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Chapter 13: Chapter 13: A Meal or Red Roses

Ian Sterling watched as the messages in the group chat scrolled up, one after another. He couldn’t be bothered with their passive-aggressive digs, so he simply muted the chat.

He scrolled to the sticker Lynn Winslow had sent, his eyes lingering on it for a moment. Just then, the driver pulled the car to a stop.

"Finn, we’re here."

Ian Sterling instructed, "Take the car to be repaired. Send the bill to me."

"Understood. I’ll get another car to pick you up then," the driver said with a nod.

"No need. You can just head back." With that, Ian Sterling got out of the car.

Jasper Jennings and Zachary Quincy had been waiting for him at the Aetherium Club for a long time. They’d seen the group chat messages and were just waiting for Ian Sterling to arrive so they could properly grill him.

Ian Sterling lazily pushed the door open, sat down across from them without even looking up, and leaned back against the sofa to look at his phone, ignoring their teasing gazes.

Seeing him act this way, Jasper Jennings teased, "Didn’t you say you don’t like her anymore? And yet there you were, getting tangled up with her in the middle of the road."

Ian Sterling glanced up at him, utterly exasperated. "You call that getting tangled up?"

"That’s not getting tangled up?" Zachary Quincy asked in surprise. "Then what is?"

"Her car just rear-ended mine, that’s all," Ian Sterling explained flatly. Hearing this, Zachary Quincy drew out a long, meaningful "Ohhhh..." which made Ian Sterling’s brow furrow. He glared at him, irritated. "What’s wrong with you?"

"Getting defensive, are we?" Jasper Jennings said with a smile.

"I told you, no. It was just a rear-end collision, and we were just talking about compensation," Ian Sterling said coldly, turning his head to avoid their expressions.

"Alright, ’no’ it is," Jasper Jennings placated him.

The manager led a waiter in with their dishes, and the three of them moved to the dining table. Zachary Quincy said, "Esther will be here soon."

Jasper Jennings raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Did you finally win her over?"

"As if it’s that easy." Zachary Quincy shrugged.

Esther Abbott had suddenly messaged him out of the blue, asking where he was and who he was with. Without thinking much about it, Zachary Quincy had sent her the address, telling her Jasper Jennings was there and Ian Sterling was on his way. He immediately received a reply from Esther Abbott saying she’d be there soon.

Ian Sterling was silently looking at his phone. A new message had arrived from Lynn Winslow.

BlingingLynn: [I’ve been thinking, I should still treat you to a meal. After all, I did crash into your car.]

Ian Sterling scoffed, his fingers tapping a few times on the screen before sending a reply.

Finn Sterling: [No need.]

Seeing his rejection, Lynn Winslow thought for a moment and continued: [But it still inconvenienced you. Let me treat you to a meal to show my apology. You wouldn’t be that petty, would you? It’s just dinner. It’s not like I’m trying to do anything else.]

She added a cat face sticker.

Her words made Ian Sterling’s brow furrow in anger. He didn’t even want to reply. Just as he was about to put his phone down, another message from Lynn Winslow came in.

BlingingLynn: [If you don’t agree, I’ll just have to wait for you at your company. I won’t stop until you agree to have dinner with me. Or I could come to your office building every day and bring you flowers. Do you like red roses?]

Finn Sterling: [Lynn Winslow, what exactly are you trying to do?]

BlingingLynn: [Expressing my apology, of course. Don’t overthink it ^_^]

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together. Lynn Winslow had always been reckless, and she was genuinely capable of showing up at his office with a bouquet of flowers to corner him. He had no choice but to reply: [When?]

BlingingLynn: [Tomorrow evening. See you at The Clearwater Pavilion.]

When she received Ian Sterling’s "k," Lynn Winslow’s face broke into a huge smile. She made a fist and let out a small "Yes!", which drew a confused look from Mrs. Sterling beside her.

Lynn Winslow shook her head at her to show that nothing was wrong, then leaned against Mrs. Sterling, watching the variety show that was playing on TV with her.

Mrs. Sterling said, "I just heard from Mr. Warren that you were in a car accident. Are you hurt?"

"No, do I look hurt to you?" Lynn Winslow shook her head, idly playing with Mrs. Sterling’s fingers.

"Did you make him crash into it?" Mrs. Sterling asked, looking down at her with a somewhat grave expression.

"Why is Mr. Warren such a tattletale?" Lynn Winslow blinked.

"The moment I saw him stammering, I had a pretty good idea." Mrs. Sterling huffed lightly. "You can’t keep risking your own safety for things like this."

"I know, but it was just a little bump. Nothing was going to happen," Lynn Winslow said softly. "I know my limits. I wouldn’t joke around with my own safety."

"That’s what you said last time you jumped into the lake, and you’re saying it again now." Mrs. Sterling poked Lynn Winslow’s nose, sighing helplessly. "It’s a good thing you’re alright. Otherwise, how would we ever explain this to Mr. Winslow?"

"I know, I know. It won’t happen again," Lynn Winslow said with a smile, nuzzling against Mrs. Sterling’s shoulder.

Back on Ian Sterling’s side, Esther Abbott arrived soon after. She sat next to Zachary Quincy, who eagerly poured her drinks and served her food.

Esther Abbott glanced at Ian Sterling, who was expressionless but radiating an aura of annoyance. She suddenly chuckled and said to Zachary Quincy and Jasper Jennings, "Guess who I just saw?"

Zachary Quincy followed her gaze to Ian Sterling and asked, "Who?"

"Lynn Winslow and Mia Rhodes." Esther Abbott put down her chopsticks, rested her chin in her hand, and let her gaze drift towards Ian Sterling, whose chopsticks had paused mid-air.

Jasper Jennings said coolly, "Is that so? Aren’t those two on bad terms? Why would they be together?"

"Exactly. Mia Rhodes even looked like she wanted to hit Lynn Winslow." Esther Abbott frowned slightly. "Mia Rhodes, who’s always been like a delicate little flower, has such a fierce side to her. Seeing it even made me feel scared for Lynn Winslow."

She intentionally left it at that. As expected, Ian Sterling looked up. Esther Abbott smiled at him. "Both of them like you. Who do you think is better? That way, we’ll know to say hello when we see them, so we don’t snub the wrong person."

"What does that have to do with me," Ian Sterling said nonchalantly, putting down his chopsticks.

"Oh? I thought you liked Mia Rhodes. After all, you gave her resources, and she’s shown up at our gatherings several times. I even helped Mia Rhodes bad-mouth Lynn Winslow a little," Esther Abbott said, throwing up her hands. "Guess I was just being nosy."

Ian Sterling’s gaze swept over to Esther Abbott. Though his dark eyes were indifferent, she could still detect a hint of hostility in them. Esther Abbott suddenly laughed and said, "Just kidding. I didn’t get involved. I just watched for a bit. Lynn Winslow didn’t get hit, either."

Ian Sterling wasn’t worried that Lynn Winslow would be bullied; he was just worried that Esther Abbott would blindly help Mia Rhodes bully Lynn Winslow.

His voice finally turned cold, tinged with a threat. "Don’t joke about Lynn Winslow."

Esther Abbott burst out laughing. Zachary Quincy and Jasper Jennings also put down their chopsticks. All three of them stared at Ian Sterling. Ian narrowed his eyes and put down his own chopsticks.

"I’m not eating. I’m leaving."

Jasper Jennings chuckled, picked his chopsticks back up, and said soothingly, "We’re eating. Of course we’re eating."

He looked at the other two, his tone full of teasing. "You two, hurry up and eat. If you keep staring, our dear Finn is going to get angry, and then you’ll be the ones to calm him down."

"Alright, alright." The two of them suppressed their laughter and lowered their heads.

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