"What?" Thea Lynch thought she was hearing things.
Ian Preston stared at her and asked, "Don’t you like it?"
"I-I do." Thea stuttered, not quite understanding what he ant.
She had just walked around the conservatory, and the servants ntioned that the flowers inside were quite rare. Normally, apart from Ian himself, only two horticulturists could freely enter and exit the conservatory.
Moreover, Ian had just said that even Silas Cheney hadn’t been allowed to pick flowers. Silas’s relationship with Ian was much closer than hers, calling them brothers through thick and thin wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
How could he possibly let her pick them...
He was probably speaking in an ironic way.
"If you like it, go pick one."
"No, that’s fine." Thea didn’t dare move. "I can just look. It would be a pity to pick them."
He didn’t follow her line but instead offered a considerate solution: "If you want to keep it, have soone move it to a flowerpot for you."
Thea: "..."
That was hardly necessary.
Seeing his firm attitude, Thea had no choice but to pick the most common gardenia plant there.
"I’ll take this one, it should be easier to maintain."
"Hmm." Ian had no objections and signaled for the servant to fetch it. Then he led her back to the dining room for dinner.
Thea wasn’t really hungry. She initially planned just to nibble a little out of courtesy. But unexpectedly, the dishes on the table were all surprisingly to her liking.
In fact, so dishes tasted even better than those from her favorite old restaurants outside.
They were delightful to the taste.
She considered herself very picky. When she was a child, her brother tried to cure her of this habit. Whenever they went out for als, they wouldn’t even take her along. Unfortunately, that tactic didn’t work on her.
To her, there were hardly any perfect dishes, only ones that were relatively good.
"Where did you hire your family’s chef, Ian? The culinary skills are exceptional."
For the dishes she liked, she’d always be critical; each dish had a slightly different standard. Finding one that t all these criteria was truly rare.
It was as if this chef had carefully inquired about her preferences and cooked specifically to her taste.
Every dish’s seasoning wasn’t like the generic ones from outside restaurants but seed adjusted to her palate.
"Hired from an old restaurant." Seeing her eyes brighten, Ian knew she was in a good mood but pretended not to understand, "Why, what’s up?"
Thea said to him, "As siblings, I won’t beat around the bush, Ian. How about letting have this chef?"
"That’s quite the plan."
She gave an awkward smile, "You do know I’m picky with food."
"The chefs at the Stratus cafeteria are also from old restaurants." He didn’t agree.
"Well, I can taste that. But they sotis aren’t very consistent. Maybe it’s because they cook in large quantities. So, Ian, how about doing a favor?"
"I’ll return the flower to you, how about lending the chef?"
Ian: "..."
He glanced up, giving her a flat look, "What do you think?"
"Then forget it." Although a bit disappointed, Thea didn’t want to insist.
He didn’t agree, and there was nothing she could do.
She couldn’t exactly take him by force.
Even if she could, it wasn’t certain he’d go with her.
"You’re alone over there, and you don’t eat at ho for all your als, where’s the need for a chef?"
"It’s unnecessary." Thea nodded in agreent but then shared her idea, "But I’m planning to look for a house soon."
"Don’t you feel comfortable living at Silas’s place? Or is there sothing wrong with it?"
Although Thea had a driver’s license, Ian knew she didn’t like driving. That’s why he specifically chose the condo closest to Stratus. A four or five-minute walk with just one road to cross to get to the company, for convenience and ti-saving.
The place she’s living in isn’t very large, but it’s more than sufficient for one person. The facilities are complete, and he had considered all she’d need.
For safety, he even bought the adjacent unit on the sa floor.
Logically, she should feel comfortable living there.
"No, it’s all quite convenient."
Thea paused, set down her chopsticks, and explained, "It’s just that I can’t stay there forever. Eventually, I need to have a place of my own."
"I an, a proper one."
"I hardly ever stayed at my parents’ house before. Plus, it’s just now, so there’s no need to stay there. I’m thinking of buying sothing slightly smaller, maybe a duplex of two or three hundred square ters?"
When Thea was young, she spent most of her ti in the family compound, as did Aaron Lynch.
The Lynch couple found living inside inconvenient and were busy with work, so they always stayed at Oakhaven Bay.
"If it’s convenient, then there’s no need to move." Ian "decided" on Silas’s behalf, "When Silas’s place is available, he can transfer the title to you."
Thea thought for a mont and nodded, "Sure. I’ll compensate him based on the current market price."
"If he hesitates over that, next ti you see him, you won’t need to call him your fourth brother anymore."
Thea understood Ian’s implied aning and scratched her head, "That wouldn’t be good."
The place isn’t cheap; it amounts to several million.
If it were sothing worth several hundred thousand, she’d just take it and wouldn’t hesitate to be polite with Silas and the others.
But for over ten million, she’d really hesitate.
"You gave him work, and he’s earned much more than just that one property." Ian pointed out to her.
"..." That was true, albeit a bit outrageous.
"I’ll ask him tomorrow about it. It’ll save the trouble of house hunting."
Initially, Silas had ntioned wanting to give her the house, but she refused.
Back then, she had just returned to the country and hadn’t thought about buying a house.
After dinner, Thea glanced toward the kitchen, clearly not giving up yet.
Ian imdiately saw through her small thoughts and quietly withdrew his gaze, wiping his hands with a warm towel.
"Starting tomorrow, you’ll have three als delivered to your office daily."
"Huh?" When he suddenly spoke, Thea looked up blankly, taking a few seconds to understand what he was saying.
She felt sowhat flattered but didn’t directly refuse, rely expressing politely, "That would be too much trouble..."
"I’m not often ho for als. When they’re idle, it’s still idle. So, they should deliver the als to Stratus on ti."
He was thoughtful, and Thea was in a good mood, smiling as she nodded, "Then, thank you, Ian."
This ti her gratitude was more sincere, without any of her usual sarcastic tone.
As they returned to the living room, Thea took out a newly braided bracelet from her bag and handed it to Ian.
"Have a look, Ian. I just added another bead; it’s not very noticeable unless you look closely."
"If Auntie Rong notices and asks, just tell her I accidentally broke it and had to rebraid it."
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