CHAPTER 134: CHAPTER 134: INDIFFERENT GLANCE, STRANGER LACHLAN WYATT

Upon hearing this, Noelle Rivers suddenly understood that Patrick Pierce wanted to help Iris Crawford stir up Lachlan Wyatt and Vera!

Her eyes darted around, "I... I think I’ll sit this one out? Just the two of you?"

If she went along, wouldn’t it become a threesome? It would be better if Iris Crawford and Patrick Pierce went alone, as that would make Lachlan Wyatt more likely to get angry. After all, a man and a woman shopping alone is more provocative, right~

That speculative little glance from Noelle Rivers made Patrick Pierce understand immediately. He chuckled and gave a thumbs-up, "Noelle, you really get the intricacies of relationships."

Noelle Rivers puffed out her chest, pulling a knowing expression.

She wasn’t as tall as Iris Crawford, nor was she skinny. Instead, she was rounded and well-proportioned, with a bit of flesh around her belly, making her appear extremely bouncy and soft to the touch. As she moved, her chest jiggled, and the sight was dizzying.

Patrick Pierce looked at Noelle Rivers curiously. Honestly, she surprised him. Initially, he thought she was just an edgy online streamer, but when Vera flirted with Lachlan Wyatt, Noelle instinctively saw Lachlan as Iris Crawford’s boyfriend.

She didn’t have a hint of covetousness.

For men like Lachlan Wyatt, high-and-mighty female stars competed for his attention, yet this looked-down-upon softcore streamer remained unbothered. Wasn’t that ironic?

Patrick Pierce said, "If you insist on leaving, I’ll call an assistant—"

He suddenly remembered he had quit the industry; there was no assistant anymore.

"I have an assistant."

Iris Crawford pointed at Steven Rhodes, who had been silent the whole time, "Let Steven take you, Noelle."

Steven Rhodes was always quiet, a bit stunned by the big scene. Following Iris Crawford felt like turning the world upside down; it left him... a bit petrified.

Touching his chest to regain his composure, Steven nodded at Noelle Rivers, "Hi, I’m Steven, Iris Crawford’s personal... assistant."

"Personal assistant?"

Noelle Rivers’ eyes lit up instantly, "What a handsome guy!"

Steven couldn’t handle Noelle Rivers’ scrutinizing gaze; he immediately stood up, "I... I’ll take you then, Iris, you..."

"I’ll go shopping with Patrick, be back soon," Iris Crawford waved her hand, "Be good, prepare some food at home and wait for me."

Steven’s face turned beet red; it felt like he was playing the role of a little housewife!

Watching Steven lead Noelle Rivers out the door, Patrick Pierce and Iris Crawford also stepped out. Iris instinctively got into the driver’s seat—her car had been driven away by Steven, so she took Patrick Pierce’s car instead, announcing, "The chauffeur for the Best Actor is online!"

"Best Actor, my foot."

Patrick Pierce laughed, buckling his seatbelt, "Not a Best Actor anymore."

As she drove, Iris Crawford asked, "Aren’t you worried about your fans at all?"

Patrick Pierce donned his sunglasses and smirked, "They have their own lives; I’m not worried at all."

"What if there are still people waiting for your return?"

"Pointless."

Patrick Pierce laughed with a bit of wild abandon, "Retreating halfway makes people remember you forever."

The eyes behind the sunglasses squinted slightly.

Was it really retreating halfway?

Was it not that he wanted to give everything up long ago?

This fans’ admiration was like a double-edged sword, and now they had mutually let go; everyone was free.

"You’re terrible!" Iris Crawford assessed Patrick Pierce, "You quit the scene without a word, didn’t even give anyone time to react."

"Fate is always like this, never giving people time to react."

Patrick Pierce seized Iris Crawford’s phone again, just like last time, and with the same gesture, posted the picture of them in the car on Iris Crawford’s Weibo.

Before long, it was causing a sensation again.

Patrick Pierce, you may be out of the entertainment industry, but you still have dominion over it.

And this time, the man in the photo didn’t have to speak of "ants" in a sullen tone anymore.

His lips relaxed, leaning lazily in the passenger seat, as if finally having let go of everything, with nothing to his name, yet retrieving it all anew.

The only constant was the woman in the picture with him. Her profile was as cold and resolute as in the previous shot.

******

"Here it is." Patrick Pierce glanced at the navigation, "Vera mentioned the brand before; it’s this one."

Iris Crawford parked in an underground lot of a luxury shopping mall, muttering as she got out, "Is the brand’s clothing expensive? I haven’t heard of it."

"... You and Lachlan Wyatt are so alike."

Patrick Pierce adjusted his sunglasses, "What Vera wears isn’t cheap, but for you guys, buying a gown is like a drop in the bucket."

"I work hard for my money, okay! Labor is the most glorious!" Iris Crawford pinched Patrick Pierce’s arm, "You promised to treat me, I want the most expensive thing in the window!"

Patrick Pierce winced, gritting his teeth, "You’re damn cheeky..."

So, twenty minutes later, both groups were in front of the store display, with staff too intimidated to approach.

The reason is, five minutes ago, William Thorne and Lachlan Wyatt came over with Vera to buy a dress. Vera started acting like a princess, wanting to try on every new style. She went back and forth to the fitting room countless times without deciding which one to buy. This time, when she came out, she got it into her head to want the most expensive one in the display window!

Fortunately, Lachlan Wyatt wasn’t someone who cared about money, but what he cared about was the wasted time, eager for Vera to hurry up and make a choice. So he nodded and told the attendant to take the most expensive one out of the window.

This action made the attendant think Lachlan Wyatt was endlessly doting on Vera, and she said enviously, "Your boyfriend is really nice, willing to get anything for you. Try it on, in case it fits?"

Vera deliberately didn’t correct her, putting on a shy look, "Oh, no... Young Master Wyatt, it’s okay if I buy the expensive one, right?" She even glanced carefully at Lachlan Wyatt.

Lachlan Wyatt was too lazy to speak, sitting on the side playing with his phone.

No sooner had she finished speaking than a cool voice came from the door, "Can you get me that one from the window? I have my eye on it."

This was bad; Lachlan Wyatt looked up and met Iris Crawford’s defiant gaze. The woman had a powerful aura; as soon as she walked in she pointed to that dress, quite unlike Vera’s gentle demeanor, but more like the wealth of a "Queen" who could buy the whole store if she wanted.

The attendant was stunned and after a moment said, "Well, this dress was just mentioned to be tried on by this lady here..."

"I want to buy it, she wants to try it on." Iris Crawford smiled perfectly, polite yet with a hint of pressure, "You should know who’s of more importance."

The attendant immediately adapted, quickly soothing Iris Crawford, saying, "Customer, please wait a moment, we’ll communicate with that lady over there..."

Who knew that as soon as Vera heard Iris Crawford’s voice, she got excited too, "Iris Crawford, what do you mean! Are you trying to provoke me!"

Recalling when Vera had said on set that Patrick Pierce had no brains, Iris Crawford also wanted to settle the score for him.

"Yes." Iris Crawford smiled, baring her white teeth, "You figured it out!"

Why did that voice still carry a touch of playfulness?

Lachlan Wyatt laughed outright, this woman still hadn’t lost her knack for infuriating people.

William Thorne sat next to Lachlan Wyatt, nudging him with his shoulder, "Hey, how did Patrick Pierce end up bringing your wife to the mall?"

"Why do you keep bringing up the one thing I don’t want to talk about!" Lachlan Wyatt glared fiercely at William Thorne, "I’d like to know that too!"

"I get it, Mr. Pierce retired from the circle and wants to latch onto a rich woman." William Thorne knew Patrick Pierce’s character, and said this just to provoke Lachlan Wyatt, sure enough, and this statement changed Lachlan Wyatt’s expression instantly.

Trying to stifle a laugh, William Thorne nearly injured himself with the effort, still adding fuel to the fire, "Looking at it this way, Iris Crawford is indeed the best fit—young, beautiful, rich... Look, from the incident with Jordan Jacobs, you might even see she’s a romantic!"

"She’s not a romantic, she’s a fool!"

Lachlan Wyatt practically ground out the words between his teeth, then looked past the others directly at Iris Crawford, "Why are you here?"

"Shopping with Patrick Pierce." Behind Iris Crawford stood the recently retired superstar, even with sunglasses on, just his remaining features showed he was a world-class handsome guy. But no matter how impressive, a world-class handsome guy behind her was just a backdrop for the Queen.

She curled her lips and said, "I realized I hadn’t added anything new to my wardrobe in a long time. Do I need to report it to you when I buy a dress?"

Lachlan Wyatt looked over at Patrick Pierce, the latter raised an eyebrow, chin gesturing to Lachlan Wyatt, "Oh, what a coincidence."

Vera, upon seeing Iris Crawford, immediately started the rivalry mode, "Iris Crawford, you’re doing this on purpose! You just don’t want me to have a good time, I spotted this dress first!"

"Love doesn’t respect the order of things, what makes you think buying a dress should?"

Iris Crawford leaned in and looked Vera up and down, then glanced at the pile of clothes she had discarded. Thinking Lachlan Wyatt had quite the patience to endure Vera’s antics.

Sensing the mockery emanating from Iris Crawford, Lachlan Wyatt pinched his brow, "If you’re going to buy it, hurry up, either of you."

He just wanted to finish the purchase and leave quickly, but now it seemed like he was standing on the opposite side of Iris Crawford.

Iris Crawford laughed merrily, "Not really, if you were to ask me for it, I couldn’t do anything~"

Her bewitching gaze swept over Lachlan Wyatt, as if setting him ablaze!

Meanwhile, Vera sensed things weren’t going her way and immediately came out to assert her presence, "Iris Crawford, what kind of tone is that! What do you think your relationship is with our Young Master Wyatt? He came here with me today, it’s bad enough you’re stealing my spokesperson, now you want to steal my clothes too! You’re so cheap! From Young Master Wyatt to Patrick Pierce, are you planning to seduce every man in the world!"

It was unclear what part of this statement hit Lachlan Wyatt’s nerve, the man stood up expressionless, suddenly taking out his card, "Get me that dress."

The attendant couldn’t guess what he was going to do, but the man’s imposing presence suggested an extraordinary background... she wouldn’t dare ask more questions. Immediately, she retrieved the dress, and Lachlan Wyatt swiftly paid for it, not even letting them wrap it, then carried the dress to stand between Iris Crawford and Vera.

With a laugh, Lachlan Wyatt said, "You both want it?"

Right in front of them, Lachlan Wyatt tore open the dress; the hand-stitched garment ripped with a swift motion, the fabric fragments scattered on the ground, shocking everyone!

"Alright, now there’s no dress anymore."

Lachlan Wyatt spread his hands, as if finally avenged, "Quiet now?"

Iris Crawford might have anticipated Lachlan Wyatt’s nature but didn’t expect him to solve problems so directly; if both want it, he would give it to neither.

Simply destroy it, avoiding any further entanglement.

Vera was also startled, followed by staring at the shredded fabric on the floor, tears immediately welling up, "Iris Crawford! It’s all because you wanted to fight with me! I won’t let this go!"

Lachlan Wyatt, irritated by Vera’s crying, already restless, now even more infuriated and entangled.

He called Leo Langdon to arrange Vera’s side, then impatiently headed out.

Iris Crawford saw his anger and wanted to say there was no need to get so worked up, but as she was about to call out, the man walked straight up, bumping her hard on the shoulder!

The force wasn’t minor, pushing Iris Crawford back a few steps.

William Thorne was dumbfounded, walking behind to help steady Iris Crawford.

The woman widened her eyes in disbelief, regaining her senses and said incredulously, "Lachlan?"

Lachlan Wyatt turned back coldly, that gaze looking at Iris Crawford as if she were a stranger.