That dream didn't solely belong to her; it also belonged to her late father.
One hour later.
AOF Corporation.
Austin shook hands with each client, instructed his staff to see them out, and then returned to his office.
Ricard quickly caught up with him. "Alpha Austin, Daenerys just called."
Daenerys rarely called him. The last time she did was about half a year ago. The old man was gravely ill and wanted to see him. That was extremely important.
Now, she suddenly called, but there was no surprise on his face.
"Does she want to see me?"
"Yes. She wants to know your evening schedule and said she wants to have a few words with you."
Austin casually placed the document on the table. He was silent for a moment, his well-defined fingers lightly tapping on the document. After a while, he said, "Let her come."
8 PM.
After having dinner at the villa, Daenerys immediately called for a car to take her to the "Mugari" private club.
This was her first time coming to such a luxurious and extravagant place.
The uniform she was wearing had been changed into a simple white chiffon blouse with a bow at the collar. Below, she wore a long black skirt and round-toed white shoes. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, giving her a fresh and innocent look.
Such attire was really out of place in this environment.
Daenerys's expression remained unchanged as she assessed this strange place. This was the world of people like Austin—glamorous, chaotic, novel, yet also corrupt. It was far removed from her fresh and simple world.
She entered and directly mentioned Austin's room number. The staff immediately led her there.
On the other side, the room was bustling with activity.
A group of people was playing cards. Only Austin sat alone, while the other three had brought along beautiful girlfriends. They were whispering and chatting, making the room lively.
Austin wasn't in the mood to play cards. He glanced at his watch; it was already 8:30.
Across from him, David Otis reached out to collect his winnings and put them in the drawer, teasing, "You didn’t bring a girlfriend today, so you’re not performing well."
Jacky Halley shuffled his cards and said, "It's rare for Alpha Austin to be so accommodating. The three of us should stay sharp—payback time."
Daniel Sherwood looked at Austin's face and said gleefully, "Judging by that expression, you've got something on your mind. Thinking about a woman, perhaps?"
Austin shot him a look. "You talk too much."
"How about this—I’ll lend you Yuna for a bit." Daniel patted his girlfriend's waist, grinning as he said loudly, "Go on, go soothe our Alpha Austin's cold, lonely heart."
The woman stood up, but Austin coldly glanced at her.
That gaze remained expressionless, dark, yet it immediately made the woman freeze in place, not daring to move. It was too intimidating, like a monarch from ancient times, commanding such fear that no one dared to act out of line.
Daniel let out a sigh, pulling the woman back. "Alpha Austin, with that attitude, you’ll scare off any woman."
Austin recalled the encounter with that little one at the villa two days ago.
She was truly afraid of him.
He couldn't help but take an interest in Daniel's words and asked, "What attitude?"
"The attitude of a grim reaper," Daniel said, holding the woman close and seriously advising, "Women are creatures you can't scare; you have to be gentle, like I am..."
He didn’t just talk; his hands also moved, as the woman pretended to resist while they tangled with each other.
At that moment, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
What met Daenerys's eyes was such a scene.
She had never seen anything like it before today.
She had seen some explicit scenes in movies rated 19+, but witnessing it up close was a different experience. It was embarrassing, utterly embarrassing.
Her face turned bright red in an instant, so red it seemed like blood might spill from it. She stood frozen, stunned for a long time.
Inside the room, Austin's expression had already turned very unpleasant.
Everyone's eyes shifted towards the door. Someone even whistled.
David laughed and spoke first, "Where did this pure little sister come from?"
Jacky kicked Daniel under the table, "You scared her half to death."
For a moment, Daenerys’s mind went blank, but she finally snapped out of it.
She glanced at Austin in the distance, said nothing, and then turned to leave.
Such a scene made her, as a junior, feel very embarrassed.
Watching her retreating figure, Austin frowned, threw the cards in his hand onto the table, and didn’t move. His face was cold as he sat there waiting.
The atmosphere in the room immediately chilled considerably. The three men exchanged glances, vaguely sensing something wasn’t quite right.
No one spoke; they simply exchanged silent guesses about who this girl might be, who had just appeared and managed to cause a slight fluctuation in Alpha Austin's typically calm demeanor.
Unusual! Truly unusual!
The room remained silent for a few minutes, with no one breaking the silence.
"Alpha Austin."
Until...!
A voice was heard from the doorway once more.
Daenerys had returned.
It seemed she had calmed down; her face looked much more composed.
"Alpha Austin?"
The other three men frowned, somewhat surprised by the way she addressed him.
Austin's expression didn’t change much. He simply picked up the cards again, ready to continue the game. It was as if the tense atmosphere earlier had been an illusion.
He didn’t look at the girl at the door and casually said, "If you have something to say, come in and say it."
Daenerys didn’t respond, standing at the door. Besides the awkward scene earlier, the heavy smell of cigarette smoke in the room was overwhelming. She really didn’t like it.
Seeing that she wasn’t moving, Austin glanced at her, "Not going to speak? If you’re not going to speak, go back and rest."
His tone remained one of a superior speaking to an inferior, lofty and authoritative.
Without another glance at her, he instructed the staff, "Close the door. It’s too noisy outside!"
Daenerys had resolved to talk to him about her university application tonight. Now that she had come all this way, she wasn’t about to let him shut her out.
With that thought, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
Austin's expression gradually relaxed.
David looked at his cards and smiled, "Alpha Austin sure is good at playing cards. This 'soft approach to get the hard result' tactic is quite masterful."
Austin understood what he meant, but he didn’t care much. He shifted his gaze towards Daniel, "Put out the cigarette."
Daniel, who had been unable to resist smoking, said, "I’ve been smoking all evening, and you didn’t say a word. Now you tell me to put it out. I’ll die if I don’t finish it."
Austin didn’t waste words with him. He simply grabbed the cigarette and put it out in the glass ashtray.
Daniel scoffed, "What a strange guy. Normally, you wouldn't care."
Jacky and David exchanged glances.
Could it be for someone’s health?
Strange! Too strange!
Alpha Austin had never been so considerate of anyone before!
The two exchanged searching looks and, without planning it, both turned their gazes toward Daenerys.
Daenerys didn’t hear the conversation between Austin and Daniel; she walked straight to Austin's side and stopped.
"Alpha Austin, I need to talk to you." Suppressing her fear of him, she knew she had to speak her mind now, no matter what.
"Hmm." Austin let out a nonchalant hum, neither warm nor cold.
She took a deep breath and lowered her eyes to look at him.
This man, even while seated, had a commanding presence that was enough to intimidate anyone, even when she was standing.
Having mentally prepared herself, she spoke, "I want to change my university application. Please inform the education department."
Austin impatiently threw down a card, his expression unchanged as he said, "Must you attend Midorri University?"