My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 131: If the Mountain Won’t Come to Me, I’ll Go to the Mountain
Celia Sterling didn’t ask what kind of new assistant Silas Norwood had found for himself.
He was a master of delegation, an expert at finding ways to slack off, so getting himself a work assistant was just standard procedure.
It was his last sentence, however, that put her in a bit of a bind:
Cece: [I’m afraid I can’t make it back. Can we postpone?]
Silas Norwood didn’t reply.
Celia Sterling’s attention was soon drawn back to the conversation among the experts from the Fragrance Association.
The symposium was already halfway over. The Sterlings had managed to invite several available experts to help resolve the issues at their base, and the head of the Fragrance Association invited Celia Sterling to join him that afternoon to meet a major figure from the Perfumery Guild.
"Miss Sterling, you’re from Metropia and you control the illustrious Delia Caine brand. You must have crossed paths with this magnate from the Perfumery Guild. Why don’t we all sit down for some tea and a chat?"
"Any idea who they are?" Celia Sterling asked, already messaging Director Linden to clear her afternoon schedule. ’It would be great if I already know them,’ she thought. ’But if not, this is a good opportunity to make a new connection.’
The representative was being mysterious. "Our guest is traveling incognito and specifically asked us not to make a big deal of it. You’ll know who it is when you see them, Miss Sterling."
His words only piqued Celia Sterling’s curiosity.
At three in the afternoon, a group of them went to Rhovan Airport for the pickup.
As the leading figure, surrounded by an entourage, walked toward them with the unmistakable air of a corporate matriarch, Celia Sterling’s expression turned to one of astonishment.
"President Lowell?"
President of the Lowell Family, Adeline Lowell, spotted her at a glance among the large welcoming party. The polite, professional smile in her eyes instantly warmed.
"Miss Sterling, you’re here too?"
"I’m just here to deal with some matters at our base. I never expected to run into you, President Lowell." Celia Sterling stepped forward to walk beside Adeline Lowell, making small talk. "I heard Port Sovereign hosted a fragrance identification competition recently and that Rosalie personally scouted two senior incense masters. Congratulations to the Lowell Family on acquiring such great new talent."
"They show some talent, but they’ll still need several years of training," Adeline Lowell said, looking at her warmly. "But speaking of you, we’ve heard the news in Port Sovereign about the official announcement of your marriage alliance with Chairman Norwood and the Ninth Master. Congratulations!"
"I’ll be sure to send wedding invitations to you and Rosalie. I hope you’ll grace us with your presence at the banquet in Metropia."
"I’ll definitely be there." Both Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood had cost the Lowell Family dearly in Port Sovereign, but Adeline Lowell had also taken a genuine liking to Celia. She smiled sincerely. "How have your online discussions with those senior masters been going? Several of them have sung your praises to me, saying you have a remarkable aptitude. If you’re free this evening, Miss Sterling, I can test you on their behalf."
"To be tested by you personally would be a tremendous honor!"
The two women chatted as if no one else existed, walking to the parking garage and sharing a car to the symposium’s venue at the hotel. The representatives from the Fragrance Association, trailing behind, tried several times to join the conversation but never found an opening. In the end, they simply followed them to the hotel.
「Metropia.」
The lively atmosphere in the room suddenly grew cold the moment Silas Norwood glanced down at the message from Celia Sterling.
Chairman Vance, Chairman Warren, and the station director all tacitly dropped any talk of business and switched to idle chatter.
Even so, after another round of mahjong, Silas Norwood unenthusiastically pushed his tiles away.
"Something important’s come up. Let’s reschedule."
He rose from the mahjong table, gave the others in the room a cool but polite nod of farewell, and was the first to leave the private room.
Instead of driving off immediately, however, he walked casually to the private garden of The Regent’s Residence.
Leaning against a pergola with a detached expression, Silas Norwood gave a low-voiced order to Theo Chambers.
"Arrange a flight to Rhovan for tomorrow. And tell Assistant Thorne to pack for my trip."
The moment he heard "Rhovan," Theo Chambers knew his boss’s thoughts had already flown to Miss Sterling. He mentally prepared himself to cancel all of Silas’s business appointments for the next few days, but he still couldn’t resist speaking in the tone of a seasoned veteran of love.
"Boss, those last few days, you went to see Miss Sterling every day at noon, then you’d ask her out at night after work. How long has she even been on this trip? You should give her some personal space."
Silas Norwood stared at him, his expression unreadable.
’Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.’ Theo Chambers steeled himself and continued, "Boss, you haven’t dated before, so you might not get it. Romance isn’t about being as clingy as possible. If you’re too suffocating, she’ll get sick of it. A little distance can be a good thing. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, a short break can build up even greater passion..."
Silas Norwood’s tone was placid. "I seem to recall you’ve been through three girlfriends already."
Theo Chambers was speechless. ’Since when was the boss so... "concerned" with his subordinates’ private lives?’
"And a man who can’t even hold onto a girlfriend is trying to give me advice?"
Silas Norwood aloofly withdrew his gaze, turned, and strode away with elegant, long-legged steps.
Theo Chambers stood frozen, silently watching his boss’s retreating figure. For the first time, he cursed himself for his big mouth and for being such a busybody.
「Rhovan.」
The symposium continued that afternoon.
With the head of the House of Lowell—one of the world’s three legendary perfumery dynasties—and her team now present, the afternoon symposium felt far more formal and high-end. The spirited atmosphere lasted until seven o’clock, carrying over into the evening banquet with no signs of winding down.
The House of Lowell held an incredibly high international status in the world of perfumery, and Adeline was naturally the center of attention at the banquet. Only after she had finished an animated discussion with the experts from Rhovan did she make her way over to Celia Sterling for a casual chat.
"I overheard some of the others briefly mention the problems you’re facing at your base here in Rhovan, Miss Sterling. As it happens, my team includes specialists in resolving exactly these kinds of issues. It’s too late tonight, but tomorrow you should arrange a time for our experts to meet and discuss things."
"Thank you so much, President Lowell!" Celia Sterling’s eyes lit up with surprised delight. "I’ve long heard that the Lowell Family is full of hidden masters—that you not only have access to top-tier incense masters, but your base management teams are also among the world’s leading experts."
"It must be fate that we happened to run into each other here."
"And what brings you here, President Lowell?" Adeline Lowell was far too busy to travel all this way for a small symposium. Celia Sterling asked cautiously, "If it’s not convenient to say—"
"Not at all," Adeline Lowell said with a smile. "The symposium was just a stop along the way. I’m primarily here to visit a highly respected elder. Have you ever heard of the Ning family of Rhovan, a dynasty of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners? The elder, Mr. Ning, is a master practitioner in the field, as well as the dean of Qingda Medical School and one of the most renowned academicians in the country."
Celia Sterling didn’t know much about the medical world. She asked, slightly puzzled, "Are you seeking out Academician North because someone in Port Sovereign is ill?"
The only person she could think of was the Lowell family’s elderly matriarch, but by her calculations, the woman was only in her seventies—hardly an age where one needed to travel far and wide seeking medical treatment.
