CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: MARINATED IN GREEN TEA

Simon Sterling had just parted ways with Jean Ellison and watched her walk upstairs when suddenly a hand tapped him on the right shoulder from behind.

"Senior!"

He turned around and saw it was Laura Shaw.

"What are you doing here?"

It was so late; she wasn’t in her private studio or with the teacher. How did she end up nearby?

"Are you worried about me, senior?"

She playfully smiled at Simon, with her hands clasped behind her back.

Simon remained silent for a few seconds and then said, "Did the teacher send you to follow me?"

"Of course not. It was my own idea."

"The teacher just thought you’ve been acting a bit strange lately, busy enough to be out of sight, but didn’t say much else."

Simon frowned slightly, glanced at her, and looked somewhat displeased.

"Senior, don’t be mad. I’m just curious about what your future sister-in-law looks like."

"She’s quite beautiful, but you are so unreserved in front of her; your affection for her is practically spilling from your eyes."

"And don’t you think..."

Her voice suddenly halted, and Simon asked, "What?"

"I didn’t even know you had a side job in agriculture, senior."

Simon looked at her, unsure of what she meant by that.

"Tea planting, of course. You’ve been marinated with green tea essence."

Lynn Warner covered her mouth, laughing. She couldn’t believe those words came out of Simon’s mouth earlier, telling Jean not to worry about her work, as the nursing home would have him taking care of Aunt Kingston.

She had known him for over a decade, both students of the same teacher, and she never expected him to say such things.

"Laura, I am your senior."

Simon wasn’t in the mood to joke with her, kept his face stern, and his eyes warned her not to say such things again.

Lynn spread her hands, "Alright, alright, I got it. I’ll stop following you from now on. Happy?"

She thought her senior was becoming more like their teacher.

Wrong, she thought silently, acting like a teacher in front of her, and like a husband in front of others.

She smiled, hugged Simon’s arm like when they were kids, shaking it coquettishly, "Dear senior, the best in the world, let’s go back. She’s already gone upstairs, what are you still standing downstairs for?"

Simon couldn’t resist her, shook his head, and said, "I’ll take you home first, then I need to work overtime at the hospital."

"What, you didn’t stay at the nursing home all day, did you?"

Simon didn’t answer directly, "I took a leave from the teacher, he said it’s not busy during the day, but wanted me to come by tonight for something urgent."

"Alright then."

Laura let out a long sigh of relief. She was scared, thinking the teacher would scold Simon again, and she surely would tag along to plead for him.

"Wait a minute."

Simon paused in front of a car, finding the Mercedes familiar but couldn’t recall whose it was.

"What’s the matter, senior?"

"Is there something wrong with this car?"

Laura glanced over and was stunned. She recognized it; it was Lawyer Holden’s car.

A flicker of an unusual look passed her eyes, contemplating whether to inform Simon.

Why would Lawyer Holden park his car here? He doesn’t live nearby.

Could it be work-related?

She wondered if his condition got any better. Since they last parted, Lawyer Holden hadn’t reached out to her. She urged him several times to come back for a check-up, worried his condition might worsen.

He’s such a workaholic and suffers from insomnia, seeing his ex-lover around the house at night, a real ghostly affair.

If it were her, she would have passed out from fright already.

"Nothing."

Simon glanced at the car briefly, making no further stops.

Laura shut her mouth, pretending not to recognize it.

She checked her phone for the date; in three days, Justin Holden would come looking for her, and she could ask him then.

This endless working isn’t good; it’ll only worsen his nightmares and insomnia.

Jean Ellison walked upstairs; there weren’t any lights in the hallway, everything was pitch black.

She felt her bag and finally found the key.

As she entered the living room, she bent down to change her shoes, and her other hand naturally reached for the door.

The click of the door lock was suddenly cut off.

Jean’s hand paused mid-push as a man’s hand had already pressed against the door, his fingers smooth as jade, knuckles distinct, pushing the door back into place.

His arm extended over her side, the stiff edge of his suit sleeve brushing against the fabric outside her arm, emitting a brief rustling sound.

She looked up, diving into Justin Holden’s gaze.

His presence was very near, his tall figure blocking most of the narrow hallway light.

A thread of an extremely faint astonishment flashed through her eyes, and her breath caught silently in her throat for a moment.

"You?"

She spoke, her voice lower than expected, tense in the air.

"Did something go wrong with tomorrow’s case?"

He had promised her he’d win the case.

His gaze was heavy on her face, not immediately moving away.

His hand was still pressed against the door, his knuckles slightly pale, pressing against the wood grain at the edge of the door. His other hand hung by his side, fingers curling and loosening.

He was too close, the cool scent of aftershave mixed with the clean fragrance of clothing, overwhelmingly filling the air around her.

"There’s no trouble."

His voice was deep, his Adam’s apple moving with the words.

His gaze finally moved away from her face, sweeping past her shoulder to the shadow inside the door frame, then back to her eyes.

His tie hung loosely at his shirt collar, with a hint of imperceptible disarray.

Jean felt her back pressed against the cold door.

She looked at his chin, tense and close.

The hand he had on the door, a strong wrist seen below the shirt cuff, the pulse clearly recognizable under the skin.

Her fingers curled at her side, pressing against her palm.

"Then why..."

Her words were unfinished, the trailing sound vanishing in the suddenly compressed air between them.

Justin didn’t release his hand from the door, but leaned forward ever so slightly.

The slight shift made the skin on her neck tighten abruptly, as if feeling the warmth of his breath brushing past.

Justin’s lips formed a straight line, the jawline appearing sharper.

He lowered his gaze, sweeping over the upper part of her softly rising chest, barely revealed above her collar.

He spoke, his voice carrying a trace of an unnoticeable hoarseness.

"I found your hair tie in my car."

As he spoke, the fingers pressed against the door tightened subtly.

Jean furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him with puzzled eyes.

Did he come all the way here late at night just to return a cheap and common hair tie?

Should she invite him in? He’s here, and she can’t just let him stand in the hallway.

Besides, they had to be in court early tomorrow. Is staying up so late not affecting his work?

Tomorrow, he’d face an entire legal team alone, and among them was his teacher.