Chapter 477

“Aren’t you worried that Bree Technology might one day take the Turner family’s place?” she asked.

“If that day ever comes, I’ll just have to admit you’re better than me. All I can hope is that when it happens, you will be kind enough to take me in,” Bowen joked.

He cocked an eyebrow in that roguish, devil-may-care way of his, oozing effortless charm.

Aubree laughed, reached out, and pinched his chin, giving him a mock-serious once-over. “Well then, Mr. Turner, you’d better take good care of that pretty little face of yours. After all, as long as you’ve got that face, your empire’s safe.”

“Is my face really all it takes?” Bowen teased.

Regarding being shameless, he was definitely the master. Being a few years older meant that he got an even thicker skin.

Bowen didn’t pull away when her hand touched his face. Instead, he caught her wrist, letting her get a good feel of his features.

His other hand wasn’t idle either. He grabbed Aubree’s hand that was resting on the seat, guiding it under the hem of his shirt so she could explore his waist and abs.

“And what about my body? Not a fan anymore?” he teased.

“Or maybe…” His gaze was dripping with honey, seductive and almost too sweet to resist.

Aubree’s cheeks burned. “This guy really is a sly old fox. He is not just cunning, but just as shameless…” she thought.

He gave her hand a playful spin, hinting, “Or maybe somewhere else?”

Aubree jerked her hand back like she’d touched a live wire. “Seriously, this guy!” she fumed.

Seeing her face turn as red as a tomato, Bowen finally let go. “Alright, I’ll stop messing with you. We’re almost at Ellis Heights. The doctor’s already there. Let’s have you checked out first, then you can get some rest, okay?”

Aubree froze for a second, only now realizing he’d just been teasing her to take her mind off things.

“Okay,” she replied.

After getting out of the detention center, Aubree immediately contacted Alvin. Once she confirmed he was free, she took him to Südlichen Strand to reinforce the servers.

“Now GrabCheap’s servers won’t be so easily attacked,” she said.

The people Aubree brought in to test the system were stunned. The tech team stared at the brand-new firewall like they’d just laid eyes on a goddess. Their eyes didn’t just light up, they practically caught fire with excitement.

‘So this is what counts as romance for programmers?’ Aubree mused.

“Ms. Miller, where on earth did you find this tech wizard? He’s insane!” one of the tech guys blurted out.

“He’s so young! At first, I thought he was just some kid. Who would’ve guessed he was this much of a genius?” another one exclaimed.

“Guess this is what they mean when they say badasses only hang out with other badasses,” someone else joked.

Aubree was both amused and exasperated. “They’re all completely floored by your skills.”

Alvin’s expression didn’t change. Suddenly, he said, “Aubree, Südlichen Strand’s actually pretty nice, isn’t it? It’s just as good as Rithol City.”

Aubree didn’t really get what he was getting at, but she agreed, “Südlichen Strand and Rithol City are both top business districts. The only thing is, Südlichen Strand just doesn’t have the kind of history Rithol City does.”

Alvin smiled. She hardly ever saw him smile, and now that she did, she realized he actually looked really good when he did. He suddenly seemed so much more like a real person, full of the youthful energy someone his age should have.

“It’s enough that you don’t dislike Südlichen Strand,” he murmured under his breath.

“What?” Aubree blinked, not quite catching what he said.

“Nothing,” Alvin just smiled.

Ever since Alvin helped Aubree reinforce the firewall, there hadn’t been any more attacks that brought the servers crashing down. Aubree checked with the tech team, and they said the firewall was rock solid.

If there was any problem at all, it was that now there was a single, fatal flaw. If someone managed to exploit it, not only would the servers crash, but the entire platform’s data could be wiped out.

But that wasn’t really a problem, since it couldn’t be attacked from the outside—only someone on the inside could take it down.

Unless there was a mole among them, it was basically nothing to worry about.

Aubree kept that in mind.

‘Did he do it on purpose? Or was there really no other way?’ Aubree wondered.

That question lingered in her mind.

Just like that, summer break flew by, and Aubree found herself stepping into her sophomore year of college.