Chapter 293: Chapter 293

Simon Hawthorne had been watching Julian Hawthorne’s reaction closely. Seeing Julian furrowing his brow, Simon instinctively thought he had displeased Julian somehow, so he stopped and waited for Julian to correct him.

But Julian just remained silent.

Simon Hawthorne, "...?"

After waiting a bit longer, Simon had no choice but to ask, "Brother, did I say something wrong?"

Julian gave him a glance, "Nothing wrong, keep going."

Simon breathed a sigh of relief and continued speaking.

Julian concealed his thoughts well, no one noticed his little gestures.

After the meeting, Julian originally wanted to visit Paige at the lab, but he couldn’t decline a dinner invitation and had to take Simon along.

He instructed his assistant to deliver a special meal he had prepared for Paige to Islet Labs.

The assistant was new and unfamiliar to the security, and couldn’t reach Paige since she was busy, so the assistant couldn’t get into the heavily guarded Islet Labs.

The assistant called Julian, who told her to return.

By the evening, Paige was done with her work and called Julian upon hearing about the incident.

"Did you send someone to bring me something?"

Julian, "Something you like to eat."

Paige said, "Recently, someone selling rat poison claimed to be my relative and insisted on selling it at the lab. So, security has been tighter lately. In the future, don’t send things over; I can eat it at home, can’t I?"

Julian was full of resentment upon hearing this, "How long has it been since you came home?"

Paige awkwardly touched her nose, feeling a bit guilty, "I’ll definitely come home today."

Because of Paige’s words, Julian left the dinner to Simon and left midway.

When he got home, Paige was curled up on the sofa, smiling and waving, "You’re back, Mr. Hawthorne."

She was munching on snacks Julian had made earlier, looking like a little hamster.

Julian approached and kissed her, seeing her in good spirits, he asked, "What do you want to eat today?"

Paige rattled off several dish names, and Julian dove into the kitchen.

Paige stayed curled up on the sofa, watching a recently premiered and quite popular TV drama.

The male lead was the current heartthrob, handsome with good acting skills; Paige was thoroughly enjoying it.

When Julian emerged from the kitchen, he overheard Paige exclaiming, "So handsome."

Coincidentally, the scene showed the male lead looking like a drifting immortal.

Julian’s expression turned somewhat grim.

Comparing himself in an apron and sleeves to the drama’s male lead, he felt like a frumpy housewife.

Especially a housewife Paige was seemingly displeased with.

Julian felt neglected but didn’t voice it, instead he stood behind Paige, staring at her.

Paige didn’t notice him at all, so he started to check his reflection in the mirror, wondering if he had indeed become less attractive.

Why else would Paige say another man is handsome?

However, the more he looked, Julian still felt he was better looking than the drama’s male lead.

He suspected that Paige’s eyes might be acting up from working too long.

Julian silently picked Paige up and carried her to the dining room.

Paige’s eyes brightened at the sight of the full table; she eagerly grabbed some chopsticks, ready to eat.

Julian, however, used his own chopsticks to clamp hers and said, "Take a good look at me, notice any changes lately?"

Paige looked at Julian in confusion, "Nope."

Paige tried to use the chopsticks again but was stopped, so she stared at Julian.

Julian prompted, "What do you think of my face?"

Paige, "It’s handsome."

That’s the plain truth.

To Julian, who was being nitpicky, it sounded dismissive. Follow current novels on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱

Paige, "Otherwise... breathtaking?"

Julian gave a haughty hum, "I am handsome, others are truly handsome?"

Paige’s mouth twitched at Julian’s petty demeanor coming through.

She said, "You are truly handsome too!"

Julian smiled faintly, "Tell me specifically, where am I handsome?"

Paige set the chopsticks aside, cupped his face, and nearly exhausted her vocabulary to describe Julian’s handsomeness.

Julian felt delighted internally, though his face remained stoical, "Aside from handsome, do I have any other merits?"

Paige nodded, "Of course, there’s plenty..."

She listed a whole bunch of Julian’s attributes like being presentable, able in the kitchen, gentle, and thoughtful...

Finally, she added, "Certainly, your biggest merit is your excellent taste."

She sneakily grabbed a bite with her chopsticks, "...for choosing me."

At nightfall, Paige lay on the bed after washing up and applied a facial mask when Summer Xavier called her.

Julian came out from the bathroom and overheard Joy Xavier coyly calling Paige all sorts of endearments, as if Paige belonged to her.

Julian lay down beside Paige, staring her intently until Paige ended the call.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Julian, "Darling? Sweetheart? You let her call you that?"

"It’s just joking around, she used to call me that."

Julian snorted, expressing his displeasure thoroughly, "Who’s more important in your heart, her or me?"

Mr. Hawthorne always loved these questions; Paige had long memorized the template answer, "Of course, you’re more important."

Julian, acting like a woman with a grudge, continued to ask Paige, "If she and I fell into the water simultaneously, who would you save?"

Paige rolled her eyes, "Do I even need to answer? I wouldn’t save anyone."

Paige, "You both can swim."

To stop Julian from asking more age-old problematic questions, Paige moved over and kissed him.

"Alright, Mr. Hawthorne, it’s getting late, let’s go to sleep."

Julian suddenly brightened up, and Paige shivered, "Just plain sleeping! Don’t overthink!"

How could he not overthink?

In an instant, Mr. Hawthorne’s mind was filled with countless inappropriate images.

The next day, Paige met Summer Xavier, who complained that her mother was matchmaking again.

The weirdest part was, she actually ended up with the guy she was set up with.

It’s not that she had feelings for the guy, rather she couldn’t stand her mother’s constant nagging. To stop her mother from arranging more dates, plus the guy seemed decent and attentive, she decided to try it out.

Paige had been so busy she didn’t know Summer had started dating.