Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 519 - 319: The Eight Gather, Ready to Stir Up Trouble

Nora Scott made phone calls to both Joseph Sutton and Evelyn Winter.

The call to Joseph Sutton was to have him come over and verify the authenticity of the golden cup in Humphrey Jennings’ possession.

The call to Evelyn Winter was because she was involved in the incident, and it was only right to inform her of any developments.

However, by the end of the chat, when Evelyn learned that the golden cup would be delivered to Cloudwater Haven that night, she proactively requested to come over, and Nora did not refuse.

After two phone calls, it was nearly dark.

Glancing out the window, Nora had intended to go into the living room, but for some reason thought of Pedro Langley, paused, and after some consideration, dialed another number for Pedro Langley.

—All her friends and family knew. If she kept this from Pedro Langley, the last bit of her conscience would not let her rest.

Besides, Pedro Langley knew the golden cup was fake. Since he was already involved, why not let him know the entire story?

"Is someone cooking next door today?"

When the call connected, Nora pondered and began with small talk.

"Butler Loxley and Jack Carter aren’t here," Pedro replied. "What would you like to eat? I’ll bring it back."

Nora was momentarily stunned.

She instinctively thought of a dish name but then decided against it.

After all, many guests were coming...

Brushing her windblown hair back behind her ear, Nora said, "No need to bring anything; there’ll be guests later. Just order some takeout."

"What kind of guests?"

"Well, there are some clues about the real golden cup..." Nora paused slightly, then asked softly, "Would you like to know?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Soon, Pedro’s reply came, "I would."

Gently pressing her lips together, Nora said, "Then come back quickly."

"Okay."

"...You don’t need to rush."

Nora hesitated for a moment, then slowly added another reminder.

Pedro’s low, gentle laughter floated through the phone, landing softly in her ear like a gentle breeze, making her ear heat up suddenly in the evening wind.

Nora lowered her head, turned to face the window, moved the phone to the other ear, and gently rubbed her flushed ear with cool fingers.

"I know."

Pedro whispered.

The call disconnected.

The phone screen transitioned from bright to dark. Nora didn’t move but leaned against the balcony railing, letting the refreshing evening breeze wash over her.

Henry Chapman, Benjamin Durant, Humphrey Jennings, Miguel Smith, and even Evelyn Winter and Joseph Sutton all played certain roles in this intricate event spanning five years.

Only Pedro Langley was an outsider.

She could have kept it from him.

But she wanted him to know.

Even if just as an observer.

If their lives were too far apart, unable to merge beyond daily life, it would seem... too unlike a relationship.

Their circles could be a bit closer together.

Even if just a little bit.

*

One hour later.

In the living room.

Eight people, some on the sofa, some on dining chairs, and some standing...

All looking at each other.

The living room was dead silent.

In an hour, four groups of guests arrived at Nora’s house.

One group included Pedro Langley, who came to listen.

One group included Joseph Sutton, who came for the golden cup verification.

One group included Evelyn Winter, who hurried over upon hearing the news.

And another group—

Consisted of Humphrey Jennings, who brought the golden cup, along with Benjamin Durant and Miguel Smith.

They arrived nearly at the same time, with less than a ten-minute difference.

The eight people did not all know each other.

Thus, the atmosphere was inevitably a bit awkward.

Henry Chapman occupied the afternoon’s sofa spot, but instead of scripts and lesson plans on his knees, sat the well-fed Rose.

Joseph Sutton was seated in a single armchair.

Evelyn Winter sat in a dining chair, maintaining a certain distance from them.

Benjamin Durant, Humphrey Jennings, and Miguel Smith were the last to arrive, still standing as they were momentarily stunned upon seeing the unfamiliar faces of Joseph and Evelyn in the living room.

Meanwhile, Nora and Pedro, who had previously been in the small study, walked out after hearing the commotion.

"This is..."

Evelyn Winter seemed the most puzzled.

She had expected only Nora and those involved with the golden cup, yet—

Why were there so many people?

"The relationships are a bit tangled; almost all the parties involved are here." Nora offered a preliminary response, then turned her eyes to Miguel Smith, "Why did you come?"

Miguel Smith responded confidently, "I’m one of the victims too."

In fact, he had found the recount of the event quite interesting when Benjamin Durant shared it while they were playing games, so he decided to join the fun.

"Everyone, take a seat."

Nora Scott raised an eyebrow, her gaze landing somewhere, "Benjamin Durant—"

"Uncle."

Benjamin Durant immediately responded.

"You go ahead and tell the whole story."

"Where should I start?"

Benjamin rubbed his chin, unable to find the beginning of the story for a moment.

Should it start with the person we caught today, or from when Henry Chapman’s antique got robbed, or from Miguel Smith’s unfortunate stabbing incident?

Silently sweeping his gaze over Miguel Smith, Nora Scott said lightly, "Let’s start from when someone voluntarily ran into a knife."

Miguel Smith: "..." Just because the way he got injured was a bit dumb, does that mean he no longer deserves to have his name mentioned?

The group each found a place to sit.

The atmosphere was originally a bit tense.

Especially Pedro Langley and Humphrey Jennings, where almost any glance between them would cause sparks to fly.

However, when Benjamin began to tell the story, the atmosphere improved. Those unaware were drawn to the time- and place-spanning story full of coincidences that seemed too outlandish. Those who knew the inside story couldn’t help but feel secretly shocked as the clues were being recounted.

What kind of coincidences were needed for things to escalate to this point?

Miguel Smith and his group were robbed in the Sand Delta;

Five years ago, Henry Chapman was robbed of his antique in Anchel;

Then, upon learning that The Thief had issued a challenge, they switched the golden cup;

These three things were actually done by the same group.

Binding these three cases together involved a multitude of coincidences, and any missing link would have broken the chain, making the matter unclear to this extent.

...

In the study.

A small crack was in the door.

Marcus Shaw and Oliver Scott stood behind it, listening to Benjamin Durant’s story.

In complete silence.

Hearing the three events being pieced together, their expressions couldn’t help but flicker slightly as they exchanged glances.

Leaning against the wall, Oliver Scott asked softly, "Did they forget about us?"

With a glint in his eyes, Marcus Shaw replied, "Only Chapman knows we’re back."

When they returned, Nora had the balcony door shut, talking on the balcony without knowing they came back.

Later, the two of them stayed in the study discussing various data, forgetting to step out and greet Nora until guests started arriving, and they gradually broke away from "work mode."

And by the time the two were ready to say hello, the others had already started "discussing matters."

Clearly not the best time to step out.

They hadn’t expected—

That during their wait, they would hear such a twisting, thrilling, and complex story.

After a while, Oliver Scott sighed softly, "Sounds like a made-up story."

"..."

Marcus Shaw glanced at him sideways.

"What exactly is Sis?" Oliver Scott tugged at his sleeve, slightly excited, "Northwest Robert Durant, a golden cup worth a fortune, a challenge and The Thief, the hidden switch plan, antiques, and robbery... Are these words meant to appear in a normal person’s life?"

"..."

Marcus Shaw had no response.

Originally, Nora Scott didn’t live a normal life either.

Her biological clock was all over the place, she could effortlessly become a god-tier manga artist, had profound knowledge in Mechanical Techniques, often received bizarre phone calls, and knew a bar owner who would fight at the drop of a hat...

A life full of Martial World vibes.

Seeing Oliver Scott about to ramble on, while the story in the living room clearly hadn’t finished, Marcus Shaw coolly glanced at Oliver Scott.

He asked, "Do you still want to keep listening?"

"Yes!"

Oliver Scott immediately shut his mouth.

*

"... In conclusion, that’s roughly how things went."

In the living room, Benjamin Durant finished explaining the cause and effect of the three events, then picked up a glass of water from the coffee table and drank it all in one go.

He then pointed to the people present.

"Henry Chapman, the protagonist of the five-year-old incident, one of the parties involved; Miguel Smith, the protagonist of the Sand Delta robbery event, another party involved." After introducing the two, Benjamin pointed to himself and Humphrey Jennings, "Humphrey and I were the ones responsible for investigating this matter, partly responsible for the credit."

Then, Benjamin simply ignored Nora and Pedro, turning to look at Joseph Sutton and Evelyn Winter.

"So, who are you two?"

Joseph Sutton listened calmly to the story from beginning to end.

He adjusted his glasses and said in a calm voice, "My role is to verify the authenticity of the golden cup."

"..." Benjamin choked for a moment, instinctively looking towards Nora, and asked, "Uncle, am I not up to this task?"

After all, his family runs an antique shop, and since he was old enough to understand things, he’s been dealing with various antiques, so he has some basic appraisal skills.

"You’re a chef."

Nora Scott nonchalantly reminded him.

Benjamin Durant: "...."

"As for her..."

Nora Scott’s gaze swept over Evelyn Winter, pausing, as she tried to come up with a reasonable identity for her.

Unexpectedly, Evelyn Winter smiled frankly, straightforwardly admitting, "I’m the unfortunate thief being schemed against by the ’sixth person’ you mentioned."

"..."

The entire room fell into silence.

A multitude of gazes instantly turned towards Evelyn Winter.