At noon, Ethan Sterling was contemplating which restaurant to go to for lunch when he received a ssage from Ruby Sullivan, saying she had plans and he should sort out his lunch himself.
Ethan’s face darkened, and he quickly flipped through the stack of docunts beside him and continued working.
Before long, Snow knocked and entered, "Mr. Sterling, have you decided which restaurant to book for lunch?"
"No need for a reservation, I’ll have the cafeteria’s boxed lunch." Mr. Sterling replied without looking up. He loved work; work made him happy.
anwhile, Ruby went to lunch joyfully with Stella Jennings.
Stella hadn’t had a chance to dine out with friends since finishing the show. Unexpectedly, while waiting for Ruby downstairs at the office building, she bumped into fans asking for a photo. After taking pictures happily, she saw Ruby coming down.
"I think you need to start disguising yourself when you go out now," Ruby suggested seriously.
Stella was a bit shy, "I never thought I’d have fans."
"If you keep going out like this, people will end up crowding you for autographs." Ruby imitated an excited expression, "Ah, Holly, I never expected to et you here, please sign an autograph for ! Like this."
Stella was amused and laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely sign for you."
Stella didn’t just co here for a casual al with Ruby; she relayed everything Gavin Garrison said at her doorstep that morning before all the dishes even arrived.
"Is Mr. Sinclair a playboy?" Stella wasn’t sure why she cared so much, nor had she thought about the question.
Ruby smiled leisurely, "Why don’t you ask him?"
"I feel like prying into soone else’s privacy is... well, kind of rude." She lowered her voice in embarrassnt,
Ruby mimicked her, whispering, "Isn’t it even ruder to inquire about soone’s private matters behind their back?"
Stella blinked, "You’re right..."
Ruby chuckled, "But it’s okay; I won’t tell him. Honestly, I don’t know much about Aidan Sinclair’s affairs, so I can’t tell you. However, you can ask him directly; I’m sure he’d be delighted if you did."
Stella, nibbling on her salad, said perplexedly, "Maybe Mr. Sinclair’s image is too grand in my mind; I can’t accept the idea that he might be a player. But even if he is, I wouldn’t mind being friends with him."
Ruby just smiled at her innocent expression.
Having promised Ethan and Aidan not to disclose anything, Ruby decided to keep her mouth shut. She knew the young girl’s opinion of him might have changed, she just hadn’t realized it yet.
Lunch with Ruby didn’t satisfy Stella’s curiosity, so she decided to call Aidan Sinclair to see if he was nearby, perhaps to grab a coffee together.
Turned out he was still asleep at ho.
In fact, Aidan and Ethan had always handled things differently. Whenever possible, Aidan preferred to shift his work to ho. No matter how cozy the office was, it couldn’t beat working from ho!
However, today he had been sleeping because his morning nap was disrupted.
Half an hour later, Stella knocked on Aidan’s door, carrying so cherries, thinking that a snack would lighten the conversation.
Aidan had already gotten ready, his bedhead was gone, replaced by a fluffy short haircut. Since he didn’t have to attend a company eting today, he dressed in casual athletic wear and didn’t use hair gel.
He had asked Sasha Shaw for fashion advice on how to look younger, because, regardless of whether he and Stella had a future, it was crucial to look younger now.
"Is there sothing you need?" he invited her in.
Stella put the cherries down, "Um... I’ll wash them."
"We have a maid," Aidan took the bag from her. "Auntie Bennett!" After handing it over to Auntie Bennett, he settled into a single-seater sofa, "You like cherries."
"I do." Stella, recalling what she wanted to inquire about, felt a sudden nervousness.
Aidan noticed her discomfort, "What’s bothering you?"
Stella took a deep breath, only to exhale after a long pause, "If I say I’m here to learn about your private life, would you get mad?"
Aidan was slightly delighted, "Of course not." The little girl was interested in him, which was undoubtedly a good thing—he was thrilled, not angry!
But after listening to what Stella had to say, Aidan wasn’t so happy anymore. His private life offered plenty to explore, so why was she interested in his dark past?
"Well..." He took a deep breath, unwilling to admit his past of never turning anyone away.
Indeed, unlike Gavin’s words, he had been with countless won—even he lost count. But none of his encounters were forced, and everyone got what they wanted. He always considered himself a man of standards, right?
However, facing Stella’s innocent eyes, he found himself speechless!
Stella thought that his hesitant expression ant he was either making up lies or too embarrassed to admit them—basically confirming her suspicions.
The young girl sighed, earnestly asking, "Uncle, did sothing upset you when you were younger?"
Aidan felt sowhat embarrassed being asked that by a young girl.
He awkwardly twitched his lips, "Holly, you know, at my age, a man not having a personal life usually indicates health issues. In my past, I avoided stable relationships mainly because I hadn’t t soone I wanted to date."
"So, the rumors about your escapades are true?" The young girl had a knack for pinning down the details.
"...Yes."
"I’ve read up that promiscuity greatly increases the risk of diseases. Whatever the reason, you need to quit this... um, bad habit. As a friend, I must advise you, even if you don’t like hearing it."
Seeing her earnest deanor, Aidan felt an inner collapse.
"Holly, actually, I’ve turned over a new leaf."
"Turned over a new leaf?" Stella processed it, then burst out laughing, "I like that term." Then, suspiciously, she asked, "Is it true?"
"Yes, I recently found soone I like," Aidan said, looking at her, suddenly feeling uncomfortable after uttering those words.
He wanted her to see the light and expectation in his eyes, but hesitated to say more, fearing he’d scare her off or face her disdain.
If his unspoken affection really ca to nothing, he’d probably need a long trip to heal.
Of course, Stella couldn’t see all the drama inside his head; to her, his expression seed like that of a young boy in love. Talking about soone he liked, his eyes and mouth were involuntarily smiling.
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