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Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Alright, Bad Woman

”You’ve been asleep for ten years.”

”???” Lynn Winslow tilted her head to look at Ian Sterling. Seeing the fleeting, mischievous look on his face, Lynn narrowed her eyes, sneakily reached out a hand, and asked softly, ”Is that so?”

”OW—” Ian Sterling couldn’t help but cry out. He quickly pried Lynn’s pinching fingers off him and hurriedly rubbed the spot.

He accused, ”A woman’s heart is the most poisonous thing of all!”

Lynn huffed a laugh and got up. She walked slowly toward the bathroom, glancing back as she went. ”And what if it is?”

”...” Ian Sterling pressed his lips together, looking wronged.

”What’s wrong? I didn’t even really hit you.” Lynn turned around and backpedaled a few steps, a grin on her face. ”Didn’t you say I was guilty of domestic abuse?”

Ian pretended he was going to chase her. Startled, Lynn spun around, ducked into the bathroom, and locked the door, shouting, ”Can’t you take a joke!”

This sent Ian into a fit of laughter outside the bathroom door.

Their parents were handling most of the engagement preparations, leaving the two of them with plenty of leisure time. The only decisions they had to make were the venue and their engagement outfits.

Ian, however, was a bit busier than Lynn, as he had his own ideas for the engagement party itself.

Lynn lay listlessly on the sofa, watching Ian as he sat opposite her, laptop in his lap, constantly on the phone. She sighed.

”You’re making me feel useless.”

Ian hummed a couple of agreements to the person on the phone, then looked up at Lynn, puzzled. ”Why would you say that?”

”It’s just that everyone’s busy while I’m the only one with nothing to do. Besides picking out my dress and waiting for alterations, you guys are doing everything else.”

Seeing that her spirits seemed a little low, Ian stood up with his laptop, walked over to sit beside Lynn, and ruffled her hair. He comforted her, ”The leading lady is supposed to just wait and look beautiful. If you had to worry about everything, then what would be the point of having me around?”

Ian guessed she was probably just bored. He picked up his phone, which had a list of contacts Nina Norton had sent him—manicurists, beauticians, body care specialists, wellness experts, the works. He handed the phone to Lynn and asked softly, ”How about getting your nails done, or maybe a beauty treatment? I can call and have them come over, okay?”

Lynn lifted her hand and glanced at it. Her last manicure had grown out a bit, and she really did need a new one. But she didn’t feel like moving right now. She dropped her hand and flopped onto Ian’s lap, sighing. ”Forget it. I don’t feel like getting my nails done. When are you going to be done talking to them? I want to go out and have some fun.”

”I’ll stop for now. I’ll take you out.” Ian set his laptop aside, bent down to kiss Lynn’s forehead, and said softly, ”Where do you want to go? I’ll take you.”

Lynn’s beautiful eyes stared intently at Ian’s face. After a long moment, she shook her head. ”Never mind. You should keep working. I’ll stay here and keep you company.”

Ian lowered his gaze and looked at her seriously. He watched her for a long time, until Lynn finally looked away.

”It’s my fault. I’ve been neglecting you these past few days.”

His apology was the last straw. Lynn couldn’t take it anymore. She buried her face in Ian’s chest and said in a muffled voice, ”I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe it’s because my period is coming, so I’m always in a bad mood.”

”Baby...” Ian’s heart ached. He pulled Lynn into a tight hug and said hoarsely, ”I’m sorry.”

Lynn shook her head, then raised herself up to wrap her arms around Ian’s shoulders. She nuzzled his neck with her cute, pert nose and then hugged him tightly. Her words were fragile, yet they stabbed at Ian’s heart like a knife.

”Am I being really unreasonable? You’re obviously busy with our engagement, and I’m still getting all emotional.”

Ian didn’t want her to be like this. What he loved most about Lynn was her pride, the subtle arrogance she always exuded, and the way she’d come up with mischievous schemes to tease him.

”Baby, how is this you throwing a tantrum? It’s my fault. You’re the most important thing to me, but I got so focused on other things that I neglected you. If you’re really unhappy, you can hit me to let off some steam. Don’t overthink things by yourself.”

He took Lynn’s hand and placed it on his cheek. ”Why don’t you hit me?” he said. ”It’ll help you feel better.”

Lynn stared into his eyes and saw that he was completely serious. She let out a laugh. ”You’re ridiculous. Who asks to be hit?”

Seeing her laugh, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. A corner of his mouth lifted as he deliberately teased her, ”It’s not like you don’t hit me on a regular basis. Why so shy about it now?”

”I’m not shy.” Lynn pecked him on the corner of his lips, then buried her face in his chest again. ”Just hold me while you work,” she said in a small voice. ”I want you to hold me.”

”Okay, I’ll hold you.” Ian gently rubbed her back, comforting her for a while before picking up his phone. The laptop was too awkward; he’d deal with anything that required it later.

He was still discussing the venue design. He was handling many of the design aspects personally, and they had to be adapted to the venue’s specifications, which made it rather complicated.

Ultimately, Ian just wanted to give Lynn an engagement ceremony that could be called nothing short of perfect.

Lynn lay on his chest, listening to his phone call, her eyes blinking rapidly. She stayed still for a short while before starting to fidget again. Ian pressed a hand to her back, trying to get her to be a little less restless, but gave up when she started whining and grumbling.

He asked helplessly, ”What is it now?”

”I don’t want to lie on you anymore.” Lynn pouted. ”I want to go sit over there.”

’He was being too obvious. Even without a full reaction, she found it... uncomfortably hard...’

Ian pulled her tighter and chuckled low in his chest for a long time. He suddenly leaned close to Lynn’s ear and whispered, ”Don’t they say women get more... you know... right before their period? How come you’re not reacting?”

”Because,” Lynn tugged at the corner of her mouth and reached up to pinch his cheek, saying deliberately, ”you’re enough of a torment on a normal day. I don’t want to provoke you when I’m already feeling fragile.”

It was hard to tell if that was a compliment or a complaint, but to Ian’s ears, it sounded like a compliment. He sighed, released his arms from around Lynn’s waist, and said slowly, ”When you need me, it’s all hugs and kisses. When you don’t, you can’t stand to be within ten feet of me.”

He accused, ”You change your tune so fast.”

Lynn scooted to the side, leaned against the armrest, and started looking for her phone. Hearing him, she said with a grin, ”I’ve always been like this. It’s not like you just met me yesterday.”

”I know. It’s just that the speed at which you turn on me always takes me by surprise,” Ian said helplessly. He put the laptop back on his lap and tapped a few keys before suddenly looking up at Lynn.

”If I get back to work now, you’re not going to feel neglected and get upset again, are you?”

Lynn lifted her leg and poked him in the side with her foot, saying disdainfully, ”Just get back to your work.”

”...”

Ian smiled and nodded. ”Alright, you wicked woman.”

Lynn was amused by his tone and playfully scratched him with her toes.