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Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Plenty of Shameless Things Done

Seeing her sincerity, and considering the extremely generous amount of money she was offering, the veterinarian agreed without a second thought.

Now that the vet had agreed, Lynn Winslow had Mrs. Sterling head back early to arrange for a room to be prepared, while she herself stayed to wait for Kiki to wake up from the anesthesia.

After Mrs. Sterling left, Lynn Winslow breathed a sigh of relief. It was only then that she looked at Ian Sterling and froze, completely stunned.

She pressed her lips together, unable to suppress a chuckle as she asked in bewilderment, ”Why did you... dye your hair?”

Ian Sterling’s expression instantly soured. He gritted his teeth and said, ”Weren’t you the one who said red hair looked good on me?”

Only then did Lynn Winslow remember the casual compliment she had paid him. Clearing her throat to ease the awkwardness, she said softly, ”It really does look good. I’m just surprised you would actually dye your hair.”

Ian Sterling snorted coldly and turned his head, refusing to look at her.

Lynn Winslow had no choice but to take his hand and give it a little shake. ”Really,” she said, her voice full of sweet persuasion. ”I truly think it looks amazing. I’m just worried your subordinates at the company might gossip about you behind your back.”

”They just need to do their jobs properly. Can they really interfere with their boss dyeing his hair?” Ian Sterling’s tone was still displeased.

Lynn Winslow moved around to face him again, coaxing in a sweet voice, ”Don’t be mad anymore. I really didn’t mean to imply it looked bad.”

Ian Sterling lowered his gaze to look at her. Seeing the earnestness in her eyes, his stormy expression softened to merely cloudy.

Seeing this, Lynn Winslow asked him, ”How come your temper is still the same after three years?”

Ian Sterling’s expression was about to darken as he opened his mouth to retort, but Lynn Winslow reached out and pinched his cheek, stopping him. ”Don’t say anything. I’m sure it won’t be nice.”

He had no choice but to swallow his words, and Lynn Winslow pulled him down to sit on a sofa in the waiting area.

She propped her chin in her hands and gazed at Ian Sterling, leaning closer and closer until she was resting against him. She let out a few deliberate whimpers and said, ”My head hurts so much. I think it’s because I was so scared when I suddenly heard Kiki wasn’t feeling well.”

Ian Sterling pursed his lips. He had wanted to pull away, but now it felt wrong to do so.

Lynn Winslow seized the opportunity to link her arm with Ian Sterling’s. As she pressed close, Ian could even feel her softness through the thin fabric of their clothes.

The tips of his ears instantly turned red. It wasn’t as if he were some inexperienced boy—he and Lynn Winslow had done plenty of shameless things three years ago. But he had been celibate for three years, and now the woman he liked was right beside him. How could he not have a reaction?

Seeing him react this way, Lynn Winslow hid her face behind Ian Sterling’s arm and giggled to herself.

Kiki woke up. Lynn Winslow stood before its recovery cage, calling its name. Kiki meowed, its voice soft and a little weak.

Lynn Winslow bit her lip, her heart aching for her pet. The veterinarian said from the side, ”Miss Winslow, Kiki needs a little more time before it can go. You’ll have to wait a bit longer. Or, you can go take care of other things, and I’ll notify you when it’s ready.”

”Alright.” Lynn Winslow nodded, then glanced at Ian Sterling behind her. Realizing he had been by her side since noon and probably hadn’t eaten, she turned back to the vet. ”In that case, we’ll go grab some lunch nearby. Kiki’s room at home is already being prepared. Would you mind coming with me to take a look later? If anything isn’t suitable, we can change it on the spot.”

The veterinarian smiled. ”There’s nothing too special you need to worry about. The main thing is to keep the wound from getting infected. It will need to be disinfected regularly.”

”Okay, I’ll make sure they pay close attention to that.”

Lynn Winslow walked back to Ian Sterling’s side and said softly, ”Should we go get something to eat? Kiki can’t leave just yet.”

Ian Sterling nodded, and the two of them walked out of the clinic together.

As they walked, Lynn Winslow said to Ian Sterling, ”Kiki came into my life three years ago. It’s always been there to comfort me whenever I’m unhappy. My grandfather isn’t very patient, and Kiki’s fur stands on end whenever it sees my younger brother, so I’ve always been the one to take care of it.”

Ian Sterling listened in silence, his expression unreadable.

”It’s never been sick, and every check-up has been perfect. This came on so suddenly, I just panicked. Thank goodness it wasn’t anything serious.” Lynn Winslow held out her hand, looking at the ring she had been clutching the whole time.

Ian Sterling suddenly spoke, his tone calm. ”What have you been doing these past three years?”

Lynn Winslow shrugged and laid out everything she had been through over the past three years. ”My grandfather’s younger brother—my grand-uncle—and his family were only entitled to dividends, but their greed knew no bounds. They were constantly eyeing our side of the family’s assets. My father has no interest in inheriting the Winslow family business, so they used that as a pretext to try and have their son, my cousin, adopted into our immediate family.”

”The shareholders were indecisive, so I had no choice but to fight for it. I had just barely managed to secure control of the Winslow family business when I fell seriously ill. I had to entrust the management to my younger brother and only returned after I had fully recovered.”

She spoke of it so lightly, failing to notice the man beside her, whose expression had grown increasingly solemn.

Ian Sterling stopped in his tracks. For the first time, he asked her with such gravity, ”Then why did you break up with me?”

’Even when I begged you to stay.’

But Ian Sterling couldn’t bring himself to say such desperate words out loud.

Lynn Winslow bit her lip. Just the thought sent a sharp pain through her head. She hesitated for a moment before saying, ”I can’t tell you. I can’t even explain it. I can only say that back then, I had no other choice.”

Ian Sterling lowered his gaze, making it impossible to tell if he believed Lynn Winslow’s words.

Lynn Winslow sighed, not wanting to discuss the matter further. She changed the subject. ”So, what do you want to eat? Can we still get a table at that restaurant?”

”We can’t. They’re closed in the afternoon.”

”Oh, alright.” Lynn Winslow sounded a little disappointed. She immediately took out her phone and started searching for other good places to eat nearby.

Seeing this, Ian Sterling said, ”Don’t bother. Just follow me.”

Lynn Winslow let out a small ”ah?” and then trotted after Ian Sterling like a little tail.

Ian Sterling’s car was still in the clinic’s parking lot, so he and Lynn Winslow walked to a nearby storefront located at the end of a small alley.

Lynn Winslow asked curiously, ”Why would you eat at a place like this?”

It wasn’t that she was looking down on the place, but she was well aware of how picky Ian Sterling could be.

Ian Sterling said flatly, ”It’s owned by someone I know.”

Lynn Winslow said, ”Oh,” and obediently followed him into the restaurant.

The moment she stepped inside, Lynn Winslow was hit by the rich aroma of hot pot. ”Oh, it’s a hot pot restaurant?” she said in surprise. ”It smells amazing!”

”Mhm.”

Lynn Winslow gave the cool Ian Sterling a puzzled look just as the restaurant owner walked over, beaming. ”You’re here! And who’s this pretty young lady? It’s the first time I’ve seen you with a girl.”

Ian Sterling glanced sideways at Lynn Winslow and said, ”A friend.”

Lynn Winslow didn’t seem to mind his definition. She smiled at the chubby, cheerful-looking owner who had a short beard. ”Hello, I’m Lynn Winslow. He told me your food is delicious, so I came to give it a try.”

The hot pot owner let out a hearty laugh and led the two of them directly to a private room at the back.

”That bunch are all so picky. Every time they come, they find something to complain about, so I just gave them their own private room.”

”Wow, the food must be amazing then,” Lynn Winslow said, playing along. ”Otherwise, knowing how picky that group is, they’d never be regulars.”

”But of course! I learned the recipe from an old master back in my hometown,” the owner said, proudly patting his belly.