“Isabella, do you remember what I told you? I’ll wait for you,” Andrew said lightly but earnestly.
There was a certain age gap between them, and in Andrew’s eyes, Isabella was still just a young girl. Whether she loved him at this moment didn’t matter. His love for her was enough. He had the patience to wait; she would eventually fall in love with him.
“Isabella, Isabella!” Olivia’s voice suddenly came from behind. “We’re boarding soon, why are you hiding here?”
Isabella turned to see Olivia, quickly ending the call and, in her high heels, hurried to join her.
The boarding gate had already begun the queue, and both of them boarded with their boarding passes.
Isabella’s acting and condition had been top-notch these few days. The character she portrayed had almost no difficulty, and it matched her own personality effortlessly.
Additionally, Charles had specifically come to the filming location to inspect and encourage everyone on set in front of the big boss.
Isabella didn’t have a good impression of Charles, so she had no intention of getting close to him. She deliberately chose a corner to stay in. Anyway, with so many cast and crew members present, he wouldn’t notice her.
Unexpectedly, Charles actually walked up to her and even personally brought her a cup of milk tea. “Isabella, thank you for your hard work.”
“You’re welcome.” She politely took the milk tea, her smile faint but faultless.
Even though Isabella didn’t admire Charles’ character, she still possessed basic manners and upbringing.
Charles discreetly appraised her, refrained from making forced conversation, and then left.
Charles had booked an afternoon flight back to Ithaca town. As the CEO, he had a lot of work to attend to.
Just as Charles left the hotel with his secretary and got into a car heading to the airport, Ryan called him.
“I heard you’re flying to Ithaca town?” Ryan asked.
Charles sighed, somewhat helpless. “The leading actress of the new movie is bound to cause trouble. She almost drove away my favorite director. Can I not come?”
“When are you coming back? We’ve arranged to play basketball with Andrew and Austin tomorrow. We can’t do without you,” Ryan added.
“Don’t worry, I’m boarding soon. If it weren’t for wanting to see the rumored love interest of the big boss, I would’ve flown back to Ithaca town last night,” Charles replied.
“Did you see Isabella? She’s a real firecracker. If you’re not tired of living, better not mess with her. Andrew is very protective, you know that,” Ryan warned.
“Really?” Charles sounded somewhat doubtful. “Isabella is indeed quite beautiful, but there are other women who are equally stunning. Is Andrew serious this time?”
“More serious than real gold,” Ryan said. “Like attracts like. You’ll find out in the future.”
After maintaining the half-month shoot, the timing of reaching the airport was just right. After passing through security and entering the waiting area, Isabella glanced at her wristwatch. There were about ten minutes left until the flight departure.
Before boarding, Isabella made a call to Andrew.
Once the call connected, she commanded in a playful voice, “Andrew, I’m boarding soon. I’ll arrive in Ithaca town in two hours. Don’t forget to pick me up.”
“Okay.” Andrew’s deep, magnetic voice contained a hint of a smile.
On the other end, he was at the Green family’s estate.
Mrs. Green had passed away over a decade ago, leaving only Mr. Green, who was still alive at over ninety years old and in robust health.
After ending the call, Andrew returned to the study and resumed the chess game with Mr. Green, which they hadn’t finished just now. It took nearly an hour to complete the game, and Mr. Green narrowly won.
A servant came in, tidied up the chessboard and pieces, and brought in two cups of hot tea.
Mr. Green picked up his teacup and smiled, “Playing chess with an old man like me must be tiring.”
“Not at all, sir,” Andrew was very respectful and deferential in front of the old gentleman.
“Andrew, don’t think I’m old and my eyes are dim. Every time you play chess, you deliberately let me win by a slight margin. It’s not exhausting at all,” Mr. Green shook his head, playfully.
Andrew smiled lightly, tacitly agreeing.
“Student surpasses the master,” Mr. Green remarked. After all, he had taught Andrew everything he knew about chess.
After Mr. Green’s musings, he pointed to the teacup on the table. “Not bad, have a taste.”
Andrew picked up the celadon teacup in front of him, tapped the lid twice, took a sip, and remarked, “It’s good tea.”
“It’s good tea,” Andrew said.
“Let the servants pack some for you to take home later. Tea is better for health than drinking coffee or red wine,” Mr. Green suggested.
Andrew nodded and took a few more sips from the teacup.
“I see you’ve been in good spirits lately. Have you encountered something good?” Mr. Green inquired.
“Oh?” Andrew smiled faintly, a subtle raise of his eyebrows.
“You can tell from the chessboard. Your previous moves were aggressive, now they’re more gentle,” Mr. Green chuckled with meaning, “In love?”
Andrew’s lips curved a bit warmer, a faint smile lingering in his features. “Yes, I’ve been dating a girl recently. I’ll bring her to visit you when we have the chance.”
Andrew had no intention of concealing their relationship with Mr. Green.