Lights dazzled, glasses clinked, music echoed. The academic seminar had ended, and now, the banquet that followed was underway deep into the night. Ethan Ainsworth, holding a glass, approached Vincent Donovan and pulled him aside. Vincent Donovan didn’t understand his intention until Ethan Ainsworth had pulled him into a corner and asked, "What’s up?" Ethan Ainsworth nodded toward a certain direction, signaling him to look over there. Following Ethan Ainsworth’s gaze, Vincent Donovan saw Poe Vaughn, donned in a sharp suit, one hand in his pocket, standing distinguished among a group of academics. Clearly, he was a businessman, someone who should have been at odds with these scholars, yet oddly, standing among these top minds, he seemed like an emperor listening to reports from his ministers. That powerful regal aura compelled submission from within. Such was Poe Vaughn, undoubtedly the center of attention among everyone present. But to Vincent Donovan, Poe Vaughn was the same as usual, nothing different. So, he withdrew his gaze to look at Ethan Ainsworth, puzzled, "What do you mean?" He looked at Poe Vaughn as told, and found nothing different about him. Ethan Ainsworth saw Vincent Donovan’s complete oblivion to any anomaly, and was momentarily speechless, "Can’t you tell he’s unhappy?" Vincent Donovan was surprised; he looked at Poe Vaughn once more. His face was the usual cold and indifferent, with deep, profound eyes that masked any emotion, the only light falling on his face unknown if due to the angle or his sharply defined features, giving a slightly edgy look from the side. Vincent Donovan felt a slight stir in his heart, carefully observing Poe Vaughn’s gaze. He realized that tonight, Poe Vaughn’s thoughts seemed elsewhere. He was thinking about something, and it didn’t seem good, causing the depth in his eyes to darken slightly. Vincent Donovan nodded, "He seems to have something on his mind." Upon seeing his realization, Ethan Ainsworth finally let out a sigh of relief, "It’s good that as many years of friendship, you could still catch that, otherwise, those years would’ve been in vain." Vincent Donovan laughed at this remark, "Unlike you, I don’t spend all day analyzing Poe." "You can’t say that! I’m just being a concerned friend, you understand?" He was clearly just being nosy and curious, yet said it so righteously, making Vincent Donovan laugh, "I understand, I understand." "I totally understand." Ethan Ainsworth, too, didn’t bother with his insinuations, saying, "Haven’t you noticed, ever since he’s been involved with a woman, there’s a bit more of a human touch to him." "In the past, he seemed indifferent to everything, even with his so-called sister constantly trying to get close to him, he treated her no differently than air, neither liking nor disliking, utterly indifferent." "But now look at him, that calculating gaze, who knows how much cunning is brewing inside him, plotting and scheming, probably using all thirty-six stratagems, I even feel a chill for those being schemed against by him." What was he talking about? Vincent Donovan couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Are you sure you’re not mistaken?" Ethan Ainsworth shot him a glance, "Vincent, you may doubt my eyesight, but you cannot doubt my insight into people." "Especially regarding Poe." Ethan Ainsworth pointed to his own eyes and looked at Poe Vaughn again, full of confidence. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel※fire.net This statement was indeed true; Ethan Ainsworth’s judgment was always on point, as reliable as the Eyes of Golden Flame. However, "Poe having his own matters is quite normal." Everyone is a mere mortal, bound to have matters of their own, nothing unusual about it. Ethan Ainsworth curled his lips, revealing a mysterious smile, "It’s nothing major; he’s just thinking about a woman." "The other night he looked like that, and now looking at him, I dare to bet he’s pondering over Ava Sterling, oh, and that Young Master Kingsley." "I had someone investigate, dug up everything on that Young Master Kingsley, he’s serious about Ava Sterling, not just playing around." To gossip, he even went to the lengths of investigating Jace Kingsley, and thoroughly at that, which made Vincent Donovan quite surprised, leaving him momentarily speechless. Yet, Ethan Ainsworth continued, "Young Master Kingsley, when he was an illegitimate child away from home, suffered quite a bit of bullying, once even critically, his life was hanging by a thread." "But it was during that time, he coincidentally got saved by Ava Sterling, and that must have bred a special feeling in him for her." "Afterward, Young Master Kingsley was brought back to the Kingsley Family, and climbed to his current position with rather formidable tactics." "If that Young Master Kingsley is truly going to compete with Poe for someone, he won’t be easy to deal with." Ethan Ainsworth said with a smile, his eyes mirroring it, yet this smile wasn’t mere amusement, but a rare sincerity. For he sensed that his friend had a formidable opponent. Vincent Donovan frowned lightly, Ethan Ainsworth’s words made sense; it seemed his friend was in trouble. However, if it were someone else, he might have been worried. But Poe Vaughn, he wasn’t worried about at all. Taking a sip of his drink, he looked at the man under the light, depth lining his gaze, and said, "I trust Poe." Ethan Ainsworth immediately chuckled, "Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but the marriage between Poe and Ava Sterling is not simple." "I can guarantee a hundred percent Poe planned it." "Ava Sterling doesn’t even like Poe, at least not now. Compare that to the surveillance from that night on the cruise, Ava Sterling is a lot friendlier to Jace Kingsley than to Poe." "Poe must also know, thus securing her first, acting preemptively, and then dealing with the rest slowly." "Looking at the situation now, that Young Master Kingsley surely doesn’t know about their marriage yet; if he did, he wouldn’t be so passive now." Ethan Ainsworth spoke with a deep sense of interest, as if he was eagerly waiting to see who would finally emerge victorious in this battle. He was quite thrilled about it. Vincent Donovan said nothing more, but his expression turned slightly serious. "Marriage is no trifling matter, no matter how Poe schemed it, Miss Sterling would have agreed to marry him only after thorough consideration." Upon hearing this, Ethan Ainsworth burst out laughing suddenly. His laughter was rather abrupt, making Vincent Donovan frown at him, "What are you laughing at?" Ethan Ainsworth laughed heartily, "Do you have some kind of filter for Ava Sterling?" "If you understood her even a little, you wouldn’t say something like that." This seemed exceptionally amusing to him, bringing a radiant smile to Ethan Ainsworth’s face. Vincent Donovan paused, then carefully recalled his interactions with Ava Sterling over this period, and couldn’t help but smile wryly, "It seems you’re right..." "Don’t let her face deceive you!" "Ava Sterling may appear like a pure white jasmine, but inside, she’s just a simple red rose, void of scheming, easy to fool!" "In front of Poe, she’d definitely be completely under his thumb." Vincent Donovan laughed, "Then what are you worrying about?"