They went to a base belonging to the Lowell Family. Florinelle was a city in Tulia renowned for its flowers. Vast fields of them were in full bloom, making it feel like walking through a living landscape painting. Celia Sterling and Silas Norwood strolled aimlessly along the paths between the flowerbeds, their fingers intertwined. The decadent, sensual atmosphere from the hotel gradually gave way to a different kind of connection, a meeting of souls.

But since Celia Sterling had said her so-called "not gentle" comment wasn’t about "that sort of thing," he had no choice but to ponder what Assistant Thorne had mentioned about his "words and actions." After carefully choosing his words, he found something he felt was relatively safe to say, leaned close to her ear, and whispered:

"Baby, seeing you crying and wanting more these past two days... I was very happy."

Celia Sterling’s hand, which had been toying with a tulip, froze. Flushed with anger and embarrassment, she glared at him. "What do you mean, crying and wanting more? Silas Norwood, you’re talking nonsense."

It wasn’t exactly nonsense, though.

But Celia Sterling was thin-skinned and would die before admitting it. She gave off a distinct vibe that if he said one more word, their relationship would be over. Silas Norwood wisely shut his mouth.

Silas Norwood was extremely picky when it came to food. They found a Chinese restaurant and ordered two bowls of scallion oil noodles.

The owner hesitated, adding just a tiny bit of chili. Silas Norwood said softly, "You don’t have to be so conservative."

He reached out, took the ladle from the owner, and scooped three full spoonfuls of chili oil into his noodle bowl. After two straight days of eating bland Tulian cuisine, he and Celia Sterling finally got to enjoy a hearty, extra-spicy taste of home.

They also ordered a translucent sago and ice jelly dessert. Celia Sterling didn’t like the Job’s tears in it, so Silas Norwood took it upon himself to pick them out one by one with his spoon, dutifully eating them himself.

"Silas Norwood." Celia Sterling rested her chin on her hand, her almond-shaped eyes shimmering as she watched him.

Silas Norwood met her gaze gently. "What is it, baby?"

Having called her "baby" this and "baby" that countless times over the past few days, Silas Norwood could now say it without batting an eye. "Is there anything else you don’t like to eat, baby? Just tell me."

"In situations like this, you don’t have to be so gentle," Celia Sterling said softly. "If there’s something I don’t like, you can just pick it out and throw it away. There’s no need to force yourself to eat it. When we first started dating, I treated you to so many meals, and you didn’t know how to refuse. Every time, you could barely get the food down. In cases like these, I’d rather you weren’t so ’gentle’ by just accepting everything without complaint."

Silas Norwood gazed at her intently. "So, I can refuse to do things I don’t want to do? In that case, I don’t want to go back to Metropia right now. Can I refuse?"

Celia Sterling: "..."

In the end, Silas Norwood still left Tulia.

Before he left, he laid her down on the sofa and used up their last condom. He kissed the corners of her eyes, which were red from crying, and whispered a promise to be utterly gentle on their next date.

"Silas Norwood," Celia Sterling murmured, tear tracks still wet on her face as she trembled in his arms. "I feel like you’ve gotten wicked."

But in public, Silas Norwood was still the same ethereal man, seemingly above all worldly desires.

He had gone to Tulia in secret and returned to Metropia in secret. Aside from Assistant Thorne, even Theo Chambers was completely in the dark, assuming Silas Norwood had merely gone abroad for an impromptu inspection. The Norwood Group’s operations spanned the globe, and each division had its own person in charge. However, Silas had quietly announced at a board meeting that, effective immediately, he would begin conducting random, unscheduled inspections of their global assets at unspecified times and locations.

The chairman embarking on "undercover inspections" was a big deal for the Norwood Group, causing a stir. Every division was terrified of becoming the chicken killed to scare the monkeys. They all went full-throttle to boost their performance, hoping the chairman would happen to witness their hard work, which could lead to appreciation and maybe even a promotion.

Theo Chambers was the one who knew Silas Norwood’s itinerary best.

But it was precisely because he was so familiar with it that a doubt began to grow in his mind.

Silas Norwood’s trips were as regular as clockwork: once every two weeks. Excluding travel time, he would be gone for about two or three days. But looking at his four trips over the past two months, Theo noted that not a single senior executive at the branches he was supposedly inspecting had actually seen him. And yet, whenever Silas returned, the restlessness that had accumulated over the previous two weeks would vanish as if soothed by a spring breeze. He would revert to his cool, ascetic self, but a closer look at his eyes revealed the hidden afterglow of passion.

’It doesn’t look like an inspection. It’s more like he’s using the official reason of an inspection... to have a little something on the side.’

And one day, his suspicion was confirmed.

On this particular occasion, Silas Norwood had chosen a location in Valenza. Theo Chambers organized the relevant files and delivered them to Jade Orchid Manor, where he happened upon Assistant Thorne packing a suitcase. As Thorne stuffed six entire boxes into the luggage, Theo’s eye twitched violently. He nonchalantly asked the assistant:

"Are six boxes enough?"

Assistant Thorne was a sharp one and expertly dodged the question. "Enough for what? I have no idea what you’re talking about."

’Originally, for the trip to Morellia, he had packed four boxes for the boss. With three per box, that should have been more than enough for two days. But when he was packing again two weeks later, Silas, without a word, had added two more boxes himself. From then on, Thorne made it a rule to pack six boxes every time. Whether the boss actually used them all wasn’t his business. All that mattered was that the boss always returned in high spirits, looking anything but exhausted.’

Since Assistant Thorne refused to talk, Theo Chambers dropped the subject. However, after Silas’s plane took off, he discreetly monitored the Valenza itinerary.

He then discovered that Silas hadn’t gone to the company’s Valenza office at all. Instead, the moment his plane landed in Valenza, he had taken a detour to the neighboring city of Crestmoore...

There was no Norwood Group office in Crestmoore, but there was a large fragrance base there. Theo Chambers wasn’t familiar with the details, as Miles Trenton was in charge of that division. Still not ready to give up, Theo tentatively called Miles, who offered him a tactful piece of advice:

"Some bastard gave the boss the terrible idea to start creeping around with an alt account. Now he’s switching between his main and alt personas at will, completely immersed in this dual-role game. He’s at the peak of his excitement, so just stay out of it."

"With..." Theo Chambers braced himself and ventured, "With whom?"

"Who else could it be? The man waited until his thirties to marry his wife. Do you really think he’d get hooked by some other vixen so quickly?"

Half-reassured, Theo Chambers silently hung up and asked no more questions.

「The Crestmoore Base.」

A little over a month after taking over Rivermoon’s base, Celia Sterling found herself facing a new dilemma.

The problem was the aloof expert, Rivermoon. For some unknown reason, he had started saying all sorts of strange things that sent her imagination running wild, leaving her at a loss for how to respond.

Furthermore, the frequency with which he started conversations had suddenly skyrocketed.

It all traced back to her trip to Tulia over a month ago.

No sooner had Silas Norwood left than she received a message from Rivermoon:

Rivermoon: "Babe, what are you doing?"

Celia Sterling was baffled. Just as she was about to ask if he’d messaged the wrong person, another message popped up:

Rivermoon: "The missus isn’t here."

Celia Sterling: "..."

In that instant, various scumbag scenarios flashed through her mind. Suppressing her unease, she was just thinking of a stern reply to shut down this bizarre flirtation when he suddenly retracted the messages.

He offered no "Sorry, wrong person," nor any other explanation.