On one side was John, who was adorable, humorous, and knowledgeable, and on the other was Ira, who was strong, affectionate, and vibrant.
Both men left Connie with a good impression.
"Mike, what do you think I should choose?" Connie asked after returning to the house.
Although Connie had a wealth of romantic experience, when it came down to it, she still felt a bit flustered.
After all, emotions can sometimes be that complicated.
"Are you talking about Mr. Ira and Dr. Sturgis?" Mike rarely saw Connie looking troubled. So, he shared his thoughts: "I think you should just follow your heart, or else you could learn from me…"
Mike's private life had long been an open book to Connie, so he stopped pretending.
Meanwhile, Connie, who had been waiting for some good advice from Mike, heard his shameless remark and shook her head in disdain, moving aside.
She really needed to calm down now…
However, Mike was right about one thing: at Connie's age, she no longer had so many demands regarding material conditions. She indeed had the right to follow her heart and seek a purer form of happiness.
In Connie's heart, Ira felt like a strong bear, while John felt like an adorable "small potato."
If she were twenty years younger, Connie might have chosen the strong bear, but now she leaned more towards the "small potato."
Thinking about her interactions with Dr. Sturgis, Connie couldn't help but smile.
Yes, who could refuse an adorable "small potato"?
At this point, Connie's heart gave her a clear direction. With her decision made, her mood brightened considerably.
Just then, the phone at Connie's rang again.
"What is it, Ira? …You're inviting me to dinner tomorrow? …Okay, see you tomorrow…"
Connie was not a young girl after all; since she had already made her choice, she decided to explain the situation to Ira.
And tomorrow would be a good opportunity.
The next day, Connie, feeling a little guilty, spent her lunch break patiently having a big meal with Ira.
All the way until he drove Connie home, Ira had a happy smile on his face.
Connie's behavior today made him feel like his happiness was finally within reach.
So, Ira took the opportunity to say, "Connie, we're both not young anymore. If you're willing…"
Just as Ira was about to make a heartfelt confession, Connie interrupted him.
"Ira, you might have misunderstood," Connie confessed. "I already have someone I like. Please don't come looking for me anymore…"
While rejecting Ira, Connie thought of the adorable Dr. Sturgis, and a sweet smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.
However, this was incredibly cruel to Mr. Ira, who was just about to confess his feelings.
Hearing the bad news, he froze for a moment, then his expression turned sad: "We went bowling together, we watched movies together… I thought you understood my heart…"
Ira recounted his pleasant experiences with Connie, then thought about losing her. Unable to control his emotions, he burst into tears like a child.
…
Connie, who thought the matter was over, still underestimated Ira's determination.
That afternoon, a team of deliverymen drove up to Connie's.
"Excuse me, is this Connie's house?" the deliveryman asked.
"It's me, but I don't recall buying anything," Connie said in surprise.
Watching expensive new furniture being unloaded from the truck, Connie seemed to understand something.
"Wait, these things aren't mine. Please return them to Ira," Connie was not someone who would take advantage of others.
Moreover, there was nothing between her and Ira, so she certainly couldn't accept his kindness.
"Sorry, we're only responsible for delivery," the deliverymen continued to unload the furniture from the truck.
Roughly estimating the value of the furniture, it probably exceeded ten thousand dollars. Connie couldn't sit still; she immediately called Ira.
"Ira, what is the meaning of this?" Connie demanded once the call connected.
"Connie, I know you don't like me, but you can't stop me from liking you…" After a very manly statement, Ira immediately hung up the phone.
"Hello… hello…" Listening to the dial tone, Connie found Ira's behavior both amusing and irritating.
However, one thing was certain: Ira's actions did not win back Connie's heart.
On yet another weekend that followed, Connie, who now knew what she wanted, developed her relationship with Dr. Sturgis rapidly.
With mutual interest, the two took the opportunity of Mike leaving home again and finally took their relationship to the last step.
A content Dr. Sturgis also noticed the new furniture at Connie's during their rest time.
"Connie, your new furniture is very nice," Dr. Sturgis complimented.
Connie's expression was complex in response to John's compliment. After some internal struggle, she still truthfully told him the situation.
She thought such a matter would make Dr. Sturgis angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "That's very interesting. Having someone compete with me makes me even more excited."
Dr. Sturgis, experiencing love for the first time, walked around the room a few times, then asked with great interest, "Connie, could you give me his contact information? I'd like to get in touch with him…"
Strictly speaking, in terms of intelligence, Dr. Sturgis was also a genius.
And the thoughts of geniuses are sometimes unfathomable.
That afternoon, Dr. Sturgis followed the address Connie gave him and found Mr. Ira's furniture store.
"Are you here to challenge me?" Ira's face turned very ugly when he saw Dr. Sturgis enter the store.
"Not at all, I just want to learn more about Connie's past life…" Dr. Sturgis said with a smile.
Then, under Ira's angry gaze, Dr. Sturgis, oblivious, started looking at the furniture in the store on his own.
"This lounge chair is very nice—" Dr. Sturgis finally stopped in front of a lounge chair, his expression looking somewhat surprised.
Ira, who had expected the other party to be there to challenge him, became interested when the other party talked about his professional field.
"Of course, this is from the hand of a master…" Ira introduced.
Afterward, the two men started talking about chairs and found more and more common ground, eventually even drinking beer in the store.
Ultimately, Dr. Sturgis bought the lounge chair as he wished.
And after their conversation, Ira also felt that Dr. Sturgis was a pretty good person.
However, before parting, Ira still issued a "harsh" statement: "Don't think this will make me give up on Connie."
"I accept your challenge!" Dr. Sturgis smiled, then made a gesture like a medieval man accepting a duel.
In fact, after a pleasant conversation, Dr. Sturgis also thought the other person was very nice.
That evening, when Dr. Sturgis returned home, he couldn't help but call Connie and recounted everything about becoming friends with Ira.
Dr. Sturgis, who had expected praise, was instead "reprimanded" by Connie.
In Connie's view, the childish behavior of the two men made her somewhat embarrassed.
And on the other side, Dr. Sturgis had made a big mistake without realizing it.