Chapter 550

Aubree, Bowen, and Vincent had made their plans for the next day. Vincent would talk to David about buying fruit, while Aubree and Bowen would pay a visit to the last holdout in town.

As they had gone straight to Ridgehaven Town right after landing, all three of them were exhausted.

Aubree advised Vincent to get some rest, and after she and Bowen washed up, they lay down on their beds right away.

Although Mistmere wasn’t as developed as Rithol City, its environment was far better. At night, from their hotel high above, no neon lights or bustling nightlife could be seen outside the window; it was just the silvery moonlight that was as gentle as water.

Bowen hugged Aubree from behind and asked, “Bree, have you been thinking about how to revamp Ridgehaven Town for a while now?”

“Mhm,” she answered softly.

“The fruit orchards in Ridgehaven Town are something special. There’s no need to get rid of all of them, and we can definitely keep some.

“The environment here is perfect for turning the entire village into a vacation spot. And honestly, if there are people who don’t want to leave, we don’t have to force them to,” she added.

Right now, the folks in Ridgehaven Town basically fell into two camps. Some were just holding out for more money, sticking around and waiting for a better offer. The others truly cared about this land and simply didn’t want to leave.

Once they identified what the real issue was, finding a solution became a lot easier.

Bowen’s arms wrapped around Aubree from behind, completely encircling her in his embrace.

“What’s wrong?” Aubree sensed something off in his tone and gently asked.

Bowen said quietly, “Alvin’s in Mistmere, too.

“He didn’t bring anyone with him, and he came here all by himself.”

Aubree believed he was worried about her conflict with Alvin. After all, Bowen was Alvin’s uncle, and given the tension between her and Alvin, it must have been difficult for him to be caught in the middle.

“I’m not really going to make things hard for him, Bowen, but you have to understand that I’m not someone who’ll just let people push me around and keep quiet about it,” she said, her tone steady.

“I… know…” Bowen replied, though that wasn’t what he really wanted to say.

Bowen hadn’t forgotten that Alvin knew he was the one funding him.

That was why he’d never dared to push Alvin too hard. Instead, he gave him free rein as long as Alvin stayed within his line of sight.

He was worried that if he pushed Alvin into a corner, Alvin would reveal the truth about everything.

But as long as Alvin kept his mouth shut, Bowen just couldn’t relax.

He felt a sour bitterness in his mouth. In the end, it all came down to this: either he’d confess himself, or wait for Alvin to reveal everything, and accept whatever came next.

“I…” Bowen began, but the words caught in his throat.

Aubree turned around in his arms, a hint of worry in her eyes. She comforted, “You don’t have to push yourself, Bowen. If it really feels too hard, you can just let it go.”

Meeting Aubree’s gaze, Bowen didn’t argue. He simply smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

Cuddled up in his arms, surrounded by his familiar scent, Aubree soon drifted off to sleep.

Bowen lowered his head, gazing at her sleeping face, and whispered, “Please… never leave me.”

Bright and early the next morning, the three of them split up as they’d planned the night before.

David looked a bit puzzled when he saw that only Vincent had shown up.

“My friend said he’s never been to a place like this before,” Vincent explained with a grin. “He wanted to bring his secretary along and take a look around the village first.”

David gave a knowing smile, showing he understood.

“From what I’ve heard, that old holdout is stubborn and old-fashioned. But that just means if we find the right angle, convincing him might actually be pretty easy,” Bowen shared.

Strictly speaking, this was Aubree’s first time competing with others to run a project like this. Ever since they set foot in Mistmere, her enthusiasm had been through the roof.

Bowen could see the eager anticipation in her eyes. Not wanting to dampen her spirits, he started giving himself a mental pep talk.

“Even if we don’t pull it off, it’s no big deal,” he said softly. “Some companies have even brought in negotiation experts just to try and win him over.”

However, he couldn’t help but worry that Aubree might go in without knowing what to expect and get kicked out by the old man right away. Of course, that was the absolute worst-case scenario in his mind.