Free Web NovelChapter 91: Chapter 91: Cecilia Quincy’s Gloating
"Azure Studio?"
Hearing the name, every hair on Lynn Preston’s body stood on end.
"What’s wrong? Have you heard of it?" Liam Joyce asked, glancing at her with a gentle tone.
"Of course I have." Lynn Preston forced a smile, trying her best to look normal. "This studio is so famous online, it’d be weird if I hadn’t heard of it. I just didn’t expect its location to be so remote. We’re almost in the suburbs."
"It’s actually normal for it to be a bit remote." Liam Joyce raised his hand in a "please" gesture, indicating for Lynn Preston to walk and talk.
"For people like them, who do jewelry design, it’s all about atmosphere and artistic conception. They’re particularly picky about their creative environment—it has to be quiet and beautiful. That’s why setting up a studio near the suburbs is the best choice."
"Oh..." Lynn Preston put on a look of someone who only half-understood, showing little interest in the topic.
Liam Joyce led her into the small wooden cabin, and with the receptionist’s guidance, they went up to the guest room on the third floor.
"Wait here for me. I’m going in to talk to a friend about something." With that, Liam Joyce entered a room around the corner.
Lynn Preston was left alone in the waiting area. As soon as the door closed, she quickly pulled out her phone to message Sonia Quincy.
Sonia, Liam Joyce brought me to Azure Studio!
"!!! Lynn went to Azure Studio!"
Seeing this message, Sonia Quincy was so agitated she shot up and rushed out of her office.
"What?" Hearing this, Felix Preston immediately dropped what he was doing and strode over to Sonia Quincy’s side.
Sonia Quincy’s hand, gripping her phone, was trembling uncontrollably. "Liam Joyce took Lynn to Azure Studio. She’s inside the studio right now."
"Holy crap! Then tell Lynn to start snooping around everywhere!" Evan Yates exclaimed, standing on a chair and anxiously clenching his fists. "This is a golden opportunity! Tell Lynn not to miss this chance to snoop!"
"No." Felix Preston shot down his idea. "This is the first time Liam Joyce has taken Lynn to Azure Studio. We don’t know if it’s a coincidence or a test. If Lynn acts suspiciously right away, all our previous efforts will be for nothing."
Sonia Quincy: "So I should tell her to stay put? Not to do anything for now?"
"Mhm." Felix Preston nodded. "Tell her not to do anything for now. If it happened once, it’ll happen again. Liam Joyce will definitely take her to that studio again."
Sonia Quincy: "Okay."
She then texted everything Felix Preston said to Lynn Preston, word for word.
Lynn Preston quickly replied with an "OK" and put her phone away, settling in to wait obediently.
"Oh, we’re living the good life, fiery and bright, we’ve caught the good times, an era of delight..."
A few minutes later, an employee from the studio came upstairs, humming a song.
Lynn Preston instinctively looked toward the sound, only to see a very familiar face.
"You’re... Lynn Preston?" The newcomer recognized her first.
Lynn Preston blinked, staring blankly for several seconds before realizing who the person was.
"Milly! What are you doing here?"
Milly was Lynn Preston’s college classmate. Back in school, the two of them had been incredibly close. They liked to go to class together, eat together, and shop together. To use the current slang, they were each other’s favorite "buddy."
But later, Milly started dating someone and gradually grew cold and distant toward Lynn Preston. Milly was a bit boy-crazy; once she was in a relationship, her boyfriend was all she could think about, and she had no time for friends.
Lynn Preston felt neglected by her for a long time and eventually drifted away. By the time they graduated from college, they had completely lost touch. Even though they were still friends on WeChat, neither had ever taken the initiative to send the other a message.
"I work here!" Milly said, jogging over and sitting down across from Lynn Preston. "What about you? What are you doing here?"
Lynn Preston said, "I’m here with my boss. He’s meeting a friend to take care of some business."
"Oh..." Milly nodded. After the initial excitement of their reunion faded, an irrepressible wave of guilt washed over her.
"Lynn, it’s been over a year. How have you been?"
Lynn Preston gave a bitter smile. "I... haven’t been doing so well. You’ve probably heard about what happened to my family."
Milly: "I did. I wanted to message you and ask how you were, but I was afraid I’d fail to comfort you and just make you feel worse. After all, it was my selfishness that made things between us turn out this way."
"It’s okay." Lynn Preston didn’t seem to mind. "It’s all in the past, let’s not talk about it. Hey, are you and that boyfriend of yours still together?"
"Hah..." Milly scoffed. "We broke up long ago, right after graduation. You were right about him, he was a real piece of work! Stingy and ugly, poor and a cheater. I should have listened to you and broken up with him sooner! Then I wouldn’t have had to wear the imperial emerald green hat he wove for me."
Lynn Preston: "You’re still young. It’s not too late to see him for who he is."
"Yeah!" Milly agreed wholeheartedly. She sighed, and her expression suddenly became conflicted.
"Lynn, it was my fault for neglecting you back in school. I know I was wrong now, and I sincerely apologize! C-can you forgive me? Can we be friends again?"
"..." Lynn Preston’s light brown eyes shifted slightly, and the smile on her face suddenly deepened. "Don’t be silly. Aren’t we already friends?"
...
Tomorrow was Monday, and Sonia Quincy had to go to Mina Jennings’s studio to sign the contract with that influencer who had over ten million followers.
Since there was still time in the afternoon, she and Felix Preston went to see Mrs. Preston after work, planning to have a serious discussion with the real estate agent about the house.
The weather was beautiful today. After a bout of autumn rain, Aethelburg had been dry ever since. The sun was warm but not scorching, and the wind blew at a gentle pace, creating a comfortable atmosphere that lifted everyone’s spirits.
"If I weren’t pregnant right now, I would definitely take a day to go cycling. This weather is just perfect for an outing." Getting out of the car, Sonia Quincy expertly linked her arm with Felix Preston’s, snuggling up against his side.
Felix Preston smiled and caressed her face, the joy in his eyes completely unconcealed.
"There’s no rush. We have our whole lives ahead of us. After the baby is born, we can go whenever you want. I’ll always be with you."
Sonia Quincy: "Mhm!"
"Go, go, go! My house is perfectly fine, it’s not some haunted house! All of you, get out! I’m not selling my house to you!"
"That house of yours is haunted! Everyone in Aethelburg knows it! It’s not going to sell anyway and will just rot on your hands, so you might as well sell it to us for cheap..."
"Yeah..."
"Mrs. Preston, you really should give it some serious thought."
Just as they reached the entrance of the apartment building, Sonia Quincy saw Mrs. Preston arguing with several strange men.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Sonia Quincy shouted sternly, having Felix Preston help her hurry over.
"Lawrence, did you bring these people? Didn’t we already tell you the house isn’t haunted and we’re not lowering the price? Why did you bring them here?"
Lawrence looked a little awkward. "Miss Quincy, I... I didn’t know at first that they were looking to buy a haunted house..."
"Sonia Quincy?"
Amid the clamor, Cecilia Quincy’s voice suddenly rang out, sharp and clear. "The internet is saying this house of yours has become a haunted house. I didn’t believe it at first, so I came over to see for myself. I didn’t expect it to actually be true."
