You Are The Apple of My Eyes
Chapter 702 At Loggerheads

It was almost two in the afternoon when they arrived at the foot of the club's slope. As soon as Michelle got out of the car, she ran up in a hurry and waved goodbye to them. "I have to go now. Bye, Leon! Bye, Colby!"

"Be careful." Whenever Leon saw Michelle run, he was worried that she would trip and scrape her knees.

She was like a fragile porcelain doll that he wanted to protect from any harm.

When Michelle reached the club, she turned around and waved at them again.

Leon smiled at her. When she entered the club, his smile vanished and he looked serious.

"Do you like Michelle?"

Leon's candid question surprised Colby. When Colby recovered from the shock, he said resolutely, "Yes. I like her very much. I know you treat her as your sister."

"We're not siblings," Leon said.

"I know that."

"I already have a boyfriend for her, and it's not you." Leon glanced at him with a pair of cold eyes.

"Huh?" Colby scratched his head. "You mean...you've already chosen a boyfriend for her? You're not her real brother. What right do you have to choose her boyfriend for her? You can't force her into marrying a man. Besides, it's just a relationship, not a marriage."

"So what you're saying is you are not going to marry her and just want to date her, huh?" Leon caught the loophole in his words.

They stared at each other so sharply that they would butt each other's head if provoked further. Colby was guilty of what Leon had accused him of. It was true, he hadn't thought about marriage yet. They weren't even in a relationship yet. It was too early for him to think about marrying her.

"It's too early to talk about marriage." Colby paused for a while and continued, "How sure are you that she's going to like the one you've chosen for her? If she doesn't like him, are you going to force her? She's free to choose her own partner, you know."

"She will," Leon said with utmost certainty.

Colby clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "I'll continue to pursue her. Even though I'm not as handsome as you, I have other redeeming qualities."

"You're so full of yourself." Leon smirked. "Tell me, are your legs longer than mine?"

Colby looked downwards and fixed his eyes on Leon's legs. "No."

"You're not as handsome as me, not as tall as me. You've already failed in those aspects." Leon's face grew smugger. "I heard that you and Austin are good friends?"

Colby looked at him, trying to ascertain his motives. "Yes. What about him?"

"You two are very close, right? Has he told you whom he likes?" The sunlight behind Leon cast a foreboding shadow that covered his face, which made it difficult for Colby to see his expression clearly. A chill ran down his spine. He didn't know what Leon was trying to imply.

Colby didn't say anything. Leon took his silence as his response and replied, "So he didn't tell you. He's loved Michelle at a distance for a very long time. Austin is from a rich family. Why do you think he stays at the branch instead of the headquarters of his family firm? Michelle told me they often had dinner together."

The news hit Colby like a tsunami that swept over his body and shook him to the core. It took a while for the new information to completely sink in his head.

"So that's why he kept on discouraging me from pursuing Michelle. He never did that when I tried pursuing other girls," Colby murmured to himself. "But he came to the branch instead of the headquarters because of his family."

Austin chose to major in computer to show that he was not interested in his family's business.

The reason he chose to work in the branch was also to show his siblings that he was not interested in inheriting the family business.

As the picture began to piece together in Colby's mind, something felt off. 'Isn't Austin going to graduate school? He doesn't want to have anything to do with his family, right? If that's the case, why is he still working for his family firm?'

The more Colby thought about it, the more everything started to make sense. 'It must be because of Michelle.'

Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined that the day would come that he and Austin would fight over a girl. But he didn't want to give up. He really liked Michelle.

She was different from the other women that he had dated before. She might not be as beautiful as them, but she was so cute and full of light that just being around her always made him smile.

He wanted to have her by his side and watch her smile. She was so sweet that he wanted to indulge himself with her smile.

"I have to go now." Colby smiled politely. He went to his car, drove away, and turned right at the next intersection.

Leon stood on the side of the road with a smug expression drawn on his face.

He truly was a cunning fox. All he needed to do now was sit there and watch Colby and Austin fight for Michelle. He didn't have to do anything else.

Meanwhile, Colby went to the branch of the Xu family firm. Their office was located on the top-most floor of the building.

Austin started working at the branch company as an assistant. The reason why he went here was to familiarize himself with the business under the mentorship of the branch's manager. Even if it was just a branch, his siblings were still not ease. So he had to just sit there and do nothing.

When Colby stepped into the branch, some people were gossiping about Austin. They were saying that Austin only came here to go on vacation, while others said he was useless and arrogant. These rumors made Colby frown 'Austin isn't what they think he is. He's not arrogant; he just doesn't like to talk a lot.

He isn't useless. He's actually the most capable person to inherit the family business.

He's just pretending.' When Austin was still a child, his siblings often bullied him. Throughout his childhood, he never fought back. He just wished that they would stop picking on him all the time. He was bullied so much that he would cry every day. Once, he was too afraid to go home and secretly hid in the backyard of their house. That was where Colby's parents found him. Aurora took Austin back to his parents and tried telling them that their son was being bullied. However, Austin's father just ignored her and continued to call his son useless.

When Aurora got home, she told Colby to befriend Austin so that he wouldn't be bullied as much.

As a child, Austin was a crybaby. But when he grew up, his heart turned into stone.

Colby knocked on the receptionist's desk and asked, "I'm looking for Austin. Where is his office?"

Austin was an approachable figure in the company. Many people always came to him that the receptionist had become used to it. Just now, a man had gone to Austin's office, but he hadn't left yet. The receptionist led Colby to Austin's office.

Compared to the general manager's office, Austin's office was more comfortable and spacious. Austin was sitting on the sofa, reading an entertainment magazine.

"Every time I come here, you're always reading the same page. Austin, aren't you tired?" As long as Aron was free, Austin would call him to his office to have a chat.

Most of the time, Austin would not respond. While eating sunflower seeds, Aron said, "If you really don't want to stay here, then just go. I grow tired of the sunflower seeds in your office." Seeing Aron eating sunflower seeds without stopping, Austin said, "Don't eat them."

"Okay." Aron put the sunflower seeds back on the plate and patted his clothes. He stood up and asked, "What are we going to do next? Play games as usual? You wanna play VR racing?" "Racing sound like a good idea." Austin put down the magazine.

Both of them were so immersed in the VR world that they didn't notice someone was knocking. When Colby opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of two people wearing VR goggles, trying to keep their balance.

'What a loser!' he thought.

Austin was really good at acting like a loser. He was so good that it would be a great loss for the entertainment industry if he didn't become an actor.0000