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Chapter 213: Chapter 213: Who Are You Looking Down On?

Lynn Winslow pouted, then turned with a hint of grievance and threw herself into Ian Sterling’s arms.

”Why did you suddenly arrange all this? You didn’t even tell me, so I thought you were planning some mean trick to bully me.”

Ian Sterling stroked her hair and whispered innocently in Lynn Winslow’s ear, ”Is that really the kind of person I am in your eyes?”

Lynn Winslow nodded without hesitation, which earned her an equally unapologetic nibble on her earlobe from Ian Sterling, who gave it a little tug.

Though he hadn’t brought Lynn Winslow here with the purest intentions, he couldn’t just let her call him out on it directly.

”Baby, you’ll have to bear with my childish temper from now on.”

Ian Sterling was self-aware; he knew his own strengths and weaknesses. Honestly, his strengths were hardly worth mentioning compared to his flaws. Other than the handsome face Nina Norton and Spencer Sterling had given him, his shortcomings were endless.

A short temper, immaturity, stubbornness, greed... The list went on and on.

Lynn Winslow pulled back a bit to look at his face. When she saw his eyes were red again, she sighed, cupped his face, and said with a sense of resignation, ”Why are you about to cry again? Do you have overactive tear ducts?”

Ian Sterling turned his face away and mumbled, ”Such an unromantic woman.”

”Alright, alright, my bad, my bad.” Lynn Winslow sighed and squished his cheeks, puckering his lips. She stood on her tiptoes, gave his lips a little nip, and coaxed softly, ”I don’t believe you had nothing planned for today. I’ll give you a chance to ’bully’ me. Consider it my way of cheering you up. No more crying, okay?”

Ian Sterling’s eyes lit up, but he remained stubborn. ”I wasn’t crying.”

”Oh, not crying?” Lynn Winslow clearly saw the sparkle in his eyes and the surprise he couldn’t hide. She drew out her words teasingly, ”Well, in that case, never mind. Let’s go home. We’ll have someone pick up these diamonds later. If we head back now, we can still make it to the Powell family’s for dinner.”

”No,” Ian Sterling said, grabbing her hand. He pointed to another room, his eyes crinkling into a smile. ”I’ve already had dinner prepared. Are you hungry? Let’s eat first.”

Lynn Winslow wasn’t very hungry, but she worried she might be later, so she figured she would just have a few bites. She never expected Ian Sterling to have prepared such a complete spread.

The table was laden with her favorite dishes. Even the wine selection featured a variety of types, all chosen based on her preferences.

Lynn Winslow narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Ian Sterling. When she saw him guiltily rub his nose, she guessed his little scheme and called him out on it directly. ”You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Preparing all this wine.”

”...Huh?” Ian Sterling shook his head, playing dumb. ”Of course not. I can’t even hold my liquor as well as you. If you get drunk, there’s no way I’d still be sober, right?”

’Bullshit. She’d known for a long time what a good actor this guy Ian Sterling was. Drunk after one sip? He inherited Spencer Sterling’s constitution—he was immune to alcohol!! He had been faking it the whole time!’

Lynn Winslow rolled her eyes, walked over to the dining table by herself, and sat down. She didn’t wait for Ian Sterling to pour her a drink, simply pouring one for herself.

”Well, sit down. What are you just standing there for?” Lynn Winslow frowned at Ian Sterling, who remained rooted to the spot.

’There’s no escape anyway, and struggling is exhausting. Might as well just go with the flow. Besides, Ian Sterling isn’t completely selfish. It’s just... this sort of thing shouldn’t happen too often. And Ian is definitely a handful. But since he doesn’t seem to care, why should I bother worrying about it?’

Once Ian Sterling was seated, she looked up at him, a sudden smile playing on her lips. ”Aren’t you worried about what’s going to happen when you get older?”

”???” Ian Sterling looked utterly confused for a moment. It was only when he registered Lynn Winslow’s teasing expression that he understood. He immediately bristled, sputtering, ”Who are you looking down on?”

Lynn Winslow shrugged nonchalantly. ”It’s no big deal to me. You said it yourself: the field never gets worn out, only the ox does. Anyway, if you can’t keep up one day, I won’t hold it against you.”

Ian Sterling clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth as he spat out two words: ”I can.”

His pride had been stung. Burning with the need to prove himself, he stood up, rounded the table to Lynn Winslow’s side, and lowered his head to capture her lips in a biting kiss. As Lynn Winslow melted submissively against him, he bent down, scooped her into his arms, and strode into the bedroom.

At some point, a strong wind had picked up outside. Lynn Winslow turned her head to look out the window, her body tensing in fear.

”Is it... going to blow us off...?” she asked haltingly.

Ian Sterling’s eyes were dark pools of emotion as he rasped, ”No.”

’My new life has just begun. There’s no way I’m letting anything happen to me and Lynn Winslow.’

Lynn Winslow remained on edge, trembling as she hid in his embrace.

After they had showered and returned to the bedroom, the wind outside had died down. Lynn Winslow found herself suspecting that even the heavens were on Ian Sterling’s side. After all, her fear earlier had led him to...

She lay back on the bed, turning onto her side to face the glass wall. She gazed at the view outside, narrowing her eyes and soaking in the atmosphere.

Ian Sterling finally returned. Seeing her expression, he smiled as he lay down and wrapped his arms around her. He brushed her hair aside to kiss the nape of her neck, his voice still tinged with the hoarseness from earlier as he asked lazily, ”Hungry?”

Lynn Winslow shook her head, turning over and burrowing into Ian Sterling’s embrace with a tired yawn.

Everything that had just happened had drained all her energy. All she wanted now was to sleep. ’As for being hungry... I’ll deal with Ian Sterling about that after I wake up.’

’What could I ask for that would give Ian Sterling a chance to wait on me...?’ Lynn Winslow mulled it over for a long time, but fell asleep before she could think of an answer.

Ian Sterling was far more awake than she was. Hearing the soft, even breaths coming from his arms, he knew Lynn Winslow had fallen asleep.

He tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer inch by inch, wishing he could fuse her very skeleton with his own. Extreme thoughts like this sometimes overwhelmed him. It wasn’t until he heard her give an uncomfortable murmur that he snapped back to reality. Loosening his hold, he gently patted her back, coaxing her into a deep sleep once more.

Ian Sterling let out a long sigh. Lynn was sleeping soundly, and her peacefulness was contagious. A wave of drowsiness washed over him.

*

By the time the two of them arrived at the Powell family’s home from the observatory, Nina Norton and Spencer Sterling were already on their second pot of tea.

Seeing them arrive so late, Spencer Sterling frowned at his younger son but said nothing. Nina Norton, however, asked quizzically, ”Where are you two living these days? Why did it take you so long to get here?”

Lynn Winslow didn’t know how to explain. She raised a hand and poked Ian Sterling in the small of his back, putting some force behind the sharp tip of her long nail.

It hurt. Ian Sterling hissed in pain from the jab. He immediately grabbed Lynn Winslow’s hand, holding it placatingly in his own as he answered his parents, ”At the observatory.”

The observatory had been left to Ian Sterling by his grandfather, the old patriarch of the Sterling Family. Nina Norton, of course, knew this. She also knew how meticulously her son had designed and renovated the place, and that just a few days ago, he had acquired a mountain of uncut diamonds for Lynn Winslow.