For a moment, Jane Sidney had no idea how to react to the man's reckless actions. Looking at Old Master Pike, she hoped that the old man would not misunderstand the relationship between Edward Pike and her.

"I will make it up for you tonight," Edward added in a calm voice and closed his smiling face to hers.

"I..." the woman tried to explain.

"Shut up, or I will kiss you." Just then, the man whispered in her ear in a threatening tone.

With no other choice, Jane had to button her lip and looked at Edward timidly.

Carrying the woman in his arms, Edward put on a gentle look and tilted his head to shot Old Master Pike a glance. "Grandpa, we're leaving."

Before the old man could make a reply, the man walked out of the dining hall with Jane.

Jane wanted to see Old Master Pike's expression, but Edward's sturdy chest blocked her eyesight. What she could see was the young man's smile.

The longer her eyes stayed upon the man, the more scared she felt.

In her view, Edward's smile was forced and fake.

With butterflies in her stomach, Jane could do nothing but allow Edward to carry her into the elevator, her body growing stiff in the man's arms.

Along the way, quite a few people greeted Edward, who kept nodding with a smile and seemed to be careless that the others were surprised to see him holding the woman.

In the SVIP room called Perfect Couple.

Seeing that Edward and Jane had left, Jacob York then looked at Old Master Pike.

The old man was still wearing a solemn expression and staring at the direction where that couple walked away.

"Jacob, ask a subordinate to keep an eye on Miss Sidney," Old Master Pike ordered, paused for several seconds, and added, "Collect all her information for me."

"Yes, sir." Jacob nodded.

In the elevator.

Upon hearing that the elevator door closed, Jane immediately came to her senses.

She struggled to extract herself from the embrace of Edward, who did not go against her will but let go of her and then maintained a decent distance from the woman.

"You...why do you have to say those words? Nothing happened between you and me last night. Your grandpa might misunderstand us." Jane took a step back and leaned against the inner wall of the lift.

Edward adjusted his tie, shot Jane a sidelong glance, and did not reply to her question but said something else.

His tone of voice was neither warm nor cold, but sort of mechanical. "In the following three days, the old man will investigate your identity and background, even your ancestors and remote relatives will be covered in the investigation. All you need to do is to cooperate with me by playing the role of my wife or girlfriend."

With her eyes widened open in surprise, Jane asked, "What? What's the point of investigating me? I..."

"That's the old man's style," Edward interrupted her words and continued with a grave look in his eyes, "Aren't you a good teacher who respects the old and cares the young? Try to tolerate him."

Jane became speechless at the words.

A ding sounded to remind them that they were now on the first floor.

Looking at Edward silently, Jane noticed that the door behind the man opened.

She bit her scarlet bottom lip and walked past Edward in her high heels.

She wanted to leave the man in no time.

Jane thought to herself, "How dare he morally kidnap me with my occupational identity?"

Before she could step out of the elevator, however, Edward reached out to clasp her waist.

"Edward Pike!" Jane could not help yelling out, "Let go of me!"

"What have I just told you?" Edward asked in a deep voice, tightly holding the woman's slender waist.

"Cooperate with me." He repeated the three words severely, making Jane shiver all over.

What he meant was that if the woman did not follow his instructions, he would do something to her.

Jane then recalled the man saying that he was going to kiss her if she did not keep her mouth shut.

"No! I cannot allow that to happen!" She thought.

While she was lost in thoughts, the man had carried her out of the elevator.

"Edward?" A sharp voice tinged with a hint of surprise reached Jane's ears.

She hurried to separate herself from Edward and then looked in the direction of the sound.

What a delicate beauty! She was about 1.65 meters high with long and wavy blonde hair and wearing exquisite makeup, big golden earrings, a pleated dress and white high heels, just like a princess in those movies and TV dramas.

Jane was somewhat stunned by the gorgeous-looking young lady of a wealthy and influential family.

"Never mind. I have my own way of living," she told herself in her heart.

Edward tacitly agreed with the woman to get away from his arms and took one of her hands instead.

"Hi, Berry." Edward smile, "Let me introduce Jane Sidney, my girlfriend, to you."

"Sydney? Are you a fan of Australia?" Berry Jones burst out laughing without regard to her public image.

She came here immediately after hearing that Edward had brought a woman to meet Old Master Pike and that they interacted intimately with each other.

On the way here, she wondered, "How is that possible? The last time Edward was in a relationship was three years ago, after which I have never heard any progress about his romantic life. Where the heck does that woman come from?"

Unexpectedly, she noticed the couple right before the elevator and saw the woman snuggling in the man's arms.

"Calm down. Edward is mine. I will get all the other women away from him, including this one," she told herself quietly.

With a blush spreading over her face, Jane explained, "No, not like that. Just call me Jane, please."

"Yeah, I see, Jane, plain Jane. Seems that your parents didn't care about naming you at all."

Berry kept laughing, and her sharp voice even attracted the attention of some passers-by.

"That's not true. Please don't say something like that about my parents." Jane instantly clenched her fists at the mention of her parents, and the look in her eyes was solemn.

"Jane, J-A-N-E. Not that hard, right?" Edward opened his mouth to defend the woman, "Jane's parents love her a lot and have high hopes for her."

"Berry, is there anything wrong with your hearing? If so, hurry to the hospital," Edward continued, wearing a serious look.

"No, I am fine. I was just kidding. I believe Miss Sidney won't get mad at me," Berry said smilingly, "We are good. Am I right, Miss Sidney?"

Jane gnashed her teeth. Of course, she was annoyed by the woman's offensive teasing.

"I don't know your name yet. What is it, please?" Jane asked with a smile.

"Call me Berry," the woman answered proudly.

"Bear? Are you a fan of We Bare Bears?" Jane chuckled, "You seem to own your childish disposition still. I read from a book that childish people sometimes will suffer a decline in intelligence quotient and emotional quotient. For instance, they might joke about another person's name."

"You!" Berry's expression turned gloomy instantly, and she tilted her head to look at Edward.

Edward did not say anything but glanced at Jane, being surprised by the woman's aggressive side.

Feeling furious though, Berry managed to tamp down her anger inside as she did not want Edward to change his impression of her.

She looked at Edward again, squeezed herself between Jane and the man, took his arm, and said coquettishly, "Edward, do you remember you once promised me that you would go to the theatre to watch Hamlet together with me? I've already booked the tickets. Let's go there tonight, shall we?"

"Sorry that I have been busy," Edward let out a smile and added, "Actually, I have some business to deal with tonight. Let's find another time."

Clenching her teeth tightly and staring at Edward with a pitiful look, Berry then stressed, "Don't forget it."

Edward nodded and replied, "I will not."

"Excuse me. I am leaving. You two go on, please." Jane was fed up with the two, said these words out of courtesy, and then turned to leave.

"I will drive you home." Edward hurried to follow up.

"There is no need." All of a sudden, another voice sounded behind them.