Chapter 536 - Not A Date!

"I will escort you out."

Zoey gasped as her face distorted in shock. She then shook her head profusely as she held onto his shoulder.

"You can't do that," Zoey exclaimed as she cast Matthew a look of determination. "I'll go alone and you drive this to the parking space, okay?"

Matthew remained silent for a moment and tilted his head to the side. He blinked his eyes in puzzlement, not getting the grasp of her intention.

"No." When he couldn't come up with a conclusion, Matthew refused. "Aren't we on a date? Why would I let you go alone inside?" 

Matthew added in the same flat tone. Zoey scrunched her nose up in dismay upon hearing his reasoning.

"No! This is not a date!" Yet, Zoey had no time to argue with him. Thus, she collected her composure to explain their 'improvised' motive.

Zoey raised her forefinger as she stared at him straight in the eye. "I know you've attended a lot of those fancy parties. Just like everyone's motive, the reason we attend this kind of party is mostly to make connections to prospect business associates -- that's our sole purpose, okay?"

Matthew frowned and disappointment resurfaced on his face. He knew all that; the reason he never lasted long in those kinds of parties because everyone was just bothering him.

However, with her around, Matthew recalled the fun they had in their previous life. He hasn't spent such precious times with her for a long time; it would be fun if they make fun of everyone again.

Indeed, somehow, Matthew's childish part was still in there. He didn't consider it that far before, but recalling those good old days now, Matthew appreciated it. At the very least, they could have fun and forget about their problems. 

"Lame," Matthew looked away as a sigh of disappointment slipped past his lips. Zoey clicked her tongue and shook her head lightly before she started unbuckling her seat.

'Did he really mature? Or is it just my imagination?' Zoey scoffed internally as rolled her eyes. But, she didn't dwell on it that much as she prepared herself from going out of the car.

However, just as she reached for the door, Matthew suddenly pulled her arm back. 

"What?" Zoey asked annoyingly as she turned her head back to him.

Matthew just stared at her in silence which made Zoey arch her right brow. "If you have nothing to say, I'll go. We can't keep the line for long."

"Let them wait," Matthew answered as he slowly raised his hand. He reached towards her and brushed a few strands of her hair. "If you want to impress someone, you always show your strong character."

Matthew added as he tucked the side of her hair behind her ear. Matthew studied Zoey's front for a few seconds and glanced at her simple earring. He stared at her until he was satisfied and nodded.

"You're good to go." Matthew said as he let her go and drew away. 

Zoey pursed her lips in a thin line, showing puzzlement as she didn't think tucking her hair to the side made a difference. After all, she wore little to no makeup. Well, her confidence is her charm -- that's what she had always believed.

"Remember to look for me inside, okay?" Zoey reminded him before she departed the car.

*****

While Zoey was being held back by Matthew, the reporters and a few people outside waiting for the next guest furrowed their brows. The person inside the car exceeded the time they were allotted.

However, there was no sign of a person coming out. Thus, everyone could not help but wonder what was going on.

"Hey, why is the guest not coming out?"

"How can I know? Are they purposely doing this?"

"People in the upper echelon are said to be weird folks. Maybe the person inside is indeed someone who can afford offending the people lining up." 

As they waited, their murmuring once again resonated in the air. At this point, everyone was just curious who it might be. After all, the line was long and important personalities were occupying each car.

The reason there was an allotted time for everyone. Only those people who could afford to offend them would have the gall to purposely not come out within that time frame. Thus, at this point, the car that was occupying Zoey and Matthew caught the attention of everyone and the cars behind them.

Soon, the door finally opened and everyone held their breaths. They expected someone important and they remained silent.

There, a woman in her casual business suit came out. When they had the glimpse of her, some of them stood rooted to the ground.

Was it because of Zoey's beauty? No. Their reaction was due to puzzlement of who she was. Although Zoey was a beauty just wearing a wine hued lipstick, no one had seen her nor had they heard about her.

Some of them clicked a few photos of her but others just stared at each other bearing question marks in their eyes.

"Huh? Who is that? Which family is she representing?"

"She looks like a model -- maybe a rookie artist?"

"Wow… she looks sophisticated."

"She looks like a big time businesswoman."

When everyone recovered, each of them had their own conclusion. But, no one dared speak ill of someone they didn't know. After all, Zoey appeared like an established business woman with her simple and yet limited edition pair of business suit.

Moreover, 'her' act of defying the time frame and making everyone wait proved that she held a higher position than everyone. 

Zoey walked inside without looking back to everyone. She stared ahead and gave out the invitation Professor Meng sent to her the other day. After confirming its legitimacy, Zoey was assisted inside.

'I'm finally here…' Zoey whispered internally as she followed the butler who was guiding her the way.. Little did she know, as she headed inside, the car that Matthew was in didn't move an inch for his own petty reason.