My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 35: He Wants to Touch Her
「Norwood Group.」
Theo Chambers personally handed Silas Norwood the photos the bodyguards had copied from the media. "There were over three hundred in total. After deleting the duplicates and blurry ones, we have over eighty left."
Silas Norwood gave a soft "mm."
Right in front of Theo Chambers, he transferred the photos to his phone and saved them all to a hidden album.
Theo Chambers was standing close this time.
He caught a glimpse of the words "Hidden Album" out of the corner of his eye. ’Tsk, the boss’s hidden album is really all-encompassing,’ he thought. ’Weren’t several thousand photos of the old flame enough? Is he adding the new one in there, too?’
If Miss Sterling ever found out...
Silas Norwood had no idea his ever-so-steady assistant was concocting some melodrama in his head. A few minutes later, once all the photos were transferred, he opened the album, glanced at a few pictures, then closed it and calmly gave an order:
"Find some interesting vacation spots. Good scenery, few people, something that fits Cece’s aesthetic. Then buy them."
Theo Chambers remembered how, during the engagement switch, the boss had personally promised Kian Sterling it would be "just dating." His heart skipped a beat, and he asked hesitantly, "Boss, is this... just a vacation?"
"Of course it’s just a vacation." Silas Norwood had an air of noble integrity, his refined gaze resting calmly on Theo Chambers. "What are you thinking?"
"Nothing. It’s just that the arrangements for ’just a vacation’ are different from... not ’just a vacation’." Theo Chambers backed away. "I’ll get right on it."
Silas Norwood’s gaze fell to the document in his hand. "This is a private matter. It doesn’t need to be public knowledge."
Theo Chambers froze for a second. "Understood, Boss."
’So, what did the boss mean by that last sentence?’ he wondered. ’He doesn’t want it to be public knowledge, so does that mean it won’t be "just a vacation" after all?’
The office was finally empty.
Silas Norwood lowered his gaze to the file in his hands. It was an important document, one the President’s Office was waiting for. But while he could usually review a file like this in a few minutes, a full ten-plus minutes had passed, and he hadn’t even finished the first page.
He put down his pen, a faint hint of resignation flashing in his amber eyes, and picked up his phone to open the album again.
This time, he looked for quite a while.
Long enough to feel a very distinct change in his body.
"These are just photos. How can I be so pathetic..." With a soft sigh, he glanced down at his waist before getting up to open the refrigerator door.
He’d been going through a lot of ice lately, and the freezer was already empty.
Silas Norwood: "..."
「Sterling Villa.」
Celia Sterling had changed into a loose-fitting set of loungewear. She opened WeChat, first sending a greeting to Silas Norwood before opening her chat with Rivermoon:
Cece: [Papa, are you there?]
It was no wonder she called him that so willingly and naturally. Just moments ago, the butler had handed her an exquisite local delivery box. There was no sender information on it, but the butler had the security staff inspect it thoroughly to confirm it wasn’t anything dangerous.
"It looks like one of the essences from your Perfumery Lab, Miss," the butler said.
Celia Sterling opened it. Inside the box’s temperature-controlled layer, she found a priceless, unobtainable bottle of natural musk and a card. On the card was that familiar, brilliant moonlit scene.
Musk deer were now an endangered species, and their trade was banned. The musk on the market today was almost entirely synthetic. Even for a prominent family like the Sterlings, years of accumulation had resulted in only a very small stockpile. Celia treasured it, unwilling to use it for anything less than a competition-grade perfume.
And this master, Rivermoon, had just casually sent her a 30-gram bottle of natural musk...
Their relationship had always been that of casual acquaintances, so this gesture clearly left Celia Sterling deeply stunned.
Later, Celia Sterling saw the perfumery group chat being flooded with [Thank you, Papa!] messages again. She tapped on it and realized she wasn’t the only one to receive such a top-tier, extravagant gift. Everyone who had managed to grab a red envelope last time had gotten one.
Celia Sterling opened her private safe. Inside was a dazzling array of collectibles. Besides the twelve priceless bottles of rare perfumery ingredients Silas Norwood had given her last time, she also had a few of her own private treasures. She carefully placed the musk inside, took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, and then immediately contacted Rivermoon.
It would be simply inexcusable not to express her gratitude to the great Papa immediately for such an expensive gift.
After sending the message, she sat quietly on the sofa and waited.
Nearly an hour passed before a reply came.
Rivermoon: [Just got out of the shower. And Cece? What are you up to?]
Celia Sterling glanced at the time. It was only four in the afternoon. ’A shower at this hour?’ she thought. ’And his tone is so familiar and gentle...’
As she was spacing out, she saw that he had suddenly retracted the message.
Two minutes later, a new, aloof reply appeared:
Rivermoon: [What is it?]
Celia Sterling immediately put Rivermoon’s earlier intimate tone out of her mind and sent a series of grateful emoji:
Cece: [Thank you for the gift, Papa! I received the musk, but it’s really too valuable. I can’t just take it for free. Name your price, and I’ll transfer the money to you.]
Rivermoon: [No need.]
Rivermoon: [After all, you called me Papa.]
Celia Sterling felt a little embarrassed by his deadpan teasing. She thought for a moment: 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
[You’re in Metropia too, right, Master? If it’s convenient, leave me an address. When I create a good perfume with your ingredients, I’ll send it to you.]
Rivermoon: [Not convenient.]
That seemed to kill the conversation. But to just leave silently didn’t feel right, not after receiving that bottle of top-grade musk. Musing, Celia Sterling casually tapped open his Moments feed.
His Moments feed had been updated again!
This time, it was a stock photo of a cute, cuddly kitten. The caption read: [Want to touch the cat, but it seems I can’t.] Posted: one hour ago.
Celia Sterling finally had a new topic. She sent a smiling emoji and took the initiative to ask:
Cece: [You like cats too, Papa? I’ve seen you post cat pictures twice on your feed now.]
After a few seconds of silence.
Rivermoon: [I do.]
Cece: [A charming person like you, Papa, must be very popular with kittens.]
Rivermoon: [It should be quite captivated by my scent.]
Cece: [Oh. Papa, you said you want to touch the cat but can’t? Why is that? I have a lot of tips on how to win over a cat. I can send them all to you.]
Rivermoon: [Its family won’t let me touch it.]
Celia Sterling paused. ’What a treasured cat, that even a master like him isn’t allowed to pet it?’ But since it was rare for the master to run into a problem, Celia was eager to share her experience:
Cece: [Didn’t you say the cat is captivated by your scent, Papa? If its owner won’t let you touch it, then just play with it more in private. Once you’re familiar with each other, it’ll come into your arms on its own, and the owner won’t have a thing to say.]
Cece: [I’ve won over cats like that before. You can give it a try.]
The other side went silent again. Just as Celia Sterling was thinking he had gone offline, a message drifted in:
Rivermoon: [Mm. If I can’t be proactive, then I’ll be passive.]
He seemed to have solved a major problem and must have been in a good mood, because he immediately sent another red envelope.
It was another small red envelope of two hundred. Celia Sterling accepted it and ended the chat once again with [Thank you, Papa].
「Norwood Group.」
Silas Norwood sat at his desk, his body still slightly damp and sensual from a recent cold shower.
He logged out of the alternate WeChat account he had accidentally been using. His cool, amber eyes rippled with emotion, betraying his inner turmoil.
’Be passive?’
’That... sounds pretty good, too.’
His well-defined hand slowly picked up his phone. Silas Norwood logged into his main account and, after some deleting and rewriting, sent a probing message to his little kitten:
NSY: [Cece, want to see a movie this weekend?]
