"Yeah," Claudia Jennings touched her pearl earrings and said, "I thought you weren’t coming back, so I made plans with them to play mahjong. Who would’ve thought you’d postpone your business trip?"
Lars Prescott replied, "If you’ve made plans with others, you should go. You can’t always stand them up and make three people wait for nothing."
"What’s the problem? They’ve got plenty of people to fill the mahjong table. I just need to call and say I can’t go today, and they’ll have enough people in the next second."
After speaking, Claudia Jennings paid no attention to what Lars was saying and directly dialed a number.
"Sothing ca up, I won’t be coming... Yeah, my husband’s not feeling well, I’ll stay ho to take care of him... No, not sick, it’s the old back issue... Okay, you all have fun, and just tell them to put tonight’s table fees on my account."
Claudia and her friends went to a high-end gaming club, where there are four people serving the mahjong players.
One night’s table fees and drinks, the minimum expenditure is over one hundred thousand.
Hearing this, the person on the other end imdiately stopped complaining, cheerfully telling her to take good care of her husband at ho.
Though Claudia Jennings was getting on in years, she still had a youthful heart, and hearing the word "take care" said in such an ambiguous tone made her blush.
She cleared her throat and hung up the phone, turning to Lars, "Let’s go upstairs to the therapy room. Recently, I had soone prepare a special essential oil for you; they say it’s very effective at relaxing the ridians."
"Hmm, thank you for that."
Lars responded, his expression calm as he asked, "Has Warren returned ho?"
At this, Claudia showed a complaining expression.
"You know, you give him so much to handle at such a young age, now he’s just like you, barely cos ho. He practically lives in the company."
Lars paused slightly, "He hasn’t co back?"
"No, if he had, Mrs. Chase would have told . I prepared so herbal dicine for him to strengthen his body, but he still hasn’t had a chance to take it. You should let him relax a bit over these years."
Lars’s face showed no trace of emotion as he said, "So of the work is not what I asked him to do, but what he wanted to do himself. ’The Nocturne’ was his project back in freshman year; he loves doing this, so what can I do?"
"Ah! You two are cut from the sa cloth! Both workaholics!"
As they spoke, they entered the therapy room.
Claudia searched around the room for a while before rembering the essential oil was left downstairs.
"I’ll go get the essential oil, you undress and lie down first."
She turned on the heating lamp for the therapy bed and left.
Monts after the door closed, Lars dialed a number.
...
Aethelgard.
Ashley Shaw received Lars’s call just after she and Ariana Grant had finished their porridge.
Ariana, in high spirits, had boasted she’d teach the manager a lesson by drinking a hundred and eight bowls, but she couldn’t manage more than one bowl.
"I can’t do it anymore, I’ve been dieting too hard lately, even one more bite feels too much."
Ashley said, "That’s a good thing. Let’s walk around nearby, and buy a disposable bedsheet and so water to take back."
"Alright."
The phone rang at this mont.
Ashley glanced at the caller ID, her gaze focused briefly before she raised her head naturally, "There’s a convenience store over there, go grab a couple of bottles of water, and I’ll take this call."
"Sure."
Ariana, looking to walk off her al anyway, gladly headed for the convenience store.
Watching Ariana leave, Ashley answered the call just as it was about to end.
"Uncle Prescott, is there sothing you need?"
Though polite, her tone was distant.
She thought that after their conversation at the Prescott house, Lars wouldn’t contact her again soon unless she appeared there again.
Yet, it had only been a short ti, and he was calling again?
Ashley was both puzzled and nervous.
She wondered why he was calling and whether it was about Elder Prescott.
While her mind spun, Lars’s voice ca through—
"Ashley, I noticed you didn’t answer earlier. Were you asleep?"
Ashley glanced around, "No, I just arrived in Aethelgard, exploring the area and having a bite to eat."
Lars hesitated for a second, surprised, "You’ve already gone to Aethelgard?"
"Yes. Didn’t you also want to keep my distance from you all?"
Lars coughed lightly before speaking, "I didn’t an it that way. You might have misunderstood sothing I said before. No matter what, you were once like a daughter to ."
Ashley sneered internally, but maintained a calm tone as she asked, "Is there sothing you needed from ?"
Lars replied, "Nothing much, I was just wondering when you were heading to Aethelgard. We have shares in Westcroft Airport, I could have arranged a first-class seat to make check-in easier for you."
"No need, I’m already in Aethelgard."
Ashley’s tone remained cold, clearly not welcoming his kindness.
Today, Lars was rebuffed twice, both with good reason.
Outside, he could hear Claudia’s approaching footsteps, so he said into the phone, "Alright, since you’ve already gone, take care of yourself over there. Call if you need anything."
Ashley again sneered internally.
"I’ll hang up now."
She quickly ended the call, her expression turning cold.
Lars’s expression wasn’t much better.
He had thought Ashley was still in Westcroft and planned to have her check on Warren since he cared about her, but she’s already flown to Aethelgard, making it a non-issue.
After all, it wasn’t anything significant or worth discussing.
Claudia entered at this mont and asked, "Who were you calling? What’s this about being careful?"
"Ashley Shaw."
"Ashley?" Claudia asked surprised, "Why tell her to be careful? Is she in trouble?"
Lars noticed the concern in Claudia’s eyes, feeling puzzled.
"When did you start worrying about her? Didn’t you want her to leave the most before?"
Claudia instructed Lars to lie down properly as she replied, "I used to misunderstand her and her mother. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, she’s just a poor girl with no family. I should look after her for her mother’s sake."
"You did have a good relationship with her mother before."
"Exactly. So, what happened to her that you need to ntion?"
"Nothing happened, she went to Aethelgard. I just ntioned it casually."
"So soon? Doesn’t school start in a week?"
"Yes, maybe she went early to get used to the environnt." He said, changing the subject, "Can you press more on my right waist? It’s more uncomfortable on that side."
"Okay."
Claudia agreed and began applying essential oil to Lars’s waist.
Night gradually deepened, sumr was coming to an end, and with a typhoon on the way, Westcroft’s night temperature dropped into the single digits.
Warren Prescott rolled down the car window, looking up in a certain direction.
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