"Ian, this is my sister, Vivian, whom I told you about," Cecilia said.
Ian Quincy nodded slightly. "Hello."
Vivian Lee stuttered a reply, "Uh, hel...lo."
Her stepmother, May Sutton, heard the commotion and walked out of the living room. The moment she saw Ian Quincy, her eyes widened, utterly dazzled.
Sharp brows, bright eyes, and strikingly defined features.
'With looks and a build like that, you probably couldn't find another man like him in the whole city, could you?'
'And Vivian insisted that after ten years on a farm, he'd become just like those uncultured country folk. She raised hell and refused to get engaged to him.'
'How could a man who looks like that be uncultured?'
'Just the way he stood there screamed high-class.'
Cecilia impassively took in May Sutton's greedy and regretful expression.
Though she felt quite uneasy, she didn't let it show. She said sweetly, "Auntie, this is Ian."
May Sutton snapped back to reality and said enthusiastically, "Ian, come on in and have a seat. Cecilia, you're a good cook. Go make Ian a bowl of noodles to tide him over."
"Okay." Cecilia turned and went into the kitchen.
May Sutton's nearly sycophantic voice drifted from behind her. "Ian, you've been at that farm in the Northwest for so many years, you must be quite the veteran by now. Our Vivian works at the subdistrict office. Why don't you let her tell you about the current employment policies?"
"Mom, you talk to him." Vivian Lee wanted nothing more than to get away from Ian Quincy. She turned and walked off, unable to understand why Ian wasn't treating Cecilia the way he had treated her in their last life. She followed Cecilia and asked curiously, "Sister, was it awkward when you met Ian? What did you talk about?"
"A little. We barely said a few words. He's not very talkative, and I didn't want to be the one always starting the conversation, lest he think I was a chatterbox." Since Vivian had consistently been kind to her, Cecilia answered her questions readily.
Vivian didn't believe Ian would have followed her home after just a brief chat. "Tell me exactly what happened."
How could Cecilia possibly recount that? She used Ian as a shield. "I'm terrible at explaining things, I'd just make a mess of it. Why don't we call Ian over to reenact it for you? I'm just afraid he wouldn't be willing to play along."
"Let's not do that!" Vivian quickly waved her hands dismissively.
'Ian Quincy has a split personality and bipolar disorder. If he got impatient, he might just hit both of us.'
'In her last life, she had nowhere to run.'
'But Cecilia did. She could just run off to the countryside and never come back. Who would marry Ian Quincy then?'
Worried that asking too many questions would make Cecilia suspicious, Vivian made an excuse about having something to do and left, ignoring May Sutton's calls after her.
Cecilia closed the kitchen door and continued making the noodles. She secretly ate a large bowl herself before starting on Ian's portion. She hid three poached eggs under the noodles, placed two slices of beef on top, and carried the bowl out to Ian in the living room.
"Ian so rarely comes to visit, and you only give him two measly slices of beef? Anyone would think we're a family of cheapskates! Ian, you start eating. I'll go get you some more." To show how generous she was, May Sutton personally went into the kitchen.
Cecilia smiled and gestured toward the noodles.
Ian understood. He used his chopsticks to turn over the noodles, revealing a stack of poached eggs underneath. He froze for a moment, a trace of disbelief and a flicker of pleasant surprise in his eyes.
A gentle warmth spread through his chest, melting the cold mask on his face.
'In his entire life, this was the first time anyone had ever given him three eggs at once.'
The barest hint of a smile touched his lips. "Have you eaten?"
Cecilia nodded. "I'm already full. Go on, eat up."
When May Sutton returned and saw the two of them sitting close together talking, she grew displeased and silently cursed Cecilia for being a vixen.
But when she faced Ian, her smile immediately returned. "Here you go, Ian. More beef."
"Thanks." After finishing the noodles, Ian got up to leave.
"I'll walk you out," Cecilia said.