Chapter 29

Stella's injury wasn't severe, and in the following days, she wore comfortable flats to work, which didn't affect her work after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Seeing her insist on going to work, Ethan furrowed his brow and said a few words, but he didn't resolve her stubbornness. He could only promise not to go to the construction site for the next few days. With the official commencement of the North City project, Stella had to deal with more things to coordinate. The next few days were very busy, often bringing work home for overtime. As a result, there was no time to cook. For several days in a row, Ethan didn't enjoy the convenience of takeout breakfast. On Thursday morning, Stella finished getting ready and went downstairs. She saw Ethan already dressed and sitting on the couch, frowning as he stared at the two sandwiches on the coffee table. Instantly, she had a different perception of him. Although she knew Ethan had gotten used to having breakfast during this time, she didn't expect that after four days of her not entering the kitchen, he would actually cook for himself. Stella raised walked up slowly and asked, "Did you make these two sandwiches?" Seeing her coming downstairs, Ethan lightly replied, "Yes." Stella was quite surprised. She glanced at the sandwiches on the table, nodded in acknowledgment of his efforts, and praised him. Making sandwiches wasn't difficult, and there were many recipes online. The two sandwiches Ethan made looked pretty good. She casually pointed to one of the sandwiches and smiled at him. "So, is this one for me?" Ethan leaned back on the couch casually, not responding directly. After a while, his gaze became somewhat complex. He glanced at her casually and shook his head. "No." Feeling like she had wasted her emotions on his answer, Stella's lips twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything more. Ethan examined her expression closely, lowered his gaze, cleared his throat lightly, and then said, "If you want to eat, I'll make one for you tomorrow." As for today's portion, he'd give it to Jason. Stella couldn't read anything unusual in the man's expression. Faced with his calm gaze, the "thank you" she was about to say got stuck in her throat. However, Ethan didn't seem to care whether she thanked him or not. With that, he got up on his own, straightened his clothes, put the two sandwiches in a thermal bag, and then looked at her. "Let's go." During lunchtime, Jason, as usual, came to the top floor to eat with Ethan. He believed that people could be lonely emotionally but not when it came to eating. He couldn't bring himself to eat alone. Even if Ethan only had a sandwich, it was still better than him eating alone downstairs. Besides, Stella hadn't brought lunch for Ethan these days, so Jason found his lunch even more enjoyable. After habitually sitting opposite Ethan, Jason took out his phone, ready to order takeout for two. However, his hand with distinct knuckles suddenly appeared, covering the screen filled with a variety of menu options. "What?" Jason looked at the man across from him in confusion. Ethan's eyelids drooped slightly as his fingers slowly moved toward the bento box on the desk. "This is yours." Then, he took Jason's phone and ordered a single portion of takeout from the restaurant page. Jason was somewhat surprised. "Is Stella cooking for you again?" Putting down the phone, Ethan glanced at him lightly, raised an eyebrow, and gave a faint "yeah." Jason didn't pay much attention to Ethan's indifference. He knew Stella had been busy with work lately, to the point where she had reluctantly stopped making meals for Ethan. He never expected that just as Stella had finished her work, she started making sandwiches for Ethan again! What a strong expression of love! However... "Are you saying... this is for me to eat?" Jason was pleasantly surprised, looking up at Ethan. "Yeah," the man affirmed, paused for a moment, then chuckled lightly and asked, "What? You don't want it now?" Jason nodded eagerly, "Of course, of course! It's been so long since I've tasted Stella's cooking!" In the past, whenever he wanted to taste one of Stella's sandwiches, Ethan's gaze always seemed like it could pierce through him. Today, Ethan was surprisingly generous, willing to share with him! And... he even gave him two! Tears welled up in Jason's eyes at the depth of their brotherly bond. He reverently picked up one of the sandwiches, took a bite, and savored it with deep emotion in his mouth. A few seconds later... "Bro... why are there eggshells in this?" "Eugh, how much sea salt did you sprinkle on this?" "No, this is too salty, it's killing me." Ten minutes later, under Ethan's pressure-filled gaze, Jason reluctantly finished one sandwich. After a pause, he reluctantly reached for the other one. Ethan leaned back lazily, supporting his chin, and watched Jason struggle to finish his failed attempt, asking casually, "Do you still want more in the future?" Jason quickly shook his head. He swore to himself that he would never secretly crave Stella's sandwiches again. How much love did Ethan have to be able to eat Stella's sandwiches without changing his expression!? Stella had no idea that those two sandwiches, which could be considered failures, ended up in Jason's stomach. ... After their last conversation, Stella and Ethan seemed to have improved their somewhat formal relationship quite a bit. Stella knew that Ethan dealt with people from the planning bureau a lot, so these days she would often take the approval documents to his study and ask him about parts she didn't understand, and he was always willing to explain. When she got home in the evening, Stella listened to Ethan explain the specific process of planning evaluation in the study, nodding as if she had gained some insight, and instinctively replied, "Thank you." Behind the desk, Ethan raised an eyebrow leisurely, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He said, "You seem to be thanking me a lot lately?" Slightly startled, Stella furrowed her brows. It seemed true, she had indeed been thanking Ethan quite often lately. As for the reasons for her gratitude, they didn't just stem from work but also from life. A few days ago, the water pipe of her bedroom was leaking. Stella had initially thought of calling a repairman, but when she mentioned it to Ethan, he just chuckled, asking her to lead him to her bedroom instead. After a quick look, Ethan went to the utility room, fetched a spare water pipe, and then, under Stella's watchful gaze, quickly replaced the leaking pipe. Stella naturally had no idea that Ethan could fix water pipes, so her expression at the time was quite surprised. And when Ethan saw her expression, he casually raised his eyebrows and said, "See? This is the benefit of having a man at home." Meeting his playful gaze, Stella felt somewhat speechless. But she still ignored his somewhat cocky attitude and smiled as she thanked him. Counting them up, she had already thanked Ethan more than ten times in these past few days. This frequency was unexpected even for her. Seeing her staring blankly at the approval documents, Ethan slowly reached out his hand and gently patted her head with a smile. "Stella, accept my help," he said. "You don't need to thank me so much. Didn't you help me with tutoring in high school without charging me?" Stella had just snapped out of her thoughts when he brought up the tutoring she had done for him in senior year. Looking at the approval documents in her hand, she shook her head. "I never thought you'd be able to handle such boring documents now." Aaron was better at math than her, so whenever Stella encountered a math problem she couldn't solve, she would ask Aaron for help. One evening during self-study, Stella pondered over a math problem for half an hour but still couldn't find a solution. After class, she was about to go to the next class to find Aaron for help, but Ethan next to her reached out and blocked her path, refusing to move no matter what. Even with Stella's good temper, she couldn't help but be annoyed by his stubbornness. Looking at her expression, Ethan glanced at the problem on the paper, sneered lightly, and sarcastically said, "Is this problem so difficult that you have to find Aaron to solve it?" Still irritated, Stella replied coldly, "Yes, it's very difficult, at least you can't solve it." The young man raised his eyebrows lightly, and in the slightly sarcastic smile in his deep blue eyes, he said playfully, "Stella, don't underestimate me. If I manage to solve this problem later, would you agree to something for me?" Stella furrowed her brow and replied solemnly, "Later? I don't know if you'll go ask someone else for the solution." "Alright, then you can come up with another problem, and give me a month. If I manage to solve the problem you set after a month, will you agree to my terms?" Ethan's voice was casual, a rare moment of negotiation with her. Stella paused, not responding. Ethan chuckled lightly, his tone tinged with mockery, "Are you afraid to bet with me?" Perhaps it was provoked by the young man's words, or perhaps her temper had not subsided at the time. After a brief silence, she looked at him again and said, "So what if you lose the bet? What will you do then?" Ethan's sturdy forearms rested on the desk as he leaned his chin on his hand, a faint curve appearing at his lips. After a moment's pause, the lazy drawl of the young man's voice drifted into Stella's ears. "Well, then I'll go run ten laps around the playground to calm Miss Carlson down." Later, Stella didn't know how Ethan managed to solve the deliberately difficult problem for her, but she had to agree to his terms and give him extra lessons during breaks and weekends. Ethan's grades improved rapidly, except for political science. He always said back then that he couldn't stand the dry content in the political science textbooks. But now, he seemed to have an in-depth understanding of the tedious clauses in approval documents. Bringing her thoughts back, Stella smiled and praised him, "You seem to have a lot of positive changes now." Ethan said with a smile, "You will too." Though Stella couldn't be coquettish now, she would learn to be in the future. She didn't grasp the meaning behind his words, thinking he was simply showing off inexplicably due to her praise, and she shook her head with a smile. ... On Sunday, Stella finally finished work and had some free time. Thinking that she hadn't been out with her friends for a long time, she accepted the invitation from Layla and Natalie to go to the tea restaurant they had agreed upon. In the serene private room, the topic of conversation was not about sisterly heart-to-hearts, but rather yesterday's gossip. Layla arrived the latest, but as soon as she pushed open the door, she excitedly rushed to Natalie's side, "Tell me, how did Wendy just run off with another man in front of the entire audience yesterday?" Yesterday, Natalie attended Aiden's engagement banquet. Although it had only been a day, what happened at the engagement banquet had quickly spread throughout the affluent circles of Seattle. After all, the plot is too melodramatic and sensational. Natalie couldn't contain her excitement any longer and put down her coffee, sharing the information she had gathered with her friends. "Kate and Wendy were college classmates, and I heard a few things from her. Wendy is the daughter of Kenny Lee's ex-wife, and her relationship with Kenny Lee and her stepmother is not so good." "This time, it was the Wood family that wanted to form an alliance with the Lee family. After Mrs. Lee inquired about Aiden and found out that he was always busy helping Avery, unable to make up his mind, she didn't want her daughter to marry him. So, she set her sights on Wendy instead." At this point, Natalie paused, teasing everyone. It wasn't until Stella gave her a look that said "tell us more" that she continued with a smile. "As for Wendy, she already had someone she liked. At first, she naturally disagreed. She liked that person during college, but he was too hard to pursue, so she gave up and went abroad to study." "This year, Wendy returned to the US and reunited with her first love, but she fell for him again. However, based on her experience, she thought the man was too difficult to pursue, so she decided to take drastic measures. While she was flirting with her first love, she pretended to be quiet and gentle to date Aiden once, and then the news of their engagement spread like wildfire." "Wendy is really something," Layla marveled, admiring her methods of pursuing someone. Natalie gave her a knowing look and high-fived her before speaking again, "At yesterday's engagement banquet, regardless of whether Wendy's first love came to snatch her away, she definitely wouldn't have married that idiot Aiden." "But the scene of directly snatching the bride is indeed more thrilling than a fiancée breaking off the engagement on the spot. You guys didn't see it, Aiden's face was completely black, hahaha." Natalie really didn't like Aiden. Just thinking about how miserable he looked yesterday made her feel that attending the engagement banquet was worth it. She laughed and continued, "Aiden probably thought that Wendy's quiet and gentle demeanor would make her a good wife and mother, wanting to marry her home as a decoration. As a result, he himself became a tool for Wendy to stimulate her first love. Not only did he get played by Wendy, but he also had his fiancée snatched away from him at the engagement banquet. It's so hilarious that I can't stop laughing! "Thanks to Stella for inviting me to watch the show. Those guests got to see a good drama for nothing. Aiden has really lost his dignity this time. I bet he'll be pointed and laughed at wherever he goes in the future." With that, Natalie mimicked the act of pointing and laughing, "Look, that's the idiot who got publicly scolded by his fiancée at the engagement party, only to have her run off with someone else." "He deserved it! It's karma! It serves him right! Who would really want to marry someone like Aiden, who is always acting as Avery's little lackey?" Layla said. "Speaking of which, Avery also couldn't face the situation," Natalie took a sip of her coffee and continued. "The Wood family blamed Wendy for breaking off the engagement, so the Lee family used Avery as a shield. This time, Aaron seems to have made up his mind to distance himself from Avery, but now Avery has ended up as Aiden's mistress." "She brought it upon herself. She's an adult, yet she's always trying to climb the social ladder by making connections with older men and women. It's really messed up," Layla said indignantly before adding. "Oh, by the way, who is Wendy's first love? Will Aiden cause trouble for him?" Natalie glanced teasingly at Stella and said, "You actually know Wendy's first love." Stella was taken aback for a moment, then pondered for a while before furrowing her brow gently. "Could it be..." "It's Shane." Finally revealing the secret, Natalie slapped the table and raised her eyebrows. "I really want to scold him. He thinks Wendy is beautiful and comes from a wealthy family, so he likes her but feels inferior. If it weren't for someone like Wendy, he wouldn't be stirred up." "Yesterday, when Shane left, he greeted me. After the event, Aiden came to ask Juan about Shane's background," she added. "Haha, Shane is half-brother to me and Stella. If Juan dares to help Aiden, I'll divorce him!" In terms of age, Shane is half a year younger than Stella, so he could indeed be considered their "little brother." Hearing Natalie's spirited words, Stella shook her head and smiled. "Natalie, although you always talk about divorce, let's face it, your personality was also nurtured by Juan." After getting married, Juan stayed at home all day and rarely went to gatherings. Even the Barrett family didn't dare to trouble Natalie. Layla nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Stella hasn't even mentioned divorce yet in this fake marriage, while you, who were already thinking about having a baby before, keep talking about divorce every day." "I was just joking," Natalie said, lowering her tone and changing the subject. "Stella, it seems like you and Ethan get along pretty well." Stella thought about her time with Ethan for a moment, then smiled and replied, "At least we're both willing to respect each other now." Ethan always respected her in front of others, and at home, Stella didn't want to dwell on his occasional teasing and provocation. Everyone has a relaxed side. Natalie nodded with a smile. "Being able to respect each other is good enough. Someone like Ethan, who has hit rock bottom and climbed back up on his own, is much harder to deal with than the average person."