The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Brandon gave a nonchalant shake of his head, “Nothing.”

Still, he couldn't help but sneak a peek in Harvey's direction, and then clammed up.

Harvey was on a mission at the mall, searching through the bustling crowd for a glimpse of the slender figure he thought he saw

earlier, to no avail.

Clark, who was ditched in the spur of the moment, hurried after him, “Mr. Ferber?”

His expression and tone were laced with confusion.

He was originally in the car with Sophia, Amanda and Harvey, just passing by the mall. Something - maybe a memory or something

else - seemed to have caught Sophia's eye, as she fixated dreamily on the mall outside. Following her gaze, Harvey also looked

toward the mall, and though it was unclear what he saw, he suddenly barked for Clark to stop the car.

Before the car even cto a full stop, he bolted out the door. Clark quickly followed suit and, after seffort, finally caught up

with Harvey amidst the crowd. However, he was clueless about what Harvey had seen or was searching for.

Harvey didn’t respond, his eyes still scanning the crowd, his gaze flitting over countless unfamiliar faces, his frown growing tighter

and tighter.

“Whichpany owns this mall?” Harvey suddenly asked.

Clark glanced at the logo above the entrance, one of the most upscale malls in the West district.

“It's part of Starlight Group,” Clark said, looking at Harvey, “which means it's the Crawley family’s mall.”

“..." Harvey furrowed his brow even more, instinctively turning to Clark.

“This is one of the Starlight Group's landmark buildings in the West district.” Clark added in a low voice, and then couldn't help but

ask, puzzled, “Mr. Ferber, you asking about this for sreason?”

“It's nothing.”

Harvey replied tersely, pulling his gaze back from the crowd and heading toward the exit. Clark quickly followed, but then noticed

Harvey slowing down anding to a halt.

“Mr. Ferber?” Clark looked at him, puzzled.

Harvey turned around, gazing at him, “Get Brandon on the line for me; | need to find someone at theirpany.”

Clark, “...”

Harvey continued, “And while you're at it, check today's mall surveillance.”

Clark, “...”

Harvey eyed him, who was looking back at him in astonishment, his face now calm, “Don’t you understand words or what?”

“I'm on it,” Clark snapped back to reality and quickly fished out his phone to make the call. But he could only reach Kent, and

through Kent, he could ask Brandon.

Kent was lugging bags upon bags, trailing behind Brandon, Theresa, and Susan, on their way out of the mall, when his phone

suddenly rang. He paused, shuffled the bags into one hand to answer, but seeing him struggle, Susan offered a hand, “Let me

help,” and smoothly fished out his ringing phone from his pocket, hit the answer button, and brought it to his ear.

Theresa, who had turned around at the sound of the ringtone, caught Susan's series of cozy gestures and was so stunned that her

eyes bulged, tugging at Brandon's clothes, “Dad, look.”

Brandon turned and saw Susan keeping pace with Kent while holding out the phone for him to answer, their interaction extremely

intimate and natural - it was as if they were a couple in the throes of young love, even though they weren't officially an item.

Brandon looked momentarily taken aback. Theresa noticed too and whispered to Brandon, “Why couldn't mom and dad have it this

easy?”

Brandon mustered a strained smile, patted her head but said nothing.

Kent was preoccupied with the call and missed the exchange of glances between Brandon and Theresa.

Clark's unexpected call took him by surprise, but even more surprising was Clark's request to help find someone at thepany

and check the mall's surveillance footage.

If it were anyone else, Kent would have agreed without a second thought, as he had the clout to do so.

But the other party was a rival firm, and both were still locked in a tug-of-war over the Aurora Wharf and maritcooperation

deal, making any request from either side a potential bargaining chip.

Kent, trusting his gut, figured the person Clark was looking for must be someone important to Harvey, or he wouldn't have called

Kent's cell.

After a bit of back-and-forth flattery, Kent chuckled and told Clark, “I might have to run this by Mr. Crawley. We've had incidents

before where surveillance footage was maliciously deleted, leading to the loss of critical evidence and causing irreparable damage.

Mr. Crawley is very strict about access to ourpany and mall security rooms; we don’t just let anyone in.”

Clark responded with a chuckle from the other end, “Understood, understood. So should | just hang tight for sgood news from

Kent?”

“You're too kind, Clark.” Kent replied with a laugh, “I'll get back to you in a bit, just hang tight.”

With that, he hung up and then turned to Brandon, “Mr. Crawley.”

Brandon uttered, “What is it?”

“Clark from the Ferber Group just calledout of the blue. He wants to take a peek at the mall surveillance and also wants to

track down someone at thepany,” Kent relayed Clark's request over the phone to Brandon.

Brandon instantly recalled the fleeting glimpse he had caught of Harvey hustling through the crowd, his demeanor and gaze

definitely giving off the vibe of someone on the lookout for a certain someone.

"Did he mention who he's looking for?" Brandon asked.

"Not yet." Kent replied, "Clark said he wants to check out the surveillance footage first, but reading between the lines of what he

said, it seems like whoever it is must be pretty important to Harvey."

"Then let them take a look." Brandon said, "We'll keep our eyes peeled for them too, but let's keep it on the down low."

"Got it."

Kent murmured in agreement, about to hit Clark back on his cell when he looked up and, to his surprise, saw Clark standing not too

far away, "Clark?"

Brandon followed the sound, spotting Harvey, who was beside Clark, his gaze lowered, looking thoughtful or maybe just a bit out of

it.

Harvey turned their way at Kent's shout of "Clark", locking eyes with Brandon mid-air. They both gave each other a calm once-

over, and then headed towards one another.

By the tthey were within arm's reach, a business-like, polite smirk had formed on their lips.

"Mr. Ferber."

"Mr. Crawley."

Even their greetings were as curt and polite as if they were looking in a mirror.

Brandon reached out his hand to Harvey, "Long tno see."

Harvey also extended his hand for a brief, courteous shake, "Long tno see."

After the pleasantries, his gaze shifted to Theresa in Brandon's arms, his brow knitting slightly in confusion.

"And who is this?"

"My daughter." Brandon said, and then turned to Theresa, "Theresa, say hi to this gentleman."

Flummoxed, Theresa looked at Harvey, who was a stranger to her, but obediently murmured, "Hi."

"What a good girl." Harvey smiled at her, and then turned back to Brandon, "I had no idea Mr. Crawley had a daughter."

Brandon just smiled, keeping mum.

"So what brings Mr. Ferber to the West district all of a sudden?" He asked, deftly changing the subject.