Deanna pulled her hand back forcefully and left a remark before stepping into the elevator without looking back.
"Mr. Mercer, you shouldn't always assume things. We're both single. Whatever I do is none of your business."
Lance watched Deanna disappear, his face dark and his mood even worse.
In truth, Deanna wasn't feeling any better.
Logically, after she and Lance had cleared the air, she could take him as a nodding acquaintance instead of being hostile to him, but she couldn't control her temper at the thought of being tricked by him.
Just as Deanna was lost in thought, she felt someone touch her.
She snapped back to reality and saw that Landon had arrived at some point.
"What are you thinking about? I've called you several times, but you didn't respond."
Landon looked at her in confusion.
Deanna shook her head slightly and said absentmindedly, "Nothing, let's go."
She then got into the car first.
Seeing this, Landon shrugged and got into the driver's seat.
Soon, the black car slowly disappeared from Lance's view.
The two little ones noticed his gloomy expression and encouraged him, "Uncle, why don't you go after Mommy?"
Hearing this, Lance looked down at the concerned little ones beside him and couldn't help but smile.
"No need. Let's go inside. I'll help you with your homework."
He ruffled their hair and walked into the house first.
Before knowing Landon and Deanna's relationship, he might have been worried, but now he was completely at ease.
Because neither Landon nor Deanna had any romantic interest in each other.
Moreover, Deanna didn't want to see him now. Tolerating his daily visits to see the kids was already her biggest concession. If he pushed his luck any further, he might really anger her.
Later that evening, Landon took Deanna to a business hotel.
By then, many people had already arrived at the banquet hall, dressed in fine clothes and mingling with drinks.
Of course, many noticed the strikingly handsome Landon and the beautiful Deanna.
Especially Deanna's moon-white cheongsam dress, intricately embroidered with gold and silver threads. The form-fitting design perfectly showcased her graceful figure, exuding both charm and elegance with every move.
Many of the ladies felt a twinge of jealousy.
The men were impressed and came over to greet Landon with smiles.
Deanna wasn't familiar with these people, so she just nodded politely and stood quietly by the side, watching them chat.
However, she still felt out of place in such an environment. She leaned closer to Landon and whispered, "I'm going to check out that area."
She pointed to a nearby lounge area.
Landon nodded slightly. "Go ahead. I'll come find you later."
Deanna nodded and walked away.
Passing by the refreshment area, she picked up some snacks and drinks before heading to the lounge.
Seated comfortably, she enjoyed her snacks while scrolling through her phone, feeling quite relaxed.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly noticed the light above her dimming as someone approached.
Instinctively, she looked up and saw a man in a silver-gray suit standing there.
The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Though not as stunningly perfect as Lance, he was still quite handsome.
In fact, Deanna found him oddly familiar.
Before she could ask, the man greeted her first.
"Deanna, long time no see."
He said this as he casually sat on the sofa opposite her.
Deanna was momentarily stunned and looked at him in confusion. "Who are you?"
The man seemed taken aback that Deanna didn't recognize him. He then smiled wryly and said, "Deanna, you're as blunt as ever. I've been abroad all these years and often thought about you."
Hearing this, Deanna finally remembered who he was.
"You're Kade Burton!"
"Finally remembered me."
Kade Burton smiled at her.
Deanna was surprised. "When did you come back?"
"I've been back for a while. I wanted to catch up with you and our old classmates but found out your old contact info was no longer in use. Luckily, we ran into each other today. It's fate."
Kade said this as he took out his phone and handed it to her with a playful smile. "Mind giving me your contact info?"
"Of course not." Deanna didn't refuse and entered her number into his phone.
Back in the day, she and Kade worked together in the student council and got along well. Kade had helped her a lot. But then Kade went abroad, and she went through some things, so they lost touch.
Now that they had reconnected, she was genuinely happy.
"Here you go."
Deanna handed the phone back and asked proactively, "Kade, what are you doing now?"
"Me? I came back to start a small company," Kade replied as he put away his phone.