<b>Chapter </b><b>354 </b>
Some were shocked<b>, </b>others in despair, but only Lexie beamed with delight. Her eyes sparkled with pleasant surprise as <b>she </b>gazed at Aria
She had always wished Fryderyk to bring a girlfriend back.
Lexie continued, ‘My eldest granddaughter’s gone into showbiz. Now the only way to see her is to turn on the TV.
‘Alice always thinks I’m ying favorites and is always on guard against me.
‘So, I hope that Fryderyk can marry early.
‘Finally, Fryderyk has found someone he liked. But this girl looks hard to get. Fryderyk must work hard!
As Lexie kept staring, Aria politely nodded.
Aria shot Fryderyk a cold, warning nce.
Fryderyk met her gaze, silently assuring her he had everything under control.
Seeing the two of them exchange nces, Lexie beamed even more brightly.
‘Fryderyk still has a chance,‘ she thought to herself.
“Let’s go,” Aria said, taking the lead as Caleb and Owen fell a step behind her.
As Derek walked along cheerfully after them, Terry shot him a puzzled look and grabbed him by the arm. He asked, “Where do you think you’re going<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Derek grinned cheekily. “Terry, I’m still on my runaway streak. Dad has banned my credit cards<b>, </b>so I only follow them. Goodbye.”
Terry was speechless.
What could he even say? All he could do was watch in silence as Derek disappeared into the distance.
Lexie kept her eyes on Aria’s retreating figure until she finally disappeared around the corner, reluctant to look away even then.
By now, no one was paying attention to Derek spraying others anymore.
With the warm weather, that little ssh wasn’t enough to give her a cold.
Amanda was so embarrassed that she was unable to bear it another second. She hurriedly said her goodbyes and fled the scene.
Lennox’s three ssmates exchanged meaningful nces with him before quietly slipping away.
Barry caught up to her, looking utterly confused. He asked, “Amanda, what the hell was that? You actually proposed a marriage of convenience to Fryderyk in front of everyone. I thought you were just joking!”
Amanda rolled her eyes at him and said, “Don’t talk such nonsense. I just wanted to marry Fryderyk first and see if love growster. How was I supposed to know he already had a loved one?”
Barry asked, “So, what now? Are you gonna give up?”
Amanda shrugged and said, “What else can I do if I don’t give up? <i>Try </i>to beat Aria and win his heart? I don’t like him very much. Why spend time chasing
after him?”
If he said yes, it was great. If not, on to the next.
Looking at Barry, Amanda got even more excited. She continued, “Besides, Fryderyk’s already twenty–seven. You know what they say that guys start
<b>Chapter </b><b>354 </b>
<b>losing </b><b>their </b><b>mojo </b><b>after </b><b>twenty</b><b>–</b>five. <b>Honestly</b><b>, </b>It’s probably the best <b>he </b>turned me down. I <b>should </b><b>just </b><b>find </b><b>a </b><b>boyfriend </b>under twenty f
<b>Barry’s </b><b>two </b>ssmates stood frozen to the side, wide–eyed and barely daring <b>to </b>breathe..
<b>Only </b><b>then </b>did Amanda realize there were others present. Her face instantly flushed as she pped Barry on the back and shouted, <b>“</b><b>Why </b><b>didn’t </b>you tal me they were right here earlier<b>?</b>”
<b>Barry </b>shrugged helplessly and said, “You were excited just now. I didn’t have the heart to interrupt.”
<b>Amanda </b><b>jabbed </b>a finger <b>at </b>him and snapped, “Stay right there!”
Then she hurried off in her heels, the sharp clicks echoing as she rushed away.
<b>Just </b><b>a </b><b>few </b>steps down the hallway, Amanda instinctively turned her head, only to lock eyes with Aria and others.
In that instant, Amanda staggered and nearly fell.
Her eyes went wide with panic and she thought, ‘Wait… Didn’t they already leave? Haven’t they? Why are theying from that direction<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Amanda couldn’t stand it another second. Hurrily, she kicked off her heels and ran away.
She thought, ‘Oh my God, so awkward!‘
Aria went to pay the bill, but the receptionist refused to ept her payment, so she had no choice but <b>to </b><b>find </b>the manager.
In the end, she didn’t pay.
Caleb and Owen both wanted to pay the bill, but Caleb was quicker and beat Owen to it.
As the group walked back into the hall, they couldn’t help but overhear a conversation.
Derek, the only one under twenty–five present, let out an awkward chuckle. “Actually, that’s not entirely urate.
“Guys like Caleb and Owen, who work out regrly still have a healthy body after thirty.”
Caleb and Owen were speechless.
They shot Derek a piercing re, telling him to shut up.
Derek rubbed his nose, putting on his innocent look.
‘Seriously? I was just sticking up for them! Why did they re at me?‘ he thought, feeling wronged.
Aria walked forward calmly.
At that moment, the door opened and a few young people stepped inside.
The experiment was aplete sess, so Sebastian and a few ssmates came to celebrate over a meal.
Sebastian’s eyes lit up instantly when he suddenly spotted Aria. Turning to his ssmates<b>, </b>he said, “Hey, I’m gonna go say hi to my friend. You guys go ahead and order a table.”
Of course, Sebastian’s ssmates had no intention of leaving. After all<b>, </b>it was rare <b>to </b>see him this excitement.
They exchanged nces and crept closer.
This gossip was too juicy <b>to </b>miss.
As Sebastian walked, he thought to himself, ‘Calling her ‘Ms. Saxon‘ sounds too formal, maybe I should just use her name!
“Aria,<b>” </b>Sebastian said as he approached with a slight smile. “Hello!”
Aria gave a slight nod. “Hi.”
Seeing them heading toward the exit, Sebastian scratched his head and asked, “You guys done with your meal already?”
Aria replied, “Yeah, we’re leaving.”
Sebastian thought to himself, ‘If only I’de an hour earlier, we could’ve had dinner together!
He looked up and met a pair of scrutinizing eyes, instantl
feeling a sense of fear.
They were very likely to be rivals in love.
Even though, deep down, Sebastian admired Owen.
He was the first to look away. Turning to Caleb with a polite smile, he greeted him, “Hello, Caleb.”
Caleb nodded. “Hello.”
“Hey, Derek. Long time no see.”
Derek nodded and said, “Hi, long time no see.”
After greeting the others, Sebastian turned to Aria and said, “My grandpa’s cough has gotten so much better. All thanks to you. He wouldn’t have recovered so quickly without you. When are you free? I’d like to treat you to dinner to thank you.”
Derek thought to himself, ‘Damn, he wants to have dinner with Aria?‘
Derek sidled up to Owen and whispered, “Owen, did you see that? That guy totally snubbed you, no way that wasn’t on purpose!”
Owen replied, “I know.”
Derek thought, ‘His grandpa’s cough was just treated this morning, and now, after bumping into her this afternoon, he’s already asking her out to dinner.
He must have other intentions.‘
Derek leaned in and said to Owen, “Don’t worry. I’m totally on your side. I promise I won’t switch sides.”
Owen said coldly, “Well, thanks.”
Derek noticed Sebastian’s innocent demeanor and emphasized, “Owen, this guy’s just twenty–four! You’d better watch out!”
Owen said nothing.
Caleb, overhearing the conversation was also speechless.