Chapter 178: Saving Willow Kane

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Saving Willow Kane

Seeing Chloe’s complete indifference and her unwillingness to speak with him, Adrian Kane felt a pang of anguish. He knew Chloe was already resistant to him, and he didn’t want his association with Brooke York to deepen that aversion.

"Chloe, I..."

Adrian Kane tried to say more, but Chloe cut him off impatiently. "Mr. Kane, you don’t need to explain any of this to me. Who you associate with truly has nothing to do with me."

A wave of helplessness washed over Adrian Kane.

It would be one thing if she were at least willing to listen. But Chloe clearly had no desire to speak to him, let alone hear what he had to say.

Just then, their car arrived. Wendy Winters quickly opened the door for Chloe. Once Chloe was inside, Wendy shot an apologetic smile at Adrian Kane before quickly getting in herself.

Adrian Kane froze in place. ’She’s truly so wary of me.’

Sitting in the car, Chloe stared out the window, thinking to herself, ’Looks like I’ll have to cut back on going out from now on.’

Seeing that Chloe didn’t want to talk, Wendy Winters was tactful enough not to disturb her.

As the car drove off and disappeared from sight, Brooke York walked straight up to Adrian Kane.

She had heard every word of the conversation between Adrian Kane and Chloe.

Although she was embarrassed by what Adrian Kane had just said to her, she hadn’t expected Chloe to inadvertently help her by taking such a tone with him.

But she also hadn’t imagined that Chloe could be so shamelessly cheap.

Playing hard-to-get with Ethan Prescott was one thing, but to do the same to Adrian Kane? And yet, she was only enthusiastic with Evan Shaw. She really had all these men wrapped around her little finger.

"Mr. Kane, you see? I told you. Chloe is just playing hard-to-get, trying to get you under her thumb. She’s not like this with Young Master Ethan Prescott of the Prescott Family, and she’s certainly not like this with Evan Shaw either."

"If you ask me, you shouldn’t waste your time on someone like her. You should open your eyes to other people. There are plenty of girls in this world who don’t play hard-to-get or try to manipulate men."

Adrian Kane was already simmering with frustration. He could feel that Chloe’s aversion to him had grown even deeper today.

She wouldn’t even look at him while he was talking. Didn’t that just mean she didn’t want to see him at all?

And the sole reason for this was that Chloe had seen him sitting with Brooke York.

Brooke York and Chloe were polar opposites. By seeing him sitting alone with Brooke, wasn’t it as good as telling Chloe that he and Brooke were on the same side?

This was all Brooke York’s fault. And yet, this woman had the audacity to approach him and spout this nonsense.

"Shut up."

Adrian Kane’s two furious words made Brooke York’s face go white, and she subconsciously retreated half a step.

When she came to her senses, her lips trembled as she tried to salvage the situation. "Mr. Kane, I was just..."

"I told you to shut up. Didn’t you hear me?" Adrian Kane cut her off again, his voice sharp.

"Let me ask you something. How did you know I was here today?"

"I... I heard it from someone," Brooke York said, her eyes darting away. In truth, she had sent someone to investigate him.

"Heard it from someone? Who?"

"I forgot!"

"Brooke York, I don’t care if you’re telling the truth or not. But if I find out you’ve been investigating me, I’ll show you the meaning of a fate worse than death."

"Furthermore, what kind of person Chloe is, is none of your business. You have no right to say a single bad word about her in my presence. If you ever dare to pull a premeditated stunt like this in front of me again, I won’t let you off. And I won’t let the York Family off, either."

At Adrian Kane’s words, the color completely drained from Brooke York’s face. She wanted to explain, but couldn’t form a single coherent sentence. "Mr. Kane, I didn’t... I was just..."

"Get out."

He couldn’t stand the sight of Brooke York’s phony act any longer. More importantly, he didn’t want to get entangled in any more trouble because of her that might cause another misunderstanding with Chloe.

"Don’t ever appear before me again. And you are forbidden from provoking Chloe. Don’t let me find out you’ve done anything to harm her."

Before Brooke York could even turn to leave, Adrian Kane’s driver approached from the other side. "Sir."

Adrian Kane followed the driver to a car parked across the street. It sped off and quickly disappeared from view.

"Adrian Kane, you’re a bastard too!"

Watching the car disappear into the distance, Brooke York couldn’t stop herself from shouting.

"You idiot! Fucking moron! Imbecile! You really think you’re so damn great? Chloe has you wrapped around her finger, and you still have the nerve to act so high and mighty with me? I can’t wait to watch her lead you around like a dog on a leash!"

"And Evan Shaw, Ethan Prescott—you’re all the same! Just a pack of dogs!"

The more Brooke York cursed, the better she felt. Passersby started to stare at the crazed woman, their faces a mixture of curiosity and morbid fascination, as if watching a spectacle.

Snapping back to reality, Brooke York noticed their stares and roared, "What are you looking at? Is there a show for you?"

The onlookers confirmed their suspicions—this person was unhinged—and quickened their pace to get away.

"All of you just wait! I have a system! One day, you will all regret treating me this way!"

Brooke York stomped her foot in resentment and stormed off.

「Time passed unhurriedly.」

After that last encounter, she finally stopped running into Adrian Kane.

’I can’t believe I’ve hidden away in a city this far, and the main cast still keeps showing up,’ she thought. ’This plot is truly unavoidable.’

’Though, I suppose it’s highly likely related to Brooke York, since she’s the original female lead of the book.’

One day, she ran out of snacks at home, so Chloe went out to restock.

She usually bought enough snacks to last for a week.

Coming out of the store with a full bag, Chloe felt a surge of happiness. She had a particular fondness for snacks these days.

Finding a good short-form drama, ordering some takeout, and munching away while watching was her idea of bliss. Topping it all off with some more snacks afterward? Life was perfect.

Godly Rich System: [Host, 300 meters ahead, a pervert is secretly filming a woman in a floral dress. Assist her for a reward of 600 yuan.]

Just as she was about to head back, Chloe heard the voice of the Godly Rich System.

She stopped in her tracks. Following the system’s prompt, she looked up, her gaze instantly locking onto the target.

In a roadside seating area not far away, a hunched figure of a man in a black baseball cap was lurking furtively by a flowerbed.

The hand hidden behind his back tightly clutched a phone. He was maneuvering the camera at an extremely awkward angle, trying to aim it up the skirt of a woman in a long, light apricot floral dress ahead of him.

The woman had her back to him. She was slightly bent over, holding a camera, focused on taking pictures of a small child in front of her, completely oblivious to the vile act being plotted behind her.

The distance wasn’t short, so Chloe couldn’t clearly make out the woman’s features or see the child’s face. But just watching the man’s sleazy, furtive actions made a fire of rage ignite within her.