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Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Like a Rebellious Emo

Ian Sterling left Aerie Garden at dawn. Of the seven masters of the vast estate, only Nina Norton remained. She was having a rare burst of energy today; when Frank Wyatt arrived with Shawn Wyatt, she was in the garden watering the flowers.

Butler Yates stood waiting not far away. Hearing footsteps, he glanced over. The gate guard strode up and whispered, "Mr. Wyatt from the Wyatt Group is here with his son. He says he’s here to visit Ian."

"Ian isn’t here. Go send them away." Butler Yates had also heard about the Wyatt family’s son being beaten and sent to the hospital, so he didn’t have a very favorable impression of the Wyatts.

The guard sounded helpless. "I told him Ian isn’t here, so now he says he wants to pay a visit to Mrs. Sterling."

Butler Yates had no choice but to walk over to Nina Norton and ask, "Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Wyatt from the Wyatt Group said he came to visit Ian. When he learned Ian wasn’t here, he said he wanted to see you. Would you like to see him?"

"What is he here for?" Nina Norton asked, puzzled.

"He’s with his son. I’m not sure what it’s about."

Nina Norton mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, I’ll see them. Have them wait in the living room."

Butler Yates nodded and turned to relay the message to the guard.

Frank Wyatt walked in with Shawn Wyatt. Shawn glanced around, his eyes wide, unable to look away. He even forgot the anxiety he had been feeling. ’As expected of the Sterling Family,’ he marveled, ’every single detail exudes elegance.’

"Mrs. Sterling," Frank Wyatt said, greeting Nina Norton with a fawning smile.

Nina Norton smiled slightly, a bit perplexed. "Mr. Wyatt, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Frank Wyatt explained, "Well, you see, this little rascal from my family angered Ian some time ago. I’ve brought him here to apologize to Ian."

"Ian isn’t here. He went out early this morning."

"I know, I know, the guard just told me. It’s just that, since we’re already here, I thought it would be terribly rude not to pay you a visit." Frank Wyatt gave an embarrassed laugh and had Shawn Wyatt place the gifts they had brought to the side.

Nina Norton gave the gifts a casual glance before taking a sip of black tea from her English-style teacup.

In her eyes, even deigning to look at those things was giving Frank Wyatt face.

Seeing her remain silent, Frank Wyatt weighed his words awkwardly for a moment before finally explaining the whole situation. "Mrs. Sterling, I brought this rascal of mine to make amends the moment he was discharged from the hospital. Could you, for my sake, persuade Ian not to hold it against him?"

Nina Norton frowned slightly. ’My Ian has a bad temper, but he doesn’t just go around hitting people. Even when he can’t stand someone, he usually gets others to do his dirty work for him. How on earth did this young Mr. Wyatt manage to provoke him into doing it himself?’

Nina Norton was fiercely protective of her own, especially her youngest, whom they had doted on his whole life. Her expression darkened as she said coolly, "We should wait for Ian to get back to discuss this. Butler Yates, call Ian and tell him to come back right away."

Butler Yates nodded, stepped aside to make the call, and returned a short while later. He hesitated, "Mrs. Sterling, Ian said he can’t come back right away, because he’s currently..."

Nina Norton looked up at him. "What is it?"

Butler Yates took a breath, leaned close to Nina Norton’s ear, and whispered in one go, "Ian is dyeing his hair."

"???" was written all over Nina Norton’s face.

’What did those two words—"hair dyeing"—have to do with her Ian?’

’Why would her Ian suddenly go get his hair dyed?’

’So, he went out so early this morning just to dye his hair?’

Questions raced through Nina Norton’s mind one after another.

Butler Yates cleared his throat, snapping Nina Norton out of her daze. She pressed her lips together and said to the Wyatts, "My Ian has been held up by something. He’ll be back in a bit, so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait."

Frank Wyatt smiled obsequiously. "Of course, of course. We will wait for Ian. Our apologies for disturbing you."

Nina Norton shook her head and lowered her gaze, lost in thought once more.

The Wyatt father and son had no choice but to avert their gazes, drinking endlessly from the teacups that the butler refilled again and again.

It wasn’t until Ian Sterling returned that the two stood up, freezing in place the moment they saw him.

Nina Norton also looked up, so shocked she didn’t even recognize the red-haired man in front of her.

"You..." Nina Norton’s brow furrowed tightly. "You dyed your hair like that? If your father sees you, won’t he chew you out?"

"Let him. When has he ever not yelled at me?" Ian Sterling said, unconcerned. He shot a glance at the two Wyatts and asked coldly, "What do you want?"

Frank Wyatt snapped out of it and patted Shawn Wyatt on the back, signaling for him to go forward and apologize.

Shawn Wyatt stepped forward hesitantly and said, trembling, "Ian, I’m sorry for offending you at Nys last time. I hope you can forgive me."

Shawn Wyatt was five-foot-nine, but Ian Sterling was a good deal taller. He looked down at Shawn, his long, narrow eyes cold and dark. Shawn broke out in a cold sweat under his gaze.

"Ian, what exactly made you hit him?" Nina Norton stood and pulled Ian Sterling aside, asking curiously.

Ian Sterling glanced at his mother, whose face was a blatant advertisement for gossip, and looked away with a sigh. He sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said coolly, "You don’t need to apologize to me. Just remember the lesson."

Frank Wyatt nodded hastily, saying gratefully, "Thank you for your magnanimity, Ian."

The two said their goodbyes and were about to leave. They had just reached the door when Ian Sterling said flatly, "Take your things with you."

Just as Frank Wyatt was about to say something, he heard Ian Sterling continue, "And if the Wyatt family bothers that girl again, it won’t be this simple next time."

The father and son nodded quickly, grabbed their things, and left.

Nina Norton understood everything now. She pointed a finger at Ian Sterling’s nose and demanded, "This was about Lynn Winslow, wasn’t it?!"

Ian Sterling frowned. Nina Norton continued, "Son, can you stop revolving your life around Lynn Winslow? I’ve said this so many times I don’t need to repeat myself for you to know what I’m talking about."

"Mom, I’ve told you before, too. Stay out of it," Ian Sterling said, his tone uncharacteristically serious.

Nina Norton pressed her lips together. Seeing his stubborn, unyielding expression, she said angrily, "If you keep getting tangled up with her, I won’t hesitate to go talk to Lynn Winslow myself!"

"I won’t stop you from going to see Lynn Winslow. But I bet Dad doesn’t know you ran off to a concert last time, and even took a picture with some pretty boy idol afterward." Ian Sterling wasn’t flustered in the slightest, casually revealing something Nina Norton thought no one knew.

Butler Yates turned his back, trying to hide his laughter. Furious, Nina Norton pointed at Ian Sterling, taking deep breaths as she poked his forehead forcefully.

"Fine! I won’t go, alright?! You just keep digging your own grave. When you get hurt again, don’t say I didn’t warn you!" Nina Norton glanced at his hair again and said with disgust, "What kind of color did you even dye it? It’s hideous."

Only then did Ian Sterling frown, asking uncomfortably, "It doesn’t look good?"

"Good? What’s good about it! You look like some rebellious emo kid!" Nina Norton disparaged her son, snorted coldly, and abandoned her terminally love-struck child to return to the garden.

Ian Sterling got up and walked to the restroom. He straightened his hair in the mirror, his heart in a bit of a turmoil.

Just then, his phone rang. Ian Sterling glanced at the caller ID.

It was Lynn Winslow.

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