565: You're a virgin?

You're a virgin?

Meanwhile…2

Tiger looked around the bar, arching a brow as he caught a few people inside. But none of them were people he knew. 

"Hmm?" he smacked his lips when his eyes fell on the bar counter. A shallow breath slipped past his lips as he trudged toward the bar counter, taking the vacant stool beside someone. 

"Don't you have any friends?" he asked, making the woman turn her head in his direction. 

Ivy sported a short smile at the sight of him. Her cheeks were a little pinkish, an effect of the cocktails she had for the night. She languidly pushed herself away from the counter, straightening her back after swaying a bit. 

"I do, but she's married," she humored. "The rest? My friends were mostly males, and I hated hanging out with them. All they talk about is nonsense things. Though can't blame them. Spending the entire day trying to be level-headed at every second takes about your entire sanity. So they unload their nonsense with their friends."

Tiger cast her an indifferent glance before shifting his attention to the bartender. He raised a finger, saying, "Scott on the rocks," to which the bartender replied with a smile and a nod. 

"Then why did you call me?" he asked, facing her once again. "I'm not your friend and I'm neither your bodyguard to pick you up when you can no longer drive yourself home."

"Well." Ivy shrugged as she looked away, gazing down at her half-finished drink. "I don't know. You can say I think I'm privileged enough to call you over after you drag me around anywhere you want."

Her eyes softened as the corner of her lips curled up into a subtle smile. "Tomorrow, I want to confront Mr. Zhang one last time. Whatever the result would be, then I got to accept it."

"Good luck with that."

"Hah." Ivy glanced to her side, only to see Tiger picking up the glass to his lips. As he drank, she asked, "Do you want to date me?"

Tiger almost choked on the alcohol, wincing as he covered his nose with the back of his fist. Ivy chuckled as she watched him struggle for a bit before he faced her in dismay. 

"The hell?" 

"You said it yourself. You're neither my friend nor my employee," she said playfully. "So, you might be interested. I think I'm good-looking enough. I'm rich too and I have a career. So, I won't need too much of your time. On dates, we can split the bill. I'm pretty flexible, you know?"

"Is this how you applied to Mr. Zhang?"

"No?"

Tiger opened his mouth, but then his voice rolled back into his throat. His nostrils felt hot as the alcohol went up to his nose when she suddenly brought up dating. 

"Tch." He loosened his tie and ruffled his hair until it looked unruly. When he looked back at her, a shallow sigh slipped past his lips. "No."

"Hmm?"

"I said no."

"Why?" Ivy cocked her head to the side, frowning. "Is there something you don't like about me?"

"It's not that."

"Then why?" her frown deepened. "What's wrong with me? Why do all the guys I think could be a potential date refuse me?"

Ivy looked away from him as she cast her eyes down. Her frown continuously deepened as a layer of sadness flickered across her eyes.

"It's a little sad that I spent my life proving myself to everyone and not to be a burden to anyone. I didn't think of relationships or anything like that all my life, thinking it would be easy in the future. There were many fish in the sea, they said. But I now doubt it." A bitter smile turned up on her face. "Now that I'm ready to settle down and start a family of my own, I realize it's not as easy as I thought it was."

She cast him another look. "Though I don't hold a grudge for your refusal and I sort of understand why, it's still sad."

"Miss Wei, I think you drank enough." Tiger finished his drink in one gulp. "Let's go. I'll take you home."

When he tried to reach for her arm, she pulled her arm away. Snapping his eyes up to her, he saw her shake her head mildly. 

"I want to stay for a bit," she said. "My plans tomorrow will break my heart into many pieces. So, I'm preparing myself to end this journey of wooing a man I've liked for years."

Ivy cast the bartender a look and ordered a drink. The bartender hesitated and glanced at Tiger, only to see the man arch a brow at him before he nodded slightly. With that, the bartender made a drink for her and for him. When the bartender served their drinks, they picked up their glasses.

"Should we cheer?" Tiger proposed before she could bring the drink to her lips. She turned her attention back to him, brows raised. "I mean, I think your plans should be celebrated. You're breaking away from a bad decision, after all."

A short chuckle slipped past her closed lips. "And you want me to cheer with the man who just refused me?"

"You said you didn't hold a grudge about it."

"Fair enough." Ivy shrugged and clicked the bottom of her glass with him. "Cheers."

"Congrats." He chuckled shortly, drinking a little as he wasn't truly in the mood to party. 

Tiger liked to drink until he dropped. However, he was still on probation even though his suspension was over. Therefore, he still had to keep a good record if he truly wanted to stay and make Silas live a living hell in the LYON Group. What a strange mental when he was in fact, in a lower hierarchy compared to Silas's position. 

"Anyway, can you tell me why you refused?" After chugging down the drink, Ivy set her focus on him. "I mean, I understand that we just met — or knew each other not long ago. So I understand it's a little abrupt. But what if we've known each other longer? Will you reconsider?"

"Miss Wei, I won't refuse just because I just met you. People get married even when they barely know each other — that's why the rate of divorce is high."

"Huh??" She cocked her head to the side, confused. "Then why did you refuse if that is not the case?"

"I don't date." He shrugged. "I never dated anyone in my life."

"You're a virgin?!" 

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