Chapter 21 Help Needed

Victor mentioned meeting at the movie theater in the center square of Luken.

Yvette thought, 'There should be a lot of people there. After explaining things, I'll leave. It's not appropriate to watch a movie with him.'

On the way, Yvette kept thinking about what to say. Although Albert might not care, she still didn't want to be misunderstood by his friends.

The other side of the central square is the largest subway interchange station, with a large flow of people every day. Just getting out of the station requires waiting in line for a long time.

Yvette was afraid of being late and didn't dare to delay for a moment, transferring all the way.

After exiting the subway station, the central square was indeed as crowded as she remembered.

She followed the crowd out of the station, turning many corners, climbing several levels, and walking for more than ten minutes before breathing the air on the street.

The moment her phone signal was back to full bars, she received a call from Lassie.

"Mom." Yvette was almost there, with no time to chat with Lassie, she urged, "What's up?"

Lassie said, "Why aren't you coming home for dinner again?"

"I already told you in the message," Yvette replied.

"You never come home for dinner; what are you doing today?" Lassie asked.

"I have something to discuss with a friend," Yvette said.

"Isn't it with Sylvia? Is your friend a man or a woman?" Lassie inquired.

Yvette frowned, and answered, "A male colleague from work."

"A male colleague? Are you meeting alone?" Lassie pointed out. She advised, "Although I'm not happy with your hasty marriage, you're already married. Don't casually go out with men. If someone sees you, you won't be able to explain."

Yvette replied, "I know we're meeting in a public place with many people, and after explaining the situation, I'll leave. We won't be alone together."

Yvette frowned more as she listened, and said, "I have to go now."

Due to a long delay at the exit, Yvette was almost late, so she quickly took out her phone for navigation.

Following the directions, she soon found the cinema, which turned out to be an old mansion. Inside the mansion's small building, through the garden and the arched corridors, the fewer people she encountered.

On the chilly moonlit night, with leaves casting faint shadows, in the beautiful garden, only dim ground lights illuminated the surroundings.

Yvette began to doubt if this was really a cinema.

Following the theater number Victor sent her on her phone, she quickly found Hall 04. The door was tightly shut at the moment.

The tall, all-wooden door, although magnificent, was definitely not the typical door of a cinema hall. This was a private cinema with good privacy, all individual compartments where one could do anything without interference.

Yvette hesitated and was puzzled, standing at the door. She didn't know whether to enter or leave, hesitating for a long time before lightly knocking on the door.

No one opened the door, but a male voice inside said, "Come in."

Yvette took a deep breath, grasped the door handle, and gently pushed the door open.

She felt the room was pitch black, with no lights on, only a movie playing on the projection screen that she couldn't name, emitting a faint blue light, occasionally turning into dim gray.

This environment made Yvette hesitant to step further inside. Instinctively, she turned back, only to find the door had automatically closed.

In this enclosed room, Yvette was unsure whether to enter or leave.

The sofa in the living room moved slightly, and a dark figure sat in the middle of it. She could vaguely see a tall man, whose silhouette and profile seemed familiar to her.

Before Yvette could fully comprehend, with a "click," all the lights came on.

The room instantly brightened from various directions, making it as dazzling as daylight inside.

The person on the sofa turned around slowly.

Only then did she realize that the person sitting there was Albert.

Dressed in a black shirt paired with black casual pants and shoes of the same color, it was a casual style he rarely wore. The two buttons closest to his collar were unbuttoned, giving him a casual yet somewhat sexy look.

Yvette thought she must be mistaken, looked around, and confirmed that it was indeed only her and Albert in the room.

"Don't bother looking. It's just me," he said, his voice sounding cold and mocking.

Yvette involuntarily furrowed her brows and asked, "Why you?"

The cold white light shone on Albert, making him appear aloof and intimidating.

"Are you disappointed?" he chuckled.

"What do you want to say?" Yvette inquired.

Albert suddenly stood up, took a few steps, and walked up to Yvette. He casually lowered his head, gazing at her with a scrutinizing look.

"Victor and I made a bet. He said he could definitely get you to come out. Looks like he wasn't lying," Albert mentioned and his eyes narrowed slightly, his tone tinged with disgust.

Albert continued, "I heard your family situation isn't good, and you need a man to help you. Since most pilots have high incomes, you think any pilot will do, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yvette could roughly guess the nature of their bet. She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word. In his eyes, she was already the worst kind of person, and she couldn't defend herself.

As she tried to step back, Albert forcefully pulled her back. He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, looking angry.

"Among the men that day, I was the captain. You knew who I was from the beginning and deliberately approached me, didn't you?" he questioned.

Forced to look up at him, Yvette saw his disdain. After a while, she softly asked him, "Is this question important?"

Albert paused, appearing slightly calmer.

"Not important," he replied.

With that, he rudely let go of her.

For a moment, Yvette felt a pang of disappointment, but it was fleeting.

She did indeed know who he was, and she deliberately sought to get close to him.

However, it had nothing to do with whether he was a captain or how much income he had.
It was simply because he was Albert.

Although the room was temperature-controlled, she felt a chill. She couldn't help but mock herself inwardly.

'Why should I explain myself to Victor? Why fear Albert's misunderstandings? What am I anticipating? What a waste of time,' she thought.

Albert stood with his back to Yvette, slowly adjusting his clothes, his expression blank.

He informed her, "Pilots don't earn as much as you think, and we have to repay the company's training fees. The income we can control isn't much either."

Yvette lowered her head, her long eyelashes hiding the fleeting tears in her eyes. Her voice was calm as she gave up defending herself.

Yvette replied, "Is that so? Thanks for the reminder."

As the movie on the screen reached its climax, with the protagonists tightly embraced, shedding tears for reasons unknown, Yvette raised her head.

She found the projection screen to be dull and devoid of color, leaving her feeling detached as she gazed at Albert's expression, which seemed distant.

After a while, she heard Albert's indifferent voice, "This Saturday, I'll be waiting for you at The Royal Taste at 6 o'clock."

Despite the brevity of the message, Yvette understood that Albert was referring to the upcoming meeting with her family on Saturday.

Struggling to smile, she spoke meekly and composedly, "Thank you."