Chapter 537 An Unexpected Kiss
Styre University had a clear rule that freshmen were not allowed to stay overnight outside of school. Although this rule was nothing to Branden, after Catherine had eaten and rested enough, he still took her back to the campus.
Underneath the dormitory building, Branden’s eyes were fixed on Catherine’s stunning face. His voice showed a hint of helplessness and reluctance as he said, “I have to go to the company tomorrow. Call me anytime if you need anything!”
Branden found himself increasingly wanting to keep Catherine by his side forever, not allowing her to go anywhere. However, he forcefully suppressed this thought in his mind.
Catherine was an independent individual, different from ordinary girls who wanted to cling to him. As she was independent, she was also incredibly strong, like the brightest star in the sky, radiating a dazzling light. He didn’t want to confine her or let her lose such radiance. He would rather be a planet that constantly revolved around her, protecting her forever.
The Duncan Corporation had moved to Loxton. Catherine knew that there must be a lot of things for Branden to handle.
“Okay,” she responded, blinking her eyes at Branden. Her pursed lips formed a faint smile as she turned and left.
Seeing her leave with a carefree demeanor, Branden couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. He gave a bitter smile, thinking, “You’re truly heartless, sweetheart, not showing any reluctance at all.”
Just as Branden was about to step down the stairs and leave, he heard light and brisk footsteps behind him. He instinctively turned around and saw Catherine running toward him, her beautiful face adorned with a sweet smile, making her extremely captivating.
Branden was about to ask her if there was something wrong when he heard Catherine’s cheerful voice calling out to him, “I forgot the most important thing before leaving, and I need it from you now!”
The next second, she pounced on him.
Branden instinctively reached out and embraced her waist to prevent her from falling.
Catherine fearlessly clung to Branden, accurately aimed at his thin lips, and gave him a passionate kiss before quickly running away.
Catherine stood at the staircase, looking at Branden who was still in a daze. Then, she gave a mischievous and carefree smile.
“Alright, I got the kiss. You can go now.
With a queen-like posture, she waved her hand at Branden, showing no hint of reluctance, and stepped onto the stairs.
Branden had hardly savored the fragrance when Catherine happily ran away. He stood in place. His expression was full of helplessness, but the smile on his lips deepened. It was obvious that he was in a very good mood.
As the Duncan Corporation shifted its focus to Loxton, the employees of the Loxton branch had been working day and night recently. Suddenly, they received an email saying Branden had decided to double everyone’s salary for this month.
Upon seeing this email, the employees were ecstatic. Indeed, the Duncan Corporation was a rare, conscientious company.
Although they needed to work overtime for a long period due to the strategic shift, the president showed his humanity by voluntarily awarding benefits for his employees. Where else could they find such a good company?
However, Paxton frowned upon reading the news. He immediately forwarded the email to Karl, telling on Branden.
“Who else could make Boss so extravagant besides Catherine?” he thought. “But if Boss keeps doing this, the entire Duncan Corporation will be ruined!”
After receiving the email, Karl didn’t get angry. Instead, he rebuked Paxton.
“Do you know why you’re still single?”
Paxton was confused. “What does my relationship status have to do with this? “he asked inwardly.
Seeing Paxton’s dumbfounded look, Karl didn’t bother to beat around the bush with someone of such low emotional intelligence.
“You’re just too stingy. Can a stingy man attract girls? The money you earn is for spending. What’s wrong with spending a little to pursue a girl? Besides, Branden is just looking out for the welfare of his employees. It’s an act of mutual benefit.”
Paxton still had a bewildered look on his face, wondering how his telling on his boss turned into a scolding and lecture from Karl.
Karl looked frustrated, staring at Paxton with disdain.
“You fool, even if I explain, you won’t understand. Spread the word. Each employee will receive an extra month’s allowance this month, coming from my personal account.”
Seeing Karl’s delighted expression, Paxton felt that all the men of the Duncans had gone crazy. Otherwise, how could they all be affected by Catherine’s charm?
However, this made Paxton understand one thing. As long as Catherine was happy, his boss would be happy. And if his boss was happy, the entire Duncan Corporation would be happy.
In other words, if Catherine was happy, everyone would be happy.
Catherine returned to her dormitory. As soon as she stepped in, she heard the sound of someone crying in distress. If someone who didn’t know the situation heard it, they would truly feel that the person was in a pitiful state.
Catherine walked into the room, expressionless, allowing her roommates’ gazes to fall upon her. She walked indifferently to her own bed, took off the training uniform she wore for physical training, and tidied up briefly.
Since Catherine returned, Beatrice had been observing her. Seeing that Catherine didn’t pay any attention to her crying, Beatrice cried even louder.
Isabella looked extremely distressed and didn’t know how to handle the current situation. Feeling an intimidating aura emanating from Catherine, Isabella didn’t dare to talk to her.
Isabella could only turn to Amelia, nudging her elbow to signal her to say something.
Amelia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She had seen through Beatrice’s manipulative tactics. Unable to resist Beatrice’s crying and Isabella’s persuasion, she decided to ask for clarification and find out what was going on.
“Catherine, can I ask you something?”
Hearing Amelia’s voice, Catherine put down what she was holding, turned around, pulled out a chair, and sat down, gesturing for Amelia to speak.
With Catherine’s agreement, Amelia straightforwardly asked, “Catherine, Beatrice came back and cried to us just now. She said that because of what happened this morning, you forced her to go home and made her grandfather apologize to you. She also said that you want the school to expel her. Is it true?”
Amelia’s bold questions made Beatrice, who was hiding behind the bed curtain, blush with anger, but she could only curse Amelia in her mind.
Facing Amelia’s questioning, Catherine admitted honestly, “Strictly speaking, that’s true!” She indeed asked Conor to intervene, and she also knew that the school intended to expel Beatrice. These were all possible outcomes in the end. So, what Beatrice said wasn’t wrong.
Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard Catherine’s admission. They didn’t expect it to be true. That was just too mean…
