Chapter 16

Alison walked straight to the sports car but didn't go to pick up the bright red roses. Instead, she opened the door and got into the driver's seat. She pressed the button to close the door and then started the engine with one key. She quickly turned the steering wheel and drove directly onto the main road.
The series of actions stunned everyone, including Billy.
Billy's confident smile slowly froze as he realized that Alison hadn't taken any flowers but had taken both his car and Selina's flowers away together. So he stood among everyone holding a flower like a fool being watched by others.
His face turned red to white, then white to blue, as anger and frustration built up in his chest. He had an impulse to strangle Alison right there on the spot.
The crowd was discussing it all in whispers when someone asked quietly, "How can Alison drive a Rolls-Royce? She looks so skilled at it too. Isn't her family not very wealthy?"
In Bentley next to them, John, who usually never showed any expression, looked surprised this time. He spoke softly, "Miss Grey," After a moment of silence, he added two more words, "Impressive driving!"
Billy probably had never been humiliated like this before in his life.
Alexander put down his hand from leaning against their car door and glanced at where Alison's sports car disappeared without leaving any trace of sight of its existence anymore; he couldn't help but curl up a smile across his lips while some amusement flickered through his eyes for just an instant.
Billy is part of the Hamilton family?
Suddenly Alexander thought about something else; His gaze deepened as he took out his phone, dialing a number which rang twice before someone picked up excitedly, shouting, "Alexander!"
Directly asking him: "Did you instruct Billy to pursue Alison?"
Selina seemed stunned momentarily, not expecting Alexander to find out so quickly. She didn't know how to explain it and instinctively denied it, "It wasn't me." Then, she added, "Who can control Billy? If he likes someone, how could I possibly influence him?"
"That's not the best answer!" Alexander said flatly, "Stay away from Alison and don't provoke her. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our elders' faces."
Selina choked up obviously; her voice was muffled with grievances and unwillingness as she asked: "Do you like her that much?"
"It has nothing to do with you!"
After saying that, Alexander hung up the phone directly. He hated entanglements without clear resolutions; he hoped Selina would stop here so he wouldn't have to use Alison as an excuse.
...
Billy finally took a taxi back to the Hamilton family villa. The servants were surprised when they saw him return so early but kept their distance since Billy had a volatile temper. They tried not to provoke him if possible.
He had never been humiliated like this before in his life. Women around him always fawned over him or flattered him, while those who played hard-to-get knew their limits and never really annoyed him too much. But today, not only was he annoyed but also very angry!
That girl named Alison gave no face at all!
He went upstairs, changed into another set of clothes without mood swings, then played one game after another until his teammates made things worse for him. Then, throwing away his phone suddenly reminded Billy of something else - How did Alison return the car?
His car is a limited edition; there are only two cars like it in New York City! He doesn't believe she dared drive it home or leave it somewhere randomly on the street. She may ask the police for help. The police won't let her go quickly, either. When that happens, he'll say a few words, and she might be unable to clear her name quickly; in the end, she will have to come begging him!
Billy was thinking about it when his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. He swiped his finger across the screen and answered casually, "Who's this?"
"Is this Mr. Hamilton?" The person on the other side spoke in a business-like tone.
Billy raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling somewhat pleased with himself as he leaned lazily against the sofa, "Who is this?"
"Hello, Mr. Hamilton; I'm from the police department. We saw a car parked by the roadside earlier, and after checking its license plate, we found out it belonged to you. Selling flowers on the street is prohibited, so please move your car as soon as possible."
"What?" Billy frowned.
"Um..." The police hesitated for a moment. Then, "Maybe Mr. Hamilton should come and see for himself!"
Billy hung up the phone, went to the garage, took another car, and quickly drove onto the road after leaving the villa.
Half an hour later, Billy watched Alison drive away in his sports car, his face darkening like a storm cloud.
The car was parked on the side of the road with a piece of paper that read: "Selling flowers
for $10 each, cash only, self-service." Half of the expensive roses were missing from inside the car, and a pile of change was thrown on the passenger seat along with keys to the vehicle.
Nowadays, few people carry cash around with them, so when some saw this opportunity, they came over holding stacks of ten-dollar bills, ready to exchange them for money. Transparent pricing displayed - scan code payment at twelve dollars per rose exchanged for ten dollar notes.
Surprisingly enough, quite a few people came over to exchange money; five or six people surrounded them, exchanging money while others bought roses using their newly acquired cash right in front of Billy's eyes before throwing down their money and taking off with their new purchase.
It was because things had gotten too lively here that traffic police were attracted over.
Suppressing his anger which threatened to burst out at any moment, Billy called his driver to pick up his car while he waited by its side. At this point, one boy who had helped him exchange money walked over and looked up at Billy, saying: "Hello? That's my family's supermarket."
The boy was eleven or twelve years old, pointing towards a convenience store nearby, continuing: "A pretty lady came by earlier looking for water, telling me I could help her exchange money, making some pocket change."
Billy narrowed his eyes, grabbed some banknotes from inside his vehicle, and handed them over to him, asking: "What else did she say?"
The boy pocketed the money and grinned: "That lady said when I was making money to help watch over her car, wait for a man who is both fierce and angry to come by, then I could go home."
Billy "..."
Fierce and angry?
She even anticipated his expression but always managed to be one step ahead of him!
The anger in his chest dissipated instead, replaced with a fighting spirit for some inexplicable reason. He refused to believe that he couldn't handle such a little girl.
He sneered coldly, patting the boy's head, saying: "Alright, you can go home now!"
The boy ran off happily, clutching his newfound wealth. At this moment, Selina called him, asking: "Did you succeed?"
Billy replied irritably: "It's only been two days; what's your hurry?" before hanging up directly.
With an unhappy face, he sat down inside his car when suddenly his phone rang again. Thinking it was Selina calling back, he answered it with a dark expression, only to see that it was Dylan, one of his friends.
By the time Billy arrived at their private room, it had already turned dark outside; upon pushing open its door, deafening sounds had come from within, along with alcohol fumes permeating throughout.
Dylan sat beside him, laughing, saying: "What's wrong? Feeling upset?"
He could tell just from their earlier conversation on the phone.
"It's nothing!" Billy poured himself a drink.
"A few new people have arrived but haven't made any moves yet; want me to give you some ideas?" Dylan smirked meaningfully.
Billy glanced at him, asking sarcastically: "Is today our first day meeting each other or something?"
Dylan leaned closer, whispering into Billy's ear while extinguishing his cigarette butt, saying: "Could it be because of that woman?"
Billy drank more alcohol without speaking another word.
Dylan leaned in even closer, saying: "You don't understand; with this kind of high-minded girl, you can't use money; otherwise, she'll think you're insulting her!"
Billy looked over, asking: "Then what should I do?"
"Be a hero and save the beauty; let her see that your character is noble, and then the opportunity will come."
"That won't work." Billy recounted his first encounter with Alison to him.
"That doesn't count. You must wait until she's in danger, feeling hopeless and helpless, before appearing." Dylan raised an eyebrow at Billy maliciously.
Billy fell into deep thought for a while before slowly smiling.