CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: DIDN’T THEY SAY HE WAS A CLEAN FREAK?

"When I was a kid, I saw a commercial on TV saying chicken essence was made from chicken soup, so I secretly opened a packet of chicken essence, thinking I could make chicken soup with hot water.

I drank half a bowl in one go, and I only remember being so thirsty that afternoon, I drank water all afternoon. My belly was so full of water, I could hear it sloshing around as I walked, hahaha..."

"And when I was a kid, I would act indifferent no matter what I ate, even when taking medicine, I’d be obedient and not cry or fuss.

My mom thought there was something wrong with my taste buds, so she took me to the doctor. The doctor told my mom to buy a bitter melon and have me take a bite.

I didn’t know what bitter melon was at the time, and took a big bite. It was so bitter I started wailing. To this day, I’m scared when I see bitter melon, hahaha..."

Julian Hawthorne’s gaze gently fell on Clara’s face.

He could tell that Clara was clearly scared herself, yet she was still trying hard to lighten the mood and distract him.

Julian Hawthorne’s tightly furrowed brows unconsciously relaxed, and his tightly pressed lips slightly eased.

Everything around seemed to quiet down, leaving only the girl’s voice.

Julian Hawthorne quietly listened to Clara speak.

A warmth in his heart kept spreading.

Seeing Julian Hawthorne’s expression gradually calm down, Clara quietly breathed a sigh of relief and continued talking about her childhood.

About half an hour later.

Clara heard people talking outside the elevator.

Clara immediately shouted loudly, "Is anyone there? Can you hear me? We’re stuck in the elevator, can you call the emergency hotline for us?"

No one responded.

Clara continued to loudly repeat what she just said.

Julian Hawthorne also joined in calling for help.

After a few seconds.

Clara heard someone shout, "Miss Sterling?"

Then, a series of footsteps came closer.

Someone outside the elevator asked, "Miss Sterling, are you in there?"

Clara immediately responded loudly, "I am!"

The person said, "It’s Linton, I’ll call the emergency hotline for you and contact property management and elevator repair workers."

Clara, who had been tense all night, finally relaxed.

"Okay, thank you, Linton."

Clara didn’t expect Silas Sheffield to arrive before property management and the repair workers.

"What’s going on?" Silas Sheffield asked anxiously.

Linton replied, "President Sheffield, the elevator malfunctioned, Miss Sterling and her colleague are trapped inside. I just called the emergency hotline."

Upon hearing Silas Sheffield’s voice, Clara inexplicably felt safe.

She instinctively wanted to call out "Silas," but suddenly remembered that Julian Hawthorne was right next to her, so Clara changed the address.

"President Sheffield, is that you? I just finished working late and the elevator malfunctioned. I’m trapped here with President Hawthorne."

"It’s me." Silas Sheffield’s voice was like a calming agent with a soothing magic, "The property management and repair workers will be here soon, don’t be afraid."

"Okay."

Knowing that Silas Sheffield was outside, Clara was no longer afraid.

Soon, the repair workers arrived.

Clara and Julian Hawthorne were rescued.

Julian Hawthorne greeted Silas Sheffield, "President Sheffield."

Silas Sheffield nodded, and with a concerned look, he asked Clara Sterling, "Are you okay?"

Clara shook her head, "I’m fine."

"Thank you, Linton." Clara thanked Linton.

"I’ll be heading off now, bye President Hawthorne, bye President Sheffield." In front of Julian Hawthorne, Clara pretended not to be familiar with Silas Sheffield.

Silas Sheffield didn’t say anything, just nodded slightly.

Clara walked away with Linton.

Julian Hawthorne withdrew his gaze and asked, "Why did President Sheffield suddenly come back to the company?"

Silas Sheffield said calmly, "I came back to pick up something."

Julian Hawthorne recalled the way Silas Sheffield looked at Clara Sterling earlier.

Instinctive concern is hard to hide.

But he didn’t ask further, only said, "Alright, goodbye President Sheffield."

"Hmm."

...

Clara went home and took a shower first.

Silas Sheffield arrived at home a few minutes later.

After Clara finished her shower, she heard someone knocking on the door.

She opened the door to find Ms. Cheney standing outside.

"Ma’am, sir said you worked overtime today, so I made you a late-night snack. Would you like some?"

"What snack?"

"Braised beef noodle soup, the beef has been stewing for a while, and the noodles are freshly made."

Clara hadn’t eaten much in the evening, so she was indeed quite hungry now.

She cheerfully said, "Thank you, Ms. Cheney. I’ll go down to eat now."

"Alright, madam."

Clara followed Ms. Cheney downstairs.

A bowl of steaming hot braised beef noodle soup was on the dining table, its aroma enticing.

Clara sat down and picked up the chopsticks.

The hot vapor wrapped with the fragrance of scallions and beef spread in the air.

The noodles sank beneath the soup, topped with a thin layer of sauce, dark brown with specks of oil.

The beef pieces were large, with a few slices of greens floating beside them.

Clara picked up a piece of beef and started eating.

After a long slow stew, the beef became tender and easy to chew.

"Ms. Cheney, your beef noodles are so delicious!"

Hearing this, Ms. Cheney smiled with squinted eyes, "If you like it, I’ll make it for you again next time."

"Sure," Clara said with a smile, "Ms. Cheney, you should rest. It’s quite late; I’ll wash the dishes myself after I finish eating."

Ms. Cheney said, "Madam, you can leave it. I can wash them when I get up in the morning."

"That won’t do. Washing dishes isn’t troublesome; I can handle it myself. I used to wash dishes often at home."

"Alright then," Ms. Cheney replied, "I’ll go and rest now."

"Okay."

Clara finished a piece of beef and then tried some noodles.

The delicious and firm noodles filled her stomach, leaving Clara content, her previously tense body now relaxed.

A few minutes later, Silas came downstairs wearing a robe.

"Silas," Clara looked up at him.

"Is it good?" Silas came over.

Clara smiled, her eyes curving, "It’s delicious."

Silas sat down beside her.

"By the way, Silas, didn’t you have a dinner meeting tonight? Why are you suddenly at the company?"

She remembered that Linton only called the repairman after discovering she was trapped, without informing Silas.

Silas calmly said, "Half an hour ago, Linton called me saying he couldn’t find you, and your phone wasn’t reachable. I also tried calling you and couldn’t get through, so worried that something might have happened, I went to find you."

At that time, Silas had been in a restaurant’s private room discussing business with a few executives.

As soon as he received Linton’s call, he immediately left those executives and rushed to the company to find her.

After understanding the situation, Clara asked worriedly, "Does it affect your business? Won’t it impact you if you leave midway?"

"No, it won’t."

"That’s good."

Clara lowered her head to eat a few more bites of noodles.

Silas turned his head to look at her, seeing the girl eating with satisfaction, the sound of slurping noodles surprisingly pleasant.

Seeing her enjoy it so much, Silas’ appetite was piqued.

He glanced at the beef noodles and asked calmly, "Is it really that good?"

"Yes, super delicious. Do you want to try?" Clara said, realizing it was the bowl she had eaten from.

She hurriedly said, "I’ll go see if there’s more in the pot."

"No need," Silas calmly moved the bowl in front of himself.

"How about I make a new bowl for you? This one I’ve already eaten..."

Before she could finish, Silas had already taken the chopsticks from her hand and started eating.

"..." Clara’s eyelashes fluttered lightly.

She watched as Silas nonchalantly picked up the noodles and brought them to his mouth.

She opened her mouth slightly, her face growing hot.

Sharing a pair of chopsticks and eating a bowl of noodles was ambiguous enough, not to mention that Silas had a slight tidiness obsession and was very picky.

Clara watched Silas calmly eating the beef noodles she had leftover, her face becoming even hotter.

Wasn’t he supposed to have a cleanliness obsession?

Clara had already eaten more than half of the bowl; Silas finished the remaining few bites with just a few chopstickfuls.

He put down the chopsticks, "It is indeed delicious."

"..." Clara’s face was burning, "Are you full? Do you want something else? There are fruits in the fridge."

"No need." Silas leisurely wiped his mouth.

After wiping his mouth, he naturally took a tissue to wipe Clara’s mouth corner.

Clara’s breathing tightened slightly.

After wiping her mouth.

Silas stared at Clara, his gaze shadowy, "Why was Julian Hawthorne also in the elevator?"