Chapter 676: Best Friends on the Surface
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Vanessa and Charlotte began laughing and reminiscing about the past. But the man beside Vanessa suddenly said, “Vanessa, you haven’t introduced this beautiful lady to me yet.”
Only then did Vanessa remember that she forgot to introduce her and quickly said, “Honey, this is Charlotte Carter, my best friend back in high school. We were like sisters back then!” She covered her mouth and laughed.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Carter. I’m Vanessa’s boyfriend, Brian Klein.” Brian immediately extended his hand to give her a handshake.
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly.
From the first moment he saw Charlotte, he had been keeping his eyes glued to her. Moreover, the look in his eyes didn’t contain the pure admiration for a beauty, but rather, it was repulsively lewd.
It was the same now. He extended his hand in a seemingly gentlemanly manner, but the way he looked at Charlotte was even more unrestrained and unpleasant.
After being stared at for a long time, Charlotte naturally felt something.
In particular, when she raised her head and saw the lecherous gaze in Brian’s eyes, her impression of this man became terrible.
If not for the fact that he was Vanessa’s boyfriend, Charlotte would have long cursed at him.
“h.e.l.lo,” Charlotte, suppressing her anger, replied indifferently without any intentions to shake his hand.
Brian’s facial expression immediately stiffened.
He had planned to take liberties with Charlotte during the handshake and see just how soft the hands of the woman who was prettier than his girlfriend was.
A trace of disappointment and anger appeared on his face, but he could only awkwardly retract his hand while striking up a conversation on his own. “You two are high school cla.s.smates. It should have been a long time since you’ve met, huh?”
Vanessa said, “Yeah. After graduating, we went to college in different cities. It’s been more than five years since we last met! It’s a rare opportunity for us to meet here today, so we have to catch up and chat more!”
Although Charlotte was displeased with the way Brian was gawking at her, she was still glad to meet her best friend from high school.
Charlotte had been shopping together with Lucas, and now that Vanessa and her boyfriend were coming along, she should still ask for Lucas’s opinion. Seeing him nod slightly, she agreed, “Sure. It happens that we’re shopping here too. Let’s go together!”
Vanessa saw the subtle action.
She was shocked, and at the same time, she couldn’t help feeling some disdain.
Lucas was dressed like an ordinary penniless man. Vanessa was surprised that Charlotte had gotten such a boyfriend. Worse still, she had to seek his opinion before making a decision, an act of stooping too low in Vanessa’s opinion. She felt that she was no longer the cold and aloof school belle she used to be.
Back then, although Vanessa was close friends with Charlotte, Charlotte was much prettier than her and thus became the school belle early on. Wherever she went, she would receive love letters and confessions from countless boys.
On the other hand, although Vanessa was easy on the eyes too, she paled in comparison to Charlotte. Compared to girls with average looks, she would definitely be considered pretty, but she was no match for Charlotte. So almost no one noticed her when she was next to the school belle.
At the time, Vanessa was once envious and wanted to sever her friends.h.i.+p with Charlotte and never hang out with her again. But Charlotte came from an affluent family and would bring snacks and little gifts for Vanessa every now and then.
Besides, many boys who wanted to get into Charlotte’s good books were also smart enough to bribe Vanessa with all sorts of food and gifts after knowing that she was Charlotte’s best friend.
So for the sake of the many benefits Vanessa obtained without any effort, she reluctantly continued to stay by Charlotte’s side as her best friend for three years.
But she had to admit that the deep-rooted envy and hatred buried deep within her had always been a thorn in her flesh.
Now that she had met Charlotte again and saw that she had found such a mediocre boyfriend, she was truly thrilled.
Hah, so what if Charlotte was the school belle that everyone pursued back then?
She has a poor loser for a boyfriend now, and she’s going to suffer for the rest of her life.
Unlike her, I’ve found a young and promising boyfriend like Brian. From now on, I can definitely trample on Charlotte Carter and defeat her!
The thought of it made Vanessa feel a proud sense of superiority and confidence.
“By the way, Charlotte, did you also rush here from Orange County to join the fun because you know that the exchange here happens only once in three years and that there’s lots of good stuff to pick up at the entrance?”
“Uh, no…”
Before Charlotte could finish speaking, Vanessa interrupted her immediately, “Hey, those are just rumors. The really good stuff has long been bought at high prices by others. There’s no way we’d be able to get a good deal. We might even lose out and be deceived!
“If you really want to buy something good, just ask your boyfriend to get it for you! Oh, sorry, I almost forgot that your boyfriend probably can’t afford anything good. Look how shabbily dressed he is.
“Charlotte, it’s not that I’m trying to criticize you, but you used to be the school belle, and you’re still young and pretty now. You can get any guy you want. Why did you get together with such a… Ah, I don’t even know what to say to you.”
While speaking, Vanessa didn’t bother to keep her volume down or avoid anything. Instead, she looked at Lucas and almost pointed at his nose.
“Vanessa, he’s not…”
Charlotte knew that Vanessa must have misunderstood her relations.h.i.+p with Lucas and wanted to explain that Lucas was just her brother-in-law. But Vanessa interrupted her as soon as she spoke.
“Charlotte, it’s not that I’m deliberately trying to show off in front of you, but do you know about the Solar Corporation in LA?”
When trying to speak, Charlotte was interrupted by Vanessa twice in a row. And the latter didn’t seem to want to listen to her at all because she was focusing only on what she wanted to say. Besides, the remarks she made were a blatant expression of her disdain toward Lucas, which made Charlotte feel extremely uncomfortable.
The enthusiasm she felt upon seeing her old friend after years gradually faded.
But Charlotte definitely knew about the Solar Corporation. She was very familiar with it because it belonged to Lucas.
What does Vanessa mean by mentioning the Solar Corporation out of nowhere?
After noticing the bewilderment in Charlotte’s eyes, Vanessa held onto her boyfriend’s arm and said smugly, “Brian has become the deputy general manager of the Solar Corporation at such a young age. Impressive, huh?
“He’s here to attend the exchange on behalf of the Solar Corporation today! Let me tell you. If you want to get a boyfriend, you have to get one like mine, right?”
As soon as she said that, Lucas immediately had an extremely strange expression on his face. The man with the lewd gaze turned out to be the deputy general manager of the Solar Corporation?