Chapter 284 Just Can't Be Ruthless to Her
"Really?" Even though Olivia said that, Daniel still felt somewhat doubtful.
He didn't know if his worries made sense.
But that Andrew was someone he himself admitted was a formidable rival.
Andrew treated Olivia very differently.
And Daniel could also sense that Olivia's feelings for that person went beyond ordinary friendship.
She was such an outstanding person. Her excellence had once been overshadowed by marriage, but now her dazzling brilliance was showing through, and anyone would be attracted to her radiance.
Hearing his words, Olivia felt something was off.
She looked at Daniel and asked, "Don't you support me?"
Before Daniel could answer, Olivia said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I know I'm not a very qualified business partner.
But this opportunity to join the research institute is really rare, and the spots are limited.
If I want to advance my abilities further, it's best not to miss this chance!"
Her gaze was serious, filled with pursuit and dedication to her career, without any other motives mixed in.
After Daniel met her eyes, his heart stirred at her earnestness.
Of course he knew the opportunity was rare.
But Olivia was really going to Harmony City.
He was in Emerald City and couldn't easily go there.
Once she got there, the distance between them would be vast.
Would there still be any possibility between them then?
At this moment, Daniel felt an impulse surge within him.
He wanted to tell Olivia all the feelings he'd been suppressing for so long.
But just as the words were about to come out, he held back.
He couldn't.
Now wasn't the right time.
If he said it now, he might scare her, and Olivia would definitely run away even faster.
And it might create a rift between them.
It wasn't time yet...
Daniel comforted himself with these thoughts.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, "If this is your pursuit, I naturally support you.
Don't worry about the company, I'll take care of it. As for the research lab, I don't have that ability, so I'll need you to occasionally keep an eye on it.
However, if you're worried, you could also consider opening a new research lab in Harmony City. It can be smaller in scale, convenient for you to handle urgent matters.
The staff in Emerald City that you've been working well with can be transferred there."
Olivia hadn't expected that Daniel would not only support her but also proactively suggest this.
Her expression immediately brightened with joy, "If we could do that, it would be perfect!"
Daniel watched her face beaming with happiness, while the bitterness and helplessness in his heart were known only to him.
After all these years, he still seemed unable to handle her—he just couldn't bring himself to be harsh with her.
Daniel suppressed all his feelings and acted as if nothing was wrong.
After settling this matter, the two ate while discussing the details of what would happen after Olivia left.
Finally, Daniel asked her again, "Have you decided on the date to leave for Harmony City?"
"Yes, if it's slow, about two months. If it's fast, I'll leave in a month." Olivia didn't hide anything.
After hearing this, Daniel had a sense of the timeline. "Then starting tomorrow, I'll have Eric recruit people to help set up the research lab in Harmony City."
Even Olivia was a bit surprised by his decisive style.
However, getting Daniel on board undoubtedly made things much easier for Olivia.
She focused on handing over her work and made full preparations for going to Harmony City.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed.
Olivia had handled most of the matters at hand.
By the end of the month, she started packing.
With this work change and her move to Harmony City, she definitely wouldn't be able to travel back and forth between Harmony City and Emerald City, so taking Bianca with her was inevitable.
This way, she could also take good care of Bianca.
Of course, there was also Bianca's pet Lightning.
For them to go together, they needed someone to help look after things, so Olivia arranged for Yara to come along too.
Therefore, there were quite a lot of things to bring.
Evelyn also came to help, and after packing for a long time together, they finally organized several boxes of belongings.
They had just taken a break and were about to continue when suddenly Yara hurried in from outside.
"Ms. Smith..."
Yara's tone was somewhat hesitant, holding something like an envelope in her hand.
"What's wrong?" Olivia turned to look, her gaze falling on what Yara was holding. She asked puzzled, "What are you holding?"
Yara hesitated for a few seconds before handing it to her, saying, "It's from the Johnson family. It should be an engagement invitation."
When she said the last few words, Yara's tone was a bit angry.
'How can the Johnson family still have the nerve to send Ms. Smith this kind of thing?' Yara thought.
Olivia calmly took the invitation and opened it to look.
She saw that Michael and Sophia's engagement party actually hoped Bianca could attend.
Olivia gripped the invitation, almost tearing it up on the spot.
After Evelyn saw it too, she couldn't help but curse out loud, "Are the Johnsons crazy? Marrying a homewrecker and having the nerve to ask Bianca to attend—they're absolutely disgusting!"
Olivia's eyes were full of disgust.
This move by the Johnson family was indeed shameless enough.
They invited Bianca, and as the child's mother who always kept Bianca with her, this invitation was equivalent to inviting Olivia herself to watch them show off their affection.
They deliberately wanted to upset Olivia!
Without a second thought, Olivia threw the invitation in the trash, not wanting to let such things affect her mood.
But Evelyn was still furious and immediately called Alfonso.
Since she had already agreed to the unequal treaty with Alfonso, Evelyn felt confident calling her brother and directly asked unhappily, "You've been investigating for so many days—have you found anything or not? What's Sophia's situation abroad?!"
Alfonso remained calm and said unhurriedly, "Not yet. The person you asked me to investigate is a bit suspicious. A lot of her information has been hidden, so it takes some time to investigate."
"So slow and inefficient. Can you speed it up a bit? Don't make me keep nagging you."
Alfonso was rarely seeing his sister so anxious and couldn't help asking curiously, "How did this person offend you? You look like you have a deep grudge against her."
Evelyn snorted coldly, "It's not me, this person is just too much..."
Realizing Alfonso didn't know about Olivia's situation, Evelyn briefly explained it to him. By the end, she had successfully worked herself up again.
She said through gritted teeth, "I always felt that woman was trouble. After she ruined Olivia's marriage, she's still shameless enough to repeatedly target Olivia. This time she even wants her to attend the engagement party—it's too much!"
Alfonso didn't know about these things.
But he knew Evelyn and Olivia were close friends. They had met before and had meals together, and their relationship was good.
He also considered Olivia like a sister.
He hadn't expected so many things to have happened over the years.
Alfonso's brow furrowed, and he immediately said to Evelyn, "I'll assign more people to investigate and get you results as soon as possible."
"Okay!" Evelyn was finally satisfied with this response!
Olivia didn't know about this. After throwing away the invitation, she didn't pay any more attention to it.
A few days later, she went to the school to handle Bianca's withdrawal.
Bianca had been at school for so long and had developed feelings for the teachers and children there. Suddenly having to leave, she was naturally reluctant to part with them.
She spent all morning saying goodbye to her classmates and was still reluctant to leave the classroom.
The teacher watched from outside the classroom and felt a bit soft-hearted, so she suggested to Olivia, "How about we hold a farewell party for Bianca?"
Bianca's eyes immediately lit up when she heard this suggestion. She nodded her little head and said to Olivia, "Mommy, can we? I also want to buy gifts for the children..."
Olivia certainly wouldn't dampen her spirits.
Since there were still several days before leaving for Harmony City, she agreed right away.
Bianca took this matter very seriously and put her heart into it.
That weekend, Olivia took her shopping at the supermarket. She didn't need to help at all—Bianca bought different gifts based on each classmate's preferences.
Watching from behind, Evelyn felt her heart melting. "Bianca, you're so thoughtful. Being so caring toward your friends, you're really a super little angel!"
Bianca smiled shyly at the praise, her little expression couldn't be more adorable.
Soon it was the day of the farewell party.
Coincidentally, it was also the day of Michael and Sophia's engagement party.
Although the Johnson family had sent out many invitations for this engagement party, the scale was relatively low-key.
Apart from private invitations, the Johnson family didn't publicize it widely.
However, people in high society circles pretty much all knew about it.
Moreover, some busybody leaked the news online.
Netizens had long heard about Michael and Sophia's various affairs, and now hearing that the two were finally getting engaged, many righteous people immediately came to criticize them.
The hashtag #MichaelAndSophiaEngagementParty# even made it to the tail end of the trending topics.
Fortunately, the heat was quickly suppressed.
But Evelyn still saw it.
She wasn't polite about it—single-handedly, she created ten alternate accounts and went on a tirade.
Olivia watched her fighting fiercely on the sofa and couldn't help but laugh. "You're wasting your time like this. Wouldn't it be better to spend some money and hire some internet trolls?
But actually, spending money on those two isn't worth it. Forget it, stop looking. Don't give them more attention."
Hearing her say this, Evelyn finally stopped.
Olivia still had to go to the research lab to do a final handover.
Bianca's farewell party would start in the afternoon, so Olivia instructed Evelyn and Yara, "You two help me take Bianca there when the time comes. I'll finish up and come directly from the research lab to meet you."
Evelyn had already finished her work here. To be able to go to Harmony City with Olivia, she had applied to Alfonso for a few days' extension, and Alfonso had agreed without making things difficult.
In the morning, Olivia went straight to the research lab.
At noon, Evelyn prepared to take Bianca to the school.
But what she didn't expect was that shortly after their car left the residential area, they were stopped.
It was several bodyguards sent by the Johnson family.
They surrounded the car, clearly not letting them leave.
Evelyn was furious. She opened the car window and yelled, "Are you bored with nothing better to do? If you don't move, I'll just drive right through!"
The bodyguard said expressionlessly, "We're here on Mrs. Johnson's orders to bring Bianca to the hotel to attend Mr. Johnson's engagement ceremony. Please hand her over to us."
After speaking, the bodyguard signaled to his subordinates, and the group directly pulled open the car door and forcibly took Bianca out of the car.