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Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Afraid a Shameless Person Will Sneak into Your Room

Lynn smiled, and Iris continued, ”I know his identity is extraordinary. Do you really think we’d have the guts to pull those kinds of stunts in front of him?”

They certainly didn’t have the guts, but the real worry was that some arrogant fools might not realize the true power of the Sterling family. Iris naturally understood her concerns and promised, ”I’ll warn everyone attending to mind their manners.”

With no other choice, Lynn agreed. After sending a message to Ian Sterling, she lay down on her bed to rest. Last night had been far too exhausting, and she had forced herself to act completely fine in front of her grandfather for hours. Now that she was finally alone, her tense nerves instantly unspooled, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Ian had a hard time sleeping in unfamiliar beds, but more than that, he was deeply attached to Lynn. As long as she was by his side, an unfamiliar place or a foreign bed didn’t matter. Now, however, the strange room and unfamiliar sheets had him tossing and turning. Unable to sleep, he finally got up and stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He used to visit Morelia frequently in the past, yet every trip left him irritable. He would usually fly back home after just a few days of messing around. In truth, compared to his older siblings, he was actually the biggest homebody.

Sighing, Ian lay back down on the long chaise lounge the butler had thoughtfully positioned by the window. He closed his eyes to rest; even if sleep evaded him, a moment of quiet repose was better than nothing.

But things didn’t go as planned. The phone he had tossed onto the bed suddenly began to ring. Annoyed, Ian got up to answer it.

”Finn, Mom told me you were in Morelia. I’m going to a concert tonight, so come find me after it’s over.” Selene Sterling knew he hated being ordered around, so she didn’t force the issue, merely giving him a time to meet up.

Ian frowned. Was it really such a coincidence? Selene was attending a concert tonight, and Lynn had planned to take him to one as well. ”Are there a lot of concerts going on tonight?” he asked casually.

Although Selene was puzzled by the question, she still explained the situation in detail. Essentially, tonight’s concert was a highly exclusive event. Any other shows had deliberately rescheduled to avoid clashing with it, making it the only concert in the city tonight.

Ian paused in slight surprise. It really was a coincidence. He calmly agreed to meet her and hung up the phone. He hesitated over whether he should tell Lynn, but quickly decided that introducing them in person later wouldn’t hurt.

Running a hand through his hair, he opened WhatsApp. The group chat he had muted earlier was now blowing up with a barrage of messages.

[It’s so boring without Finn around to hang out with.]

[What can you do? Finn’s always been the type to prioritize his girl over his bros.]

[Keep it down. Is that really something to brag about?]

[Finn’s definitely going to curse us out when he sees this later.]

[Do you think he even has the time to pay attention to us? He’s too busy fooling around with his future wifey right now.]

Ian glanced at the time back home. Frowning, he typed back into the chat: [It’s past midnight over there. Do you guys seriously not sleep? How do you still have the energy to gossip about me?]

A moment later, someone sent a photo to the group. The picture captured a lively scene featuring Jasper Jennings and the rest of the guys who had just been chatting. Ian’s lips twitched in amusement, but he didn’t bother replying.

Locking his phone, he went over to open his bedroom door. He peeked cautiously down the hallway, and seeing that the coast was clear, he made his way toward Lynn’s room. Before she had taken him to his guest room, she had pointed out where hers was. He had made a point to remember it, so finding it now was effortless.

Lynn didn’t have the habit of locking her door while resting at Winslow Manor. The entire household knew that the masters of the house enjoyed their afternoon naps, so the servants never came around to disturb them without good reason. Ian only had to turn the handle slightly, and the door clicked open.

He stepped inside, keeping his footsteps impossibly light. The heavy curtains in Lynn’s room were drawn tightly, plunging the space into absolute darkness. Afraid of bumping into something and waking her, Ian used his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the floor as he navigated toward the bed.

Just as he was about to lie down beside her, Lynn suddenly bolted upright and pounced on him with a wide grin. ”What are you doing? Trying to launch a sneak attack?”

Ian was already feeling guilty for sneaking in like a thief. Startled by her sudden movement, he instinctively caught her. With her soft, fragrant body now pressed against his chest, he weakly explained, ”I have trouble sleeping in new beds. I’m exhausted, but I just can’t fall asleep.”

Lynn looked at him in confusion. ”But didn’t you sleep perfectly fine last night? And when you stayed at Amberly Bay, I noticed you slept like a log.”

”That’s because you were there with me.”

His eyes gleamed faintly in the dark. Lynn patted his shoulder and urged him to lie down properly. ”Then just sleep here. My grandpa wakes up late anyway. As long as we sneak out before he gets up, we’ll be fine.”

As for the butler and the servants, they had worked at Winslow Manor for over half their lives. They knew exactly who held the real power and certainly wouldn’t wag their tongues.

Ian wrapped his arms around her contentedly. Just as a wave of drowsiness washed over him, he didn’t forget to mumble, ”Did you apply your medicine?”

Lynn hummed in response and rolled over, turning her back to him. Thankfully, the air conditioning was set low; otherwise, being held this tightly would have caused her to die of the heat.

The two shared a quiet and peaceful afternoon nap. Lynn had absolutely no idea that by the time they woke up, Elder Winslow was already waiting for them downstairs. It wasn’t until the butler offered a cautious heads-up that Lynn figured out exactly how she was going to handle the situation.

When they entered the living room, they indeed found the old man sitting there, shooting daggers at them—or more accurately, glaring holes into Ian.

Lynn flashed a bright smile. ”Grandpa, why are you up so early today?”

”Hmph. I woke up early because I was afraid some shameless punk might try to snake his way into your room,” Elder Winslow sneered sarcastically.

How could Ian possibly miss the jab? He opened his mouth to explain, but Lynn effortlessly stole the spotlight. ”How could that happen? If I hadn’t gone to his room to wake him up, he’d probably still be dead to the world. Catching flights is exhausting, after all.”

”Is that so?” Elder Winslow slowly shifted his sharp gaze toward the butler.

How could the poor butler dare to utter the truth? He merely forced a polite smile and nodded along.

Lynn beamed triumphantly. ”See? I told you nothing happened.” As she spoke, she gave Ian’s palm a firm squeeze, signaling him to keep his mouth shut.

Ian pursed his lips and tactfully said, ”Mr. Winslow, please rest assured.”

Elder Winslow merely grunted in response. He turned his face away, refusing to look at either of them, and ordered the servants to serve afternoon tea.

As the three of them sat together, Elder Winslow instructed, ”If you two are heading out to the concert tonight, make sure to take a few extra bodyguards. Morelia hasn’t been particularly safe lately. Tonight’s concert is packed with important figures, and there’s no telling if some troublemakers might try to start something.”

”I know.” Lynn picked up a delicate pastry and fed it to Ian, whispering, ”Try it, it’s delicious. The pastry chef at Winslow Manor is incredibly talented.”

Ian’s lips curved into a warm smile as he accepted the treat. Elder Winslow scoffed coldly. He slammed his white porcelain teacup onto the table with a sharp CLACK, loudly reminding Lynn not to forget about his existence.

To his surprise, Lynn shot him a sweet smile and placed a beautiful pastry right in front of him. Elder Winslow’s expression instantly morphed into a satisfied look, but just as he reached out to take it, Lynn smoothly pulled the plate away.

”Your blood sugar is too high. You can’t eat this.”

Elder Winslow’s face froze, then darkened at an alarming speed. Unable to bring himself to glare at his precious granddaughter, he shot a venomous glare at Ian instead.

Ian’s hand, which was still holding his own pastry, paused mid-air. But Lynn gently nudged his hand upward, urging him on. ”Eat it. It’s really good.”

”Alright.” Ian took a polite bite. He wasn’t particularly fond of sweets and genuinely couldn’t tell if it was actually delicious or not, but he still made sure to shower it with praise.

Thoroughly annoyed, Elder Winslow stood up and stormed off in a huff.

Ian watched the old man’s retreating back and whispered nervously, ”Your grandpa isn’t going to stop us from being together, is he?”

He genuinely had no way to act tough in front of Elder Winslow—not when he desperately wanted to marry the man’s precious granddaughter.