Chapter 23 Aunt Nina
"Yes, it\'s all Nina\'s fault," Isabella sniffed, stood up and hid behind her mother for cover, too afraid to face her father\'s wrath. She wanted to say something more, but when she saw his piercing eyes, she withdrew further.
John had cancelled the cooperation with the Zhang family because of Nina, but she wasn\'t even aware. As usual, she attended her lessons, went to the canteen with Michelle, and went back to her apartment to analyze the case she was working on.
She racked her brains for all possible scenarios and possibilities, and just as she was about to be enlightened, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.
Nina drew the curtain to cover the whole wall and turned to open the door.
When she opened the door, she saw James standing outside. He was wearing black eyeliner, chewing gum and whistling merrily. He looked very much like a naughty hooligan.
He chose to have the persona of a mischievous ruffian instead of a dignified man.
"Nina!" James raised his eyebrows inquisitively and called her in a gentler and smoother way.
"How were you able to find this place?" Nina asked as she looked at his clothes in open disgust. Had he just finished dancing in a bar?
"As long as I put my mind to find someone, I will definitely find them. Well, Nina, just cut the crap. Aren\'t you looking for my uncle John? Hurry up, I\'ll take you to where he is right now," he announced and tried to grab Nina, but she avoided him with ease.
He was used to pulling his male friends around him, and totally forgot that Nina was a girl who should be treated with finesse.
He took a courteous step aside and made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation. "Nina, please come with me."
"Where is John?" Nina was on alert. She didn\'t think she was that closely acquainted with him, but why was he so passionate about helping her find John?
"Don\'t ask any more, just come with me,"
he ordered and brought her to a high-end club. Along the way, James kept buttering her up. He asked her whether she needed to buy some clothes or have some snacks.
\'There is no free lunch. He must be up to something, \' she thought.
"Hey, what do you want from me, James?" He was behaving so abnormally out of his usual self that she felt a little nervous.
"No! Don\'t misunderstand. I have no ill intentions towards you. Please, trust me. I won\'t hurt you." James solemnly raised his hand and swore with all sincerity.
The sole reason why he was so amicable and hospitable to Nina was that he heard a juicy gossip from Henry.
With a heavy heart, he had finally accepted the fact that he was not as important in his uncle John\'s heart as he thought he was.
But Nina was a different matter. Henry had asked James if he had seen any woman stayed by John\'s side before.
Of course, the answer was negative. But now, John allowed someone to somehow get close to him. It was Nina, who was beautiful yet aggressive.
Henry had also asked James if he knew where the people who had previously offended his uncle were now. After pondering for a while, James clearly realized that anyone who had offended his uncle had disappeared from Lexingport City, never to be seen again.
But recently, there was one person who had offended and embarrassed his uncle twice. In spite of that, she was still there, whole and unharmed.
That was just so amazing and unbelievable.
And the most important point that Henry secretly told him was that Nina was his aunt.
Although he thought it was too early to make such a conclusion, James carefully thought it through and fathomed that it was reasonable to surmise that Nina was indeed likely to become his aunt in the near future.
Therefore, he had to flatter Nina to his best ability.
Nina was looking for John. Luckily, James just knew exactly where John was going to be today.
"Aunt... no, I
mean Nina, my uncle John is here." To his chagrin, he almost called her Aunt Nina.
Nina curiously raised her head and saw the two words on the sign board, "Dragon Club." It looked particularly dazzling at night, and was located in a tall building, the edges of which were surrounded by inviting rainbow lights, colorful and flickering.
In a glance, she could instantly tell what this place was.
By instinct, Nina refused to go inside a place like this. "I need to meet your uncle by accident. It does not count when you take me to him."
She turned around and was about to leave.
But before she could, James grabbed her arm and said, "Wait a minute, Nina. I have an idea. There\'s also a billiards room inside. A friend loves playing billiards. Let\'s go there and play billiards with him. What if you run into my uncle?"
Somehow, Nina had an uneasy feeling that James was trying to make a love match between her and his uncle.
But then again, no. She must have been overthinking.
Even if he was out of his mind, James wouldn\'t want a young girl, who was about his age, become his aunt, would he?
Nina was having second thoughts. She really wanted John to permanently delete the video recording. John keeping it was a threat she could not afford, so she finally compromised and followed James inside the club.
Together, they took the elevator to the billiards room in silence.
To her surprise, the bright room was luxuriously decorated. The marble floor was covered with carpet, and the glittering crystal lamp hanging from the high ceiling was incomparably luxurious.
In all, there were ten billiards tables in the middle. There was also a rest area with soft sofas and clean tables with all sorts of fruits and red wine on it. Waiters stood neatly every few meters to attend to the guests\' needs with a fixed smile plastered on their faces.
Most of the people who were playing billiards and comfortably sitting in the rest area were impeccably dressed in business suits. They talked about capital and each one of them held power.
When they arrived, Nina became the focus of everyone\'s attention. From time to time, there were people who would look at her with interest. But with James standing next to her, no one dared to approach her openly.
"Nina, there he is. My friend is over there." James walked over to a table with Nina in tow. "Adrian, I brought a friend here."
Wearing a simple casual suit, Adrian was holding a petite woman with one arm while his other hand was in his trouser pocket.
When he heard James\' voice, Adrian turned around and his gaze landed on Nina. With her black hair behind her back, she was wearing a simple hoody and jeans. She was plainly dressed, but she looked very energetic and her beauty stood out. He was mesmerized by the gorgeously alluring face.
"Oh, it\'s you!" Adrian squinted his eyes in recognition and smiled flirtatious at Nina.
Nina also recognized the man in front of her. He was the same person who had pushed her into John\'s room in the Four Seasons Garden Hotel. That time, he was also holding a coquettish woman in his arms, but it was different from the woman in front of her now.
"Another one of your girls?" Nina sneered disdainfully. Now was a good time to take her revenge.
Having heard what Nina asked, the woman in Adrian\'s arm asked, "Mr. Song, what does she mean by that? Do you have another woman aside from me?"
"Honey, don\'t listen to her. Of course, you are my one and only," Adrian comforted the restless woman beside him, then glared at Nina with anger. Then, he left with the woman. As much as possible, he didn\'t want to see Nina anymore.
Seeing Adrian leave, James shrugged helplessly and asked, "Nina, do you have a past grudge against him?"
Adrian was as timid as a rat and would never offend anyone. It was impossible for him to have gotten in a conflict with Nina.
Nina didn\'t bother giving him an answer, which meant she acquiesced.
As soon as Adrian left the room, he met John. While coaxing the woman, he didn\'t forget to inform John, "Mr. Shi, your woman is in the billiards room with your nephew."