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Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Means of Dealing with Grandpa

”HA.” Zane Lancaster chuckled softly, ”You’re quite generous. I don’t believe you can’t tell how I feel about Lynn Winslow.”

Ian Sterling looked down at Lynn, who was still sound asleep. He turned, walked out of the room, and leaned against the hallway wall. ”Yes, I know you like Lynn,” he said coldly. ”But you grew up with her. In her eyes, you’re a brother to her. I won’t do anything to upset her just out of jealousy.”

”Since when did you become so magnanimous?”

”I’ve always been magnanimous.”

Zane scoffed. Feeling mocked, Ian’s expression turned cold, and he hung up the phone before Zane could say another word.

”So ungrateful,” Ian cursed under his breath.

He put Lynn’s phone on silent before returning to the room. After gathering her into his arms, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Finally, he bit his lip in frustration, silently scolding himself for being so meddlesome.

He thought indignantly, ”Is it a crime to have good intentions?!”

”No, it’s all Zane’s fault!” he concluded.

Ian let out a long breath. He quietly shifted closer to Lynn, pulling her into a tight, seamless embrace before finally closing his eyes.

Having tossed and turned for so long, he fell asleep much later than usual. For the first time, he woke up after Lynn did.

He had almost forgotten about the whole ordeal until he picked up his phone and saw a message Zane had sent him last night after he hung up.

”Thanks. I’ve truly felt your magnanimity. I’ll definitely come to you if I ever need a favor in the future.”

Ian’s irritation flared up again. He wished he could turn back time to the day they were strolling through Quartos together and strangle his past self for adding Zane on WhatsApp.

He groaned inwardly, ”I really brought this upon myself.” ℯℯ𝑙.

Too embarrassed to stay in bed any longer, he tossed his phone onto the mattress and went to the bathroom to wash up.

By the time he headed downstairs, he noticed the atmosphere on the ground floor was rather tense. Ian paused at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall as he listened to the voices below.

Lynn had summoned everyone in the Winslow family—even the gardeners—to the first-floor living room. She had Elder Winslow sit right beside her. Originally, Lynn hadn’t planned on involving Mr. Powell. However, he wanted to watch the drama unfold, so he and Joel Winslow sat on the side sofa, ready for a show.

Lynn stood up and said softly, ”I know you don’t dare to boss my grandfather around. That was my oversight. After all, you’re just here to do a job.”

Elder Winslow looked completely bewildered. Lynn turned to him and continued in an even tone, ”Therefore, today I will have my grandfather promise that from now on, no matter who keeps an eye on him, he won’t reprimand you. Also, your salaries will be doubled.”

If they were only making their base pay, none of them would risk offending Elder Winslow just to be nosy. But now, armed with his guarantee and the promise of double pay, there was no reason for them to hold back.

”Yes, miss,” they chorused.

Hearing their unison agreement, Lynn smiled in satisfaction. She kept her gaze fixed on Elder Winslow, gesturing for him to speak.

Elder Winslow remained silent for a long time. He turned to look at Mr. Powell and Joel, only to see them both lower their eyes to avoid his gaze. He then looked upstairs, hoping to seek help from Ian. Right now, in the entire Winslow family—and even within the Powell family—Ian was the only one who could talk sense into Lynn.

Unfortunately, Ian was not about to risk upsetting Lynn on his behalf.

Left with no other choice, the old man stood up and said solemnly, ”Yes, I promise I won’t reprimand you for this.”

Lynn smiled and waved her hand, signaling that they were dismissed.

As the servants scurried away in a swarm, Lynn stepped forward and linked her arm through Elder Winslow’s. Beaming, she said, ”Grandpa, after the doctor comes and checks your health, we’ll go out and have some fun. Once my other grandfather has had enough fun, you can come back to Quartos with us to recuperate.”

”Fun is fine, but I don’t want to go to Quartos.”

If he went, he’d be living right under Lynn’s nose, which sounded utterly exhausting. He would much rather be monitored by the staff here; at least they’d leave him some dignity when they bossed him around.

”No can do,” Lynn said, shaking her head. She looked up toward the top of the stairs and called out, ”Come on down! Stop hiding up there.”

Elder Winslow’s eyes went wide. He stared in disbelief as Ian slowly descended the stairs. ”You were up there this whole time?” he demanded.

Ian looked down and rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward. ”I didn’t dare come out. I was afraid Lynn would hit me.”

”You son of a—” Elder Winslow completely abandoned his image and spat out a curse.

Frowning at his words, Lynn squeezed Elder Winslow’s arm. ”What are you doing? Why are you swearing at him?”

”This little bastard actually dared to—”

”What did you want him to do? Speak up for you?” Lynn flatly exposed his ulterior motives.

Elder Winslow froze, belatedly realizing he shouldn’t have reacted so strongly!

Ian pursed his lips. He stepped forward and gently squeezed Lynn’s hand, signaling for her to ease up.

But Lynn only grew more upset. She hadn’t actually lost her temper at Elder Winslow since she returned. She knew that as people got older, they tended to grow more stubborn—they were like giant toddlers, after all. That was why she had simply instructed all the staff at Winslow Manor to keep a close eye on him. Only now did she realize that Elder Winslow had absolutely no idea how much his behavior was worrying everyone.

Forcing herself to regulate her breathing, Lynn suppressed the prickling sensation in her nose and said calmly, ”If you don’t want to go, fine. I’ll tell them later that they don’t need to watch you anymore. We’ll leave this afternoon.”

She turned to Mr. Powell and said softly, ”Grandpa, where do you want to go? We’ll take Mr. Sterling’s private jet. I’ll have someone apply for the flight route shortly.”

Mr. Powell opened his mouth to speak. Seeing Lynn’s face turn pale, Ian murmured in a low voice, trying to comfort her.

”Lynn...”

”Baby,” Lynn interrupted, looking him right in the eyes. She said softly, ”Give Mr. Sterling a heads-up. Tell him we might need to borrow his jet. Once we’re back in Quartos, I’ll definitely make it up to him.”

Ian paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Lynn didn’t even bother to check Elder Winslow’s reaction. She only spoke to Mr. Powell, ”Grandpa, think about where you want to go. I’m going upstairs to pack right now.”

With that, she turned and headed up the stairs.

She started a countdown in her head. Just as she reached the final number, standing in the middle of the staircase, Elder Winslow’s resigned voice drifted up from below.

”I’ll go! I’ll go, alright?”

A smile tugged at the corners of Lynn’s lips, but she quickly suppressed it. She turned back around and said, ”I don’t want to force you. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. It’s fine.”

Elder Winslow sighed. Mr. Powell, who had stood up and walked over to him, stealthily patted him on the back. Plastering on a fake smile, Elder Winslow ground out through gritted teeth, ”I want to go!”

”Alright. I’ll go change my clothes then. Once the doctor finishes your checkup, we’ll head straight out. We can have lunch in the city.”

She had gone from feeling wronged to disappointed, and now, from disappointed to instantly delighted. The rapid emotional whiplash left even Ian, the person who knew her best, completely dumbfounded.

Joel, who hadn’t spoken for a while, hesitated before saying, ”It seems my sister has gotten even better at handling Grandpa...”

Ian remained silent for a long moment before giving a quiet grunt of agreement and following her upstairs.

Lynn was sitting at her vanity, happily humming a tune as she did her makeup. Seeing Ian follow her up so quickly, she let out a cheeky chuckle.