Chapter 424 Changing the Relationship
Emma shot back: [Lionel, what did you send? I missed it.]
Lionel squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his phone like it was a lifeline. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.
His phone buzzed non-stop with messages from Emma, who was clearly getting impatient: [Lionel, you there?]
[If you don't tell me, I won't sleep tonight!]
[Just spill it.]
Lionel was torn. He really wanted to tell Emma how he felt, but he was scared she'd reject him and they'd lose their friendship.
Earlier, he saw Emma looking at Ernest with those admiring eyes, and it hurt. But the thought of confessing and getting turned down freaked him out even more. So, he panicked and deleted the message [Emma, I like you, will you be my girlfriend?] just seconds after sending it.
'Maybe I should just drop a hint,' he thought. He didn't want to scare her off. Better to take it slow.
So, he quickly typed: [Oops, sent the wrong message.]
Emma was clearly waiting and replied instantly: [Oh, got it! That's a relief. You know, Lionel, last time someone was super annoying. He asked me what the two most annoying things were. I asked him what they were. He only told me the first one and didn't say the second.]
Lionel didn't get it: [What's the second?]
Even through the screen, he could sense Emma's frustration.
Emma replied: [He never told me the second thing.]
Lionel paused, gathering his thoughts.
Lionel: [I don't want to be just your senior anymore.]
He hit send and held his breath.
Emma replied quickly: [What do you mean?]
Lionel's hands shook as he typed: [I mean, Emma, would you mind if we changed our relationship?]
His heart pounded. He could already picture her turning him down.
Emma: [Then I'll be your senior, and you can be my junior!]
Lionel didn't respond, trying to pretend the conversation never happened.
In the back seat, Ernest suddenly made a gagging sound.
Alvin turned around, puzzled. "Ernest, you okay?"
Ernest covered his mouth. "Sorry, I think I'm carsick. Not used to the back seat."
Alvin laughed. "You should've said something. Luann, pull over at the next intersection. I'll switch with him."
Luann just gave a faint "Hmm."
After they switched seats, Ernest seemed better. He looked at Luann, who was focused on driving, and flashed a bright smile. "Thanks for driving me home, Ms. Weaver. I live pretty far, so why not drop Mr. Curtis off first? It'd save some time."
Alvin waved it off. "No biggie, I don't get carsick. I could sit in this car forever. Plus, not everyone gets to ride with Luann! She's a racing champ, her skills are top-notch!"
Luann smiled softly, not showing off, just being her usual chill self.
"Ms. Weaver is amazing in every way," Ernest said earnestly. "If she weren't married, there'd be a line of guys waiting to date her."
Alvin nodded. "Yeah, Luann, you've got a ton of male fans!"
Luann just replied politely, "Thank you."
"Hey, how's Aspire Securities doing lately? Seems like it's on the up and up," Alvin switched the topic.
"Yeah, it's doing well," Luann said, glancing at the GPS now and then.
Ernest stayed quiet, just listening.
Alvin looked at Luann with admiration. "Luann, I really look up to you. How do you know so much, even about finance? It's impressive."
He used to have a bit of a crush on Luann, but now he knew better. He didn't want to embarrass himself.
"Sometimes I don't get things either. I just read a few books," Luann said with a light smile.
"I should take a page from your book! Starting tomorrow, I'm diving into some professional reading too!"
Luann chuckled. "You're already balancing school and the company. Don't overdo it, or you'll end up like Emma and struggle to graduate."
"No way. I've got the Curtis family genes. Failing isn't an option," Alvin said proudly, not wanting to look bad in front of Luann.
Luann didn't call him out. She knew from Emma that Alvin's grades weren't stellar.
They soon arrived at Ernest's stop.
As Ernest got out, he pulled out his phone. "Ms. Weaver, can I get your contact info?"
Luann replied calmly, "You can add Emma's."
Ernest pursed his lips and put his phone away. "Goodbye."
Alvin watched, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As he pondered, Luann had already turned the car around and drove off.
Ernest walked into the building. His agent, waiting by the window, asked, "Did Luann drive you back?"
Ernest nodded, changing his shoes. "Yeah."
"Good," the agent said with a knowing look. "By the way, the charity event tonight is trending. You should say something nice about Luann to leave a good impression."
Ernest frowned and checked his phone.
The charity event had posted the donation amounts from various participants. They didn't rank them, just listed them randomly, but someone still made a fuss. [Luann makes so much money but only donated $350,000. The necklace she's wearing is worth more than that!]
