"Don't hit Lana!"
Not long after they left, Emily Zhang—who had been calm until now—suddenly looked out the window in shock.
"Brother!" she cried.
Emily suddenly grabbed Ava Moore's hand tightly.
"Please—go stop him!"
Ava followed Emily's gaze and froze.
Outside the ward, Alex Zhang was violently attacking Ethan Sterling.
But Ethan didn't fight back at all.
"Didn't I tell you not to appear in front of me?" Alex shouted, throwing another punch."I said I'd hit you every time I see you!"
"This time, you walked right into it!" he continued angrily."Every time you show up, nothing good happens to the Zhang family. Tell me—how did we ever offend you?!"
Ethan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He said nothing.
And still didn't fight back.
"Stop it!" Ava shouted.
Alex ignored her.
"Ethan Sterling, do you think you're some kind of martyr?" Alex sneered.
Another punch was about to land.
Ethan still didn't move.
Ava didn't think anymore.
She rushed straight between them.
"Stop hitting him!"
"Are you crazy?!" Ethan yelled.
Ava squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, she was already pulled into Ethan's arms.
One of his arms held her tightly.
The other blocked Alex's fist mid-air.
Alex froze.
His heart nearly stopped.
If Ethan hadn't blocked that punch, it would have hit her.
Damn it.
From the first time he met her until now, she had always been like this—too reckless.
Didn't she know Alex was furious right now?
And that it was serious?
"I'm sorry…" Ava said softly, lowering her head."I just wanted you to stop fighting."
They wouldn't listen to her.
She really couldn't think of another way.
"Ava Moore," Ethan said coldly,"Are you my assistant—or are you here to cause trouble?"
Ava's head dropped even lower.
She looked wronged.
Ethan noticed it.
His tone softened despite himself, filled with frustration and helplessness.
"Don't do this again."
Don't do this next time.
It was the second time he said that today.
And she didn't want to either.
At this point, Ava seriously suspected she had terrible luck today.
"Mason Fang will handle Lana West's situation," Ethan continued."I owe you. But you shouldn't drag the people around me into this."
"Oh?" Alex leaned against the wall, staring blankly down the corridor."So you know you owe me."
"The debt between us," he said quietly,"will never be cleared."
With that, Alex turned and walked back into the ward.
Ava didn't understand what he meant.
If Ethan let Alex hit him because he owed him something…
Then what exactly did he owe him?
She knew it wasn't her place to ask.
"President," she said carefully, looking at him."Your injury…"
"Back to the venue," Ethan said.
This time, Lana West behaved herself.
She completed the promotional shoot without causing any trouble.
In truth, her temperament was excellent—if only she weren't so sharp and mean.
Ava remembered something her mother used to say:
It's okay to have a temper, but you must know how to control it.Know when to be stubborn, and when to endure.Learning to read people's expressions is also a kind of wisdom.
Lisa Chen took the documents and discussed details with the staff nearby.
When she walked over to Ava, she handed the folder to someone else and said, "Let's go."
Then she turned back to Ava.
"Where's Mr. Sterling?"
"He's in a short meeting in the conference room," Ava replied."He should be out soon."
She glanced toward the room, then added,
"Oh—Lisa, this is the file Mr. Sterling asked me to give you."