Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

The next morning, Ivy Sherwood went to the restaurant especially late, hoping to avoid running into anyone.

’What’s so special about this resort that so many acquaintances are here on vacation?’

It was already 10:30 AM when Ivy went for breakfast, so there was hardly anyone in the dining hall.

She ordered half a bowl of congee and a small pastry, eating them slowly.

She was holding her phone, reading the day’s financial news, and didn’t notice the two people approaching her from behind.

Cheryl Yates shot Yara Scott a look. Yara nodded and walked toward Ivy.

”Ivy Sherwood!” Yara Scott called out Ivy’s full name. The next second, she forcefully grabbed the hand Ivy was using to hold her phone and shook it twice.

Ivy didn’t expect the sudden assault. Her phone fell to the floor, and just as she was about to pick it up, Yara grabbed her.

”Come here! I have something to ask you!” Yara snarled, dragging Ivy with surprising force.

Meanwhile, Cheryl, who was behind them, picked up Ivy’s phone.

Since Ivy had just been looking at her phone, the screen wasn’t locked. Cheryl immediately opened the phone app. She had gotten Quentin Blackwood’s number from Silas Blackwood yesterday. She quickly typed in the first few digits and found his contact.

Death Exemption Token?

’What kind of contact name is this?’

But Cheryl didn’t dwell on it. She quickly tapped it open and typed out a message.

”Uncle, can you come to Jaspen Pavilion tonight? I heard the stars are especially beautiful.”

Cheryl quickly hit send, then deleted the message from the sent history.

Once she was done, Cheryl’s lips curled into a smirk. ’If I can’t get him to come, what about Ivy?’

Quentin had attended Ivy’s brand launch, and Yara had mentioned they even had breakfast together yesterday.

Ivy would never agree to help her ask him out, so she had to resort to this.

Even though Quentin had rejected her, Cheryl hadn’t given up.

’If a text from Ivy can actually get him to come...’ Cheryl’s eyes darkened. ’Then this Ivy Sherwood really has some skills!’

”Let go of me!” Ivy shook off Yara’s hand. ”What do you want to ask?”

”Did you do it on purpose yesterday? Saying all that in front of my brother?” Yara demanded.

”Are you crazy?” Ivy looked at Yara as if she were an idiot.

”You!” Being insulted, Yara was furious.

Looking behind her, she saw that Cheryl had already put the phone back on the ground and was signaling her.

Yara said, ”Let me tell you, Ivy Sherwood, don’t think this will give that Nina Scott an opening! It’s her own fault she can’t win over Mom and Dad!”

”Cheryl, I’ve lost my appetite. Seeing her is such bad luck. Let’s go!”

With that, Yara pulled Cheryl away.

Once they were outside, Yara asked, ”Cheryl, how was my acting just now?”

”Hm, not bad,” Cheryl offered a half-hearted compliment.

”So, Cheryl, does this mean we’re friends now?” Yara was desperate to be friends with someone like Cheryl.

She had been thrilled when Cheryl asked for her help this morning.

”Mhm,” Cheryl said absently, not really hearing what Yara had said.

She needed to hurry back, pick out the perfect outfit, and do her makeup. What if Quentin Blackwood really came tonight?

...

At that moment, Quentin Blackwood was busy with work. His days were always packed, and even though he was at a resort, he wasn’t in vacation mode at all.

He had initially come to the resort just to check on things and could have left the very next day.

As for why he was still here, Quentin couldn’t quite say.

’Let’s just say the work environment here is better,’ he thought.

Just as he was going through his jam-packed inbox, his phone chimed.

He opened it and was surprised to see a message from Ivy Sherwood. ’Inviting him to watch the stars with her tonight?’

’Is this something Ivy would do?’

’What is she up to? Such a romantic invitation... are you sure this wasn’t meant for Silas Blackwood?’

’She only sent this one message. What if I don’t go?’

He was very busy today. Besides his regular work, he had an international conference call tonight that was expected to run long.

’If I don’t go, knowing Ivy’s personality, she’ll probably be very disappointed, right?’

The image of her lowering her eyes, her long lashes hiding those beautiful pupils... Just thinking about it, Quentin felt she would look utterly wronged.

’It’s not like I can’t go. I’ll just consider it doing my nephew’s wife a favor.’

After a moment’s thought, Quentin Blackwood called Zane Linton directly.

”President Blackwood.” Zane’s voice came quickly from the phone.

”I’m not attending tonight’s meeting.”

”President Blackwood, but...” ’This was scheduled a long time ago. Other shareholders will be there too. It’s not a small meeting, and you’re the main person.’

”What? Is there a problem? It’s just a meeting. Can’t it happen without me?”

”No, no, not at all. I’ll inform everyone right away.”

Quentin hung up the phone without replying to Ivy, but the corner of his mouth lifted into a slight smile.

...

After the two left, Ivy felt that Yara’s whole performance was completely bizarre.

Cheryl’s appearance was also strange.

She picked up her phone. It wasn’t broken.

She turned on the screen and unlocked it, only then realizing something was off.

’Why is it on the home screen? I was reading the news when Yara interrupted me. Logically, even if the screen timed out, it should have opened back to the news page, right?’

She tapped around on her phone but didn’t find anything else out of the ordinary.

’In that short amount of time, no one could have done anything to my phone, right?’

’Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have had time to do much.’

But Ivy still felt uneasy. She looked up at the security camera. ’It must have recorded something, right?’

Ivy found a staff member, said she had dropped something, and asked to review the restaurant’s security footage. She quickly found the clip. Just as she suspected, Cheryl had touched her phone.

Ivy immediately went to find Cheryl Yates. At that moment, Cheryl was picking out clothes, wondering what to wear for her date with Quentin that evening.

Hearing a knock, she opened the door, only to find Ivy standing there.

”Ivy Sherwood, what are you doing here?”

”Did you touch my phone?” Ivy asked directly.

Cheryl’s heart skipped a beat. She never thought Ivy would find out.

”When did I ever touch your phone? Don’t talk nonsense! Between yesterday and today, I’ve only seen you twice, for less than five minutes in total!” Cheryl wasn’t about to admit it.

However, Ivy played the security footage directly. The restaurant’s camera clearly showed Cheryl picking up her phone after Yara had pulled Ivy away.

Cheryl: ”...”

She hadn’t expected Ivy to be so clever as to check the surveillance footage. It was her miscalculation.

Now, with the evidence being undeniable, Cheryl had no room to argue.

Ivy’s expression was cold. Strangely, Cheryl felt it was exactly the same as the look on Quentin’s face the night before.

”So, what did you do to my phone?” Ivy demanded.

”I... I didn’t do anything. It just fell, so I picked it up and took a look,” Cheryl denied.

’I can’t just let this rare opportunity slip away.’

”Does ’picking it up’ require typing?”

Cheryl’s hands were clearly moving. The surveillance footage was a bit blurry, so it was impossible to see what she was doing on the screen, but it was obvious she was manipulating the phone.

”I...”

”And if you just picked it up, why put it back on the floor and pretend like nothing happened?”

Ivy’s sharp words left Cheryl speechless.