Ivan also laughed, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

He lifted his left wrist to check his watch and asked Lia Aiken, "Are we heading out now?"

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Horne. I'll take my things back to my room and come down." Lia had bought some painting supplies today, and with her usual financial struggles, many of her brushes were worn out, though she was reluctant to throw them away.

Visiting G City this time, Lena insisted on lending her some money, and along with what she earned from selling paintings, Lia found that painting sets were slightly cheaper in G City compared to T City, so she bought several sets.

Ivan said with a smile, "It's boring to wait here, let me accompany Miss Aiken upstairs."

"Alright. Mr. Horne, don't always call me Miss Aiken, you can just call me Lia Aiken." Lia did not refuse Ivan's offer to accompany her upstairs. As they walked, she spoke.

"Okay, and you shouldn't always call me Mr. Horne. You're my sister's senior, and she told me she likes you very much and reminded me to take care of you. If you keep calling me Mr. Horne, Lena might think I'm trying to put on airs in front of you. That little rascal would give me a hard time."

In fact, all his siblings and cousins respected and feared him, but Ivan portrayed himself as the brother who feared his sister in front of Lia.

Lia didn't know Lena well; they had just met a few days ago. She could only tell that Lena was a good girl and believed everything Ivan said.

The Horne Family has always been stronger in masculinity and weaker in femininity, having only two girls of this generation to spoil was natural.

Even so, Lia said, "Lena is a very sensible and good girl."

Ivan tilted his head to look at her. Facing his black eyes, Lia always felt his gaze was too deep and unfathomable, so even though his face wore a smile, it was hard to discern his true intentions. He only said, "Birds of a feather flock together."

Lia's face reddened slightly, "Mr. Horne, you're too kind."

His praise wasn't direct; he praised her through a compliment to his sister.

"I said don't call me Mr. Horne anymore, just call me Ivan."

Lia laughed, "Alright, let's stop getting tangled up in appellations." The two reached the elevator entrance, and Lia reached out to press the button for going upstairs. Currently, the elevator was on its way down, so they waited.

She always felt Ivan's gaze sweeping over her. If not for her strong will, she might have felt uncomfortable all over.

A large hand reached over, naturally Ivan's, taking all the items she was carrying. She heard his rich and pleasant voice, "Lia, let me help you with this, they look quite heavy."

He realized after taking them that they were indeed heavy.

Lia had also bought a lot of paper for painting.

"Thank you."

He took them from her, and Lia couldn't snatch them back, so she had to thank him while also feeling that Ivan really wasn't aloof and was very caring.

If she had to deal with this man for a long time, Lia couldn't guarantee she wouldn't develop feelings for him, he's practically a ladies' magnet.

The elevator doors opened, and after the people inside left, the two went in. By coincidence, only the two of them went upstairs, the elevator was cramped, and they were close enough for Ivan to smell the faint fragrance from Lia. He wondered what perfume she used, as it had a very pleasant scent.

"Ivan, what time is your flight tomorrow? I'll see you off." Lia found a topic to talk about.

Too much silence would make her feel uneasy.

Oddly enough, when she first met Ivan, she didn't have this feeling.

"I have to go back to headquarters for a meeting tomorrow. The meeting starts at nine-thirty in the morning, and it takes several hours to fly back from here, so I'll be heading to the airport very early. You should still be in dreamland by then. Disturbing someone's sleep early in the morning isn't great, but I appreciate your kindness."

When Ivan spoke, he kept intensely looking at Lia.

Perhaps because he was gradually becoming fond of her, he felt that the more he looked at Lia, the more attractive she seemed.

"By the way, Ethan Aibileen hasn't been bothering you these past few days, has he?" Ivan asked with concern. Although he knew Ethan wouldn't dare trouble Lia now, as he had arranged for someone to accompany Lia wherever she went.

If Ethan dared to harass Lia again, Ivan would know immediately.

"Not anymore." Not living together, and mainly because Ethan hadn't specifically sought her out, they wouldn't encounter each other.

The way Ethan looked that day, even a scoundrel would have had his ego bruised by Ivan, as even the women around him were charmed by Ivan.

Ivan grunted, pursed his lips, and after a moment of silence, he tentatively asked, "Judging by Ethan's words, does your dad want you to marry him?"

If he wanted to marry Lia to Ethan, why bring Lia to meet him?

Oh, it's because of him.

If it wasn't for his phone call to Mr. Aiken because of that silhouette painting, Mr. Aiken wouldn't have brought Lia over.

Suddenly, Ivan felt a bit fortunate, thankful he misunderstood Lia, which led to that phone call to Mr. Aiken, otherwise it would be a shame for such a good woman like Lia to be ruined by Ethan.

Lia's expression turned cold, but she didn't hide it, "My dad did consider marrying me to Ethan because the Aiken Family is currently facing financial difficulties and urgently needs new capital. The Aibileen Family is prospering now, and he wants to form alliances through marriage. Ethan is a promiscuous and heartless man, with more women than clothes he's worn. He's no reliable partner. My dad is entirely inconsiderate of me, but I refuse to marry Ethan, so... In short, my marriage is my decision, and he shouldn't think he can casually marry me off to any random man."

She then looked at Ivan and, with a self-deprecating smile, said, "Ivan, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, nor worry you'll misunderstand me. When my dad took me to apologize to you, he actually had another kind of suspicion and ulterior motive, thinking that if I could get involved with you, even if not married to you, being your woman would benefit his business."

In her father's eyes, that's all she amounted to in terms of value.

Ivan said earnestly, "I wouldn't toy with a woman's feelings, nor keep mistresses. I only plan to marry a wife, and once I do, I'll be loyal to her for my entire life without any infidelity."

Lia smiled, her eyes filled with envy, "Anyone who marries you would be blessed for sure."

Ivan's gaze deepened, "I'm still waiting for that blessed woman."

Lia met his dark eyes as the elevator door opened. She withdrew her gaze and led the way out. She said with a smile, "You'll find her."

Ivan nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I will find her."

Lia led Ivan to her room door, used a card to open it, and was about to enter but remembered her unfinished portrait painting of Ivan wasn't packed up; it was still on the easel, which was inside the room. If Ivan entered, he would see it.

Would he misunderstand that she secretly painted him because she had a crush on him?

If he did, no explanation would suffice, as she simply thought he was excellent in many aspects and used him as a model for her painting.