My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 165: Putting It into Practice
Silas Norwood lowered his gaze and gave a perfunctory "Mm," but didn’t answer.
Of course he was familiar with it. The photo was taken by the shore of Seraphine. The lamplight cast their two shadows as one, and on a whim, he couldn’t resist snapping a picture. Then, just as casually, he posted it, showing off a bit of their private married life on his alternate account.
His main account, on the other hand, was full of friends he knew in real life. It wouldn’t be appropriate to post about his cloyingly sweet private life with his wife for them all to see.
This led to his main account’s feed becoming more and more proper, while the tone of his alternate account skewed further and further off-center.
Seeing his silence, Celia Sterling didn’t think much of it. She tilted her head, studying the photo for a long while before suddenly opening her phone’s gallery and pulling up a picture. "Silas Norwood, don’t you think these two photos look alike?"
She had brought up a selfie.
The picture was framed from an angle that was an eighty-percent match to Rivermoon’s. The silhouette of the mountains, water, and forest in the distance was nearly identical. The only difference was that his photo was of their shadows on the ground, while her selfie showed her snuggled up against Silas Norwood. They were both soaking wet, and she was holding a large crab, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
"Do they?" Silas Norwood said with a bland "oh." "To me, all mountains and rivers look more or less the same."
Celia Sterling thought back. Silas Norwood had booked out that entire lake area at the time. Besides the staff and their own people, there were no other tourists. Besides, a big shot of Rivermoon’s caliber would never indulge in some ’outdoor fun’ with outsiders around...
She exited the screen, silently chiding herself for overthinking. Just as she was about to put her phone down to charge, the perfumers’ group chat suddenly erupted.
Many members had received perfume essences from Rivermoon or had collaborated with him on sourcing materials. Now, they were all tagging Rivermoon in the group, regardless of whether he was actually reading the messages:
[Boss Daddy, fooling around in the woods is boring with all the bugs. How about a tipsy-on-red-wine-at-the-dinner-table scene? The lighting has to be dim, the table height has to be just right, and maybe add a silk blindfold. You know what I mean.]
[Boss Daddy, the bathroom scene also has dozens of possibilities. DM me, I’ll send you a video tutorial pack.]
[Daddy, do you have a home theater? You could renovate it, turn it into a super atmospheric space with an interplay of light and shadow. Play a game of chase with your wife in the light. If you pair it with an action movie, the thrill would be insane.]
[Boss, do you do cosplay? I’ve got a few hundred private scripts for couples, plus brand-new costumes and props.]
[How could you forget mood-setting aphrodisiac incense at a time like this? Boss, I’m an expert in making this stuff. Wanna DM?]
...
Each message was wilder than the last.
With Silas Norwood still beside her, Celia Sterling quickly scanned a few messages. She glanced over at him, only to see that he was engrossed in his own phone and hadn’t noticed the contents of her group chat. A small sigh of relief escaped her.
’Good, he didn’t see.’
’Wouldn’t want the man sleeping beside me to get any bad ideas.’
She looked back at the group chat. In just that short time, seventy or eighty new messages of "online instruction" had already piled up.
Amidst the clamorous bombardment of messages, Rivermoon finally, unhurriedly, typed out a line:
Rivermoon: [Anyone with resources, DM me.]
After that, he went silent again.
Celia Sterling put down her phone, no longer paying attention to the risqué topics that had the men in the group chat so fired up. Beside her, however, Silas Norwood’s mind was reeling from all the wild suggestions. He habitually pulled open the nightstand drawer.
"Wife," his hot breath washed over her, his voice feather-light. "Shall we go to the study?"
Celia Sterling didn’t register at first. "You still have work to do?"
Silas Norwood didn’t answer. He just wrapped her in a thin blanket and carried her to the study.
The large desk in the study was set against the floor-to-ceiling window, where an ambiguous play of light and shadow intertwined. It didn’t have the sophisticated atmosphere of a home theater, but it was more interesting than the bed. He set her down on the edge of the desk—the height was a perfect fit.
The moment he started stripping off her clothes, Celia Sterling realized what was happening. Mortified and angry, she exclaimed, "Silas Norwood, you peeked at my messages—"
The rest of her sentence was swallowed by Silas Norwood’s deep kiss.
「The leisurely days ended the moment they returned to Metropia.」
That night, the seafood they had brought back from Silverwood was served on the dining table at Sterling Villa.
Besides Celia Sterling, Silas Norwood, and Kian Sterling, their two personal assistants, Theo Chambers and Evan Rhodes, were also present. After the men finished eating, they brewed fragrant tea in the living room and started chatting about work.
Celia Sterling quietly sat on a sofa in the side parlor, opening her group chat to listen to the lessons from the veteran perfumers of the Lowell Perfumer Family.
That night, Silas Norwood stayed over at Sterling Villa.
Assistant Thorne personally arranged for people to deliver Silas Norwood’s daily necessities and clothes. Kian Sterling stood in the main hall, watching a group of servants carry piles of items into the walk-in closet and Celia Sterling’s bedroom. In just a moment, Celia’s already large walk-in closet was stuffed full with Silas’s bathrobes, pajamas, loungewear, and dozens of minimalist black-and-white autumn and winter outfits.
"You certainly make yourself at home," Kian Sterling said languidly. "There are a few spare rooms in the house. Pick one for your study. As for the walk-in closet, I’ll have someone knock down the adjacent wall. That will give you nearly five hundred square meters of space to do with as you please."
Silas Norwood grunted in acknowledgment. "Much appreciated, Kade."
The next morning, all three of them had to go to work.
They each drove their own cars. As Silas Norwood and Kian Sterling were leaving, Celia Sterling was still at the dining table drinking soy milk. Watching Kian’s departing figure, she said casually, "Bro, I’ll be staying at home for the next few days. If you’re not working overtime, try to come home for dinner."
She paused. "I’ll have afternoon tea sent to both of you."
Kian Sterling: "I’m cutting back on sugar lately. Just a pineapple roll with thirty percent sugar for me."
Silas Norwood: "If it’s convenient for you, Wife, bring me a spicy beef pastry."
Celia Sterling waved her hand, shooing them away. "You’ll eat what I bring you. Stop being so demanding. Now hurry up and get to work."
Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood went to their respective cars and left.
Celia Sterling leisurely finished her breakfast, then took the dinner menu to check it over, adding a few dishes that Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood particularly liked. Only then did she head to the company at a relaxed pace.
Director Linden had already returned from Caspia. After giving a brief report on the progress of the new base there, a huge pile of accumulated documents pending approval was placed on Celia Sterling’s desk.
"President Sterling, while you and Chairman Norwood were on vacation, the Chairman himself gave orders not to bother you with work," her assistant said, respectfully handing her a pen. "So you’ll just have to work hard for a few days now that you’re back. But don’t worry, President Sterling, the Chairman’s office has already sent two vice presidents from headquarters to assist you. They should be here shortly." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"And then there’s the Crown Prince of the Kingston Family of Seraphina," Director Linden added, walking in. Her tone was complicated. "He’s called several times, insisting on meeting you."
"What does he want to see me for?" Celia Sterling sneered. "My sworn enemy dares to enter the lion’s den? Isn’t he afraid of losing his hide here?"
"Should I schedule a meeting, President Sterling?" Director Linden asked in a low voice. "In the past, whenever Delia Caine launched a new product, Eldest Young Master Warren and his team were ruthless in stealing market share. But this time, he and a large group of people have been collectively liking our product on our official social media, leaving all sorts of glowing praise. It’s bizarre no matter how you look at it. I don’t know what kind of trouble he’s brewing."
"In that case, I’ll go and feel him out," Celia Sterling said after a moment’s thought. "Schedule the meeting at the coffee shop on the first floor of the Sterling Group Headquarters."
’This is Kian Sterling’s territory. Eldest Young Master Warren can forget about causing any trouble here.’
