Chapter 32: An Easy Mark

Isabella smiled and seized the opportunity. "Christopher just has a quick temper," she said. "I was there. I believe you were flustered and didn't react immediately."

Anais was unexpectedly surprised. She hadn't expected Isabella to defend her. Tears welled in Anais's eyes. She was the one who started this, wasn't she? Had Isabella suddenly developed a conscience?

But Isabella continued, "After all, anyone with eyes can see Luna would never be interested in someone like that. Luna doesn't have weird hobbies; her taste is normal. If even celebrities aren't up to her standards, she definitely wouldn't be interested in an ugly guy. And she has no tolerance for abuse. If she met a violent man, she'd definitely keep her distance. So you must know Luna wouldn't be interested in your ex-boyfriend. Although it's said that birds of a feather flock together, there's a fundamental difference between you and your ex-boyfriend. Your ex-boyfriend loves to fantasize about other guys stealing his girlfriend, while you like to imagine other women stealing yours. He's the one with the issues. You're fine."

Anais was stunned. Eventually, her emotions overwhelmed her, and she broke down in tears.

"Oh dear, why are you crying? Wasn't I speaking up for you? Is your brain overflowing? Besides, Luna is the one who should be crying! She tried to help but ended up being maliciously gossiped about for no reason. She's innocent," Isabella continued, her words sharp.

The three researchers were bewildered. The two men couldn't contain themselves and gasped.

"Ms. Jeannet, your words arestraightforward," the female researcher said awkwardly, trying to ease the tension before they attracted a crowd.

Isabella shrugged innocently. "Some things need to be said outright. It's not good to leave thorns in your heart. You guys are familiar with each other and feel embarrassed to say it. As an outsider, I don't mind."

Dealing with Anais couldn't involve beating around the bush; private handling was unacceptable. Isabella had to confront Anais's self-righteous fantasies head-on, forcing her to face her absurd ideas. She couldn't let Anais come up with excuses to indulge in her fantasies again, creating imaginary enemies to highlight her love. She felt Anais was capable of such things.

"Luna, just to be safe, maybe you should state your stance more firmly," Isabella suggested.

Luna frowned at the crying Anais. Slowly, she said, "To avoid misunderstandings in the future, please don't bring up anything about you and him in front of me. I only have one emotion toward your ex-boyfriend: disgust. Don't worry."

Luna's straightforward statement was a direct slap in Anais's face.

Suddenly pushed to her limit, Anais erupted. "Is it really necessary for everyone to gang up on me just because Zeke misunderstood, and I had doubts? Luna is a prominent young lady, but am I lowly? Why did they chastise and humiliate me like this?"

"Luna, this is a misunderstanding. We can clear things up. Why are you so aggressive and letting outsiders humiliate me? Aren't we friends?"

"Not anymore. I won't be friends with people who offend me." Luna didn't hesitate. Since restarting her life, she prioritized self-love above all else. She wouldn't compromise.

The expression on Anais's face froze. She ran off crying. She probably hadn't expected this incident to end their friendship so definitively.

The others felt awkward.

"Although Anais went too far, we're still a team. How do we move forward?" someone pondered.

"Is she irreplaceable in your research project?" Christopher asked.

"Not really, she's basically just our assistant."

"Then kick her out," Christopher said coldly. "Keeping such a person around will only bring you trouble."

Everyone felt torn. They had been together for a long time.

Christopher had made up his mind. As an investor, couldn't he decide who stayed? He couldn't stomach keeping Anais around to annoy Luna. He saw a way forward as a capitalist. He decided to talk to their professor immediately and hinted at the possibility of moving the research project to another country.

Under Christopher's urging, the others contacted the professor, who was resting in his hotel room. Out of respect, Christopher planned to visit the professor again tomorrow morning.

It was late. They walked to another building. Halfway there, they unexpectedly encountered Anais and Zeke arguing. They were too far away to hear clearly, but it seemed Anais shouted, "Because of your reckless words, Luna has cut ties with me. How can I stay on the team? They're right. You're obsessed. You want to monopolize me and isolate me! We're done!"

Anais ran away crying, not noticing the others. Zeke chased after her, encountering them. His bloodshot eyes scanned them fiercely, lingering on Luna. Christopher was instantly provoked and about to charge forward, but Zeke ran away.

(Continues on page 2/4)

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Chapter 32: An Easy Mark

"Be careful these days. I think that kid is dangerous," Christopher frowned.

"Actually, if it weren't for Anais, we wouldn't even have the chance to interact with him on our research projects," someone complained.

"Let's go." Luna didn't want to bother with other people's affairs and led them to the elevator.

After everyone entered, the person who pressed the button asked, "Which floor are you staying on?"

Christopher replied, "Seventeenth floor!"

Others were surprised. "What a coincidence?!"

Luna frowned at Christopher, her eyes showing resistance. Christopher felt guilty. He had investigated beforehand, but he insisted, "Yes, it just happened to be the only floor left with rooms."

Others asked Isabella. She hesitated, about to answer, but then heard Christopher say, "Same for her."

Christopher had a strategy. If he could involve Isabella, perhaps Luna's resistance would lessen.

Everyone was amazed at the coincidence. Isabella didn't say anything but raised an eyebrow at Christopher.

Probably fearing Isabella wouldn't cooperate, Christopher immediately took out his phone. "Bella, Hayden told me your room had a problem. You've been temporarily moved to the seventeenth floor as well." He pressed his phone screen against Isabella's face. It showed a successful transfer of half a million! Alexander had said Isabella loved money; this weakness should make her cooperate. (Alexander actually meant a simple gift would suffice to show gratitude.)

Sure enough, Isabella said, "What a coincidence, I'm also staying on the seventeenth floor. I didn't expect you guys to be here too. We're all acquaintances. How about supper together later?"

Christopher sighed in relief, then heard Isabella's sly laughter. What an easy mark! I was planning to say I'm staying on the seventeenth floor, too. If I don’t get to see him groveling for forgiveness, I won’t be able to sleep at night. Isn’t this hitting two birds with one stone?

Christopher inhaled sharply. How could he forget Isabella's nature?

(The final paragraph is incomplete and seems to be a continuation of the previous chapter, not this one. It needs to be corrected before it can be cleaned up.)