Chapter 51

In the evening, when Stella finally finished her work and drove back home, it was already past 8 o'clock. Ethan was sitting in the living room wearing casual clothes, looking like he was waiting for her. When he saw her walk into the living room after changing her shoes, he raised his eyebrows playfully and said, "Stella, come here and give me a hug." These days, it seemed like he was addicted to hugging her; every night, they would cuddle in the living room and watch TV before going to bed. Stella sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, and casually brought up a topic, "I'm planning to start a new company." "Okay, what do you plan to do?" Ethan asked. He lowered his gaze, his long fingers playing with her hair by her ear as he spoke casually, "Initially, it'll be about medical aesthetics and biological materials." Hearing this, Ethan chuckled softly, his eyes turning to her, "Are you trying to recruit Aaron's people?" Although it was a question, given his understanding of her, she probably already had recruited them. Stella hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "I guess I haven't told you yet, I sold my shares in New Era to Aaron." Just as she finished speaking, she remembered that she had previously mentioned that the dividends from New Era were their joint property as a couple, but now she had sold them off without even informing him. She glanced up at Ethan's overly handsome face and said earnestly, "Don't worry, when I make money, I'll take care of you too." Even though she had already chased Ethan down, she found it necessary to entice him with money due to his captivating appearance. "Was that why you contacted him last time?" the man asked, looking down at her. "Yes," Stella nodded. Although the price was slightly lower, if she hadn't sold her shares to Aaron, she wouldn't have had such a large sum of money to invest in the initial research and development of the new company. However, the subsequent investment required was too much, and now she could be considered to have negative assets. Thinking about the gap in assets between her and Ethan, she felt the necessity of working hard to make money. To put it bluntly, he was so good-looking that, in terms of physical attractiveness, she might as well have been able to buy him an island as a gift. "You're quite clever," Ethan raised an eyebrow lightly, then continued, "So, you're still using Aaron's money to recruit his people." Very well, she wouldn't be easily deceived by others. Stella felt like his words made her seem too opportunistic, so she explained, "The main research and development direction of New Era is not in this area, and I also need a place to exert my influence." "Do you need my help?" Ethan asked. "I want to establish the research and development base in Kenwest, but buying a piece of factory land and rebuilding industrial workshops to meet standards and scale may require negotiations with the government, and the company's current liquid assets may not be enough." The research and development base was not suitable to be set up in cities like Seattle where land was scarce; second-tier cities like Kenwest were more suitable. The government's policies for attracting investment were also favorable, as the tax revenue contributed by enterprises to the local government was long-term. However, this didn't mean that she could automatically obtain suitable land for the factory. After all, apart from the necessary initial research and development funds, she didn't have much money left, so it depended on the government's attitude. When it came to negotiations, Ethan was indeed very skilled at dealing with government officials, and she could learn a thing or two from him. Ethan probably could guess how much money Stella had on hand. After a few seconds of contemplation, he chuckled, "Almost, just be quick-witted when negotiating." Quick-witted? Stella pondered for a moment, furrowing her brows as she looked at him, "You're actually asking me to pretend to be richer than I am?" Put more plainly, Ethan was asking her to play the part of a wealthy person. "It's just a negotiating strategy," the man said calmly. "Negotiating strategy is just putting on a show?" Stella asked. Ethan raised an eyebrow at her, his tone casual. "Otherwise, how do you think I secured the Peach Blossom project back then?" Stella knew that cooperating with Peach Blossom was the first bucket of gold that helped Ethan turn things around. His ability to secure the cooperation with Peach Blossom back then surprised many people. After silently contemplating for a while, Stella appeared to suddenly grasp something, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "They all believed the project fund was under your control! You took quite a risk!" Dylan was originally imprisoned because a large sum of government funding went missing. Ethan actually set up such a trap, making the people at Peach Blossom believe that he still had such a large sum of money in his hands, so they signed the contract. Maybe they deliberately lured him into the trap, wanting to pin a charge on him too? If he wasn't careful, even he wouldn't be able to clear his name. He had actually gambled on his innocence, even his future. Stella couldn't understand why he had such a strong obsession at that time. Ethan didn't want to bring up his mindset at that time again, and just chuckled lightly, "In negotiations, you need to keep the other party guessing about your hand." Stella actually didn't quite agree with his risky approach, but since the matter was already in the past, she could only sigh in resignation, "Alright. You really seemed like a fervent gambler back then. Haven't you ever failed in negotiations and made concessions yourself?" "I am not a gambler." "What if the other party is relentless?" Stella asked. Ethan lightly patted her head and said, "Then isn't there still me? And you, have a pretty substantial share of our joint assets." If she really needed money, would he just sit idly by? Seeing her hesitate, Ethan nonchalantly quipped, "Mrs. Powers, I'm hungry." Stella didn't dwell on it further, getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen. It was already late, and she glanced at the ingredients in the refrigerator, preparing to make him a simple noodle dish. As the pot heated up, it started boiling and bubbling. She was about to put the noodles in when someone wrapped their arms around her waist from behind. She turned her head slightly, meeting the man's face inches away from hers, furrowing her brows lightly. "Ethan, stop fooling around, I still need to cook." The man smirked, tilting his head down to glance at the boiling water, raising an eyebrow and chuckling, "No rush." The next moment, her lips were sealed by his. The stove was shut off by Ethan. Under the deliberate teasing of the man, Stella's head began to spin, and with no support behind her, she could only grasp onto his arms resting on the countertop. It seemed like ages before he finally released her. Stella's face flushed crimson as she glanced at the now cold water in the pot. "Didn't you say you were hungry?" she asked, lightly tapping his arm. Ethan didn't seem very hungry now. Ethan raised an eyebrow, smiling at her with a suggestive tone, "Oh, I was a little hungry earlier, but now I'm full."