CHAPTER 412: CHAPTER 412: CAN’T BEAR TO LEAVE ME?

Shane not only didn’t follow Audrey Sutton’s suggestion to eat quickly, but he also put down his chopsticks and leisurely wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Audrey swallowed her food and asked him, "You’re not eating? You’ve barely touched that half bowl of rice! Are you a cat to eat so little?"

Shane put down the napkin he used for wiping his mouth and simply told her, "Eat quickly, there’s something else we need to do after eating."

"What is it?" Audrey asked, burying her head as she stuffed another mouthful of rice.

Shane didn’t say what it was, just told her to hurry up and eat.

Audrey then gobbled down her food quickly, and Shane picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth before taking her by the hand to stand up.

Audrey, still perplexed, followed him. She saw him lead her to Hazel Yates, who was chatting with the family elders, and said to Hazel, "Mom, Audrey is feeling a bit unwell, so I want to take her back first."

Audrey: "..."

Hazel Yates hurriedly asked Audrey with concern, "What’s wrong? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Audrey was completely taken aback by Shane’s sudden ploy, not having discussed it with her at all. She hesitated, unsure of what to say in response, when Shane’s hand subtly landed on her waist, giving it a slight pinch as if to silently warn her to speak properly.

Audrey forced a smile, stammering, "... It’s nothing much, probably just didn’t rest well last night, feeling a bit dizzy."

Hazel Yates said, "Then let Shane take you back first, and if you still don’t feel well, remember to get some medicine from the pharmacy."

Shane nodded, "I’ll take her to see a doctor. We’ll head out first, Mom."

Hazel Yates: "Alright, you woke up early, Shane. You should go back and rest well too."

Audrey, feeling quite guilty, was embraced by Shane as they left the dining room.

In her mind, she thought that it was originally the two of them getting married, and the guests hadn’t left yet, but they were the first to leave, which seemed a bit impolite.

However, she couldn’t resist Shane, and Shane didn’t give her an opportunity to negotiate at all.

Sitting in the car, Audrey hadn’t even fastened her seatbelt when he started the car, looking eager and impatient.

Audrey understood full well what his intentions were, blushing slightly, pressing her lips together not knowing what to say.

For some reason, even though she had been with Shane for so long and experienced everything, when it came to matters between a man and a woman, she still couldn’t be as thick-skinned as he was.

The car drove straight home, and Audrey was in a daze the whole way.

As soon as she unbuckled her seatbelt, Shane had already walked around to her side, opened the car door, and wordlessly reached in to lift her out.

Audrey softly exclaimed from the sudden lift, then frowned and asked him, "... Is it that urgent?"

Shane didn’t reply, quickly walking into the house, taking two or three steps in one up the stairs, pushing open her bedroom door, and tossing her onto the large bed, where he leaned over her...

Pining transformed into passionate entanglement, under the afternoon sunlight, even the sweat stains seemed decadent.

...

In the restaurant, at the end of the hallway were the men’s and women’s restrooms.

A long sink was built between the restrooms.

Phoebe King stood by the sink, a slender lady’s cigarette held between two fingers of one hand, holding a phone, while the other hand rinsed under the tap, her face displeased as she spoke into the phone: "I’ve only been gone for a couple of days and you guys come up with some crap? Can you not make me worry a bit? During meals, you all eat more than anyone else, and when something happens, none of you can come up with a solution? Are you all a bunch of useless eaters?!"

The anger in her voice scared a young woman emerging from the nearby restroom so much that she didn’t even dare to wash her hands and hurriedly dashed away.

"Alright, alright, enough with the nonsense, go find Liu the Second, I won’t be back for a while, my mood was pretty good until you all screwed it up, damn it all..."

Phoebe’s words stopped halfway, as she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the mirror.

The first thought in her mind was that she was seeing things, so she hurriedly turned around to look behind her, and sure enough, it was Stephen Sutton.

He was leaning against the wall behind her, not going to the restroom, not using the sink, nor like other men, coming here to smoke.

It seemed like he had been standing there for a while.

Phoebe froze for a moment, realizing he had probably seen her swearing just now...

Yet she still clung to a sliver of hope, changing her previous annoyed demeanor to a gentler one, she continued speaking into the phone, "Ah, I’m out having fun right now, don’t bother me with these things, let’s leave it at that, I’m hanging up~"

The guy on the other end of the line felt his hair standing on end, still unsure of what kind of demon he was dealing with when Phoebe hung up.

As she was putting away her phone, she finally noticed she was still holding a lit cigarette.

Glancing at Stephen Sutton, she quickly put out the cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can, then returned to him and looked up to ask, "Teacher Sutton didn’t come here specifically to find me, did you?"

Stephen Sutton pointed with his chin toward the men’s restroom beside him and replied coolly, "My little nephew came over to use the restroom."

Phoebe turned her head to glance at the men’s restroom, unsure whether this "little nephew" he mentioned was real or fabricated.

The two hadn’t seen each other for a while, and for a moment, Phoebe didn’t know what to say.

Between her and Stephen, it was always her initiating the conversation; Stephen would never ask her anything.

Just like now, he could have asked her what was going on with that phone call, whether something had happened.

But he didn’t.

Phoebe pursed her lips, wanting to find something random to talk about with him, but then she thought about how she’d finally managed to hold back for so long, and she shouldn’t just lose her cool the moment she saw him, right?

But with him standing right there in front of her, the idea of turning around and leaving coolly felt a bit of a waste.

"How’s your progress?"

While Phoebe was pondering, Stephen suddenly asked a seemingly out-of-the-blue question.

Phoebe was a bit startled, firstly surprised that he initiated conversation with her, and secondly unsure of what he meant by the question.

Stunned for a couple of seconds, Phoebe eventually caught on and tentatively asked, "Who? Me and Micah Morgan?"

Stephen nodded, replying with a nonchalant "Hmm."

Phoebe opened her mouth, ready to speak the truth, but at the last moment, she changed her wording and smiled, asking him, "Why do you care?"

Stephen Sutton: "Just asking casually."

Phoebe: "Feeling remorseful? Missing me again?"

Stephen looked down at her expressionlessly, without saying anything.

"Uncle, I’m done peeing!" A childish voice cut through the air, slightly muddled in enunciation.

Phoebe turned to see a little boy, about three years old, trotting out from the men’s restroom, heading towards Stephen Sutton.