CHAPTER 499: CHAPTER 499: WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THE WINE?

A few minutes later, the delivery arrived, but Phoebe King still hadn’t come out of the bathroom.

Stephen Sutton walked over to the door, knocked to urge her, and then grabbed two wine glasses, opened the bottle of red wine Phoebe King had left on the coffee table.

The wine cap seemed to have been opened before, and the cork came out with just a light tug.

Stephen Sutton thought Phoebe King had opened it beforehand to taste the flavor, didn’t pay much attention to it, and poured the wine into the decanter.

A few minutes later, Phoebe King emerged from the bathroom.

As the weather turned cold, she was no longer wearing her silky slip dress to tease him, but instead wore a proper set of fluffy pajamas, with two bunny ears hanging on the hood at the back, the first time such a cute style appeared on her.

She put her things back in her room and then came out, her eyes fixated on the lobster on the table: "Already here so fast?"

Stephen Sutton: "When did you buy that outfit?"

Phoebe King looked down at her pajamas and asked him slightly insecurely, "What’s wrong? Doesn’t it look good?"

Stephen Sutton: "No, just thought it’s not your style."

Phoebe King chuckled and said, "Last time when Audrey and I went shopping, we bought matching outfits. Mine is the bunny, hers is Winnie the Pooh."

Stephen Sutton: "I see why you’ve suddenly started acting cute."

Phoebe King frowned, "What do you mean acting cute? I’m inherently cute."

Focusing solely on the food, Phoebe King didn’t argue further with Stephen Sutton, she picked up the gloves on the table, put them on, and started peeling shrimp: "I haven’t had shrimp in a long time, I used to eat it when hanging out with friends having late-night beers."

Stephen Sutton slowly put on his gloves, asking leisurely: "Which friends?"

Phoebe King: "Just my friends, but I’ve turned over a new leaf now. Even when they ask me to go out for drinks at night, I don’t go."

Stephen Sutton: "Did you used to go often?"

Phoebe King glanced at him, laughed, and asked, "Do you want the truth?"

Stephen Sutton: "What else?"

Phoebe King: "Then you better not lecture me about this in the future."

Stephen Sutton nodded: "Alright, go on."

Phoebe King: "Before I met you, I used to hang out with them. We’d drink at the bar, play games, sometimes even played late-night mahjong, essentially sleeping during the day and partying at night."

Stephen Sutton already knew these things, after all, they first met in a bar where she even asked him how much he charged per night.

Stephen Sutton: "How many boyfriends have you had?"

Phoebe King paused in her shrimp peeling, her words started to stutter: "I... never counted... but those were just for fun, I wouldn’t consider them real relationships. With you, it’s true love! I’ve never spent so much effort, time, and energy pursuing a guy before."

Stephen Sutton looked up at her, asking: "So, does that mean you have pursued other men before?"

Phoebe King: "..."

She felt like she was walking into all the traps he set.

"...That was when I was young, in my teens, seeing someone good-looking, I’d chase for fun, but it only lasted a month and we broke up."

Stephen Sutton: "Why did you break up?"

Phoebe King: "He didn’t like my poor grades, so I broke up with him. Later, I even got someone to beat him up."

Stephen Sutton: "..."

He had been a teacher for both middle and high school before, and Phoebe King felt just like the rebellious troublemakers he had back in his class.

She was poor in studies, always causing trouble and getting into fights, he had been called to the police station many times late at night to deal with such nonsense.

Stephen Sutton: "What kind of work did you do before?"

Phoebe King: "I didn’t continue my education after high school, then I was forced by my dad to work at my cousin’s company, muddled through for six months without learning much. My dad got fed up with my incompetence and kicked me out. During that time, I met a guy, a debt collector, who looked fierce but was kind-hearted. I started hanging out with them, later, when he settled down with a wife and kids, he left his group to me."

Stephen Sutton: "So are you still doing that now?"

Phoebe King guessed Stephen Sutton wouldn’t want to hear she was still involved in such disreputable work. She smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Those guys have followed me for so many years, I can’t just abandon them. But I’ve found a successor now, haven’t been involved much lately."

Stephen Sutton sighed, lifted his wine glass, took a sip, and said, "Find a decent job."

Phoebe King pouted: "What job can I find? I don’t have a high education, nor any special skills, and I don’t have any connections for doing business..."

Stephen Sutton was silent, like he was trying to come up with a solution for her, then suddenly she had a bright idea: "Hey, do you need an assistant? I can be your assistant, can’t I?"

Stephen Sutton rejected her without hesitation: "No need."

He felt he wasn’t confident enough to handle Phoebe King yet, allowing her to sit in the class was already his greatest tolerance. Having her beside him as an assistant, he couldn’t predict what chaos she might cause.

He couldn’t let her ruin his reputation at school.

Phoebe King rolled her eyes and pouted: "You just don’t trust me, think I can’t do anything well."

Stephen Sutton was also blunt: "Isn’t that the case?"

Phoebe King glared at him fiercely, grabbed her wine glass next to her, and gulped it down.

Stephen Sutton quietly said: "Aren’t you fond of playing games?"

Phoebe King: "What? Are you going to manage that too?"

Stephen Sutton didn’t answer, instead asked, "How good are you?"

Phoebe King snorted lightly, then began to brag: "I don’t dare compare with you in other things, but not many can beat me in gaming."

Stephen Sutton: "My buddy, Six, is in esports."

Phoebe King: "I know, I’ve watched his matches, not bad."

Stephen Sutton: "Are you interested in joining his team?"

"What?" Phoebe King was stunned, thinking she heard wrong: "You’re kidding, right? You can’t just become a professional player by saying so."

Stephen Sutton smiled and said to her: "Lost confidence in yourself? Didn’t you just claim not many could beat you?"

Phoebe King, feeling self-conscious, slightly slumped her straightened back and said, "...Playing for fun isn’t the same as being a professional player, it’s not the same level."

Stephen Sutton: "Next time, go home and spar with Six, last time he mentioned his team needed new players, maybe it’ll work out?"

Phoebe King didn’t have much confidence in herself, quietly peeling the shrimp in her hand.

Suddenly feeling something strange, she took off her gloves, tugged at the collar of her fuzzy pajamas, and said to Stephen Sutton: "Did you turn on the heater? Why is it so hot?"

Stephen Sutton also felt something strange, that sensation made him realize something.

He glanced at the wine in the decanter and frowned, asking her: "Did you put something in the wine?"