The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"So, you're saying that all of the venture capital companies' executives reported to you?"

There was a strange tone to the way Mango spoke.

"Yeah, is there a problem, Mango?"

Previously, Nick hadn't listened too carefully to what Mango was saying as he was wracked with anxiety. However, Nick paused when he heard the odd tone in Mango's voice.

"Mango, Nathaniel had me target the Hans family's businesses earlier on, so I wanted to ask him about our next steps. I need to know what he's thinking. Both the Hans family and the Ye family have peacefully coexisted within Ocean City for years, so does he really intend for us to decimate the Hans family's businesses? If not, then does he want me to pull out? I need clear instruction right now because you know as well as I do that the HY Group isn't able to keep this sort of expenditure up any longer. This is essentially a scorched earth policy, and we don't have time to waste. I can't contact Nathaniel, so can you do so for me?"

In fact, Nick sounded extremely anxious.

The HY Group had many employees that depended on them for a livelihood, and both brothers had discussed earlier that Nathaniel would be calling the shots on this operation. Now, even the executives of their venture capital companies were feeling the pressure and they cast their problems onto Nick. Hence, Nick had to look to Nathaniel for a plan.

Alas, he couldn't get through Nathaniel no matter how hard he tried.

On the other hand, Mango's mood sunk when she heard what Nick said. Even so, she muttered, "I'll try and contact him for you, but if you couldn't do it, I don't think I'll have much luck either. If neither of us succeeds, then you have the full authority to make a decision."

"Let's see what Nathaniel has to say first. Thanks, Mango."

Then, Nick immediately hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

At that moment, Mango's expression had shifted completely.

Thus, Rainie had no idea what was going on and she asked confusedly, "What's wrong? Who called you? Was it your brother-in-law? Does the Ye family expect you to handle the businesses as well?" Suspicion arose in Mango's heart when she recalled what Rainie said to her earlier.

Nathaniel hadn't gone abroad at all!

Nothing was happening over at the overseas branches of their businesses!

So, the question was where had he gone?

Why did he have to lie to her?

Why did he turn off his phone so that no one could contact him?

A rapid-fire series of questions flitted through Mango's mind.

On the contrary, Rainie started to worry when Mango didn't reply.

"Penny for your thoughts, Mango? What's wrong? Did something happen? You need to know that you're not in the best state to be thinking about unnecessary things. Except for Nathaniel, nothing else matters."

"What if Nathaniel is the issue?"

Rainie was astonished the moment Mango spoke his name.

"What do you mean? Did I hit the nail on the head? Has Nathaniel done something to upset you?"

At that moment, Rainie really felt like slapping herself. Did she really have to jinx the whole situation by badmouthing

Nathaniel?

"Well, let me call Nathaniel to ask when he's coming home."

As she spoke, Rainie quickly dialed Nathaniel's number. Unfortunately, his phone had been turned off.

Mango's expression turned glum when she heard the robotic message tone on the other hand.

Nathaniel promised that he would never lie to Mango again!

Earlier on, she'd forced herself to accept Rita's faked kidnapping by telling herself that he'd done it for their sake, but what happened now?

Nathaniel knew that she hadn't fully let go of what happened with Rita, and yet he was here lying to her once again. Furthermore, he wasn't even around and his phone was turned off. What the hell was going on?

Hence, Mango was extremely upset and paired with her weakened body, her frustration reached a peak.

"There's no need to call him, call someone else instead."

Then, Mango's words stunned Rainie.

"Who do you intend on calling?"

"Thomas, of course!"

Shock colored Rainie's features as she processed what Mango said.

"Thomas?"

"Yeah."

Mango looked at Rainie with a odd gleam in her eyes.

Although Rainie had no idea why Mango insisted on looking for Thomas, but she still called him anyway.

Soon after, Thomas rushed back home after he received Rainie's call. Confusion seeped into his tone as he spotted Mango and he asked, "What's wrong, Mrs. Ye? What's happened?"

"Where is Nathaniel?"

Mango did not beat around the bush with her question.

Thomas was Nathaniel's assistant, and he would tell Thomas about everything. Hence, Mango figured that no one would know about Nathaniel's whereabouts better than Thomas. "Isn't Mr. Ye on a business trip?"

Thomas's feigned innocence irritated Rainie somewhat, and she kicked him in the leg angrily. "Are you still defending him? Mango knows what happened, so hurry up and tell us where Nathaniel's gone." Thomas grimaced with pain from the kick, but he still replied aggrievedly, "I really don't know. Mr. Ye only told me to protect you and nothing else about where he's going. My job is just to be responsible for your safety as well as the children, so what's going on?"

Thomas's words made Mango glance at him a couple more times, but she did not speak.

Hence, Rainie couldn't help but say, "Mango, he might truly have no idea. After Dr. Bay arrives, perhaps you can ask her if Dr. Soo knows anything."

"Yes, Mr. Ye was with Dr. Soo before he went abroad. I heard that the both of them went to a club together."

Thomas instantly regretted saying that when he saw the doubt flashed on Mango's face.

"A club? Why would Nathaniel go to a club?"

However, Thomas shut up and he refused to say anything else.

"Say something!"

In truth, Rainie felt that Thomas was just defending Nathaniel by giving Mango and her some dismissive answers.

"I don't know, perhaps he's quarreled with Mrs. Ye and he went there to let off some steam. But please don't overthink, Mr. Ye would never do anything else except drink."

Since Thomas had accidentally blurted out the truth, he had to tell them everything. However, he still tried to defend Nathaniel.

On the contrary, Mango had no idea what to do as she was so upset.

"What's the name of the club?"

"Mrs. Ye!"

"Say it!"

"I don't know."

Thomas wanted to keep defending Nathaniel, but Mango replied to him coldly, "If you don't tell me, I'll have Rainie break up with you." The corners of Rainie's mouth twitched in annoyance.

Gosh, Mango seemed to be going insane. Rainie wasn't part of the Ye family, but Mango was still using her to threaten Thomas!

Either way, the threat was obviously effective as Thomas hesitated before speaking his next words.

"Mrs. Ye, you can't do that."

"You're welcome to try me. No matter how you put it, I'm still the mistress of the Ye family and you're Nathaniel's assistant. Furthermore, you know how good of a relationship Rainie and I share. So, I doubt that she'd leave me behind for a man."

As she spoke, Mango swivelled her gaze towards Rainie immediately.

At this point, what else could Rainie say to refute Mango?

Embarrassed, Rainine cleared her throat awkwardly and she turned away.

At that, Thomas became irritated.

"Mrs. Ye, you're making things difficult for me."

"I just need to know what club he went to? What did he do there? Where is he?!"

These three questions all put Thomas in a difficult position.

Meanwhile, Rainie chimed in anxiously, "Hey, can't you see that Mango's not feeling very good? She needs Nathaniel to come home right now and accompany her. Plus, Dr. Bay is coming over in a minute to administer an IV drip to Mango so are you going to piss her off now? If something happens, how are you going to explain it to Nathaniel?"

Only then did Thomas realize Mango's pallid complexion after he heard what Rainie said.

"Mrs. Ye, Mr. Ye hasn't done anything wrong. He just went to have a drink."

"Which club did he go to?"

Mango was absolutely persistent with that question.

In the end, Thomas had no choice but to tell her.

"The Celestial Clubhouse. However, Mr. Soo only went to have a short drink with Nathaniel before they left."

Then, Thomas's words made Mango pause for a second before she asked, "Where did Nathaniel go after that?"

"I don't know, perhaps he went off with Mr. Soo. When I received the call from Mr. Ye, he told me that he was already at the airport getting ready to leave the country to handle some things. So, he asked me to look after everyone else at home. That's it, I swear."

At that moment, Thomas told Mango the whole truth.

Then, Mango handed her phone to Thomas and she said, "Call the Celestial Clubhouse and ask if Nathaniel's there."

"That's impossible, Mrs. Ye."

"I said call them!"

The word befuddled couldn't even begin to describe what Mango was feeling now.

She didn't believe that Nathaniel would do something to hurt her, but Mango wanted to know what he was up to.

Why did he have to lie to her?

Thomas relented to the fact that he had nowhere left to run, so he just took the phone and called the Celestial Clubhouse in front of Mango.

The call went through quickly.

"Hello, this is the Celestial Clubhouse."

"Good morning, I'm looking for Gianna Wood." Thomas knew who Gianna was, after all, he knew almost everything about Nathaniel. Gianna was Nathaniel's personal sommelier, and he wanted to find out where Nathaniel had gone from Gianna.

The other party paused for a moment before saying, "Gianna has resigned."

"Resigned? When did this happen?"

To be frank, Thomas was rather surprised. After all, Gianna was personally hired by Nathaniel and he paid her a handsome amount of money. So, there was no reason she would quit.

However, the other party continued impatiently, "Yesterday. Well, she's no longer with the Celestial Clubhouse, so please seek her out somewhere else."

After that, he hung up the phone.

Then, Mango's brows knitted together in a frown.

"Who is this Gianna?"

"She is Mr. Ye's personal sommelier."

Upon saying that, Thomas felt as if he might have invited disaster upon himself.

What was wrong with him lately?

Nevertheless, Mango didn't say anything and she asked, "Do you know this woman?"

"Of course, but rest assured that she doesn't have any improper relationship with Mr. Ye. She was a poor university student from a village in the mountains, so Mr. Ye hired her to be his sommelier. But why did

she suddenly resign?"

"What's more, she just resigned yesterday!"

Mango pointed out the time of resignation to Thomas.

Gianna had resigned yesterday, which was coincidentally the same time that Nathaniel had left to handle his affairs. Now, the both of them were nowhere to be found and Nathaniel was unreachable.

So, what did this mean?

Mango didn't want to overthink, but she couldn't help herself.

She hadn't interacted with Genevieve much previously, but Nathaniel had personally invited her to perform a checkup on Mango at her home.

Who was Genevieve?

She was the director of the military hospital in the city!

Why would a person of such high rank decide to do a regular checkup on her?

Most importantly, Genevieve was Noah's wife!

Plus, Noah was Nathaniel's friend!

So, what the hell was Nathaniel hiding from her?