CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 73: AWKWARDNESS ON HORSEBACK 2

This year, it’s quite a unique idea.

Jonah Xavier, she remembers him as a pretty shy and gentle boy. Apart from playing basketball, she mostly saw him carrying his textbooks around campus.

I heard that he was accepted into a top prestigious university in the country, and he barely showed up for class reunions in these years. Suddenly he came, and in such a high profile this year...

It’s indeed quite unexpected.

Before long, quite a few classmates appeared in the chat group. It’s not just the girls; even the boys started discussing.

Jonah Xavier hasn’t shown up in years. Did he get rich or something?

Exactly! I never heard that he was wealthy!

Is Jonah Xavier the good-looking and gentle boy?

Yes, and he’s particularly good at basketball!

Wow! I definitely want to go!

The single young women are actively attending! Maybe our classmate Jonah is hosting this reunion to find his first love.

Seeing everyone discussing enthusiastically, Laura’s mood lifted significantly. Indeed, old classmates have a magical presence; they can effortlessly stir up your beautiful past memories.

She noticed that Nina wasn’t speaking in the group, guessing she must be busy at this moment.

Jean Schultz, the class monitor, was currently counting the number of people attending the reunion, so Laura signed up herself and Nina. Anyway, there’s nothing to do on Friday night; it’s good to see old classmates!

Nighttime.

Nina Pierce had just arrived at her friend’s home when she heard about the event from her friend’s mouth. Thinking for a long time, she could not recall who Jonah Xavier was, so she said, "Counting the outstanding boys in our class, Jonah Xavier definitely wasn’t one of them! Although he loved playing basketball, the one in our class who was dubbed ’Rukawa Kaede’ was Lucas Duvall."

Laura nodded while tidying up the floor, "That’s precisely because of such a strong contrast that everyone looks forward to this reunion! Many female classmates have started searching for Jonah Xavier online, and I glanced at his recent photos. The youthful naivety of high school is gone, leaving behind a gentle and elegant feel."

Nina paused thoughtfully, suddenly seemed to remember something, and shouted, "Hey, Laura, do you remember that one time in the second semester of our first year when we passed by the basketball court, and you were hit on the head by a tall and slender boy? We didn’t take it seriously, but that boy came over to apologize?"

Laura was stunned for a couple of seconds; that was so long ago, the second semester of the first year, nine years have passed.

"I think that did happen."

"That boy was Jonah Xavier!"

"Oh... was it him? I can’t remember clearly anymore."

Laura’s thoughts were muddled; passing by the basketball court every day, there were always girls getting hit by basketballs; it wasn’t intentional, so she never took it to heart.

Regarding Jonah Xavier, she didn’t have much impression...

Through the three years of high school, all she knew was she had to study hard, get into a good university, and then find a good job to support herself, so she wouldn’t have to deal with her family’s attitude anymore...

That period was the hardest time in the Turner Family for her. Almost every night, she’d go back and do chores, and every time she received her living allowance, her stepmother would nag her...

Thinking back, it was unbearable...

But Nina was very excited, "No matter what, we have some connection with Jonah Xavier! Won’t we have topics to talk about when chatting the night after tomorrow?"

Laura hurriedly waved her hand, "This is old news from eight hundred years ago, why bring it up? The night after tomorrow is just to see old classmates and have a free dinner, then come back."

Nina poked her friend’s forehead with her finger, "Come on, Laura, you have such little ambition!"

Paused for a moment, scratched her head saying, "Why does the name Jonah Xavier sound familiar?"

Laura gave her a look, "Obviously! Although he hasn’t shown up for a few years, he is still our classmate from three years of high school, of course, it sounds familiar."

Nina shook her head, "No, I mean, where have I heard it from..."

She was still pondering, but Laura had already taken out snacks and beer she bought after work from her shopping bag.

Seeing this, Nina knew her friend had something to say, "What’s the big event that happened?"

Laura opened the can, "I decided to find a boyfriend!"

Nina nearly spat out the beer she had just gulped, hurriedly wiping with paper towels, while Laura, sitting across her and hit by some of it, glared at her, "Is there a need to be so excited?"

Nina swallowed hard, "Of course, I’m excited! How long have you and that... jerk been broken up? And aren’t you and... The Demon King?"

She also imitated Laura’s nickname.

Mentioning The Demon King brought a belly of anger to Laura, "Exactly because I don’t want any involvement with The Demon King that I want to quickly find a boyfriend. Nina, if you have any suitable candidates around, please keep an eye out for me. I’m determined to get out of being single this time."

Paused for a moment, "Moreover, I want to find someone reliable to marry."

Nina took a sip of beer, "Finding a reliable man sounds easy, but looking for one is too hard; don’t know where all the reliable men have gone in this world."

Laura agreed with her friend’s words, sitting cross-legged on the floor, propping her chin with one hand, "I really can’t stand The Demon King kissing me all the time. I hate being preyed on by that kind of man!"

Nina widened her eyes exaggeratedly, "Really! You two have reached that point? Won’t you two have already..."

Laura Quincy gave a little flick on the forehead, "Geez, keep your thoughts pure! Do I look like that kind of woman? He kissed me because I couldn’t get away. As for anything further, I definitely won’t agree to it."

Nina Pierce smirked, "But if he really decided to force you, are you sure you could get away?"

This question stumped Laura. If that ever happened, could she really resist?

Laura took another sip of her drink, "Let’s not dwell on this annoying question. Remember to find me a boyfriend."

Nina made an "OK" gesture.

Soon enough, it was Friday.

Laura felt the full enthusiasm in the high school chat group over the past two days, with both guys and girls discussing Jonah Xavier, but he only showed up once and said just one thing: hoping everyone could come on Friday night.

After that, he disappeared without a trace.

Many female classmates eagerly clicked on his profile to re-add him, trying to check his photo albums for recent pictures, but unfortunately, there was nothing in his space, leaving many girls disappointed.

In the afternoon, bored, Laura also clicked on his profile. It was just a common, generic avatar, with almost nothing in the profile description, providing no useful information.

She pouted. If it weren’t for a classmate who knew him well sharing his photos, his mystery would be even greater...

Crystal Langley quietly appeared from behind, "Shall we go singing tonight?"

Laura shook her head apologetically, "Tonight is a high school reunion, it’s been planned for a while."

Crystal feigned surprise, "Huh? Who even goes to reunions anymore! Even the guys who looked decent back in high school have turned ugly now, so there’s nothing to look at!"

Laura’s head was full of black lines, Crystal was treating the reunion like an indirect matchmaking event.

"It’s just to catch up with old classmates."

"Oh... I forgot, you have a boyfriend."

Laura smiled but didn’t say anything more. She didn’t want to announce her breakup far and wide, and besides, having a boyfriend would save her from a lot of gossip.

She didn’t want to cause trouble for herself.

Before getting off work, Laura suddenly received a call on Lemon’s landline, saying that Young Master Thorne wanted her to go to the fifty-ninth floor, and hung up before Laura could ask what it was about.

Laura: "..."

When she got into the elevator, she clearly heard Quinn Chase’s voice, "Do you think Young Master Thorne has a thing for her? Why does he keep looking for her recently?"

Violet Whitman replied, "Wasn’t it just twice?"

Then whatever Quinn said next, Laura didn’t hear because the elevator was already ascending.

She silently held her forehead, feeling somewhat helpless.

As soon as she exited the elevator, Lemon hurriedly led her towards the meeting room, but at the corner, she ran into someone she didn’t want to see—Jasper Hawthorne.

Jasper was quite surprised to see her on the fifty-ninth floor, staring straight at her.

Lemon, unaware of their history, simply introduced politely, "Quincy, this is the company’s new External Affairs Manager, Manager Hawthorne."

Laura forced herself to say, "Manager Hawthorne."

Jasper looked at her, "Lemon, I have something to say to Laura, could you step aside for a moment?"

Lemon looked at him with some surprise, internally puzzled: does Laura actually know even the eldest Hawthorne?

Though surprised, she said, "Manager Hawthorne, I’m just following Young Master Thorne’s orders, so please don’t make it difficult for me. The office is waiting for Quincy right now!"

As Asher Thorne’s personal secretary, on this fifty-ninth floor, she usually only followed the orders of Young Master Thorne and the CEO, and she handled others as per the situation.

Jasper was a bit displeased, but he couldn’t afford to offend Asher Thorne, and since Quincy wasn’t called by his uncle, he felt a bit relieved...

"Since the meeting room is in a hurry, you all go ahead!"

"Thank you, Manager Hawthorne."

Lemon breathed a sigh of relief, fearing she’d encounter someone who didn’t mind stirring up trouble.

Laura also sighed with relief. She didn’t want to be alone with Jasper; there was nothing left to talk about between them.

She had known a couple of days ago that he joined the company and was aware that they would bump into each other one day, but still felt somewhat unprepared...

Thinking about running into the Demon King and a douchebag often in the company, she felt a headache approaching.

Upon reaching the meeting room, Laura realized she’d been pulled in to act as a temporary translator. She felt a bit helpless. With so many translators in the third team, why did Young Master Thorne specifically call her over?

After spending a few minutes in the meeting room, Laura sensed an unusually serious atmosphere. Everyone was intensely focused, which forced her to be on high alert, worried about misinterpreting a single word...

Unintentionally, she glanced at Jason Hawthorne sitting in the central seat. It’s often said that men are most charming when they’re working intently...