe spoke coldly, "Nick, how did you ignore me four years ago?"

Nick didn't expect her to suddenly bring up this issue from the past. He was unsure how to respond.

Zoe snorted, "Get lost."

As if by chance, a taxi had just stopped, and Zoe quickly got in, not looking back.

Behind her, the horn of the Jaguar beeped.

Urging the black car to move on.

Nick retracted his gaze, grasped the steering wheel, turned the car around, and drove away with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Zoe had two classes in the afternoon. After arriving at the university, she grabbed her books and headed off.

By 5:30 pm, she was done with her classes and didn't have to cook for Nick. She arranged to meet Ellie, Stella, and Luna for dinner at the canteen.

The four of them occupied a corner of the canteen, with Zoe and Luna resting their chins on their hands while listening to Ellie and Stella recount their experiences at the recent social gatherings.

In essence, they were just social events organized by several nearby universities.

Ellie smiled, "The guys were all so handsome."

Stella disagreed, "Just average, I think."

Although she went with Ellie, Stella preferred older men.

Ellie, being younger, preferred the younger "little brothers."

Luna smiled and propped her chin on her hand, saying, "If you prefer older gentlemen, I can introduce some."

Stella nodded, "Introduce them to me."

She knew that Luna knew many social elites, who were undoubtedly stronger than the young boys on campus.

Ellie turned to Zoe with a smile and asked, "What type do you prefer?"

Zoe had been a listener until this point, but when asked, she was momentarily startled.

At that moment, a pleasant female voice came from behind them, tinged with mockery, "She likes to steal other people's boyfriends."

This corner was occupied only by the four of them, and it had been quiet until this sudden remark, which was clearly directed at them.

Zoe and the others turned to see a familiar female student sitting by the window, a bottle of yogurt in front of her, staring at them with malice.

The girl was very pretty.

Ellie realized who it was and grasped Zoe's hand, "Her name is Ivy. She's rumored to be Nick's girlfriend. Is she talking about you?"

Ivy.

Oh.

Zoe immediately recognized the girl's identity from what the freshmen had told her. After Nick's girlfriend who went abroad, Ivy was the second girl associated with Nick's name. She was also a junior student, and Zoe suddenly remembered that this girl had been sitting across from them in the library. At that time, her phone rang with a message from Nick.

Ivy had also reminded Zoe of that incident. Her eyes had looked strange, and Zoe realized that Ivy must have seen that message.

Now, Ivy looked over without hesitation. Her beauty was the type that was popular nowadays, with a pointed face, outward slanting bangs, intricately drawn eyebrows, and a bright red lipstick. She wore a black halter dress with a loosely tied denim jacket, giving her an extremely photogenic appearance.

After hearing Ellie's explanation, everyone understood who Ivy was.

Luna, who knew a bit of the background, sneered and retorted, "What about those who covet their friend's ex-boyfriend?"

Ivy's expression changed.

Ellie and Stella also became interested and nodded, "Exactly, the girl just went abroad, and the next thing you know, she's involved with her friend's ex-boyfriend. Everyone knows what's up..."

Ivy's face turned red and white alternately, "What are you talking about?..."

"Huh, did we mention you?" Luna asked with a smile.

Ivy: "..."

Zoe burst out laughing.

At that moment, Ethan came with a bottle of cola and saw Zoe and the others. He hesitated for a moment before approaching their table and tapping on it, saying, "You... are still eating?"

Zoe saw Ethan and nodded, "Yes, have you eaten?"

Ethan nodded, "I've eaten. I just came to buy a cola. Are you... not going back to the dorm?"

"Yes, we're getting ready to go."

They had intended to chat for a while longer, but Ivy had interrupted them. The four girls said their goodbyes and stood up.

Ethan exclaimed, "Alright, then let's go back together."

His gaze remained fixed on Zoe, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Luna nudged Zoe, and Zoe looked at Ethan curiously but didn't ask.

The four girls and Ethan walked downstairs and headed towards the dormitory.

As soon as they left, one of Ivy's friends quickly came up to the cafeteria and found her, pulling her hand and saying, "Quick, quick! It's shocking! Come and see!"

Ivy looked cold, "What is it? What's so good to see?"

"You'll see when you come. Damn, Nick is so wealthy and extravagant!"

Upon hearing the name Nick, Ivy jumped up from her chair, now anxious, "What's going on?"

"You'll see when we get there."

When Zoe saw the sea of flowers under the dormitory building, she understood what Ethan's look had meant. Nick leaned casually against the stairs of the self-study dormitory, arms crossed, and asked Zoe, "Do you like it?"