Chapter 7 Campus Belle

Berloff Reed drove his Koenigsegg One straight to the famous Silk City Taikoo Plaza shopping district. This place was filled with high-end luxury stores and flagship stores of international top-tier men's fashion brands.

With the $100,000 advance payment from World Auto Dealership in hand, Berloff decided it was time to treat himself.

Two hours later, Berloff returned to his silver supercar, carrying numerous shopping bags. He was now dressed in high-end men's fashion with a fresh new haircut, looking sharp and confident. His youthful and handsome face, combined with the top-tier supercar, drew envious and jealous glances from many young men on the street.

"Damn it! We're all young, so why are you so exceptional?" they thought.

"Hehe, they say driving a supercar to pick up girls has a 100% success rate. I wonder if that's true?" Berloff thought to himself mischievously as he got back on the road.

He rolled down the window and slowed down near the high-end office buildings around Taikoo Plaza. Spotting a woman waiting for a taxi at the corner, he waved at her."Hey there, beautiful. Where are you headed? How about I give you a ride?"

Finley had just finished work when she received a message in her company's group chat from the company heir, Patrick.

"Hey everyone, I'm treating tonight! Let's go out for a team dinner. No one is allowed to miss it!"

"Finley, where are you? How about I give you a ride to the Four Seasons Hotel later?"

Patrick had just returned from studying for his MBA overseas and had been parachuted into Finley's department as the new manager. Since joining, Patrick had been persistently bothering Finley, clearly interested in her.

However, Finley had heard rumors that this rich playboy had a history of getting several girls pregnant and then abandoning them. She had no interest in such a scumbag and always ignored him.

"Manager Patrick, no need. I'll just take a cab."

Patrick replied in the group chat, "Finley, cabs are dirty with so many people coming and going. You should ride with me!"

"I just got a new Audi TT, and no girl has sat in the passenger seat yet. It's waiting just for you!"Patrick's words immediately drew a wave of flattery from the bootlickers in the work group chat.

"Wow, Mr. Patrick, you're amazing! Just a few days ago, you had a Mercedes, and now you've got an Audi sports car!"

"So jealous! We work ourselves to the bone and can't even save up for a down payment, while Mr. Patrick just switches cars like it's nothing!"

"Finley, look how much Mr. Patrick cares about you. That's the girlfriend's seat!"

"Yeah, if Mr. Patrick came to pick me up in an Audi TT, I'd probably faint from happiness!"These colleagues had long noticed Patrick's interest in Finley. They were always secretly helping him, trying to curry favor and climb the ladder by stepping on Finley.

As for how Finley would be mistreated by that jerk Patrick, they didn't care at all.

Seeing her colleagues' shameless flattery made Finley's pretty face turn icy with disgust.

She wanted to explode in the group chat, to curse out Patrick and his lackeys.

But if she did that, she would lose her high-paying job at the finance company!Just as Finley furrowed her brows, unsure of how to refuse, a flirty voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

She turned her head and saw a sleek silver sports car pull up beside her. In the driver's seat sat a handsome young man.

Wait a minute, why did he look familiar?

Finley scrutinized Berloff Reed for a moment and then gasped.

"Berloff Reed, is that you?"

Berloff was equally shocked when he saw Finley's face.

No way! The campus beauty, Finley!Back in college, the radiant Finley was the dream girl of many male students.

Finley had top-tier looks, an impressive figure, multiple talents, and she was the vice president of the student council. Her personality was cheerful and generous.

A girl like that was hard not to like.

Berloff had a crush on Finley for a while, but he had heard that her standards were exceptionally high. Throughout their four years in college, she hadn't accepted any boy's advances.

After graduation, Berloff Reed had tucked away the memory of that captivating figure in his heart, gradually forgetting it. He never expected that his first attempt at chatting up a girl on the street would lead him to bump into this old classmate.

Finley looked at Berloff, her beautiful eyes filled with amusement. "Berloff Reed, wow! It's been years, and now you're driving a supercar. Impressive!"

"Heh heh!" Berloff scratched the back of his head. "Just getting by, you know."

"By the way, where are you headed? How about I give you a ride?"

Finley's eyes sparkled with surprise as she nodded eagerly. "Sure!"

"Take me to the Four Seasons Hotel!"Dressed in a professional suit, Finley hopped into the car excitedly, fastened her seatbelt, and pulled out her phone to send a new message to the group chat.

"Thanks, Mr. Patrick, but my boyfriend is picking me up. No need to worry about me!"

Boom!

The message hit Patrick like a bolt from the blue, leaving him dizzy and seeing stars. From a young age, Patrick had been spoiled by his family, getting everything he wanted. As he grew older, his success with women was unmatched, thanks to his family's wealth and his charm.Finley had caught Patrick's eye ever since he returned home, and he had pursued her earnestly for over a month—longer than he had ever pursued anyone before.

Just when Patrick had bribed everyone and was ready to close the net tonight, this woman claimed she had a boyfriend?

What about the romantic suite he had booked in advance at the Four Seasons Hotel?

Patrick's face darkened as he quickly typed in the group chat, "Finley, you've been a loner lately. Where did this boyfriend come from?"

Seeing the boss lose his temper, the others chimed in with their doubts.

"Yeah, the company has been working overtime a lot recently. You haven't had time to go on dates!"

"Finley, are you trying to deceive Mr. Patrick on purpose? That's not nice!"

"Even if you don't want to ride in Mr. Patrick's car, you don't have to make up stories to fool us, right?"

Finley snorted and responded directly, "My boyfriend is a college friend. We haven't seen each other in years, and he started pursuing me again these past few days. He's sincere, so I agreed to be with him!"Patrick was stunned for a moment, then his eyes flared with anger, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

Damn it!

He had been working hard for a month, only to have his dream girl snatched away by another guy. This was more painful than being killed.

"I don't believe it!" Patrick sent a voice message in the group, his tone filled with rage.

"Unless you bring him here right now for everyone to see, I think you're lying to me!"

The other colleagues also found the situation very suspicious.

Seeing that Mr. Patrick planned to get Finley drunk at tonight's party with everyone's help, it seemed too convenient that she suddenly found a boyfriend.

"Mr. Patrick is right! Finley, what you're saying is just too far-fetched. No one believes you!"

"Finley, don't be ridiculous. In all of Silk City, I can't think of anyone better than Mr. Patrick!"

"Seeing is believing! Finley must be making excuses!"

Click!Finley gritted his teeth and aimed his phone camera at Berloff Reed, who was focused on driving. He snapped a photo and sent it to the work group chat.

Boom!

The group chat was silent for a few seconds, then it exploded with messages