Chapter 54: The Duel in the Parking Lot
Chapter 54: The Duel in the Parking Lot
Raylan's eyes flashed in understanding the next moment, correctly guessing the cause of Vivian's
tears. "Is Celine up there?"
Vivian trembled again as soon as she heard Celine's name.
That was all the answer that Raylan needed. She didn't even need to tell him verbally.
He sighed softly as he stuck his hands in his pockets, still looking a picture of elegance. "Get in the car.
I'll take you home first."
Vivian was stunned. "No, no, I can go back by myself," she said in a hoarse voice.
Since Raylan had deliberately driven here, it was very likely that he had come to see Chow for matters.
Vivian had been living a vagrant life since she was a child. She had already developed a habit of not
causing trouble for other people.
Nonetheless, it was obvious that Raylan didn't think of her as trouble.
He hesitated for a moment before a comforting smile appeared on his lips. "If you don't want to go back
home, how about I bring you out for a spin?"
Vivian dried the tears on her face with the tissue he'd given her earlier.
Though she hadn't been able to stop her tears just now, as soon as she was aware of another person
next to her, her tears finally stopped flowing.
It was just that her moist eyes were still a little red and swollen, making her look rather pitiful.
She widened her eyes at Raylan when he made the suggestion. "It's fine, Brother Raylan, you don't
have to bring me anywhere," she reiterated. "I can take care of myself."
It seemed as if she'd already recovered, but her strong will and determination still made people feel
sorry for her.
...
Even Raylan, a man who was used to pretending, couldn't help feeling strange as he looked at the girl.
This wasn't the first time he'd felt like this.
Raylan had felt this dull ache in his heart a few times already, and each time, Vivian had been by his
side.
...
Raylan furrowed his brows again and suppressed the weird feeling in his heart. When he looked at her
again, there was a small smile on his lips. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I want to
accompany you."
He glanced behind him as he twirled his car keys with his fingers. "Why don't you be my companion for
tonight? I've got a banquet later on that I need to attend. Think of it as doing me a little favour. It might
also help you get your mind off things."
"Your companion?" Vivian widened her eyes in surprise and shook her head hurriedly. "No, I-I've not
attended any events like this before. Also..."
Also, Chow had lost his temper at her the last time they'd brought up this matter.
She must be so pathetic to even be thinking about Chow right now.
Vivian stopped midway through her sentence and hung her head in shame.
"Also?" Raylan's lips pulled upwards into a smile. "Are you worried that Chow will disagree?"
Vivian pursed her lower lip and denied it. "No, it's my problem. I don't think these kinds of events are for
me."
Trying to get her to lower her guard, Raylan leaned on the pillar next to him and chuckled softly.
"No one is born thinking all events are for them," he said. "You just need to get used to the events. Or,
rather, you need to give yourself more time to get used to them, the earlier the better."
Vivian looked at Raylan with a calmness and understanding beyond her age. "No, I don't think I need to
start getting used to those events at all."
Only people like Chow and Raylan really belonged with those champagne-filled events, parties, and
banquets.
She didn't belong, and she never thought that she needed to.
One day, she was going to leave all of this behind anyway.
Raylan stopped smiling and looked at her disappointed expression. His fingers curled into a fist.
From what he knew, a girl Vivian's age should be blossoming happily like a flower.
She should be dressing up in fancy clothes, going shopping, or happily talking about boys and her
crushes with her friends.
Even if she cried, it would be because she was throwing a tantrum because she couldn't get what she
wanted.
He didn't even have to look too far — the girls in the Gordon family all behaved like this.
However, this girl in front of him wasn't like anyone else he knew. He was constantly learning new
things from her.
Interestingly, he didn't feel himself losing patience with her.
"Alright then, you don't have to get used to these events if you don't want to, but I really do need that
favour. My original companion bailed on me and left for Australia just this morning for work. That was
the reason why I came looking for Chow anyway."
Ding!
Before Vivian could answer, the lift behind them gradually opened its doors with a soft chime.
That was the only lift that went up straight to the topmost level.
Vivian didn't even need to guess who was in the lift. There could only be one person.
She quickly wiped away her tears frantically. She didn't want to get caught like this!
Raylan straightened up and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder before hiding her behind him.
Just then, his eyes met with Chow's furious ones.
"What a coincidence. I was just about to go up and look for you," Raylan said, his lips curling up in a
smirk.
Chow didn't even bother being courteous with him. He immediately shrugged Celine's vice grip off from
his arm and stormed over angrily to Raylan.
Then, he grabbed Vivian's wrist and pulled her harshly into his arms.
Vivian heard a deafening roar right next to her ears. "Vivian!"
She had kept her head down low, not wanting to show Chow her swollen eyes.
After hearing him scream her name, she shuddered deeply in fright, but still dared not look up at him.
Raylan looked at Vivian's pitiful little figure that was heavily pressed into Chow's embrace. He frowned
slightly. "Why are you so worked up? I just met Vivian here coincidentally."
"Coincidentally? What a coincidence!" Chow responded with a cold laugh. The veins on his hand
grabbing onto Vivian's shoulder looked ready to pop out any second.
"Did you really think that it was just a coincidence? Don't you know that she's just trying to seduce you?
Raylan Gordon, surely you aren't as stupid as I think that you can't even see through her dirty little
tricks?"
His words stabbed into Vivian's heart like icicles.
Even the smile on Raylan's face was starting to harden.
"Chow, what are you talking about? You're hurting her," Celine said, hurrying up to Chow. She didn't
want to be left out of the conversation.
Miraculously, her interruption managed to create a little breathing space in the tense atmosphere.
Raylan glanced at her indifferently before asking Chow again with a faint smile on his face. "Do you
really think of her this way?"
Chow looked at him with a dark expression and said nothing.
Even if he hadn't said a word, his imposing manner was becoming so overbearing that nobody else
wanted to be in the same space with him any longer.
"It seems like you aren't very fond of her, but I'm thinking otherwise. I think she's a good girl," Raylan
said.
Only Raylan would dare to continue provoking Chow like this, only because he knew that he was best
friends with Chow. "I came over to tell you that the model your assistant found me had to fly to Australia
for work today. I think I'm just going to ask Vivian to be my companion tonight. I thought you'd refuse,
but since you don't seem very fond of her, there shouldn't be a reason for you to say no, right?"
What Raylan just said made total sense.
Nonetheless, Chow immediately rejected his suggestion.
"Hell no!"
With just two simple words, Chow had already told them what his final answer was going to be.
However, the smile on Raylan's face only seemed to widen even more.
He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Chow with a hint of ridicule. "Hell no? Why are you so reluctant
to let her go?"
Raylan challenged Chow's gaze. One had his eyes filled with curiosity, the other filled with anger.
Raylan didn't back down from Chow's angry stare, instead, he welcomed it.
"Raylan, what are you saying? Why would Chow be reluctant?" Celine asked with a forced smile. She
walked up to them and grabbed hold of Vivian's wrist.
"It's just a banquet. She can accompany me while we're both there. It gets boring quickly, so why don't NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
you let her come along?"
If it was in the past, Celine would not have dared to speak up when Chow was in a temper like this.
However, since she had just reminded Chow of her 'scar' earlier, she naturally became a lot bolder.
As soon as he heard her speak, Chow glared angrily at Celine with daggers shooting out of his eyes.
Celine exhaled quietly and instinctively took a few steps back.
By then, Chow had already grabbed Vivian and was walking her firmly to his car.
When Celine saw what he was doing, the expression on her face started to harden.
She took a step forward and bent over, cradling her stomach in her arms. "C-Chow," she said weakly,
"Weren't you going to send me back?"
Chow stopped in his tracks at once.
Celine stared longingly at Chow as if trying to remind him that she should be the one by his side
instead of Vivian.
Raylan saw everything happening with his own eyes. Of course, he had also seen how Celine had felt
'unwell' all of a sudden.
There was a hint of mockery on his lips as he raised his voice at Chow. "Chow, I think you got the
wrong person. Shouldn't you be holding Celine now instead?"
Hearing his words, Vivian stiffened and trembled in Chow's arm. She stopped walking and it felt as if
her feet had been nailed to the ground.
"Brother Chow..." Her voice sounded like a lost person who had been wandering in the desert for a few
days. She sounded very hoarse and pitiful. "Sister Celine doesn't seem very well. You'd better
accompany her. I can go back by myself."
It was clear that Vivian had already made up her mind about tonight's decision to go out.
In the end, she didn't want to step into a world that did not belong to her.
Still, Raylan refused to give up.