## Chapter 10: Pushing Your Luck!
"Impossible."
Payne denied it without even thinking, giving an 'are you kidding me?' expression as he sneered:
"I just had a headache, not a seizure. How could I possibly have called out her name?"
Assistant Lin struggled desperately, "You did, really."
"Then you must have misheard."
If it was a mishearing, that wasn't impossible.
Assistant Lin recalled the moment hazily, beginning to doubt himself. After all, Payne's voice had been very soft and unclear at the time. If he hadn't said "Jane" but rather "tonight"... that could have been confused.
But... something didn't seem right.
Before Assistant Lin could figure it out, Payne had already spoken, "Take three days of paid leave. You're dismissed."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Payne."
Assistant Lin bowed slightly, no longer pondering the matter, and withdrew.
Everything was quiet.
Payne looked down at his phone, tapped it twice, and from a newly saved recording came the sound of a young woman softly humming a tune, gentle and melodious.
Unfortunately, it was a bit short, only thirty seconds.
Even now, Payne could recall Jane's soft, nostalgic expression as she sang that nursery rhyme.
It was obvious she must have had a free and carefree childhood.
A happy and warm original family.
However, her parents clearly hadn't raised her well.
Jane was a person with improper intentions, motivated solely by profit, and ambitious.
And—playing two sides!
Payne laughed coldly and sent a message to another assistant: [Cancel the schedule for the end of the month and add this one for the auction.]
...
Jane slept so deeply she lost track of time.
When she woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Checking her phone, she saw that Young Master Johnson had sent dozens of WeChat messages. Jane didn't read any of them and promptly set him to Do Not Disturb.
Then she opened a text message from another unfamiliar number.
[.]
No words, just a period.
Jane burst out laughing. Anyone could guess that this message was from Payne, and definitely sent by him personally.
It meant he had agreed to her condition.
Jane happily savored the gritted teeth hidden in Payne's period and couldn't help laughing for a long while.
After she'd had enough laughter, she got up from bed, washed up, changed clothes, and timed it just right to go clock in at Lee Garden.
As she reached the ground floor, Jane paused.
A silver-gray sports car was parked there, its body sleek and cool, reflecting a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight.
Young Master Johnson was dressed head to toe in designer brands, wearing an expensive watch, so meticulously groomed he could step onto a runway for a fashion show right now.
He was completely out of place in this old, weathered building.
He leaned against the car door, lips curved in a smile, looking handsome and dashing.
No wonder Young Master Johnson was so successful in his romantic conquests.
Besides the Johnson family background and wealth, his physical attributes were truly exceptional—good-looking with a great physique. At first glance, he really looked the part.
Jane stopped and asked, though she knew the answer, "What are you doing here?"
Johnson brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes and walked forward, saying, "You didn't reply to my messages, so I had to wait outside your home."
He smiled, somewhat proudly, "And look, I've caught you."
"..."
Jane asked him, "How long have you been waiting?"
"An hour and a half." Johnson leaned toward Jane, laughing softly, "Are you even a little touched?"
He stood at the bottom of the steps while Jane was still on the stairs. This height difference put their eyes at the same level, and as he leaned in, their noses almost touched.
However, to Johnson's disappointment, Jane's eyes remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
Couldn't this move her at all?
Johnson felt inexplicably frustrated, as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head.
Jane looked away, her long eyelashes lowering to hide the cold light that flashed briefly in her eyes.
Not enough, still not enough.
She needed to get close to the center of power in the Johnson family, to personally investigate the truth about Jiang Weimin's death, as well as the secrets and crimes that Jiang Weimin had been investigating but were covered up by the Johnson family!
She needed to seek justice for her sister Jenny, who lay in the hospital as a vegetative patient!
And most importantly, she needed to find the murderer who had strangled her mother, Meng Wenjin!
To kill her enemy with her own hands!
But the Johnson family was too suspicious, especially that "great philanthropist" Johnson Yihong—outsiders couldn't get anywhere near him!
To enter the Johnson family with an identity that wouldn't arouse suspicion, she needed Young Master Johnson as her shield.
Now it seemed the first step had been successful—the young master was interested in her, but it was just interest.
She was still far from being brought into the Johnson family circle, where she could touch the family's secrets.
Jane's thoughts raced as she let out a long breath.
She stood in place without moving, lifting her chin slightly to gesture at Johnson, "Go away."
"Sending me away again?"
Johnson couldn't stand hearing those words and nearly lost it!
After restraining himself repeatedly, he maintained his composure and said, "I can't sleep with you, I can't pursue you—what exactly do I need to do?"
"If this is your way of pursuing someone, it only brings me trouble and affects my normal life," Jane glanced at him and said flatly. "I really don't like it."
As they spoke, a crowd of men and women had gathered at the entrance of the alley, their eyes practically glued to the sports car.
This residential area was old and backward, a slum in the eyes of young masters.
People living here had never seen such a car.
Similarly, no rich second-generation would deign to come here.
At once, countless people were looking in their direction, some with envy, others with greed.
These gazes brought nothing but trouble.
Johnson belatedly realized this but didn't care. "Then I'll just get you a new place to live! Come with me!"
As he spoke, he grabbed Jane's hand, his grip rather forceful.
"Let go!" Jane struggled several times but couldn't break free.
Johnson was practically dragging her forward.
Before being forcibly stuffed into the car, Jane slapped him hard, saying word by word, "I said, let go!"
With that slap, even the wind around them seemed to go quiet.
Johnson's expression was terrible.
He had never been a person with a good temper, having all the typical rich young master's temperament.
With his status and position, he was respected and pampered wherever he went!
But today, he had actually been slapped by a woman!
Johnson laughed coldly. Yes, he admitted it—who made him particularly like Jane's face? He deserved it!
Perhaps his tolerance and patience over the past few days had given her the wrong impression!
"Come when called, leave when dismissed—what do you take me for, a dog?"
"Or do you think the young master here really can't do without you?"
"Jane, let me tell you, if I leave today, don't come crying to me tomorrow!"
Johnson threw down these words, got into his sports car with a dark face, and stepped on the gas with a roar, scaring the onlookers into quickly moving aside.
Jane didn't even blink, only rubbing her sore wrist.
Whether he was a dog or not wasn't important.
Training him was the right move.
[End of Chapter 10]