Chapter 189: A Crisis Situation

Jason's Adam's apple bobbed. He was just about to reply when he suddenly sensed something and glanced at Charlotte.

The latter's head was hanging low. He couldn't see her expression, but he could tell that she was upset.

Jason smiled for a split second. His voice was steady and calm when he said, "If anyone who's more trustworthy than Joseph approaching you, I will send you back."

The room was silent for an instant.

Stella was aggrieved and had no way to argue, so she could only go along with his words, "Then it looks like I have Joseph to thank for this. At least I can still stay in the country for a while."

After applying the medicine, she returned to her workplace.

Charlotte looked less upset, her mood was much more relaxed, and she secretly felt foolish for being touched by Jason's words and actions.

The implementation of S&C went quite smoothly. As long as Flora agreed to endorse it, winning the next quarter's topic would not be a problem.

Therefore, Charlotte worked intensely on revising her entry, not wasting any time.

When it was time to get off work, Jason naturally waited for Charlotte to go back with him, but he saw that she didn't move at all, so he frowned and said, "Are you not going?"

"I'm going back to Yvonne's place today." There were still two days before the deadline, so Charlotte wanted to sink her teeth into it and keep checking her entry.

Jason's face changed slightly. He turned back to look at her, a faint questioning look mixed in his eyes.

Charlotte didn't do much explaining, revealing a polite smile. "Goodbye, Mr. Langley."

When she finished handling the work at hand, it was already nine o'clock in the evening. Charlotte moved her tired and stiff back before she simply packed up and went downstairs.

The building was cold and quiet. Charlotte greeted the security guard and was just about to get an Uber when a frosted black Mercedes slowly stopped in front of her.

The window was rolled down. Cyril said with a refined-looking smile, "Ms. Seinfield, do you have time for a drink?"

Charlotte instantly stopped smiling and indifferently rebuffed, "No. Please don't contact me privately in addition to official business, Mr. Lloyd."

She thought she was tough enough, but Cyril didn't seem to be moved and tilted his head to continue the invitation. "I'll talk about Mr. Langley's interesting childhood stories by the way. Aren't you interested?"

"I'm not interested in Mr. Langley's private life." Charlotte refused again with a stern face and walked forward.

Unexpectedly, whenever she took a step, that car moved a step along with her, following closely.

Charlotte couldn't have this go on, so she simply stopped in her tracks and looked fixedly at Cyril's eyes. "Mr. Lloyd, you should know very well that following me like this will get you suspected of breaking the law."

"Ms. Seinfield, have you ever thought that me coming to you instead is the best way to protect you?" Cyril didn't listen to what she was saying at all but went on.

"You must be joking. You are currently the source of my greatest danger." Charlotte tangled with him while taking out her cell phone to call Yvonne to come pick her up.

Nonetheless, Cyril still didn't give up and kept asking, "Or are you already thinking of marrying young Mr. Hoyce? That way, the Lloyd family will naturally not pester you."

Charlotte didn't know what Silas had to do with this.

The more Charlotte listened, the tighter she frowned, her tone stiffened, "Mr. Lloyd, anything I do has nothing to do with you, and I don't need to rely on marrying someone to keep myself safe. If you're just here to say some nonsense, please don't get in my way."

With that, she took out her cell phone, pressed the emergency number, and showed it to Cyril. "I don't mind adding a little spice to your domestic life."

Cyril glanced at her cell phone screen and looked back at her. He spoke with a softer tone. "It seems like I'm causing trouble for you, but what I've said is the truth. Feel free to ask Mr. Langley."

Charlotte had no idea why Jason was involved now.

The second before the car window completely was completely rolled up, Cyril's words drifted in the wind. "But Mr. Langley indeed treats you differently. He's actually willing to take on so much pressure for you."

Charlotte was confused by his words. When she wanted to ask, the car was already gone.

Yvonne drove over right then, opened the front passenger door for Charlotte, and couldn't wait to ask when she got in the car, "You have to talk to me about the paternity test."

Charlotte had been staying with Jason after the paternity test and hadn't returned to Yvonne's place, so she hadn't had the chance to tell her about it in detail.

Faced with her bestie's eagerness, Charlotte helplessly buckled her seatbelt and informed Yvonne completely about the cause and effect of the matter.

She had expected her bestie to be quite surprised, but when Charlotte finished speaking, Yvonne just fell into a long silence.

Charlotte turned her head and inquired, rather surprised, "Don't you want to say something?"

"Charlotte, what are you going to do next then?" Yvonne got serious, which was rare.

"What to do?"

"You don't want to go back to the Lloyd family, do you?"

"Of course no."

"Doesn't that mean you need to stay by Jason for a while longer?" Yvonne parked the car and stared at her seriously.

Charlotte was dumbfounded. What Yvonne said was similar to what Cyril said.

Charlotte laughed and asked, "Why do you all think I must stay with him?"

However, Yvonne had no intention of joking. "Although the Lloyd family went abroad early, their influence cannot be underestimated. Since your identity has been proven, it's definitely not up to you to go back or not. You're so smart, so you must have noticed it."

Charlotte's smile faded as she stared at the dark road with a sullen face. Of course, she had noticed it. She just didn't have the headspace to deal with it, so she subconsciously chose to put it aside.

Everything was just attributed to her not being strong enough.

Charlotte pursed her lips and laughed to herself, "In the past, I even said that I could remain incognito abroad, but now that even this plan won't work. It seems that I can only work harder and make S&C bigger and stronger."

Adhering to this belief, Charlotte stayed up late for two nights, modifying the entry draft over and over again. Finally, she submitted it at the last minute on the deadline day.

The next step was a long wait.

There were only ten entries for the final, but the competition period was similar to that of the preliminary and final rounds.

Charlotte had always been calm and self-possessed, but this time, she couldn't help checking the progress frequently during her free time.

Jason noticed her unconsciously picking up her cell phone again, and his eyes narrowed. "What are you waiting for?"

If she was overly concerned about the outcome of the competition as an out-of-competition person, she was afraid that it would attract suspicion, so Charlotte chose to lie, "Yvonne said she would send me the current situation of the Lloyd family, and it hasn't even been sorted out until now. It seems to be even more complicated than imagined."

Jason raised his eyebrows. "It seems you want to go back."

"It's precisely because I don't want to go back that I want to understand it clearly and see if there's anything I can do about it." Charlotte naturally said, "Mr. Lloyd doesn't seem to care much about the Lloyd couple's opinions, much less what my birth parents think, so I'll see if there's anything else I can work on."

Then, she looked at Jason with anticipation, expecting him to tell her some inside information.

Jason looked up at her and replied carelessly, "No need"