A Love Trap

Chapter 18 Do Me A Favor

As soon as they got home, Ashley dashed straight into her bedroom. Ellie didn't call after her or follow her to her room. With a shrug, she went to the kitchen and prepared their dinner. Ashley did not leave her room until her bestie called her to eat.

"What were you doing in your bedroom?" Ellie asked curiously.

"You'll know it tomorrow," Ashley replied. Without another word, she ate her meal quickly. In no time, she got up and put her dishes in the sink. Before leaving the kitchen, she flashed Ellie a mysterious smile and disappeared into her bedroom again.

Ellie shook her head, wondering whether the posts and comments on the forum had irritated her best friend.

As she lay on her bed, Ashley opened the QQ app, her eyes glued on her phone screen.

She started to text to one of her QQ friends.

AAAAshley: "Hello?"

Skyline: "Hi, little pretty. You finally contacted me." A crying face followed the sentence.

AAAAshley: "Well, I have got my hands full lately. So how are you?"

Skyline: "Fine. I don't have much work to do. What's up, little pretty?"

AAAAshley: "You said you're one of the best hackers out there, right? I hope you can do me a favor."

After she sent the message, she waited for a while but there was no reply.

Resting her head on her hand, she wondered if she had been rude. Maybe her request was too straightforward.

As she texted a new message, another message notification popped up.

Skyline: "Sorry. I was getting takeout. So what is it, little pretty? Leave it to me and I will help you take care of it, I promise." At the end of his message was a blushing face.

Wasting no time, she quickly shared him with what had happened to her at the office. And she asked him to help her pay back in kind.

Skyline: "Little pretty, those people are too bad. How could they treat you that way? Don't worry about it now. I know what to do. I will teach them a hard lesson for you."

AAAAshley: "Thank you! I will treat you to a meal. Your choice!"

...

His promise set her mind at rest. She had no idea what was waiting for her tomorrow in the company.

After taking a shower, she fell asleep quickly.

Somewhere else in the city, in a high-end bar, four enchanting men sat in a luxurious booth, each having their own different appeal. They drank their wine leisurely once in a while.

One had a rather innocent face, and he was around his early twenties. As he broke into laughter, he flashed his two tiger teeth, which made him even more adorable.

His hand held onto his glass of brandy, while the other held onto his phone. A beaming smile spread on his face as he looked over at the screen. He looked like a lad in love for the first time.

"Oh, man!" grumbled Francis Nan sitting next to him. There was an unease that overwhelmed him. He crossed his arms over his chest and started rubbing his hands against his limbs, trying to get rid of the goosebumps running across his body.

Francis Nan stared at Greyson Yun, his charming eyes glittering under the dim lights. There was repulsion all over his face, and he instinctively moved far away from the giggling young lad.

As soon as Greyson Yun put his cell phone aside, he met Francis' resigned eyes. The dazzling smile on his face was soon replaced with a disgruntled look as he took in Francis' reaction.

Suddenly, something amusing occurred to him, and he broke into laughter again. Instead of throwing a tantrum, he only gave him an angry snort.

Upon seeing this, Francis Nan shrugged his shoulders in relief. He tugged the sleeve of another man beside him and whispered, "What's wrong with Greyson? His laughter is kind of creepy and weird. Is he dating someone?"

The man he asked emanated a gentle air. He cast a quick glance at Greyson. "Perhaps he is," the man replied.

His voice was calm, and he treated others nicely. However, the distant look in his eyes implied that his heart was closed and he would never open up to anyone in his entire lifetime.

"Don't think that I didn't hear what you said. But I am in a good good, so I will spare you today," Greyson Yun snorted, turning to Francis Nan.

He then rose from his seat and said to the rest, "My little pretty needs my help, so I have to take care of something. Have fun here. I got to go." He rolled his eyes at Francis Nan before exiting the room.

"Who do you think the 'little pretty' was referring to? What kind of girl could make him act that way?" Curiosity flooded Francis Nan as he watched Jeremy Gu intently.

Andrew had been sitting in a corner, drinking in silence. He had not been engaged in their conversation earlier.

As an answer to Francis's questions, Jeremy mulled it over and simply shook his head.

"It's so boring here," Francis whined.

"Why did you call us here, Andrew? You just sit there drinking wine. What's wrong with you?" 'They are acting so weird today, ' he thought.

There was a long pause. Francis twirled his glass in his hand. He put it against his lips, slowly downing its contents.

"Do you have any idea how to win a girl's heart?" Andrew, who was sitting at the corner, said in a low voice.

There was a mixture of hesitance and helplessness in his voice.

Francis did not expect to hear this question, making him slightly choke on the wine he was drinking.

He patted his chest as he coughed vigorously. There were tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes.

When he felt a bit better, he stared at Andrew in disbelief.

'I can't believe what I'm hearing! The aloof single man wants to pursue someone?' he screamed inside.

Startled, he blinked his eyes and watched Andrew intently, wondering if his friend had lost his mind.

Even Jeremy Gu, who had been keeping a low profile, rested his eyes on Andrew with an astonished look.

Not until Francis Nan met Andrew's menacing eyes did he regain his composure and put away his dramatic expressions.

"Are you kidding me? Your looks alone could make girls fall for you! Not to mention your identity," Francis exasperated without a second thought.

Jeremy Gu nodded his head in approval.

'Is that so?' Andrew wondered.

As he looked at the earnest look on the Francis' face, he almost believed him.

Andrew dropped his gaze and lightly bit on his lower lip. After a second of considering what his friend had just said, he simply said flatly, "But those things don't work for her."

Francis Nan was overcome with confusion. 'What does he mean? Who is she?'

Later he became aware that the girl Andrew wanted to date wasn't that sort of girl who was after wealth or good looks.

However, it was a piece of cake for someone like Francis. He shook his hand in the air, as if to wave off his friend's problems.

Soon enough, he shared all kinds of ways to win a girl's affection with Andrew eloquently.

...

The next morning, Ashley and Ellie went to the company on foot as usual. As they entered the building, the way their colleagues looked at Ashley changed.

It didn't surprise Ashley. But as a matter of fact, she was still anxious. After all, she had only met him once.

But since her instinct told her that he was a trustworthy friend, she had decided to turn to him for help.

The minute Ashley took her seat in the office, Fiona ran to her with her cellphone.

"Ashley, Ashley, big news! Look at this!" Fiona exclaimed with thrill as she showed her phone to Ashley.

"What's up?" Ashley asked with a puzzled look. 'Did he succeed?' she wondered.

"Look here! Look here!" Fiona urged.