Chapter 55

Stella paused for a moment, then smiled, "Maybe. So, what do you think? Should I stop?" She didn't really know why she had started to vent her anger at Ethan so casually. In the past, she always felt that doing so would push people away, especially those close to her, and she dared not show any negativity. Natalie sighed, "There's a saying that goes, 'The extent to which a woman makes a fuss depends on how much a man spoils her.' With your temperament, I think even if you were a hundred times angrier, you still wouldn't cross the line." "Stella, enjoy the most relaxed state of mind now, don't dwell on it," Natalie added, her tone carrying a hint of an elderly person's demeanor. Stella knew that Natalie's words were out of concern, so she smiled lightly and nodded, "Okay, I understand." After hanging up the call, it was already time to leave work. Stella closed her laptop, took the elevator to the parking lot, and got into her familiarly parked Bentley. Ethan, who had been ignored all day, glanced at her when she got into the car and still didn't speak. He casually asked, "Still mad?" Stella turned her head to look at him, deliberately pursed her lips and said nothing. After a moment of silence in the car, when the driver pulled out of the parking lot, Ethan cleared his throat and spoke, "Well, Jason just called and said he booked a private room at the Golden Brilliance. Do you want to go sit for a while?" Meeting the gaze of the man across from her, Stella lowered her gaze, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded. Despite being angry, she still cared about his pride in front of others. Jason and the others had been in the private room for a while already when Stella and Ethan arrived. As they reached the door of the private room, Ethan was about to open it when Stella looked at him and said, "You go in first, I need to call Aurora back real quick. It won't take long." Aurora had just sent over the procurement details for the production line, which Stella had just seen. Knowing it was work-related, Ethan nodded and went in alone. Standing in the corridor, Stella finished her call with Aurora, and as she was about to enter the private room, she was suddenly tapped on the back. "Stella, what a coincidence." It was Tom, who had just come out of another private room, smiling and greeting her. Stella recognized him as a classmate from Jefferson High School and politely greeted. Tom took out a business card and handed it to her, enthusiastically saying, "What a rare encounter! There's a high school reunion coming up soon. Will you come?" Although he was second to last in grades, Tom excelled in socializing and later became the class president of Class 1. For years, class reunions had been organized by Tom's group, and Stella and Ethan had never attended. Despite his enthusiastic attitude, Stella thought for a moment and replied apologetically, "I'll try, but it depends on whether I have time then." Tom didn't insist and agreed, "Okay, the location will be sent in the class group chat. If you have time, just come over." After that, he tactfully asked, "And if Ethan is available, why don't you bring him along?" Stella smiled and agreed, "Sure, I'll ask him." Seeing the person he had once had a crush on smile, Tom felt happy and generously said, "By the way, when you come here in the future, mention my name and you'll get a freebie!" The Golden Brilliance was owned by Jason, Tom, and Jimmy. ... After talking with Tom, Stella finally pushed open the door of the private room and walked in. The room was spacious. In addition to Jason and Luke, there were two other faces Stella hadn't seen before. Jason, sitting at the door, stood up as soon as he saw Stella and warmly said, "Welcome! Ethan finally got you to come out. Come, let me introduce you to my friends." Jason pointed to the other two at the chess table, "Mark, Nick, the brave warriors who endured Ethan's torment for three years in college!" Stella smiled and greeted, "Hi." Nick also greeted her, but Mark was more talkative. He put down the cards in his hand and said with a meaningful tone, "Hi, Stella. You look just like I imagined." Jason snorted lightly, "She was the school belle back in Jefferson High School. How many guys secretly admired her? Never thought she'd end up being brought home by Ethan." "What, you got a problem with that?" Ethan, who was sitting alone on the other side, glanced over lightly and then looked at Stella. He pointed to the seat beside him and said, "It's too noisy over there, come here." Stella didn't embarrass him and sat down beside Ethan as he suggested. But as soon as she sat down, Jason suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "That bracelet of yours looks familiar!" Stella glanced at the bracelet on her wrist, which was the one Ethan had kept all along. She didn't pay too much attention to it and replied to Jason with a smile, "This is a popular style from Tiffany, quite common." Jason nodded, then clicked his tongue and said, "Ethan, let me tell you, Stella's bracelet looks just like the one you snatched back from the thief years ago." Hearing Jason's words, Stella was about to explain, but Jason, who suddenly became impassioned, cut her off and said, "You don't know. Back then, when I went to Chicago Art Institute to hang out with Ethan. But before we even reached the restaurant, he ditched me halfway to chase after a thief. He chased after that guy for over an hour, even stepped into a stinky drain, and finally, the thief gave up and handed all the stolen goods to him. Can you believe it?" Luke, who had just finished playing a game on his phone, raised an eyebrow and joked, "Wow, I can't believe our Big Boss had such heroic deeds." Jason threw down the cards in his hand, his tone proud, "I am not kidding. Ethan is definitely a hero of justice! He can't stand those sneaky acts. He caught the thief and handed him over to the police. The owner of the wallet even asked the police to give him a commendation!" Stella didn't say anything. She glanced at the man next to her, who was pretending to be calm, and quietly asked in a voice only he could hear, "Did you really step into a stinky drain?" Ethan lowered his eyes, saying nothing. Stella continued, "And you caught the thief and got a commendation?" Seeing the amusement in her eyes, Ethan remained expressionless, reluctantly giving a faint "yeah" in response. One day, he would shut Jason's mouth for good!