Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 147: Not Good to Disturb

Julian Ford’s gaze landed on Scarlett Shaw, who was already mingling with her colleagues in the distance, laughing so happily and innocently. His usually calm eyes wavered for a moment before he said thoughtfully:

"Scarlett loves her father very much, so she must have been very close to Benjamin Shaw. For him to raise a daughter like Scarlett, Benjamin Shaw doesn’t seem like someone who’d abandon his daughter and kill himself. And honestly, with the capabilities Benjamin had at the time, making a comeback wouldn’t have been too difficult."

Ryan Ford didn’t speak, just stared at Julian Ford.

Julian Ford: "?"

Ryan: "Bro, you’re done for. I’ve never heard you praise anyone so openly before. Looks like you’ve been tamed by Scarlett."

Julian: "..."

Ryan: "Now I’m really curious—aren’t you usually not interested in relationships at all? Since when did you start paying attention to Scarlett? I absolutely do not believe that the night I broke up with her, you just happened to get tangled up with her by coincidence."

Except for Ryan, probably no one else would dare to so openly and brazenly discuss their older brother’s feelings for their ex-girlfriend.

Julian glanced indifferently at Ryan, lifting his lips and saying coolly, "You really are one of a kind."

Ryan: "..."

Julian: "Since Benjamin Shaw’s death had nothing to do with you, after you get back, dig a little deeper on this lead."

Ryan paused for two seconds. "For Scarlett?"

"Yeah."

Julian admitted it without hesitation.

"One more thing—if you can confirm that the Jade Pendant Serena Ford had back then really belonged to your mom, then Benjamin Shaw and your mom both had a deeply intertwined connection with Serena. Push the timeline back and keep looking for other links—maybe you’ll break through. Same as always: rather miss something than stir the wrong pot."

Ryan answered in acknowledgment.

As Julian finished speaking, his phone rang with a work call.

Ryan felt there was still something left unsaid. It wasn’t until he saw Julian’s silhouette walking away that he slowly realized—his initial question hadn’t been answered at all!

Not only did he get no answer, he’d been assigned a new task!

Ryan’s heart, shaky and unsure between Scarlett and Julian, had just begun to tip toward his brother out of guilt. But now, having fallen for Julian’s tricks yet again, he couldn’t help but start to worry about Scarlett.

With a fox like his brother, could Scarlett really hold her own?

Scarlett was helping other colleagues prep ingredients for the evening barbecue, when someone chatted, "There’s gonna be a meteor shower tonight—anyone want to watch together?"

Skyler: "Watching a meteor shower is such a romantic thing. People usually do it with their significant others, not staring at their coworkers’ faces. What, you want to wish for a life of eternal servitude?"

"..."

As brutally honest as that was, every modern office worker has a talent for finding joy in misery. So, everyone broke into laughter anyway.

Skyler sat down next to Scarlett, lowering her voice. "Your tent’s right next to me and Lily—are you gonna be okay with President Ford tonight, or should Lily and I make ourselves scarce?"

Scarlett was taken aback for a second but quickly realized what Skyler was hinting at, her eyes widening. "Skyler, what’s with this R-rated topic?"

Skyler noticed Scarlett’s ears turning red, raising an eyebrow. "Last time we went abroad for that business trip, didn’t you two already...?"

She definitely remembered the noticeable, passionate love bites on Scarlett’s delicate neck back then.

At the time, she’d thought Aaron Carson had left them.

Thinking about it now, if it was President Ford... the imagery was pretty vivid.

Scarlett lied through her teeth, eyes open wide. "We didn’t."

That was all before they started dating—Julian Ford was truly shameless back then.

Come to think of it, when Julian said he wanted to go after her, he’d brazenly admitted he wanted to sleep with her. But after they got together, he’d actually behaved himself—if she didn’t give in, he really didn’t push it.

Skyler immediately understood, pulling Scarlett closer and lowering her voice even more. "Whatever the boundary, Lily and I shouldn’t be hovering nearby and getting in the way."

Scarlett: "..."

Never mind the fact that she and Julian hadn’t really made up since their fight—even if they had, outdoor activities weren’t her thing!

Disgusted as she was, one’s imagination is hard to control—and often way too vivid.

Scarlett had only thought of that word, but suddenly her mind was filled with images she’d never imagined before—and memories of what she had experienced, making her ears burn even hotter, almost catching fire.

As luck would have it, Julian just happened to walk over at that moment, tall and long-legged, handsome and cold, his composed gaze settling openly on her face.

"..."

Scarlett, guilty, ducked her head, burying her face into her knees like an ostrich.

That bastard—total troublemaker.

Julian suddenly merged into the larger group—not only surprising Scarlett, but making all the other colleagues look at each other, barely daring to breathe.

Only those in the know, Skyler and Lily, were brave enough to chat with Julian—a bit of work, a bit of everything. Julian was terse but not dismissive, and as the conversations continued, others also relaxed enough to talk to the boss.

As the evening went on, with courage growing and faces becoming familiar, the questions grew bolder (and more reckless).

Out of nowhere, someone blurted, "President Ford, will you also be watching the meteor shower alone tonight?"

The air went suddenly silent.

Everyone held their breath, curious but nervous to hear what the boss would say.

Skyler and Lily, who knew the inside scoop, kept darting glances back and forth between Scarlett and Julian until their eyes nearly crossed.

The former continued burying her head, pretending to be deaf and dumb.

The latter gave the "pretending" one a subtle glance and answered naturally, straightforwardly, "With my girlfriend."

Skyler, Lily: "!!"

The rest: "?!"

After Julian said that, some other Veridian execs came over to discuss work stuff.

He walked away, but left behind a roaring inferno of gossip.

"President Ford brought his girlfriend? How come I haven’t seen anyone?"

"Me neither. But I get the feeling President Ford really treasures his girlfriend."

"There you go again with your ’feelings’."

"No, I mean it! Didn’t you notice even his tone changed when he said ’girlfriend’? I bet President Ford’s love story with his girlfriend is probably super moving—enough to make you cry!"

"Or maybe not. If the relationship’s so great, why not just bring his girlfriend out in the open?"

"Ever heard the saying, ’success depends on secrecy’? All those big celeb couples in legit relationships—don’t they all hide their partners to the max? Out of protection! Let alone President Ford, with his kind of background."

"..."

Everyone chimed in, speculations flying.

Scarlett, at the words "moving love story that makes people cry and shakes the heavens," already felt mortified and slipped away quietly.

If she stayed and someone launched into ’till the mountains crumble and the sky joins with the earth,’ she’d probably want to bury her whole head underground.

Scarlett escaped into her tent. Probably because she was exhausted from the hike, she fell asleep quickly. When she woke up, it was already late—the night was deep and the moon hung high. She reached for her phone beside her sleeping bag, just as a message from Aaron Carson came in.