Chapter 48 Stealthy Learning
Terrence fell silent.
He pressed his lips together, his jawline tensing slightly. Clearly unwilling to continue this topic, he reached out to close his laptop.
But Bianca was faster, gently placing her hand on the back of his.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Don't close it."
She smiled, her eyes crinkling. "How to enhance emotional connection when kissing—Mr. Anderson, I didn't expect you to be interested in this? Do you need me to help you practice and test your research findings?"
His last bit of forced composure was shattered by her words.
Terrence looked up at her, his deep eyes reflecting her playful smile.
Suddenly, he turned his hand over to grasp hers that was resting on his, and pulled gently but firmly.
With a soft gasp, Bianca tumbled into his lap following the momentum, caught securely in his arms.
"Bianca." He called her name, his voice low and deep, carrying a hint of helpless resignation at being found out.
"What?" She nestled in his arms, looking up at him with a smile like a cat that had successfully stolen fish.
He looked at her bright, sparkling eyes, at the undisguised teasing and joy on her face, and that bit of embarrassment in his heart was strangely replaced by another emotion.
He lowered his head, his forehead gently touching hers, their warm breaths mingling.
"Had enough laughing?"
"Not yet," Bianca wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning close to his ear and whispered, "Just thinking about Mr. Anderson staying up late at night, secretly researching how to kiss me—I could laugh about that for a year."
Terrence tightened his arms, locking her firmly in his embrace. His calloused fingertips gently caressed the back of her neck, and finally he sighed helplessly, admitting: "I just wanted to make you more comfortable."
That simple sentence.
Bianca's heart trembled, all her teasing laughter melting into tenderness.
She stopped teasing him and turned her face to gently kiss the corner of his lips.
"Silly." Her voice softened, tinged with affection. "You don't need to research those things. As long as it's you, I like it however you do it."
Terrence said quietly: "No more research then."
Bianca smiled warmly. "Let's go back to the bedroom. I'm a bit tired."
"Okay."
Terrence lifted her up and carried her steadily back to the bedroom.
When he gently placed her on the bed, he didn't immediately leave. Instead, he knelt on one knee by the bedside, hands braced on either side of her, leaning down to look at her.
The dim nightlight outlined his deep features. His eyes, which hadn't yet fully recovered their clear vision, gazed at her intently.
"Since we've tested it, there should be an evaluation."
Bianca's heartbeat skipped. Looking at his face so close to hers: "What evaluation?"
"How much progress did I make?"
Bianca's cheeks flushed. She couldn't help wanting to laugh again. Pretending to think seriously: "Mr. Anderson does have exceptional talent. That kiss in the greenhouse just now gets ninety points."
"Only ninety?" He raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsatisfied with that score.
Bianca reached out and lightly touched his lips. "The ten points deducted are because you stayed up too late researching, affecting your sleep."
Terrence caught her finger, holding it in his palm, and kissed her fingertip: "I'll make up for it now."
With that, he didn't let her speak again, sealing her lips with his.
Bianca quickly became lost in it. As her consciousness drifted, she thought hazily that his learning ability being too strong might not be such a good thing after all.
Should she stop teasing him so casually in the future?
The next morning, Bianca woke up in Terrence's arms.
As soon as she moved slightly, his arm around her waist tightened.
"Awake?" came a husky voice from above.
Bianca murmured in response, then looked up to meet his already open eyes.
"How do your eyes feel?" She reached up to gently stroke his brow bone.
"Fine." He held her hand.
Bianca's heart filled with joy. She leaned up to kiss his chin: "Dr. Graves scheduled your follow-up for three this afternoon. I'll go with you."
"Okay." Terrence responded, but his gaze fell on her collarbone, where there were several suggestive marks.
His eyes darkened as his thumb gently brushed over one of them. "Does it still hurt?"
Bianca's face reddened. She glared at him: "What do you think?"
Last night in the latter half, he had probably been getting back at her for her earlier teasing—his movements were more forceful than usual.
Terrence chuckled softly, pulling her closer into his arms, his chin resting on top of her head, saying nothing more.
After a while, Bianca spoke softly: "Terrence, I need to go home today."
Terrence's arm paused slightly: "To get things?"
Bianca responded quietly.
It was time to settle accounts.
After a moment of silence, Terrence said: "I'll have someone go with you."
"If anyone from the Rodriguez family doesn't know their place, don't hold back."
Bianca's heart warmed, knowing he was worried she'd be taken advantage of.
She turned to face him, saying seriously: "Don't worry. With Mr. Anderson backing me up, I know what to do."
Terrence lowered his head and kissed her forehead: "I know, but my wife doesn't need to deal with those people herself."
Bianca smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck: "Mr. Anderson, you're going to spoil me rotten."
"Even spoiled, you're still mine." He was brief and to the point.
At ten in the morning, a black limited-edition sports car stopped in front of the Rodriguez Mansion.
Bianca got out, wearing a sharply tailored cream-colored suit, her long hair pinned up, pearl earrings adorning her earlobes.
Behind her followed a lawyer named Ralph Cook carrying a briefcase, and two bodyguards Terrence had assigned to her.
The servants, seeing this formation, were clearly stunned for a moment before hurrying inside to report.
Bianca didn't wait, walking straight in with her people.
In the living room, Glenn and Thea were sitting on the sofa drinking tea, while Blair lounged on a single sofa scrolling through her phone.
Seeing Bianca enter with so many people, all three were startled.
"Bianca? Why did you suddenly come back?" Glenn set down his teacup, his gaze sweeping over Ralph and the bodyguards behind her, his brow furrowing slightly. "And with so many people—what's this about?"
Thea's face arranged itself into its habitual fake smile as she stood up to approach: "Bianca's home! Have you had breakfast? I'll have the kitchen—"
"No need." Bianca cut Thea off.
Bianca walked to the center of the living room and stood, her gaze sweeping over the three of them one by one.
"Dad, I came back today to take back what belongs to me." She looked at Glenn, enunciating each word clearly.
Glenn's expression darkened: "What things?"
Bianca turned slightly, indicating for Ralph behind her to step forward.
Ralph was one of the chief lawyers in the Anderson Group's legal department, in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a calm and professional demeanor.
He stepped forward and opened the folder in his hands.
"Mr. Glenn Rodriguez, Ms. Ellis, Ms. Ember, I am here on behalf of Ms. Bianca Rodriguez to formally negotiate with you regarding Ms. Morgan's estate."
"Ms. Morgan, Ms. Rodriguez's biological mother, passed away fifteen years ago. According to the will Ms. Morgan made during her lifetime, all her real estate, movable property, collectibles, and fifteen percent of the original shares of the Rodriguez Group were to be inherited by her only daughter, Bianca."
The smile on Thea's face instantly froze.
Glenn's expression turned ugly: "Bianca, what's the meaning of this? These are family matters—we can discuss them at home. Why make such a scene by bringing in lawyers?"
Bianca laughed lightly, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.
She turned to Ralph: "Continue."
Ralph nodded, took out a copy of an inventory list from the folder, and handed it to Glenn.
"This is a copy of Ms. Morgan's estate inventory. It includes: one apartment in the city center, one beachside villa, forty-seven pieces of various jewelry, twelve painting collections, bank deposits and investment account balances totaling eight million six hundred thousand dollars, and fifteen percent of Rodriguez Group shares. According to our investigation, none of these assets are currently under Ms. Rodriguez's name."
Glenn looked at the list, his fingers trembling slightly.
Thea forced herself to stay calm, squeezing out a smile: "Bianca, look at you—is there some misunderstanding? Those things, after your mother passed away, your father has been managing them for you. You're still young and don't understand these things. When you're older, they'll naturally be handed over to you."