Chapter 38
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Elise was rather generous, but Jack pursed his lips and was unable to stifle the urge to explain on behalf of Ashlyn. “Ashlyn is not usually like this; she is actually a really nice person. Something must have gotten into her today and caused her to behave this way, or maybe she didn’t manage to control herself and did it in the spur of the moment. Elise, please don’t take it to heart.”
Judging from his words, it was obvious that Jack treated Ashlyn as a close friend and he trusted her very much, even after that sort of an incident had happened.
“Don’t worry. As long as she doesn’t mess with me, I’m not going to provoke her on purpose.” Although Elise had no intention to meddle in someone else’s relationship, this might not be the case for Ashlyn.
Upon hearing that, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Elise.”
“You are welcome.”
“Alright, then. I’m performing in a concert soon, so here are two VIP concert tickets for you as a token of my gratitude.”
Elise rejected his offer this time. “I’ll pass. I have no intention to get involved in your matters, especially after the incident last time. I don’t want to get killed by your fans,
thank you very much. You can save it for someone else who may need it.”
“Alright, then. I’ll treat you to a meal someday.”
Elise found it a good suggestion. “That’s nice, but you better make sure that it’s good, else it won’t count.”
Upon hearing that, Jack agreed readily, “Rest assured; I definitely won’t let you down.” Then, he turned to Alexander and said, “Alex, please join us when the time comes. It has been such a long time since we last had a gathering. I’ll find a day to host a meal and everyone can get together.”
“Hey, how could you do this? You agreed to treat me to a meal, but why are you suddenly organizing a gathering with your brothers?” Feeling upset, Elise glared at Jack angrily, which seemed quite adorable to Alexander. The latter raised his eyebrows and thought to himself, Why do I suddenly find Elise pretty?
“Ha! Don’t be upset. I’ll buy you another meal separately.”
It was only then that Elise was satisfied. “That’s more like it. Don’t forget that you owe me two meals now.”
“Okay, okay. It’s only two meals; I’m sure that I can afford them.” He then turned to Alexander. “Alex, will you come?”
“We’ll see,” Alexander replied. “I’ll come if I’m free.”
“Okay, we’ll leave it at that, then,” Jack murmured.
After the banquet had ended, the guests returned to their respective homes.
Elise returned to her room and locked the door, then sat before the dressing table to remove the ugly makeup from her face, revealing her delicate features. After applying a face mask, just as she was about to go to bed, her phone in her pocket suddenly rang
It was an unknown number. She darted a suspicious glance at it and tapped on the screen to accept the call.
“Hello, Elise, do you remember me?”
Upon hearing the familiar voice, she instantly knew the identity of the caller. “Is that you, Beter?!”
“I recently returned to the country and I kind of missed you, so I called you. How have you been lately? Do you have time to meet up with me?”
Elise then replied, “It’s rather inconvenient for me as I’m currently staying with my relatives in Athesea.”
“You are in Athesea?” His tone revealed that he was surprised and he laughed. “It’s such a coincidence. I’m in Athesea as well. Let’s meet up tomorrow.”
With that, he sent her a location via WhatsApp and when Elise tapped on it, she found that it was actually less than a 30-minute drive away.
“That’s quite near.”
“Yeah. I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow.”
Elise gave it some thought and agreed.
On the following day, which happened to be a weekend, Elise left the house after informing Jonah that she was going out. Instead of getting a driver from the house to chauffeur her to where she was supposed to meet Beter, she took a cab. The moment she arrived, a black Maybach slowed down before her and the next instant, the car window was rolled down, revealing Beter’s face.
“Get in, Elise.”
Elise was quite surprised that he was able to recognize her under the heavy makeup. Without any hesitation, she opened the car door and hopped in, and the car sped off.
Beter drove her to where he stayed. It was an old bungalow with a historical ambience. One had to bear in mind that every old bungalow had its own story, and those who were able to live in old bungalows were either from wealthy or political backgrounds.
“Elise, what have you been doing lately? I heard that you returned to high school and became a high school student again. Isn’t that a waste of your talent?”
“Beter, stop pulling my leg. I have no other choice.” She knew that Beter’s reason for wanting to meet up with her was never to simply catch up and chat. Hence, she asked, “Beter, is there a reason you wanted to see me?”
He chuckled, “You smart*ss! I can never hide anything from you.”
“Beter, we are not strangers, so why are you being so courteous toward me? Just tell me how I can help you.”
Beter admired how straightforward she was and went straight to the point. “Indeed. I wanted to see you because I really need your help with something. I know that I won’t be able to find anyone else who could outshine you when it comes to languages.
Therefore, I need your help to translate a French document into both Chinese and English. I believe you are also aware of the nature of my job-although I seem like an ordinary foreign language teacher on the surface, I’m actually part of the General Administration. Our job is highly confidential, so you have to make sure that the document is treated with the utmost confidence. Your reward will be one million. I’ll transfer the amount directly into your account after the job is done.”
Elise listened to what he had to say and took note of the important points. Basically, she would help him to translate a French document into both Chinese and English, which she would then be rewarded with one million.
Truth be told, the amount was rather tempting.
However, just as what Beter had said, the job definitely wouldn’t be an ordinary, simple translating task. It was a mutual understanding that he requested for her to not only treat the document with confidentiality, but to not mention the content of the document to anyone as well.
“Okay, I agree to the terms. When can I start?”
Surprised by her prompt agreement, he answered, “I’ll give you the physical documents shortly. Is three days sufficient for you?”
Elise hummed in response. “Yeah.”
“Okay, please hold on for a moment.” With that, he rose to his full height and went upstairs, leaving Elise alone in the living room. Just then, the doorbell rang.
As Beter was still upstairs, she went to open the door. However, the moment the door swung open, she was greeted by Jasmine and her parents, who were standing at the door with expensive gifts in their hands.
As soon as she saw Elise, Jasmine, who was initially wearing an expectant look on her face, was stunned before she thought of something and growled, “Elise, why are you here?”
