Chapter 6001

"Propose?" Charlie couldn't help but laugh as he said, "Trev, in the West, aren't proposals supposed to be carefully planned to surprise the person involved? Why would you just say it here?" Trev looked a bit embarrassed and replied awkwardly, "Mr. Wade, our situation is a bit unusual. I’m headed back to the United States in a couple of days for team training, and it might take some time before I can take a vacation. So, I talked to Tawanna on the plane. She asked me to pick out a ring and propose to her, which means the element of surprise might be lacking." He hesitated for a moment and then asked Charlie, "Mr. Wade, if my proposal goes well, would you be willing to be our witness at the wedding?" Charlie smiled at him and responded, "It's customary in America for a pastor to be present, isn’t it?" Trev quickly replied, "That’s fine! We can adjust the process—take our vows in front of the pastor first, and then have a fusion wedding where we would ask you to witness it." Charlie chuckled and said, "You two are celebrities, and I prefer to stay out of the spotlight. There will be many media reporters at your wedding, so I won’t show my face." Then he added, "However, if you both decide to have your honeymoon in China, I can arrange a traditional Chinese wedding for you." Trev eagerly responded, "That sounds great! Thank you so much, Mr. Wade! I’ll confirm the details with you after I successfully propose!" Feeling a bit shy, Tawanna turned to Claire and said, "Trev is such a typical guy—he doesn’t understand how to surprise a girl. If we keep discussing this, even if we do have a wedding, it won’t come with any excitement at all." Claire smiled and replied, "Charlie was like that once, too. When we got married, there was no proposal, and we didn’t even have a wedding ceremony until three years later. When we finally held that ceremony, it was a wonderful surprise for me." Tawanna was taken aback and asked, "Really? Why didn’t you have a wedding ceremony when you got married?" Claire smiled and explained, "I wasn’t in a romantic relationship at the time. My grandfather arranged the marriage when he was alive and urged us to marry quickly. Not long after, my grandfather passed away. Due to various complicated family issues, we never had a wedding." Tawanna wasn’t aware that when Charlie married Claire, he was simply a son-in-law in the Wilson family, and after the old man's passing, he faced disdain from the entire family while Claire had little standing, which meant neither of them could have a wedding ceremony. Reflecting on those past years, Charlie couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia. A few years ago, who would have imagined that he, once the son-in-law of the Wilson family, would have the opportunity to rise up? He hadn’t even dreamed of it himself. The reason Claire was where she was today stemmed from her father’s meticulous planning and arrangements that had helped her escape from adversity. Knowing that Charlie and Claire married a few years ago through the matchmaking of their elders, Tawanna became increasingly curious about Charlie. To have more interaction with Charlie, she initiated a conversation with Claire about hiring Charlie as the Feng Shui Director, saying, "Mrs. Wade, when I was in Tokyo, I had the honor of witnessing the magic of Feng Shui and Mr. Wade's skills. So this time, for our performance in China, we brought Mr. Wade on board as our Feng Shui Director. After this year's performance, he may be away for a while to work with our team. Please don’t hold that against us." Claire quickly reassured her, "Not at all! Charlie has gone out to work multiple times. I completely understand. As long as he can truly assist you, that’s what matters."

Trevor couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy as he stood by. He was aware that Tawanna harbored feelings for Charlie. With him heading back to the United States soon and Tawanna having to finish the next 20 performances with Charlie, they would be spending a lot of time together. He couldn’t help but wonder if Tawanna's feelings for Charlie would deepen during that time. However, he felt powerless in this situation. After all, he wasn’t a mere follower to her. Despite often being whisked away by Tawanna's private jet between shows and shouldering ridicule from the media about his reliance on her wealth, he could only accept it. The media mocked him for taking private flights, and had he abandoned his professional athlete status to accompany Tawanna daily, he would only have faced more criticism from fans and the press. Thus, returning to the United States meant leaving Tawanna with Charlie—all he could do in a difficult situation. He trusted Charlie wouldn’t have ill intentions toward Tawanna, but he genuinely worried that Tawanna might act on her feelings and show more affection toward him. In that moment, Charlie recalled Claire mentioning her desire to see Tawanna’s concert, prompting him to say, "By the way, Tawanna, this time Bruce Automotive has secured all the tickets. Claire and I didn’t win the lottery. Could you possibly arrange for us to get backstage access to watch your performance?" Tawanna responded with a smile, "Absolutely, no problem! My team is working hard to create performance materials. I’ll have them make two special consultant passes for you, allowing you to come and go backstage freely. You can chat with me while I prepare for the show, and when I’m on stage, you’ll be able to watch me up close from either side of the stage. Essentially, you’ll have complete freedom to move around." Claire felt thrilled but couldn’t help asking, "Will that cause any trouble for you?" Tawanna waved her hand dismissively, "Not at all! I always feel relaxed when I’m with the staff backstage. If you’re there, I’ll be even more at ease." Claire beamed and quickly said, "Thank you so much, Miss Sweet! We will do our best not to be a bother!" Tawanna, wanting to forge a closer bond with Claire, took her hand and said, "Actually, when I first met Mr. Wade, we had a few misunderstandings since we disagreed on some views. But eventually, he helped me understand a lot. I genuinely cherish our meeting and sincerely hope we can become good friends. So, if you’re willing to be my friend, please don’t hesitate to reach out!" Claire, touched, nodded eagerly. Tawanna added, "By the way, I’m not sure what you do for a living, Mrs. Wade, but if you have no other commitments recently, you are welcome to attend all my concerts in China." Pausing, she inquired, "I wonder if you have time to come to the four other concerts in different locations?" Claire responded quickly, "I run my own design company, so I’m usually very busy, but I definitely can make it to Aurous Hill. However, I might have trouble getting away for the others." "That’s perfectly fine, but you must come to the concerts in Aurous Hill." Tawanna appeared disappointed, but inwardly, she was pleased. Her question had been a strategic one, aimed at determining whether Claire would accompany Charlie to each of the upcoming twenty concerts. When Claire expressed her inability to attend the next sixteen performances, Tawanna feigned regret while secretly feeling content.