The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 1003

Mango frowned her brows slightly.

"Carmel? Ned?"

She called their name. Then, she caught sight of Ned head's popping out from the corner, and he also had some food residue at his mouth.

"Ahem, Madam, are you done with the call?"

"Yeah... What are you doing over there?"

Mango looked at him speechlessly as she asked.

"Excuse me."

Ned came out from the corner and held a shortbread in his hand hidden behind him. Obviously, he had only taken a few bites of it.

"Are you hungry?"

Mango shook her head helplessly. She initially thought that something bad had happened to them.

"Where's Carmel?"

"She went to the ladies' room."

Mango immediately felt frustrated upon hearing Ned's reply.

Ned was having his food while Carmel went to the ladies?

Why did this sound like an unbelievable excuse?

"Stop eating that. Both of you follow me back to the Xiao family, and well have a meal together there."

"No... no, Madam, I won't go. There are still plenty of tasks for me to work on. Mr. Ye has arranged a lot of jobs for me that I haven't completed yet. I saw that you didn't need my help just now, so I decided to eat something quickly to fill my stomach for now."

Ned felt slightly embarrassed as he spoke.

Mango noticed that the pastry he had eating had turned cold. Thus, it was obvious that it was not a fresh pastry.

Now that Nathaniel was absent, Ned's workload had obviously been increased. Furthermore, he took over Thomas's job, and he needed to oversee all the company's affairs. This was obviously a heavy burden on him.

"You can't eat cold food all the time. If you don't go to the Xiao family's house for dinner, then let me treat you to a bowl of beef noodles at the restaurant outside here."

"It's alright. Madam, I'm good with just eating this. It saves me time and also fills my stomach at the same time. Don't worry, I can even drive without any delay." Ned uttered honestly in reply.

After listening to his reply, Mango suddenly felt slightly uneasy and distressed for him.

"Alright, just listen to me. Let's go and get some food. Now!"

Mango grabbed Ned's hand and dragged him with her.

Ned was completely stunned by her actions. Then, he immediately shook her hand off the next second. Oh, God!

If Mr. Ye got to know that his wife held Ned's hand, would he chop Ned's hands off?

Mango was a little surprised at what had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, urn... Mr. Ye will be jealous."

Ned stuttered, and Mango burst into laughter after hearing his reply.

Ned really had such a good sense of humour!

However, Mango felt better now, thanks to his joke.

"Okay, I won't hold your hand. Hurry up! Bring me to find Carmel too."

After Mango gave this order, Ned certainly did not dare to waste any more time. Instead, he followed behind Mango like a sidekick.

However, Mango did not see Carmel anywhere.

"Where is she?"

"She went to buy you some water."

Ned had no choice but to tell her the truth.

"Madam, urn... can you please not tell Carmel that I wasn't with you just now? I don't want to let her know that I took a break and secretly ate some food behind your back!"

Ned asked this question with a terrified expression.

"Huh? Why not?"

Mango was a little puzzled, but she was amused by how Ned was stammering out of fear right now.

Ned said awkwardly, "Um... Carmel's a really strong fighter, so I can't defeat her. I only dragged her away just now, but she almost dislocated my arm! Urgh! Is she really a woman? How can she be stronger than other men?"

Mango immediately burst into laughter after hearing his explanation.

"Hmm... is that the only reason?"

"Not precisely. She asked me to protect your safety by keeping you company. But instead, I decided to ignore you and eat in a corner. If she finds out about this, she will definitely beat me up again!" Ned complained shamelessly in frustration.

Mango smiled in reply and said, "Why can't you defeat her?"

"Oh... well, I will work harder! I'm going to increase my training so that I won't be defeated by a woman like her again!"

"Heh... are you worthy of calling yourself a man?"

Carmel had come back at that time. Upon hearing Ned's words, she couldn't help but snort at him. Then, Ned immediately hid behind Mango timidly.

Ned rarely acted like a coward, so Mango had never seen him behave this way. She couldn't help but smile and say, "Carmel, stop frightening him, or I'll have no one to protect me."

"Hah! He's such a coward, so he'll be useless anyway. You might as well fire him now."

Carmel spoke bluntly. Ned felt offended by her words that he waved his fist behind Mango, but he did not dare to fight with her.

This was so infuriating to him!

When Mango was watching them, she felt that both of them were entertaining. Then, she said with a smile, "Let's go and have some good food. It's on me."

Just as Carmel was about to refuse, she saw the determination in Mango's eyes and kept her mouth shut instead.

"Here's some water for you."

She handed over the water in her hand and escorted Mango out by standing to her left. Meanwhile, Ned only dared to follow behind them.

He had learnt that he couldn't mess around with a woman nowadays!

He muttered secretly and followed close behind them instead.

Meanwhile, Carmel ignored Ned and continued talking to Mango, "When I went to buy some water for you, I saw several suspicious men wandering around your car. So, let's take a cab back later." Mango paused slightly after hearing her report.

Who were these people working for?

Her enemies certainly did not hesitate to seize any opportunities to set up a trap for her.

"Alright."

After all, she could afford to abandon her car.

"Get someone to check the car later on. Drive it back if there are no problems with it."

"Got it, Madam."

As they spoke, both Carmel and Mango had already arrived at a nearby beef restaurant.

Ned glanced at Mango's clothes and then to the beef shop again. He said with a grin, "Madam, why don't you guys go back first? I can eat alone here."

"Nah, I have to watch you eat personally. I know you well! You definitely won't eat after I leave here. Instead, you're going to run errands for me in the company, aren't you? Ned, I'm in no rush. There were plenty of peoples who bring extraneous issues to us anywhere. If you stay vigilant all the time, you'll be exhausted. Come on, let's go in and get some food."

After finishing her words, Mango walked into the restaurant. She did not mind the run-down environment of the shop and immediately sat down at a table. "Boss, I'll have a bowl of beef noodles with extra meat, thank you."

"Sure, coming right up!"

The restaurant owner immediately went inside the kitchen to cook for them.

Meanwhile, Ned felt ordered because Mango had ordered a bowl of noodles specifically for him.

Carmel saw the glistening tears in his eyes and could not help saying, "Huh? Why are you acting so exaggerated? It's just a bowl of beef noodles after all."

"You don't know anything!"

Ned retorted and sat next to them to wait for his food.

Mango always felt that Carmel seemed to be targeting Ned on purpose. On the other hand, Carmel was always kind to her. However, she could tell that Carmel bore no malice towards Ned. Could it be that Carmel had taken a fancy to him instead?

She made a guess secretly and couldn't help but smile at this thought.

Love was indeed amazing.

When the beef noodles were finally served, Mango pushed the bowl to Ned.

Ned ate in a somewhat reserved manner, but he was really hungry. So, he didn't continue to put on an act, and he finished three bowls of noodles by himself!

"My goodness, are you starving? How long has it been since you last ate?"

"One whole day."

Ned finished the last mouthful of soup, and his body was instantly full of vitality.

"Don't do this again because it's bad for your stomach. If you get sick, Nathan will feel bad for you."

Ned was touched after he heard Mango's words.

"Alright. I promise that you and Mr. Ye won't have to worry about me.

"Who do you think you are? Madam was trying to say that no one will help them run the company if you fall sick! Besides, they're a couple, so they need to spend some time with each other! So, Mr. Ye may feel distressed for his wife."

Ned was embarrassed by Carmel's retort.

After hearing this, Mango patted Carmel's shoulder and said, "Hey... we should not be so direct. After all, we're all friends, right?"

"Hah... I'm just worried that he will be too smug because of your praises."

Carmel replied humbly.

Ned was having a tough time right now.

After all, both his madam and his fellow subordinate was making fun of him at the same time!

"Madam, I'll head back to the office first."

"Alright, be careful on your way there. After all, you need to take care of yourself so that Nathan and I can continue to be lovey-dovey as well!"

Mango teased him. It was indeed rare for her to act so cheekily.

Meanwhile, Ned almost tripped over himself when he stood up after hearing her words.

Madam must have been influenced by Carmel!

After all, Carmel was a playful person, so she was a bad influence on Mango.

However, Ned could only complain about this secretly. Then, he left the beef noodle restaurant quickly.

Mango's smile grew even wider when she saw his reaction.

"Are you interested in him?"

She nudged Carmel, who was beside her with her elbow while asking this.

This was the first time that both of them met and also worked together. However, her grandpa had a good eye for talent, and Carmel was someone Mango could get along well with.

Carmel didn't feel awkward either and said frankly, "Well, I think that he's pretty good-looking, but his combat skills are weak. Ah... he definitely needs to train more."

"Take it easy so that you don't frighten him away. Besides, it's hard to find an innocent boy like his nowadays."

"Humph! Let's see whether he can escape me then! He's a man that I want, and I will complete my task by winning him over! Besides, I came from the army, and we will be punished by the officers there if we don't complete our tasks!"

After listening to how Carmel was determined to work hard for her love, Mango was amazed, but she did not comment anything. After all, love was unexpected, and she felt that both of them should take their time to see how things would unfold.

"Okay, let's go back and eat. Grandpa must be waiting anxiously at home."

Then, Mango got up and left the beef noodle restaurant.

While Carmel was talking to her, she had already booked a cab. Now, they had left the restaurant on schedule, and the cab was waiting outside for them.

Mango felt at ease as she had Carmel guarding her. So, she got into the car immediately.

Both of them returned to the Xiao family's home safe and sound.

Meanwhile, Brantley was bustling around the house. When he saw that Mango had returned, he immediately smiled and said, "You came back at the right time! How did you know that the food is almost done? You must have smelled it from miles away, right? Such a glutton!"

"Grandpa, I'm your granddaughter. Since I've inherited your genes, doesn't this mean that you're a glutton too?"

Mango stood up to him with a grin.

"Heh... you're good at twisting my words. Go wash up and change your clothes so that you can get ready to eat."

"Got it, grandpa!"

Mango threw her handbag onto the sofa and then returned to her bedroom to tidy up.

Although it had been a long time since she had come here, Brantley would ask people to buy the newest clothes collection. Then, he would also ask his men to place them in the room along with some necessities. After all, he was afraid that Mango would have nothing to use here after she returned home.

Mango opened the closet to look for clothes, but she found a small box in the corner besides the closet.

In fact, she had never noticed that there was a small box hiding here all along.

Hence, Mango was curious about it, just like any other person was.

Then, she took out the small box only to find that it was locked.

What was inside this mysterious box?

Mango quickly changed her clothes and went out with the small box.

"Grandpa, I found this box inside my wardrobe. Do you know what's in it?"

Brantley's eyes abruptly caught sight of the small box, and his expression changed slightly.

"Hmm... your grandma left this in for you."

"Oh? Do you have the key to it then?"

"Err... I threw it away, so I'm not sure about where it is. Besides, there's nothing important in it. So, you can break the lock if you're really curious about what's in it. After all, she has been gone for such a long

time, so what's the point of keeping this box?"

Even though Brantley was uttering these harsh words, there was a trace of nostalgia across his eyes.

Mango felt that this box could contain something that her grandma wanted to leave for Brantley. However, she could've been too embarrassed to tell him about it before she left.

Upon this thought, she quickly walked down with the box in her hand.

"Grandpa, let's take a look together."

Brantley did not refuse her suggestion either.

Hence, Mango knew that she had made the right speculation.

She asked Carmel to open the box, but she was stunned when she saw what was inside!