CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: HIDDEN MALICE IS HARD TO GUARD AGAINST

Audrey Sutton retorted, "What do you think I’m thinking?"

Shane Warner gave a mischievous smile, walked behind her, placed his hands open on both sides of the table, leaned in looking at her slightly red face, and said, "Relax, if I were really ’doing business,’ twenty minutes wouldn’t be enough."

Audrey Sutton’s face turned even redder in a flash, feeling an itch on both her neck and face.

Truly, obvious flirtations are easy to avoid, but subtle ones are hard to guard against!

He suddenly pulled this trick on her, and she hadn’t thought of how to respond.

Shane Warner straightened up, stopped teasing her, and explained why it took him so long to come back: "Downstairs they only had plain porridge, so I went to the kitchen to make you some. That’s why it took me so long."

Audrey Sutton was too embarrassed to look at him, just kept her head down and drank the porridge.

No wonder it smelled so good; turns out he made it.

She was delighted inside, but muttered under her breath, "Not even a pickle."

Shane Warner frowned, glanced at her, and ignored her grumbling, thinking, I went to all that trouble to make porridge for you, and you’re still complaining.

Besides, on this ship, asking him to find even a five-cent pickle was not something he could manage.

In the quiet afternoon, Shane Warner lay on the sofa flipping through a magazine, while Audrey Sutton sat at the desk holding a tablet, rushing to finish her sketch.

"Hey, I have something to ask you." Audrey Sutton went over to him with her notebook.

Shane Warner lazily glanced at her: "Who’s ’Hey’?"

"President Warner, Third Young Master, Mr. Handsome Warner, Master Shane?" Audrey Sutton called out every nickname she could think of.

Shane Warner then sat up from the sofa:

"What is it?"

Audrey Sutton placed the computer in front of him, showing a sketch of a necklace on the screen.

Shane Warner took a look and asked her, "What? Looking to switch careers and join me?"

"No, it’s a Magic Artifact I designed for my protagonist, essentially a collar worn around the neck. So, it looks sort of like this now, and since you have more expertise in this area, I wanted to ask if you have any suggestions."

Shane Warner examined it for a while and thoughtfully commented, "The decoration layout feels a bit chaotic. Pass me the pen."

Audrey Sutton hurriedly handed over the pen.

Watching Shane Warner modify it, she asked him, "Is there a theme? Or maybe the Magic Artifact’s use?"

Audrey Sutton sat down in the empty spot next to the sofa and said, "The protagonist of my manga is a spirit, essentially a rabbit from The Lunar Palace, and the Magic Artifact is used for his transformation. I intend to name it ’Lunar Palace Stardust.’"

Shane Warner: "..."

The mention of a rabbit immediately conjured up some less-than-pleasant images in his mind.

Within a few minutes, he skillfully used the software she was familiar with, starting and finishing up on her tablet, to make more detailed modifications to her drafted "Magic Artifact."

The necklace chain was composed of overlapping small diamonds of various sizes, and the central pendant was a horizontally suspended, near-round, irregularly wavy crescent.

Audrey Sutton felt the design touched her heart; she initially drew an ordinary moon shape but always felt it was too plain. Shane’s revision of the small diamond arrangement on the chain, even without coloring, already emitted the beauty of stars competing to shine.

The scene created felt like stars crowding around the moon, perfectly fitting the name she chose.

This was the first time she admired his design skills.

Shane Warner finished the sketch, placed down the computer, and said, "May I turn this into next season’s new release at my company?"

"You mean turn it into a real necklace?"

"Yes."

Audrey Sutton nodded excitedly, "Of course, that’s good, and you can gift me one when it’s ready?"

Shane Warner raised an eyebrow slightly, "Sure, it can be your design fee."

Though the final draft was modified by him, the inspiration came from Audrey Sutton; this counted as his acknowledgment of her.

Lately, her manga readers had multiplied, and she had received so many comments that she couldn’t keep up. Her followers on X also surged.

This undoubtedly fueled her motivation.

"Knock, knock—"

Shane Warner glanced at the door emitting sounds, leaning readably against the sofa, instructing Audrey Sutton in a lazy tone: "Go open the door."

Feeling good, Audrey Sutton immediately ran over and opened the room door, but upon seeing the woman standing outside, her delighted smile faded.

Clarissa Morgan saw someone other than Shane Warner open the door; she glanced inside before settling her gaze back on Audrey Sutton and smiled, "Feeling better, Audrey?"

"Much better."

Upon hearing Clarissa Morgan’s voice, Shane Warner stood up from the sofa, walked behind Audrey Sutton, and asked Clarissa Morgan, "What’s the matter?"

Clarissa Morgan smiled gracefully, handing a sheet of music to Shane Warner, saying, "At dinner, Quentin and I would like to invite you to play a piece for our wedding."

After a slight pause, Clarissa Morgan continued, "Just like before, you play, I sing."

Audrey Sutton sneered internally, so it turns out they just want to rekindle old feelings.

She said nothing, waiting for Shane Warner’s reply.

Shane Warner, without hesitation, declined, "Haven’t touched the piano for a while, my hands are rusty. Ask someone else."

"Oh, Shane, don’t be modest with me. Your skills are no less than those of professional pianists. If you’re unfamiliar with the piece, there’s a piano room on the fourth floor; we could practice once now."

"No time now."

As soon as Shane Warner finished speaking, Audrey Sutton interlocked her arm with his, smiling brightly and said, "Where’s no time? There’s time! After all, you’re just lying in the room reading magazines. How can you refuse Sister Morgan such a small favor for her rare wedding opportunity?"

Clarissa Morgan was momentarily dumbfounded, surprised that Audrey Sutton was speaking on her behalf, but still smiled, "Thank you, Audrey, for understanding."

Audrey Sutton playfully covered her mouth with a smile, "Just a small favor, no need to thank me, Sister Morgan. However, offering help requires commitment. I happen to know this song; why don’t I sing it for Sister Morgan, and you and Mr. Sterling enjoy it from the audience—as a beautiful blessing from Shane and me to you both."

Clarissa Morgan’s smile froze for an instant; despite maintaining the smile, there was a hint of resentment in her gaze towards Audrey Sutton.

"Sister Morgan, please wait outside for a moment; we’ll change and join you in the piano room shortly." Having said that, Audrey Sutton closed the door.

Shane Warner’s eyes held a smile, the indulgence barely noticeable even to him.

Audrey Sutton turned around, grabbed the dress by the bed, and dashed into the bathroom to change.

Shane Warner stood in front of the mirror, fastening his tie and straightening his suit jacket.

"Shane Warner?" Audrey Sutton’s voice came from the bathroom, "Come in and help me; the zipper snagged my hair and won’t move."

Shane Warner sighed helplessly, pushed open the bathroom door, and saw her awkwardly fidgeting with a strand of hair caught in the zipper.

Shane Warner walked up behind her, lowering his gaze with gentle and careful moves.

Audrey Sutton looked at him through the mirror, unable to resist quietly curling her lips and eyes.

"Done."

Shane Warner was quite pleased with this dress—a white, high-neck, long-sleeved gown that was simply elegant.

Audrey Sutton actually chose this dress to cover the reddened skin she had scratched.

She picked up a comb to brush through her long hair, turned, hooked her arm around Shane Warner’s, and turned up to smile at him: "Shall we go?"

Her smile was sweet, like rich and exquisite wine, intoxicating.