Oliver Bloom's voice was low and slow, yet firm and powerful, like a series of soft gel beads rolling over the eardrum, with a tangible sense of pressure.
Even the simplest sentence—You got it wrong—made people involuntarily reflect on themselves.
Elise Don slowly released her seatbelt, pursing her red lips.
A string of unfortunate events brought Elise Don continuous annoyance. Getting into a car without checking the license plate—such a basic mistake could happen to her.
The pride within Elise Don's body suddenly, defensively, awakened.
"Sorry."
Elise Don raised her swan-like neck, deliberately avoiding looking into the man's eyes.
That's right, she was the one who got it wrong and apologized, but a great beauty shouldn't be desecrated; she didn't want to show even a hint of timidity.
Elise Don opened the car door, elegantly swept her long hair back, stood up gracefully, and then gracefully stood by the roadside—looking for her rideshare car.
After three acts of elegance, she kept her eyes straight ahead, shoulders back, trying hard not to glance at him.
Finally, across the road, Elise Don spotted the white Passat with the license plate ending in 4562.
She wouldn't get it wrong this time.
Elise Don crossed the asphalt road, heart pounding like a drum, as if fleeing a crime scene, quickly got in the car and left.
Oliver Bloom, delayed by the little mishap for two minutes, continued to park the car, turned off the engine, and removed the keys.
Just as he was about to get out, he noticed a glint under the passenger seat. Oliver squinted.
Under the dim streetlight, it was completely unclear what it was.
Oliver simply reached over the gear lever with his long arm to fish it out.
He actually picked up a mobile phone.
Although this car was borrowed from the team, he'd been driving it for a month. It couldn't have been left by anyone else but her.
The girl who had gotten into the wrong car just now.
In the car's enclosed space, one could still faintly smell the sweet scent she left behind.
By this time, an old friend had already come out from the Lee Family house to greet him.
"Oliver!"
"Hurry up, everyone's waiting for you!"
Chubby urged from the roadside.
Without thinking much, Oliver casually put the phone into the glove compartment and stepped out of the car with his long legs.
Chubby reached out his chubby white arm and patted his old friend's solid shoulder.
"You just missed the annual drama of our young master Lee, a pity!"
Though he said so, having grown up together, everyone understood each other's temperaments. Oliver was never interested in such romantic affairs, so he just smiled faintly.
The two of them walked side by side towards the courtyard, their tall figures drawing attention.
In terms of status, Oliver was enrolled at University A as a sophomore in the sports department. In fact, he was admitted as a high-level athlete and had been training with the National Team since.
So, among the people present, not many knew Oliver.
Oliver greeted those he knew and didn't know with simple acknowledgments, heading towards Leo Lee, who came over carrying two bottles of dark beer in one hand.
By that time, after Elise Don's incident, Leo Lee was already a bit listless.
He was loosely wearing a white robe, handing a beer to Oliver.
Leo Lee: "You hardly stayed when you returned from Barcelona last time, and went off to train again. How long are you planning to stay this time?"
As he had to drive later, Oliver only took a small sip and answered coolly.
"The training camp is in the outskirts of Beijing this time, so I'll probably be at the school all semester."
"That's great." Chubby grinned sneakily, "The three of us can be classmates again. You know, Oliver, in just half a year since you've been gone, you already missed another of our young master Lee's girlfriends."
Chubby added, "Especially since each of young master Lee's girlfriends is worse than the last."
He nudged towards the pool.
"This one's far from the last, you really should have seen last year's lady, she was something else."
Oliver and Leo Lee followed Chubby's gaze towards the pool.
Oliver lowered his gaze, one hand in the pocket of his sweatpants, lazily smiling.
Leo Lee chuckled playfully, saying nothing.
As they talked, there was movement by the pool.
Madeline Hunter emerged like a water ghost, her meticulously lined eyes already smudged into panda eyes by the water. Unsteady on her feet, she walked over to Leo Lee, extending her hand—
Holding a car key.
And it was the one Elise Don had just returned.
Around them, there was a murmur of whispers.
Leo Lee gave a wicked smile, took the car key from Madeline Hunter's hand, and weighed it.
He straightforwardly said, "Whatever I give Elise Don, she deserves it, for bewitching me."
Madeline Hunter's face turned increasingly pale.
Leo Lee: "And you, secretly using my phone to text Elise to return the gift, what are you up to, jealous of her?"
A parabolic arc made a graceful curve, splashing sparks on the water's surface as Leo Lee tossed the car key back into the pool.
For the third time already.
"To get it, you need to earn it. Now go fetch."
Madeline Hunter was about to cry.
"Master Lee..."
Leo Lee: "If I throw it ten times, you fetch it ten times, and then the car is yours."
The rules were simple and clear.
An AMG, worth millions, could be yours after diving ten times—it was quite the bargain.
But Madeline Hunter jumped in, crying.