Entangled With The CEO Brothers

“Oh, you’re her teacher?” The staff looked me up and down. “Then you need to take care of this student of yours! It’s so unruly!”

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“So young, and you’re still holding a student ID! He has to come out to buy alcohol, don’t you think it’s irritating?” The staff member was helpless, “Teacher, we also work for people, it’s not a matter of money at all! The school has a rule that students are not allowed to drink, if we sell the alcohol and get caught, we’ll lose this job!”

I nodded.

Then I look aside at Willow, who’s clutching the bottle and holding her head high, her childish little face full of stubbornness.

“Put the wine down,” I tell her, “and listen to your teacher.”

“No!” She glanced at me, her mouth harboring another taunt.

I got a little angry and my voice rose much higher, “Put it down!”

“Willow, I know you’ve transferred multiple times, and if you’re really not afraid of the school bringing your parents in, and you’re really not afraid of having another transfer on your record, then feel free to keep this up here! I won’t care!”

Her body trembled, and her suspicious gaze looked at me, as if she was hesitating.

I guessed that despite their bad father-daughter relationship, she was still scornful of her father.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m a friend of George’s.” I looked her straight in the eyes, “I also know that your father is very close to George, so you should understand that it’s not that hard for me to reach your father.”

“Ms. Laura …” she whispered, “You … you’re not really going to call my dad, are you?”

“Depends on how you behave.”

She lowered her head, bit her lip, and finally, step by step, with slow movements, put the bottle of wine back on the shelf.

I saw her eyes redden and fill with tears. Then she lowered her head and rushed out of the crowd of onlookers, running forward without looking back as if she were fleeing.

It took a lot of effort for me to catch up with her around the corner.

“Willow!” said I, taking her hand.

“Don’t touch me!” The tall girl, who looked thin and frail, was incredibly strong and pushed me into a stagger. “Don’t you come any closer! You’re in league with my dad!”

“You’re mistaken, Willow,” I came up for air, “I … don’t even know your dad! I just said that just to get you to put your stuff down quickly!”

She rolled her eyes, “But you’re President George’s friend!”

“It’s not true that I’m his friend, but we’re not on such good terms that we’re at the beck and call of a phone call!”

“Really?” She stepped back, a little flustered, “No… no, I don’t believe you anymore! You’re in cahoots!”

I couldn’t figure out what she meant by “in cahoots”.

“I’m telling you the truth, Willow!” I exclaimed, “If I really wanted to notify George or your dad, I wouldn’t have gone in there to help you out, I’d have seen you at the door buying a drink, and I’d have just called quietly!”

She thought about it, calmed down a bit, and slowly squatted down on the floor, both hands wrapped around her knees, like a little homeless stray cat.

I immediately felt pity.

Seeing how thinly she was dressed, I took my jacket off and put it on her. “Come on,” I helped her up, “want to drink, right? Come to my house.”

“You?” Pretty eyes are quizzical.

“Well,” I nodded and smiled, “convenience stores don’t allow alcohol to be sold to students, but we’ll drink it at home and no one will care, right?”

Willow looks at me with wide eyes, her face still streaked with tears. I patted her on the shoulder and led her towards the station.

I realized that this young lady had actually taken the bus for the first time and was quite limited in her ability to live, even once she entered my house she didn’t know that she had to bend down to get a pair of slippers from the shoe cupboard.

“What are you standing there for?” I asked her.

She looked innocent, “How come no one changed my shoes?”

I sighed and found a pair of slippers for her. After she came in and looked east and west, she laughed softly, “Teacher, your home isn’t big, but it’s decorated quite feelingly! Hehe … there’s a wooden swing in the yard!”

I laughed, small children are small children, a little bit of novelty matters can drag her out of the unpleasantness she just experienced.

“Teacher, your house still smells like food!” She stretched her neck and sniffed, “It smells so good! I’m starving!”

I was upstairs in my room getting changed when I heard her yell that and rushed downstairs to see the smell of a meal.

Then I saw Cameron coming out of the kitchen with a tray.

“Ah!” Willow was startled and panicked, ducking behind me.

I was taken aback as well, and equally surprised was Cameron.

He looked at the two of us, dumbfounded for a moment. The table was already set with several dishes, including fish and meat, grilled chicken wings, and a plate of crab roasted wheat.

“What brings you … here?” I asked softly.

Willow poked her little head out from behind me and poked her tongue out in embarrassment, “Teacher, so you don’t live alone? Then you don’t bring me back ah … Look, am I going to disturb your good deed?”

“You child!” I glared at her, “Not much else, why are you oily?”

“Forget it Ms. Laura …,” she smiled cheekily and ran towards the door, “That … I’ll leave first! Don’t worry, I have money on me and I’ve learned to take the bus, I’ll get back to the dorm safely!”

“Hey Willow!”

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” She quickly changed her shoes and ran. Running into the courtyard she still didn’t forget to wave her hand and laugh, “Ms. Laura, I won’t tell!”

“Hey …”

“I know, I will definitely call you when I go back to the dormitory!”

After saying that, this guy ran even faster.

I stood still, wishing I had a hole in the ground to drill into.

Cameron tapped me on the shoulder, and I was stunned to look back, followed by his deep eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I sat down at the table and looked at him a little reproachfully, “You didn’t say anything before you came!”

“I didn’t know you had guests either.” He replied lightly, “Besides, this is supposed to be my home.”

“Oh, right.” I laughed softly, “It was supposed to be yours, so I should move out.”

“Laura!” he aggravated, his eyes held mine unblinking.

After a moment, he whispered, “Just don’t move … next time I’m here, just give you a heads up.”

This kind of Cameron, let me quite uncomfortable, also let me have a kind of unspoken complex feelings.

“Let’s eat.” He tugged at the corners of his mouth, “I made it on purpose.”

“Why did you make so much?” I picked up a siu mai and took a bite, still with that silky smooth fresh flavor.

Cameron laughed, “Did you forget? That year … is today, I found you in Alcostan.”

My heart fluttered hard.

“Since that time I found you, every year on this day I celebrate, whether you are with me or not, I have to make a plate of crab roasting wheat for myself … In my opinion, this day is our anniversary.”

His eyes were like stars, staring at me intently, “Only for us.”

I didn’t feel good in my heart.

I slowly put down my chopsticks and lowered my head, “Cameron, you know very well that we can’t go back.”

The atmosphere turned silent, but not oppressive. I quietly looked at Cameron, and a faint sadness crept into the corners of his eyes. He sniffles and laughs softly, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, put everything else aside for now. You’re hungry, aren’t you? Hurry up and eat.”

He chucked a piece of chicken wing to me, “I’m still confident in my cooking skills. Didn’t that girl you just brought back say she was hungry at the smell?”

I smiled and chucked it up and took a bite.

The chicken wings are baked on the outside and tender inside, oily but not greasy, I don’t know what kind of sauce he smeared on them, extraordinarily smooth and sweet, without losing the freshness of the chicken, eating into the mouth, provoking every taste bud on the tip of the tongue.

“The craftsmanship is really good.” I looked at him, “Not bad for someone who runs a Chinese restaurant on Blossom Hill Rd.”

“You laugh at me?”

“How dare I!”

“By the way,” he mentioned naturally, “the girl who just came back with you …”

I gave him a wary look, “moved? Also … sixteen or seventeen years old, flower like, which is like my people old and yellow!”

“Laura!” he frowned, crying, “You know I don’t mean that!”

“Who knows what you men mean.”

“Why do I feel jealous?” Cameron looked at me with a wicked grin on his face.

I settled back and ignored him, shoving another crab bun into my mouth.

“I was talking about that girl to give you a heads up.” He squared his shoulders, “Don’t bring anyone home, do you know her background?”

I was stunned, “You know?”

Cameron stopped his chopsticks and looked at me quietly, “I heard you call her Willow.”

“Yes, her name is indeed Willow.”

“She’s Rafael Denoble’s daughter.”

“Rafael?”

“Yes …,” he rested his fist against his chin as if searching for a suitable phrase, “Rafael, a very shrewd businessman.”

I was a little intrigued, “Have you guys ever dealt with him?”

“I haven’t crossed paths with him much. Rafael’s business is mostly in the restaurant and entertainment industry, which makes up half of Jerez State, I guess you could say. A lot of the famous restaurants, bars, and nightclubs belong to Rafael’s group.”

“Oh,” I nodded, “so what do you think of Willow?”

“I’ve heard George talk about this daughter of his, it’s his only daughter, by his first wife. Any idea who his first wife was?”

“No idea.”

“Actually, I don’t really recognize it either,” he said, “that wife of his was called Becky, who was a red-hot movie star twenty years ago, and used to win awards in Hollywood, only to marry Rafael at the peak of her career and have children. But sadly, the couple didn’t make it to the end, and the divorce lawsuit was a big deal. Now Becky’s out of the country, probably in some small Auropean country, leaving her daughter with Rafael.”

“No wonder.” I lamented, “That girl is preoccupied at such a young age.”

“I don’t know much about the family either.” Cameron gently shook my hand, “But I know The Denoble Family is pretty complicated, you stay away from this kid and try to stay out of people’s business, okay?”

“How’s that? I’m her teacher.”

“You’re just her teacher, you’re not her nanny, much less her mom!” Cameron glared, “Is it hard to believe that you want to be her stepmother?”

“You …”

I choked on his words.

I outwardly promised him not to mind my own business, but during class, I always unconsciously looked towards the seat by the window.

Willow was still absent from class, her attendance rate was less than 50% a week, and she failed many of the accompanying tests. In addition, she loved to contradict her teachers, which was a great offense in The Curry Group Art School, where teachers were always honored and respected.

Several of her teachers have blacklisted her, and she is ready to change schools again.

But I had a feeling she wasn’t the type to give up on herself.

I could feel a fire inside her, she was passionate and sensitive, but she used her cold arrogance as a protective color against the world. I’ll always remember the helpless, desperate look on her face as she screamed, “You’re in league with my dad!” and crouched down on her knees in that alleyway.

Sometimes I would go to the student dormitory after work, but I never saw her again.

Until one day, I was supposed to have afternoon tea with Gina, but her call disrupted the rhythm.

“I’m really sorry, I temporarily received a task assigned by my brother to give someone a medical checkup, so I can’t accompany you!”

“What kind of person is it that you still need Gina to personally go for a medical checkup?” I wondered.

“Who else could it be?” Gina said, “It’s my brother’s old friend, Rafael!”

“Rafael?” I was familiar with the name.

“Yeah, he’s been so pissed off at his daughter lately, he’s got high blood pressure and he can’t move from his bed, so I’m going to go check on him! Okay, enough about that, The Denoble Family has come to pick me up!”

She hung up the phone, but a thought rose up in my mind.

I ran back to my office, found Willow’s file in the student handbook, and looked up her home address.

Then inexplicably, I followed that address.

Standing across the street from The Denoble Family villa, I was debating whether it would be too presumptuous to visit like this when I suddenly saw a playful figure flashing through the large iron gate.

“I tell you!” The girl hissed, yelling toward the door, “I’m never coming back in this life! There’s her and not me in this house, there’s me and not her!”

I was shocked, it really was Willow!

She ran across the street, crying, and The Denoble Family was in a tizzy, chasing several people out. Willow, however, ignored the stream of cars and plowed across the middle of the road. Sharp brakes, car horns, and drivers screaming and cursing all came together in no time.

I’m over here, in a cold sweat for her. I was just about to wave her hello when I didn’t realize she slammed into me.

“Ms. Laura?” She raised her teary eyes in utter surprise, “What are you doing here?”

I heard quite a few people behind me shouting for her.

I took her hand and hid behind a large tree. “Come home with me.”

“But …”

“I don’t have anyone home today.” I smiled and smoothed her messy hair, “We agreed to drink together last time, did you forget? Last time was special, so I’ll make it up to you today!”

She paused, and her tears welled up again, in a very aggrieved manner. But even more aggrieved, she kept her hand over her mouth, not making a sound.

I understood that she was also a stubborn girl.

I suddenly felt obligated to take her to escape this messy situation for a while.