Ch. 1281..1290

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1281 --Mike did not know what Mr. R had gone through, but there must have been a story behind his face.

Mr. R was already numb to Mike's reaction toward his face. However, Mike seemed relatively calm. Mr. R's gaze swept over Mike contemptuously, and his voice became deeper, almost warning, "Mr. Corden!"

Mike suddenly came to his senses, and the corners of his mouth twitched. ' Sorry, I didn't know..."

"You don't know how ugly my face was, huh?" Mr. R gently stroked his mask. At this moment, Mike noticed that the same scars also covered Mr. R's hands.

When Mike gazed down at how this man had worn long sleeves and trousers in such weather, he wondered if there were also scars on the rest of Mr. R's body.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Mike explained.

"Hmph!" Mr. R had grown accustomed to people's screams, contempt, panic, and fear when they saw him. Nonetheless, he, too, hated his face.

"I'll leave the funds to you, Mr. Corden. I believe Corden Group's financial resources will not let US down!"

Mike nodded and said, "Of course! Once that is done... You can get what you want once I’ve settled everything."

Then he turned around, and Mike faced the back of the chair. The two sat silent for a while before Mike turned around to leave, feeling that the conversation was over. After walking a few steps, a voice sounded from behind. "Also, tell your men not to test me again. I won't stand for it next time!"

Mike's back stiffened. He turned to look at the back of the chair in shock as he froze in place. Then he left, closing the door before the room fell silent again.

There were a few restaurants near the laboratory. This part of town was more secluded, with fewer people around. Therefore, restaurants in this area were extraordinarily quiet, even during mealtime.

Thompson was early. As soon as he saw Lily enter the door, he extended his hand to greet her enthusiastically. "Lily, over here!"

"Professor Thompson." Although Lily pulled out of the project, she still respected him.

Even though Thompson had hidden much from Lily, he was an older gentleman with outstanding qualifications. He was also good to her when she worked at the laboratory.

Besides Lily, everyone in the laboratory had experience in the medicinal herb field. When she first went in there, she could not help but feel discriminated against. Everyone assumed she had abused her power and entered through a backdoor.

Despite all that, Thompson stood by her side and supported her. Still, the experiment went in the wrong direction, and she could no longer stay.

"Please, sit! You don't have to be so courteous with me!" Thompson picked up the teapot and poured her a cup as he spoke. Lily quickly picked up the cup and thanked him. Then Thompson handed her the menu and asked, "What do you want to eat? I remember you're from the south, and this restaurant has good southern food. I heard it's quite authentic, too." "You're being too nice, Professor Thompson," Lily said, pushing the menu back. "I'm sure you know I'm not here for a meal."

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1284--It was also their trust in her, believing that she could succeed in this project. Other than that, La Beaute Group was not short of money. This small investment was nothing to them.

La Beaute Group would withdraw the capital they had invested in the project now that she had decided to withdraw from it. Although paying the compensation would result in a loss to them, it was just a drop in the bucket for the company.

"Lily, the experiment has been going on for so long. I think we're about to succeed. Are you genuinely going to give up now?"

Thompson asked earnestly. "This project isn't just my painstaking effort, it's yours too. I know you were optimistic about this project in the beginning. La Beaute Group has also invested so much in this. Don't you think it'd be a waste for you to give up?"

He was heartbroken by her decision. Despite the pressure from his superior, he was reluctant to give up.

A simple idea of his has blossomed to this point. It seemed like it was about to succeed, like they were just a step away. At this time, no one could stop him. He must succeed!

After everything he said, Lily was slightly moved by him. Although she didn't speak, her brows furrowed.

She did find this project meaningful. Otherwise, she would not have dedicated herself wholeheartedly like this. It was all fine until she noticed that something was wrong. Poisonous herbs were used in the experiment.

On top of that, the unclear purpose of this whole project made her reluctant to continue.

However, if the institute agreed to stop using poisonous herbs and make calming and relaxing fragrances, she could stay and finish this project. The only problem was that she did not know if Thompson would agree or if" they" would agree.

"Professor Thompson..."

Just as Lily was about to ask, she heard another voice behind her," Professor Thompson."

She turned her head in surprise to see Mike behind her with a perfunctory grin on his face.

"Lily, we meet again." Taking advantage of this opportunity, he sat on the empty seat next to Lily as if it were natural.

This made Lily uncomfortable, and she shifted away from him.

After greeting her, Mike turned to look at Thompson. "Don't worry about the money. I've already told my company to allocate some funds. It'll arrive within 48 hours. However..."

After dragging out his word, his eyes darkened. "I'm not sure if the problem within your team has been resolved. When can we continue the experiment?"

Although this question was addressed to Thompson, Mike turned to look at Lily.

"Mr. Corden, you're good at jumping on opportunities." Lily was a little surprised. She never expected him to intervene.

She always knew he wanted to be a part of this project. Unexpectedly, he managed to strike a deal with Thompson without anyone noticing.

As soon as Russell Group withdrew its capital, his company immediately sent over some funds.

"You always have to keep your eyes and ears open regarding businesses. Alexander is better at this than me." With a smile, he asked her directly,"

What's wrong? Are you refusing to work on this project because I stole your husband's business?"

"I may not have told you that your passive-aggressive method won't work on me," Lily answered lightly.

Then she turned to Thompson and said, "Professor Thompson, I heard you today, but I'll still need some time to think about it. Let's cut today short. I have something else to do and will be taking my leave."

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1285--"Lily? Lily!" Thompson called out after her a few times, but she had no intention of stopping.

Just as he was deciding if he should chase after her or not, Mike held him back. "Professor Thompson, you should give her some time to think."

"But..." Although Thompson did not fancy Mike, Lily was long gone amidst his hesitation.

Ultimately, Thompson could only sit resentfully and glare at Mike. "Mr. Corden, you know how on edge everyone is about the project. Are you deliberately causing trouble by pulling something like this?"

"You should be careful when you speak." Mike pushed the glasses on his nose bridge, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Don't forget. I'm one of the investors now and have spent money on this project. Why wouldn't I want to see results? It's just that you're using the wrong method to try and keep her in this project."

"What do you mean?" Thompson was puzzled.

"I can more or less understand where Lily is coming from. Now that she doubts your purpose, she won't give in until she gets her answer. If you continue to hide things from her like this, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to get her to come back and complete this project."

As Mike explained this, he leaned back in his seat. On the other hand, Thompson's face turned more solemn.

He had put in so much time and effort into this project. Once it was successful, it would bring significant changes to the world and make him famous. He would leave a mark in the field of medicinal herbs.

That success was imminent. If they stopped now...

With his knowledge and experience, medicinal herbs were no issue for him. However, when it came to fragrances, that was where he was weak.

Therefore, he needed Lily on the team if he wanted a perfect blend between medicinal herbs and commercial fragrances.

It was also because of this that he was so worried.

"Then what do you suggest?" Thompson put up his hands helplessly. "I'm sure you know the secrets of this project. However, Lily is very persistent. I know that, but there's nothing I can do! Right now, I feel like I'm one step away from the big breakthrough. As long as Lily returns and helps with the essences, we will succeed soon. She is our missing puzzle piece...

"I can't just kidnap her!" Upon saying this, a wry smile appeared on his face as he pinched his nose bridge before whispering,

"Besides, I don't have the ability to either"

Even if Lily did not know how to kickbox, there was no way an older man in his 60s would be able to do anything to a young woman. On top of that, she had the entire La Beaute Group behind her. He was not stupid enough to try to start a fight with the Russell family.

Listening to this, a mysterious smile formed on Mike's face. "Of course, you can't kidnap her. With her temperament, she probably won't do it even if you kidnapped her!"

"Exactly!" Thompson sighed and looked at Mike. "Tell me, what should I do? If

Ultimately, this was the most important thing.

"That's easy. Tell her the truth!"

"Tell her the truth?!’ Thompson's eyes widened. He thought he had misheard Mike.

"Tell her what she wants to know. Once she gets her answer, our problem is resolved."

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1286--Thompson was stunned for a while before bursting into laughter. "Oh, Mr. Corden, you're too naive! You must be kidding me! Don’t you know what we will use the end products for? Didn't the boss tell you? If I told Lily the truth, do you think she'd want to continue working with US?"

"Why not?" Mike questioned. "You just need to tell her that for the sake of safety and the experiment’s success. We have put an end to using poisonous herbs. Only herbs that calm the consumers will be used."

Hearing this, Thompson's eyeballs almost popped out. "How is that possible?! Mr. Corden, are you telling me to lie to her? She won't be so easily deceived! Besides, she's the one who'd be performing the experiment. It'll be meaningless for me to lie to her like this!"

To Thompson, Mike seemed like he was out of his mind. Did he genuinely think that it was that easy to fool Lily? If that were the case, Thompson would not have been stressing about it until now.

"I'm not asking you to lie to her." With a faint smile, Mike continued, "I'm trying to say that we stop using those poisonous herbs."

This shocked Thompson even more. "That's impossible! We're already so far into the experiment. There's no way we can stop it now. The boss will never agree!"

To be frank, the boss proposed all the experiments with the poisonous herbs. Thompson had asked the same thing at the time, but the boss said he needed something to keep his disruptive workers in line.

Back then, Thompson would vehemently oppose any inhumane ideas, but he knew he couldn't fulfill this dream alone. The school rejected his creative idea then, and his colleagues thought he was a lunatic for wanting to do something impossible and pointless.

Firstly, it was difficult to mask the distinct smell of the medicinal herbs, let alone blend them with conventional materials.

Secondly, there were many medicines out there that could achieve the same results. Why would anyone spend their money and time on this new invention?

Was it just to ease the suffering the patients go through? Was it to allow more people to get treated daily?

No one saw his vision and was willing to invest in him. At that time, the boss stepped in. Although Thompson did not know who the boss was, he seemed to be experienced. The boss found the laboratory, the start-up capital, and even the later collaborators.

Only after the laboratory began to take shape did he start recruiting some staff. Later, he approached La Beaute Group for investment and drew Lily to work for them.

Thompson's journey had not been smooth sailing, and now that he was finally at this point where success seemed within reach, these accidents happened.

"The boss won't agree!" He repeated. "You have no idea that those are his— It

"He will agree,’ Mike interrupted him and said firmly. "Leave the boss to me. You deal with Lily. She only cares about the relationship between the poisonous herbs and the end products. Everything will be fine if we take the toxic herbs out of the equation.

"If you're worried, you can wait. I believe you'll hear from the boss soon. However, for the experiment's sake, I suggest you tell her about this "good news’ as quickly as possible."

Thompson was speechless.

After saying that, Mike got up and left. Thompson stared at his back, not knowing whether he should believe Mike.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1287--The following morning, Olivia went to the studio. She noticed that someone had opened the door with the lights and some equipment turned on. She was a little confused for a moment, wondering if she had forgotten to turn them off when she left yesterday.

As she slowly walked in, she heard a rustling from the inside. However, the door to one of the laboratories remained, and it seemed like someone was inside.

Besides raw materials, they had some flowers and plants here. Although the equipment was expensive, it was challenging for one to steal and sell.

‘There's no way there's a thief here, right?

With that thought in mind, Olivia leaned forward and pushed the door open. However, the person inside the room did not stop what they were doing. When Olivia looked to see who was inside, she cursed, "D*mn it! What are you doing?!"

She did not expect Lily to be in the laboratory.

Lily, concentrating on the experiment, did not seem to hear Olivia. Instead, Lily fixed her gaze on the test tube, slightly tilting her head. She did not even blink this whole time.

On the other hand, Olivia was intrigued. She went over and also leaned in to look at the test tube. "Is this a new product?"

‘Did Lily have a sudden inspiration and rush to the studio to make new products?’

It was not a new experience for Olivia, but since Lily had been a part of the research institute, it had been a while since she did this.

Olivia found it strange to see Lily returning to her old working ways.

"No." Lily shook her head. Her eyes were still on the test tube.

"What..." As Olivia was about to ask another question, a beep indicated that the extraction was complete. In the end, only half of the liquid remained in the test tube.

Lily turned around, carefully stored the test tube in a storage box, and put it away once she was satisfied that there was nothing wrong with it. After closing the box, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you-"

"I’m just conducting a small experiment to see if I was right." After saying that, Lily urged, "By the way, don’t touch this. Make sure no one else touches it, either. I still need it two days from now."

"Okay." Olivia nodded. 'What are you doing, being so secretive?"

Lily smiled and did not answer.

Seeing this, Olivia knew not to pester on and casually hooked her arm around Lily's instead. "Oh, right! Should we accept the order from Yudonia?"

"Yudonia?" Lily was surprised.

Olivia saw Lily’s puzzled expression and facepalmed. "You must have forgotten, haven't you? I told you about this, and you told me to leave it first. You said we should finish the tasks at hand first. Now that we've done that, you've forgotten about the rest. The royal family is waiting for an answer."

Olivia shook her head again, sighing. She did not know what to do with Lily. She heard that pregnant women had a bad memory, which seemed accurate.

After being probed, Lily slowly seemed to recall that Yudonia had sent an order a month ago requesting a unique and light perfume. It was to be catered to women around their 50s, who were dignified and generous-a scent that was fresh yet sweet.

With so many requirements, the end product would be exclusive. This job required Lily to concoct a new product for them, and she could not market them to others. In other words, this perfume would be exclusively for this customer only.

Although Lily had accepted jobs like these before with high requirements and pay, she did not enjoy doing it.

Firstly, she had many best-selling perfumes over the past two years. Even if she did not rely on Alexander, she would not be short of money. Secondly, such clients were tricky to deal with. With so many demands upfront, she knew it would take work to satisfy their wishes completely.

"Reject them," Lily answered after some thought.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1288---After all, Lily was occupied with research in the laboratory and could not cater to all her orders. Therefore, she decided to call off the order without much thought.

After washing her hands, she poured herself a glass of water, only to find that Olivia was still following her with a hesitant expression.

"What's wrong?"

"The royal family...I"m afraid it's not that easy to reject them."

It would not have mattered if their client was just any ordinary nobleman. This was the royal family of Yudonia they were talking about. Although they were not living in the same country, it would be a shame to reject an order from them.

"So what if they are the royal family? We're running a serious business. Just tell them I'm incapable of taking this order."

Lily did not care whether or not they were royalty. She had no plans to develop in Yudonia, let alone make this her full-time career. Nonetheless, they were the royal family, making it more difficult and troublesome.

Therefore, it was best for Lily to reject this job.

"Okay," Olivia answered. Then she casually looked at the monitoring screen and asked, "What's this person doing here? He looks shady."

"Huh?" Lily walked over curiously and saw a man's figure on the screen. He had a familiar silhouette.

"I saw him outside when I first came. I thought he was just passing by, but he didn't leave, even after I entered the studio. Now he's still lingering around your car. Could he be a carjacker?!" Olivia frowned and thought for a moment before continuing, "How can he be so bold? How dare he try to steal a car in broad daylight?!"

Lily sipped her water and tilted her head to look at the man on the screen." He looks harmless, but it could just be a front. Should we call the police?"

The man on the screen hunched over and had one hand over his eyebrow as he leaned on the driver-side window. It was as if he was trying to see what was in the car.

"He must be a carjacker!" Olivia affirmed. She was already pulling out her phone at this point. "I'm going to call the police!"

"No!" Lily saw the man straighten up, and his face flashed before the screen, so she quickly held Olivia back. "He's not a carjacker."

"Do you know him?" It seemed like Lily knew who that man was.

"I do." Not only did she know who he was, but she also hated him. The corners of her lips curled up, and she walked toward the microphone and blew into it.

Austin was just passing by. He was born and raised in Kingsland, so he was intrigued when he noticed the new perfume studio. It was an old and worn shop lot, and they had been open for a while.

However, it was well-renovated, and it looked pretty modern. Of course, what attracted him was not the perfume studio but the car parked at the door.

The red sports car looked flashy and attention-grabbing, bathed in the golden sunlight. If he remembered correctly, this was the car he had seen at his granduncle's house two days ago. Austin wondered if that meant that the car's owner was nearby.

He did not see anyone at his granduncle’s house the other day, only a silhouette from the back. Today, he wanted to see who was the person who could hold his stubborn granduncle's attention for so long and who was the one who had kept him waiting outside the door.

He leaned closer to the car window but saw no one in there. When he straightened up, he looked around before his eyes fell on the perfume studio. Then he heard...

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1289 --"Hi!" The abrupt voice startled Austin, and he instinctively took a step back. The voice continued to boom, "Stay away from my car!"

He was speechless and began looking around, but he saw no one. Finally, he noticed a small surveillance camera with a speaker in the front of the shop lot. He made a wild guess that the sound must have come from there.

Curious, he took a few steps forward and looked up at the surveillance camera. Then he pointed at the red sports car and asked, "That car. Is it yours?"

Lily enlarged his face on the monitor inside the studio and found him amusing. Olivia, on the sidelines, immediately burst into laughter. "This man is quite funny!"

"If it isn't mine, could it be yours? Stay away from my car, or I'll call the police!" Lily replied bluntly.

Austin opened his mouth and closed it again. He had never been left so speechless in his life.

‘Does this person think I'm a carjacker?'

However, he thought the voice sounded very familiar. As he lowered his head to think, Lily and Olivia watched him from the screen, wondering what he was thinking.

Olivia sipped her coffee and said, "This man has luscious hair."

Only after that did Lily take notice. He indeed had very thick hair. In ancient times, he would tie his hair into a bun. Just as her imagination began to run wild, Austin suddenly raised his head. "Lily, right?"

He sounded as if he was simultaneously asking a question and trying to get an affirmation. Upon hearing that, Olivia was astounded. "Didn't you say you know him? Why does he sound so unsure?" She asked.

"He doesn’t know I work here." After staring at Austin's face for a while, Lily took her coat and walked toward the door. "Let me head out for a while."

Olivia, who had always been a little nosy, wanted to listen in. However, Lily went out to meet him instead of inviting him into the studio. It seemed like she did not want Olivia to eavesdrop on them.

Outside, Austin looked up at the camera, assuming that people must be watching him.

‘That voice should belong to Lily"

Although he knew quite a few women, he could only remember some, except for his close relatives and friends. Lily was one of them. Still, he did not expect Lily to be the owner of the red sports car.

‘That means she was the one who met with Uncle Dominic the other day. How could she know him? That's her relationship with him since she’s a woman who made fragrances?’

After not hearing back from the speaker for a long time, Austin started to doubt himself.

‘No, that's impossible!’ He did not want to admit he might be wrong. He wondered if Lily felt diffident that he had guessed it right and she dared not answer him.

The door clicked and opened up just as he thought of these possibilities. Lily wore a thin, gray coat. She glanced at Austin quietly for a moment before walking out. "Mr. Fike, you're not here to lecture me, are you?"

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 1290

Back then, at the entrance of the research institute, he insisted that a woman should not be doing these things. He yelled at her to withdraw from the project. Now, he was outside her studio, telling her it was all a coincidence. She found it unbelievable.

"If I said I was just passing by, would you believe me?’

"Haha." Lily let out a dry laugh without saying anything else. Instead, she stared at him with a smile, creeping him out.

‘Weirdo!’ He thought to himself. He was obviously just passing by.

‘Why is she staring at me like that, insinuating that I'm making excuses?

Thinking of this, he became more confident and puffed up his chest. Then he pointed at the car and asked, "Is this car yours?’

Lily followed his finger and replied, 'So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

Austin did not know what to say to this woman. In the end, he asked, ‘So, it was you at my second granduncle's house the other day"

"Your second granduncle?" Lily raised her eyebrows and asked knowingly.

"Mr. Fike, Mr. Dominic Fike," Austin said without hesitation. He was very curious about her relationship with his granduncle.

"Oh, so Dominic Fike is your second granduncle" Lily nodded as if she had just caught on to his words.

This suddenly made Austin feel proud, and he began to brag, "Of course! Do you understand now why I advised you to withdraw from the project? It's not just empty words. I come from a family of doctors.

"My family has been studying medicinal herbs for generations. How can a normal person like you understand the profoundness of medicinal herbs? Your commercial fragrances are nothing compared to it. Yours are for children"

Everything he said showed how much he looked down on the perfumery industry.

In his opinion, those products were made to satisfy women. It was almost like a distraction that was a waste of money. How could those products compare to theirs, which could heal people and save lives?

Besides, the inherent scent of the medicinal herbs was their signature. Be it bitter or sour, why should it be covered up? Using commercial fragrances would mask it.

Austin did not bother to hide his contempt because he did not think anything was wrong with what he said.

However, Lily sneered. "You come from a long line of medicinal herb practitioners? As far as I know, Mr. Dominic started practicing it independently. Before that, the past generations of the Fike family did not practice any medicine, be it as a general practitioner or a medicinal herb practitioner."

"You..." Austin did not expect her to know so much about the Fike family affairs. He squinted and asked, "What's your relationship with my granduncle?"

Seeing that she only had a faint smile on her lips and did not answer, Austin was agitated. At last, he could not help but ask, "Could it be that you n

Lily raised an eyebrow to look at him expectantly.

"Could it be that you know who my granduncle's secret apprentice is?!"

The first thing that came to mind was that maybe she was Dominic's secret apprentice. However, that thought was pushed away as quickly as it came. ‘Impossible!’

Although Dominic had never mentioned anything about his secret apprentice, Austin refused to believe that the secret apprentice could ever be a woman.

How much could a mere woman learn about medicinal herbs? Even if she managed to learn a few things, there was no way someone as critical as Dominic would choose a woman to be his secret apprentice.

All of his previous apprentices were men, after all.

Thinking of this, Austin was reassured that Lily was not Dominic's secret apprentice. The only possibility was that the two somehow became acquainted. That would explain why Dominic saw her in a different light.

Lily did not answer.

His guess was so close, yet so far.

However, she just chuckled.

"Wait, am I right? So, you know who my granduncle's apprentice is? Who is he? How do you know him?" Austin had always been curious about who this mysterious person was that attracted his granduncle's attention.

Dominic would not even take his own grandnephew in.