Lia Aiken patted her head, "You're such a sensible child."

The little girl pointed to a flower shop in the distance and said, "Big sister, that's the flower shop my mom owns."

Lia followed her gaze and indeed saw a flower shop. Even from afar, she could see it was quiet, with a woman standing there looking over in this direction. It was probably the little girl's mother. Once she spotted her daughter, the woman quickly walked over.

"Big brother, are you going to give flowers to the big sister? My mom saw me, she's coming over to take me home. I've only sold two flowers today." The little girl saw her mother walking over and nervously looked up at Ivan, hoping he would buy her flowers.

"I'll buy them."

Lia Aiken wanted to take out money to buy flowers.

A big hand pressed down on hers. Ivan said, "I'll buy them, and give them to you."

He then said to the little girl, "Little sister, I'll take all your flowers. How much do they cost in total?"

The little girl was thrilled, still in disbelief, "Big brother, you'll take them all? It's not Valentine's Day, these flowers aren't very fresh, and they're not expensive. I sell them for three yuan each. I have..." She counted the flowers, "eighteen left, big brother. You need to give me a total of fifty-four yuan."

The little girl calculated quickly. After counting the flowers, she immediately knew how much he had to pay.

She squatted down, put the basket on the ground, and took out a red ribbon from the bottom of the basket, tying all the flowers together and adding a nice bow. She stood up and handed the bouquet to Ivan, feeling a bit shy, "Big brother, I didn't bring anything else, so I could only tie them simply for you."

Ivan took the bouquet, releasing Lia Aiken's hand at the same time. It was only then that Lia noticed he hadn't let go when he stopped her from buying flowers; instead, he had held her hand without her realizing it.

She had been so focused on the little girl that she didn't notice at all.

Ivan paid the money in full.

The little girl received the money and smiled happily, saying, "Thank you, big brother, thank you, big sister."

"Your mom's here, go back with her." Lia Aiken gently waved goodbye. The little girl murmured a reply, clutching the fifty-four yuan she'd earned from selling the flowers. Happily, she ran towards her mom.

Her mom stopped and waited for her when she saw her running over.

Lia couldn't hear what the mother and daughter were saying but saw the woman smiling and waving at her. The little girl also turned around to wave again at Lia and Ivan. Then, the woman took her daughter's hand and walked towards the flower shop. The little girl hopped along happily.

Ivan handed the bouquet to Lia Aiken, watching her intently and said, "This is for you."

Whenever she saw him, he always watched her intently. Lia usually didn't think much of it, but at this moment, facing the bouquet of roses he'd given her, she felt his gaze was different, more intense.

Don't overthink this—she and he were impossible.

Lia Aiken tried hard to convince herself not to be self-indulgent.

"Why aren't you taking it? Is it because the flowers aren't fresh enough? How about we go to the little sister's flower shop and pick a fresher bouquet?" Ivan noticed she was hesitating to take the bouquet and spoke up. Actually, the bouquet wasn't freshly cut, but it wasn't wilted and still looked vibrant.

"I wasn't rejecting it." Lia quickly took the bouquet and explained.

He was just helping out the little sister by buying flowers, with no other intention.

After she took the bouquet, Ivan's expression softened, his habitual smile emerging, briefly mesmerizing Lia. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Lia Aiken was alarmed, thinking it would be best to have less contact with him in the future, otherwise she might find herself falling for him.

She couldn't let her father know she was getting along well with Ivan, or her father might take advantage of her even more. She wouldn't want her father using her to gain a collaboration with Valence Group and have Ivan look down on her.

"Let's go. Let's return to the hotel."

Lia nodded, "You have a flight to catch tomorrow, let's head back early."

Ivan suddenly regretted not saying he'd stay a couple more days but thought, she's his sister's alumni, and adding the Aiken Family wanting to collaborate with Valence, they'll have plenty of chances to meet in the future. Ivan felt no loss.

Once they returned to the hotel, they went to their respective rooms. Ivan hadn't even sat down before calling Mr. Aiken.

Mr. Aiken quickly answered his call.

"Mr. Horne." Mr. Aiken spoke with a hint of flattery and caution, as if afraid his flattery might not be enough and could offend Ivan.

Ivan walked over to the sofa and sat down, leaning back and said, "Mr. Aiken, I want to ask you something, and I hope you can answer me."

Mr. Aiken felt anxious but kept a smile, "Mr. Horne, please ask. As long as it's something I know, I'll definitely answer it."

Could it be related to the deadbeat Lia?

Mr. Horne had been on business for a week and was not back, and that deadbeat didn't know which corner she'd escaped to. He endured not bothering Lia over these few days so she could relax and feel good enough to accompany him to Valence Group for talks.

"I heard you want an alliance with the Aibileen Family. Your younger daughter can't get married yet, so is the alliance partner Lia?" Ivan went straight to the point.

Since he helped Lia warn Ethan Aibileen, Ivan hadn't followed up. Tonight, after finding himself a bit attracted to Lia, he remembered that Ethan was still lurking, unresolved.