"Mr. Carter, you're playing dirty," Enzo was stunned, understanding why his father had called him at this moment.
"Dirty? As business partners, I feel obligated to help Mr. Roberts..." Here, Dominic deliberately paused, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Enzo before sarcastically saying, "to educate his unruly son."
Enzo felt suppressed by Dominic's presence, but he didn't show any signs of backing down, staring back at him.
Just as everyone noticed the tension between Enzo and Dominic, thinking they were about to fight in the next second, the two of them tactfully looked away.
Dominic naturally placed the peeled crayfish into a bowl and handed it to Alessia.
"Wow, such a big bowl of crayfish meat. I wish my boyfriend would peel them for me too."
"Mr. Carter seems to have feelings for Miss La Rosa...?"
Those in the lab who didn't know about Alessia and Dominic's relationship started gossiping.
Riley also realized that something was off with Dominic tonight. He frowned. If he had to choose a person to be his brother-in-law, neither Dominic nor Enzo present would be his choice.
Riley cleared his throat and asked gently, "Who's picking the next song? Isn't anyone singing anymore?"
"Oh, I picked it," someone immediately responded, successfully diverting the topic.
Tiffany pursed her lips and took the opportunity to suggest, "Just singing and drinking is boring. How about we play a game?"
"What game?" someone chimed in.
"Let's play 'The King cards,'" Tiffany said, glancing at Dominic and pulling out a deck of cards.
Although this game wasn't original, it always helped to liven up the atmosphere. No one refused, and soon everyone gathered around.
The King rotated among the players, and this time it was a girl from the lab named Sophie who drew the King. She was also a loyal supporter of Tiffany.
Sophie glanced at Tiffany, and their eyes met. She nodded slightly and began, "I want to ask the Ace of Spades, what is the most regrettable thing you've experienced from childhood to now?"
"Who's the Ace of Spades?" someone asked.
"It's me." Tiffany pretended to be unlucky as she drew the card, and everyone's gaze fell on her.
Tiffany took a sip of her drink before saying desolately, "The most regrettable thing for me was during my student days, when I met a netizen on a forum. We had agreed to meet in Niagara Escarpment, but unfortunately my grandmother passed away that day, and I couldn't make it to the appointment."
Upon hearing the words 'Niagara Escarpment', Alessia subconsciously glanced at Dominic. She noticed that Dominic's gaze was fixed on Tiffany without blinking.
Sophie exclaimed, "Uh, Tiffany, were you still in an online relationship then?"
"It doesn't really count. Although I had some affection for him, we never confessed to each other." Tiffany reminisced, taking another sip of her drink.
"Wow, ambiguous relationships are so romantic." Sophie followed up, asking, "What happened later?"
"What happened later? There was no later. My mother truly believed I was in an online relationship and monitored me 24/7. By the time I regained my freedom and wanted to find him again, he had stopped going online. He probably blamed me for standing him up," Tiffany said with a bitter smile.
"That's really regrettable." Everyone sighed sympathetically.
Someone else was curious and asked, "Tiffany, what forum did you use?"
"The hacker forum."
"Wow, I never knew you were not only skilled in medicine but also a hacker."
"It's nothing. My hacking skills are still a bit inferior to Hacker M, and I can't compare to the top hackers like Eagle and Cobra," Tiffany modestly replied.
"Just slightly worse than Hacker M? That's still impressive."
Everyone praised Tiffany, who accepted their compliments while keeping an eye on Dominic. The palm of her hand was already sweaty.
That year, when Dominic went to Niagara Escarpment and encountered a mudslide, she learned a secret from her brother.
It turned out that Dominic had gone to Niagara Escarpment to meet an online friend, and his brother said that Dominic's feelings for that netizen were extraordinary.
Later, she heard from her brother that the female netizen had disappeared. It was at that moment that the idea of taking over the identity of the missing netizen took root and sprouted in her mind.
Since then, she had been practicing hacking skills, and after so many years, she finally achieved something.
Tiffany swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and finally saw Dominic speak, "Tiffany, what's your nickname?"
The breath that Tiffany had been holding in finally came out, and she pretended to be indifferent as she said, "It's IronRose."
With a light laugh, she continued, "At that time, my online friend, NeoNinja, asked me why I chose that name. I told him I felt that the IronRose resembled my personality."
Dominic raised an eyebrow and slowly said, "I'm NeoNinja."
"What?" Tiffany pretended to be surprised, covering her mouth with her hand.
Alessia's temples throbbed, feeling strangely familiar with what Tiffany was saying, especially the nicknames IronRose and NeoNinja. She tried hard to remember, but couldn't recall anything, as if a bright light was constantly blocking her.
Alessia rubbed her temples, starting to form a suspicion.
Maybe she had heard of IronRose and NeoNinja before her memory loss.
"Sia, what's wrong?" Enzo noticed Alessia's odd behavior and asked.
"I'm fine," Alessia shook her head. She then saw Tiffany happily and coyly asking Dominic again.
"Dom, are you really NeoNinja? You didn't lie to me, did you?"
Dominic smiled, a nostalgic look in his eyes as he looked at Tiffany and confirmed, "I didn't lie to you, IronRose from the wilderness."
"That's right, I'm IronRose from the wilderness. Dom, you still remember. You really are NeoNinja. If I had known you were NeoNinja, I wouldn't have regretted for so long," Tiffany looked at Dominic with joy and grievances.
"Oh, a game can reunite long-lost internet friends. Isn't this like a novel coming to life? This is fate. Mr. Carter and Tiffany, why don't you just be together?" Suddenly, Sophie exclaimed loudly.
Her words acted as a catalyst, and others began to join in.
"Yes, together!"
Dominic didn't say anything, but his brow furrowed slightly.
Tiffany noticed Dominic's subtle expression and felt a pang in her heart.
After all her efforts, was it still not enough?
Didn't her brother say that there was a place for IronRose in Dom's heart, and it was because of Alessia's appearance that he changed?
No matter what, she had worked so hard for this long. She couldn't afford to lose this opportunity.
Tiffany pretended to be angry and said, "Alright, stop teasing us. We've been good friends for so many years. Transitioning to lovers isn't something that can happen overnight. It takes... time to adjust."
"Haha, Tiffany is anxious. Okay, you two, take your time to develop your feelings," Sophie said with a laugh, giving Tiffany a gentle push towards Dominic.
Dominic looked at the falling Tiffany, hesitating for a moment. In the end, he didn't let Tiffany fall onto him but reached out to support her.
Tiffany's heart trembled. This was the closest she had been to Dominic recently.
IronRose's identity was indeed useful. It didn't matter if Dom wasn't ready to be with her yet. Next, she would work hard to make Dom remember every detail with IronRose.
Tiffany looked at Dominic shyly and timidly.
Dominic let go of her hand and said, "Sit down."
"With NeoNinja here, I feel reassured," Tiffany blushed and changed her address openly.
"NeoNinja and IronRose are a good match, don't you think so, Sia?" Enzo suddenly asked Alessia.
Alessia snapped out of her thoughts and nodded, "Not bad!"
Enzo looked at Alessia's calm expression and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like Alessia didn't have that kind of intention towards Dominic anymore!
Enzo's smile widened, and he took off his hat, playing with it in his hands. "Sia, it's getting late. Let me take you home. You have a child at home, don't you?"
Alessia looked at the time, which already pointed to eleven o'clock. It was indeed late.
"It's okay, I'll go with my brother," Alessia got up.
Enzo also stood up, "No problem, then I'll just walk you out."
After spending the whole evening together, she noticed Enzo being particularly attentive to her. He probably wanted something from her, and if that was the case, she should give him a chance.
Alessia looked at Enzo's attentive appearance and didn't refuse anymore. She informed Riley and the three of them left together.
When they left the KTV, Alessia invited Enzo, "Enzo, if you're free tomorrow, come to my house to hang out."
"Your house?" Enzo asked uncertainly.
Alessia looked at Enzo's face, nodded decisively, and said, "Yes, my house. Or do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No, even if I'm busy, I'll make time," Enzo's eyes flickered slightly as he sweetly replied. Waving the hat in his hand, he left first, disappearing into the night.
The designated driver arrived soon after.
Alessia and Riley got into the car. Riley tentatively asked, "Sia, you're different with Enzo today than yesterday."
"You said yesterday's incident was a misunderstanding, and after interacting, I found out Enzo is not bad," Alessia didn't tell the truth.
Riley had a good relationship with Enzo, so it wasn't about distrust, but sometimes emotions could affect a person's judgment.
"Enzo is indeed good, but he's not suitable for you," Riley said after some thought.
Alessia smiled, "What are you thinking? I don't have that kind of feeling for him."
"That's good," Riley breathed a sigh of relief.
Alessia almost facepalmed. She wasn't infatuated. The car moved forward, and suddenly she remembered the conversation in the private room, where Tiffany mentioned IronRose and NeoNinja.
She thought for a moment before taking out her phone and sending a message to M, who was abroad.
[Have you ever heard of IronRose and NeoNinja?]
***