Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Although they said they were going in, there was no sound from inside. Unlike Charlie Rhodes, who would have just opened the door and walked right in, neither Miles nor Xavier Mercer even had their hands on the doorknob.

Miles Mercer knocked again patiently. Just as he was saying, ”Brother, I don’t think anyone’s in there. Maybe we have the wrong dressing room.”

The words had barely left his lips when the door was opened from the inside.

They both looked inside expectantly, but contrary to what they had imagined, it wasn’t the woman whose eyes so closely resembled their aunt’s who opened the door. It was a man.

”And you are?” Miles Mercer had just returned to the country. The Mercer Family’s influence was primarily overseas, and since he wasn’t very involved in business—with the family enterprises all in Xavier Mercer’s hands—he lived a carefree life as a young master, doing whatever he pleased.

Xavier Mercer, standing behind him, spoke first. ”President Blackwood?”

Seeing Xavier Mercer, Quentin Blackwood parted his lips slightly. ”President Mercer, you’re here as well?”

Quentin Blackwood had met Xavier Mercer on one or two occasions while on business trips abroad.

The Mercer Family were overseas Chinese. They had been a prominent family in their home country before moving abroad, after which they had become so successful that everyone knew their name.

Quentin Blackwood hadn’t known that Xavier Mercer had returned to the country; it seemed his visit had not been publicized and was being kept under wraps.

Xavier Mercer was about his age. Though he appeared to be a gentle and refined man, in reality, his schemes and methods were no less formidable than Quentin’s own.

It was just that Xavier Mercer was very good at putting up a facade, whereas he, Quentin Blackwood, disdained to do so.

’I’ve heard the Mercer Family has very strict principles,’ Quentin thought. ’I just didn’t expect Ivy Sherwood to attract the attention of both the Mercer Brothers.’

Both Xavier and Miles Mercer’s gazes shifted past him, trying to catch a glimpse of Ivy Sherwood.

Ivy Sherwood was sitting inside, having already retied the silk scarf around her face.

Quentin Blackwood was tall and imposing, and he stood squarely in the doorway, blocking their line of sight with no intention of letting them in.

”Is there something you need, President Mercer?” Quentin Blackwood asked coolly.

Miles Mercer explained, ”We were in the audience just now and saw a young woman who resembles a relative of ours, so we wanted to come over and see.”

A sneer tugged at the corner of Quentin Blackwood’s mouth. ”Are the Mercer Family’s pickup lines really this tacky now?”

”You!” Miles Mercer was furious. What did he mean, tacky pickup line? He was always the one telling other people their pickup lines were tacky; this was the first time anyone had said it to him.

Besides, he wasn’t even hitting on her!

”President Blackwood, my brother is telling the truth. The young lady really does resemble a relative of ours. I wonder if it would be possible for us to meet her, just to exchange a few words?”

Ivy Sherwood, who was inside, heard him too. ’That gentle and refined voice... it sounds different from someone like Charlie Rhodes.’

Her gaze shifted curiously toward the doorway, and she met the eyes of both Miles and Xavier Mercer.

Xavier Mercer was once again struck with shock. ’Those eyes... they’re the spitting image of our aunt’s.’

Ivy Sherwood walked over at that moment but did not remove the scarf from her face.

From behind Quentin Blackwood, she asked, ”You say I look like a relative of yours? May I ask your relative’s surname?”

Xavier Mercer replied, ”Her surname is Mercer. Her name is Winter Mercer.”

The name was unfamiliar to Ivy Sherwood. She shook her head. ”I’m sorry, I’ve never heard that name before. Perhaps you’ve made a mistake.”

’Besides, they’ve probably only seen my eyes,’ she thought. ’To think I’m their relative just because our eyes look similar is a bit absurd.’

”How old are you?” Xavier Mercer asked.

Ivy Sherwood answered, ”I’ll be twenty-four soon.”

’Twenty-four... That’s about the right age for our aunt’s child,’ he thought.

”Then what is your mother’s name?” Xavier Mercer asked again.

Ivy Sherwood didn’t give him a direct answer, saying only, ”My mother’s surname is Summers.”

’Summers?’

’Could she really not be our aunt’s daughter? Were we mistaken?’

”Could you please remove your scarf and let us have a look?” Xavier Mercer wanted to see Ivy Sherwood’s face to be certain.

”President Mercer, I don’t think my woman is the person you’re looking for,” Quentin Blackwood interjected.

’Who knows what this Xavier Mercer is really after?’

”Apologies for the disturbance,” Xavier Mercer said.

’It’s just that we were too eager to find our aunt. It has been so many years, after all, and it’s our grandfather’s wish to find her.’

”Let’s go,” Xavier Mercer said to Miles Mercer.

Miles’s eyes widened. ”We’re leaving already? But we haven’t seen anything yet! Brother, isn’t she our aunt’s daughter?”

Xavier Mercer strode away, saying, ”I don’t know.”

As Miles walked ahead, he was still thinking about those eyes as he rounded a corner. Even he thought they looked just like their aunt’s.

Lost in thought, he wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going.

Nina Scott was holding her phone, a video playing on the screen and an indescribable expression on her face. She had to hurry and share the gossip with Ivy.

She quickened her pace, not expecting anyone to be around the corner. As a result, they both reached the corner at the same time and collided.

Nina Scott clutched her forehead. ’Am I having the worst luck today or what?’ she thought.

”Don’t you watch where you’re going?” Miles Mercer demanded.

’Why does everyone keep running into me?’

”I’m sorr—wait, it’s you?” When Nina Scott saw the man, the happy expression on her face instantly vanished.

She barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She swallowed her apology and muttered, ”What bad luck!”

With that, Nina Scott didn’t spare him another glance and walked straight toward the dressing room.

”You! That woman!” Miles Mercer was absolutely livid. ’She must have done that on purpose, right?’

’So arrogant! She bumps into someone, doesn’t apologize, and then calls *me* bad luck!’

”That’s enough,” Xavier said. ”You should be a gentleman around women. Wait until you fall hard for a girl one day; then you’ll understand.”

”Like I’d ever fall for anyone. I’m never even getting married. Every woman who gets close to us is only after our family’s status and money.”

Besides, he’d never met a single one he was actually interested in. In his eyes, all women were the same.

Xavier Mercer didn’t say anything more. He rounded the corner and found the organizer of the show to ask for information about the female model.

But because Quentin Blackwood had already given them a heads-up, the organizer was reluctant to disclose anything.

Xavier Mercer didn’t press the issue; he had his own methods. Soon, his subordinates had obtained the information on everyone in the show, including the woman’s name. She was a model, but... ’Why do the eyes of the girl in this photo look different from the ones I saw on the runway?’

Xavier Mercer ordered an immediate investigation to get him all the information on this girl, as well as her parents and relatives.

The information soon arrived in Xavier Mercer’s inbox. He looked it over. This face bore no resemblance to their aunt’s at all. It seemed she really wasn’t his aunt’s daughter.

...

Ivy Sherwood closed the dressing room door and turned around, only to meet Quentin Blackwood’s somber gaze.

”I didn’t realize Miss Summers was so popular,” Quentin Blackwood said, his voice cold and his expression unreadable.

”Those two men just now simply had the wrong person. Is there anything else, President Blackwood? I really need to go change.” Ivy Sherwood was afraid someone else might come, and she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Or rather, she wanted to hurry up and change back to her usual self.

Quentin Blackwood’s eyes narrowed. ’Is she trying to get rid of me?’

”I just helped you, and you’re already casting me aside?”