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Chapter 196: Chapter 196: I Wish You Happiness, Too

”Joel called me. He said he wants to come to Veridia too, but he was afraid you’d say no, so he called me instead. I gave him the okay.”

Lynn Winslow frowned. ”Why would I say no?”

Elder Winslow said with a helpless sigh, ”It’s because of how you always treat Joel. You’re so professional with him. Of course he’s going to act more formal around you.”

’Am I really like that?’ Lynn didn’t think so.

She smiled, dialing Joel Winslow as she walked toward the dining room.

She’d forgotten the time, but Joel still answered the phone quickly.

”Sister.”

Joel calmed his racing heart. His phone had suddenly rung in the middle of the night—a call from his beloved sister—which made him both nervous and alarmed.

Lynn let out a little ”ah,” then glanced at the time. She said, a bit apologetically, ”I forgot to check the time. Did I wake you?”

”No, I was still awake.” Joel sat up, leaning against the headboard, and couldn’t suppress a yawn.

Lynn knew he wasn’t telling the truth. She said softly, ”I just wanted to tell you that when you get here, I’ll take you out to try all the specialty foods in Quartos, and I’ll take you sightseeing.”

Joel was genuinely stunned for a moment. Lynn didn’t give him a chance to reply, just said with a laugh, ”Go to sleep. Good night.”

She hung up the phone, leaning against the dining table as she stared down at her call history.

’This was her younger brother. Even if they weren’t related by blood, in her eyes, it made no difference. For so many years, Joel had been busy working for the Winslow family. He never even had time for fun when he went on business trips abroad. It was her fault. Not only had she let Joel handle so much work for her, but she’d also allowed a sense of distance to grow between them.’

Lynn let out a soft breath, straightened up, and walked into the kitchen. The chefs were preparing dinner. When they saw her, they all stopped what they were doing to greet her.

”Don’t mind me. Just give me tonight’s menu.”

The head chef found the menu and handed it to her, asking, ”Is there anything you’d like to add?”

Lynn flipped through it for a moment, then said softly, ”Let’s add a couple of brain-food dishes. Hmm... and add a few things kids like. Fried chicken wings, that sort of thing.”

’She remembered Sheila Lowell mentioning once that Aiden Powell loved things like fried chicken, but Ethan Powell wouldn’t let him eat it. Well, just this once shouldn’t be a problem.’

The head chef agreed, and Lynn turned and left the kitchen.

’Truthfully, this was a small task she could have given to the butler, but she had just been on the phone with Joel and had already walked all the way here, so she figured she might as well handle it herself.’

The sky gradually darkened. Lynn stood by the window, lost in thought for a while.

Zane Lancaster finally woke up. After coming downstairs and hearing from Elder Winslow that Lynn was in the dining room, he went to find her.

”What are you doing all the way out here?”

Lynn came back to her senses and said softly, ”I asked the chef to add a few dishes.”

”You have to come do that sort of thing yourself?” Zane Lancaster crossed his arms, standing beside her at the window, and offered the pack of cigarettes to Lynn.

Lynn glanced down at it, took one, and placed it between her lips. Just as she was about to reach for a lighter, with a soft CLICK, Zane Lancaster held a flame out to her.

After lighting Lynn’s cigarette, Zane Lancaster slowly lit one for himself, and they stood in silence.

”When did you start sponsoring a school in the Griermount region?” Lynn asked, a little curious.

”When I first came to Veridia.”

Back then, he had felt suffocated and didn’t want to stay in the same place as Lynn and Ian Sterling. So he just picked a province at random and wandered around. He went to Sudenia, then Chadoria, and finally ended up in Griermount. When he learned that conditions in some parts of the region weren’t great, he figured he was bored anyway, so he might as well go check it out.

Lynn murmured an ”oh,” lightly biting the filter of her cigarette—a little habit of hers.

Zane Lancaster glanced at her from the side. The light of the setting sun streamed through the window, casting a golden-red glow on her, illuminating her delicate features and translucent skin. Zane Lancaster let out a short, derisive laugh and looked away.

’Just for that face and personality... even though he never had her, secretly loving her once hadn’t been a total loss. He’d done right by himself, at least.’

He slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke and asked, ”So, when are you and Ian Sterling planning to settle down?”

”Why the sudden question?” Lynn looked at him, confused.

This time, Zane Lancaster didn’t look back at her. He just chuckled. ”He looks at you like he’s entrusted his entire life to you. I don’t believe for a second he isn’t getting antsy.”

Lynn snorted. ”If he’s so antsy, he still hasn’t proposed.”

”Sounds like you’ve already decided to say yes, then?” Zane Lancaster raised an eyebrow at her. ”Maybe he’ll propose after you two get back.”

Lynn pursed her lips. She took a final drag from her cigarette, stubbed it out, and said as she turned to leave, ”We’ll see how sincere he is.”

Zane Lancaster tilted his head, watching her back. Just as Lynn was about to walk out of the dining room, he suddenly called out to her.

Lynn looked back, confused. ”What’s wrong?”

Zane Lancaster looked into her eyes. As Lynn’s brows began to furrow, he said with a smile, ”It’s about time, don’t you think? I can tell he really, truly loves you. If he proposes, you should say yes. At least it would put his mind at ease and stop him from being so paranoid and treating me like the enemy all the time.”

”Why are you suddenly taking his side?”

”I tease him, I give him a hard time, and he just grumbles a bit. The truth is, he only puts up with it and doesn’t hold it against me because of you. Otherwise, do you really think the Sterling family’s most doted-on young master would let anyone push him around like that?”

Lynn pressed her lips into a smile. ”Fine, I’ll think about it.”

She turned to leave, but after taking two steps, she turned back and said softly, ”Zane, I want you to be happy, too.”

”I know.”

After Lynn was gone, Zane Lancaster lowered his gaze, his shoulders slumping slightly. ”Difficult,” he murmured.

’His philandering father, his ever-melodramatic mother, his predatory older siblings... every one of them was an obstacle to his happiness.’

He stubbed out his cigarette and rubbed his shoulder.

—

When Ian Sterling arrived at Aerie Garden, the Sterling family was already getting ready for dinner.

Normally, they wouldn’t eat this early. The time was likely changed to accommodate Samuel Shaw’s pregnancy.

He sauntered into the dining room. Nina Norton frowned. ”Why did you come back by yourself?”

”...Am I not allowed to come back by myself?” Ian Sterling washed his hands, took the towel offered by the butler, and asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nina Norton ignored him, turning to ask Samuel Shaw in a soft, gentle voice if he was feeling unwell.

Selene Sterling propped her chin on her hand and said mockingly, ”Don’t tell me Lynn kicked you out. Did she dump you?”

Hearing this, Ian Sterling’s face darkened. ”Don’t you dare jinx me.”

”Tsk, tsk, tsk. Getting angry already,” Selene Sterling said with a smirk, picking up her chopsticks to eat.

Nina Norton frowned, her tone uncharacteristically harsh for the first time as she called out to Selene Sterling.

”Selene.”

”Fine, I get it.”

’Of course Selene knew what her mother meant. She thought her words were inauspicious, that she was jinxing him. She was afraid her emotionally fragile, love-struck younger brother would have another breakdown like before, which would really throw the Sterling family into turmoil.’

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together and sat down in his usual spot, eating in silence.

Only then did Spencer Sterling speak up, his tone mild. ”Why are you back so suddenly? Weren’t you supposed to go to Griermount?”