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Chapter 216: Chapter 216: That Lucky Brat

As the engagement day drew closer, Lynn Winslow, strangely enough, seemed more nervous than Ian Sterling.

Her nervousness manifested in her picking on Ian Sterling more and more. She was acting more spoiled, too; a single wrong word from him could earn her a string of complaints, and if it was serious, he’d even get an earful.

Ian Sterling hadn’t gathered with his childhood friends for a long time. Having just been kicked out of the house by a disgruntled Lynn right around dinnertime, he had no choice but to drive over to meet them.

The gathering spot was the same hot pot restaurant he had visited with Lynn before. He was on the early side, and the owner, Isaac Sutton, was standing at the entrance with an unlit cigarette between his teeth, waiting for him.

”Well, look who it is. Haven’t seen you in ages.”

Ian Sterling pinched his nose in disgust. Even though the other man hadn’t lit it, he felt like he could already smell the smoke.

Isaac Sutton quickly took the cigarette out and tossed it away, chuckling. ”It’s been so long, I forgot you hate the smell of smoke.”

The man had jabbed at him twice in just two sentences. Ian Sterling pursed his lips. Even though he’d been kicked out tonight, his engagement was just around the corner, which was reason enough to be happy, so he decided to let it slide.

Isaac, who had expected Ian to get angry, found his lack of reaction strange. As they walked inside together, he asked, ”Your temper’s gotten better, huh? The old you would’ve cussed me out by now.”

Ian Sterling glanced up at him and said lazily, ”What, you’re not happy unless I’m yelling at you? You’re a masochist or something?”

”...” Isaac Sutton rolled his eyes and said helplessly, ”Fine, I’m asking for it. Happy now?”

Isaac was reminded of a valuable lesson: never cross a man with a sharp tongue.

Once inside the private room, Ian Sterling found a corner and sat down, staring at his phone with a miserable expression.

Isaac stood to the side, fiddling with the digital menu. He asked, ”Can you drink tonight? I just got a few bottles of good stuff in. Since you guys are all here, should I open one?”

His question received no response. Isaac turned to look at Ian, asking doubtfully, ”What’s wrong? Did you and your fiancée have a fight?”

Ian Sterling let out a muffled grunt and slumped weakly against the sofa. He vented, ”I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong, but for the past few days, it feels like even my breathing is wrong.”

”And here I thought you believed you could do no wrong,” Isaac teased with a smile.

Ian turned his head to glare at him. Isaac covered his mouth and waved his hands in surrender, prompting Ian to look away and sigh again.

”How am I supposed to coax her out of it? I can’t just let her stay angry all the time. What if she makes herself sick from it?” Ian asked with genuine concern.

Having been married for several years, Isaac Sutton naturally had his own established routine for placating his wife. Seeing that Ian was serious, Isaac sat down beside him and began listing his methods one by one.

”Placating your wife is all about timing. If it’s just some minor, everyday squabble, then you buy her a purse. Or some jewelry, or whatever. Basically, buy her whatever she likes.”

Ian Sterling frowned. Although it sounded a bit unreliable, he still nodded.

Isaac continued, ”And for all the other times...”

Ian Sterling: ”What?”

Isaac looked him up and down with a mischievous grin and said, enunciating each word, ”Get. On. Your. Knees. More effective than anything else.”

”...”

Ian Sterling stared at him, speechless, then looked away. He shouldn’t have listened to this useless advice.

’Get on my knees? As if I haven’t tried that. I even got hit for it, and I still got kicked out, didn’t I?’

He went back to sighing dramatically. Kenneth Keller arrived just in time to witness this scene.

”What’s all this?”

Isaac snickered. ”He pissed off his fiancée and has no idea how to make it up to her.”

Kenneth Keller tutted twice, sidled up to Ian Sterling, and said, ”From what I’ve seen, your fiancée spoils you rotten. Just act cute a little, that should do it.”

Ian Sterling didn’t want to deal with them. He leaned back against the arm of the sofa, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

”I’ll teach you.” Kenneth Keller patted his leg, signaling him to move over a bit. ”When you argue, you can’t just storm out in a huff. You have to stick to her until her anger subsides. Otherwise, if you just up and leave, you’ll only make her even angrier.”

Ian Sterling pressed his lips together. ’Of course I know that. I’ve tried everything. It’s no use.’

Seeing he still had the same expression, Kenneth frowned and asked seriously, ”What did you actually do?”

”I didn’t do anything,” Ian Sterling answered irritably. ”She kept saying I was being annoying, so I said she didn’t love me anymore. I was just saying it, you know, offhand, but she insisted I was questioning her feelings for me and kicked me out.”

Kenneth Keller’s phone pinged. He took it out, glanced at it, then let out a noncommittal ”Oh.” He stood up, walked over to the round table, sat down, and rolled his eyes, completely exasperated.

’That lucky bastard.’

’And here I am trying to teach him how to placate his fiancée. What a waste of effort. She’s at home preparing a surprise for him right now.’

Seeing Kenneth’s expression, Isaac Sutton got up, leaned over to glance at Kenneth’s phone, and let out an inexplicable, frustrated laugh. He turned and walked out of the private room, saying over his shoulder, ”Call me when everyone’s here.”

Kenneth acknowledged him and went back to playing on his phone with his legs crossed, no longer willing to even look at Ian, who was lying nearby as if his soul had been sucked out of his body.

Jasper Jennings and Zachary Quincy arrived together. They had already seen the message Lynn Winslow sent in the group chat on their way over, so they weren’t surprised to find Ian Sterling in this state when they entered the room.

Nigel Abbott arrived a little later, still in his formal work uniform, clearly having rushed over from his job.

He asked casually, ”What’s wrong with him?”

Jasper Jennings pointed at his phone, signaling for him to look. Only then did Nigel Abbott pull out his own phone, which he hadn’t checked in a while. After seeing the message, he silently sat down at the round table.

He spent his days being run ragged by his own fiancée, while her younger brother—this guy—was currently waiting for a surprise his own fiancée was preparing.

This made Nigel Abbott feel incredibly resentful. He hissed to the others through clenched teeth, ”I really want to punch him.”

”So do we,” the others replied in unison.

’Who wouldn’t want a fiancée like that? One who spoils you rotten, lets you throw tantrums, and even prepares surprises for you from time to time.’

’All the good luck belongs to Finn Sterling. They had to slave away at work every day under their own fathers’ watchful eyes, while Finn Sterling started a company and just let it sit there. He didn’t even need to go to the office because his older brother was already managing it for him...’

The more they thought about it, the angrier they got. When Isaac came back in, they said, ”Bring the alcohol. The more, the better.”

’Let’s get him drunk. Get him drunk. Get him drunk! Why does he get to be so damn lucky?’

These men, normally magnanimous and generous, were having a collective breakdown over Ian Sterling’s good fortune.

What was that saying again?

The phrase ”you hate to see your buddy suffer, but you also hate to see him driving a new Land Rover” had never felt more appropriate.

Ian Sterling finally showed some reaction. He got up from the sofa, walked to the table, and propped his chin on his hand. ”I’m not drinking. I’m going home after dinner.”

”You have to drink!”

Their synchronized response made Ian Sterling suspicious.