Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Stirring Up Trouble
Warren Prescott didn’t stop her, not even looking at her, as if he hadn’t seen her at all.
Ashley Shaw, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
If Warren were to pick on her here, she might really lose control and have an outburst.
However, just as they brushed past each other, Warren suddenly threw out a sentence: "See? Leo isn’t as smart as you thought."
Ashley didn’t immediately react; it wasn’t until Warren went into the men’s restroom that she suddenly recalled mentioning at the observatory that Xavier Quincy was the one with the highest tested IQ among their group.
She didn’t expect him to remember until now.
So childish.
When Ashley returned to the bar, everyone was already having a good time.
Singing, drinking, people gathered in twos and threes.
Ashley wasn’t sure where to go for a moment.
Although she knew everyone, she wasn’t close to anyone.
She had no choice but to search for Xavier’s figure in the dim light.
However, she couldn’t find Xavier, and as she turned around, she bumped right into Cillian Xavier, who had just walked in.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, there was a flicker of light in Cillian’s eyes.
But the brightness disappeared quickly, almost as if it had never been there.
It was Ashley who greeted him first.
"Just arrived?"
— When everyone came out from hiding earlier, there was no sign of Cillian.
Cillian nodded slightly.
The noisy music in the bar had somehow changed to a gentle classical tune, so they didn’t need to shout to hear each other.
"When did you get here?" Cillian asked.
"I came with Leo."
Cillian suddenly remembered that someone mentioned in the group chat that today Ashley and Warren were in charge of picking people up from the airport.
He nodded and asked, "About what happened during the day, were you scared?"
He was referring to Sean Langley causing trouble for her at the cake shop.
Ashley shook her head: "No, I haven’t even thanked you for helping me today."
"What to thank? It’s only right."
"By the way," Ashley suddenly remembered Ivy Bond and quickly asked, "How is Miss Bond now?"
"Not very well. The doctor estimates she doesn’t have much time left."
His answer was the same as Brooke’s, just more specific.
Ashley widened her eyes in disbelief.
She already knew from Brooke that Ivy’s condition was bad, but she hadn’t imagined it was more serious than she thought.
"Have you consulted other specialists? Veridia is so large, with such advanced medical care, there must be hope."
Cillian shook his head, his expression complicated as he said, "We’ve already consulted the most authoritative doctors domestically in the shortest time, and contacted people abroad. The answer is the same, it’s just a matter of time."
Ashley’s mind blanked for a moment; it all felt like a dream.
She had just seen that beautiful, vibrant young girl not long ago, and suddenly... it was really hard to accept.
Life is really fragile.
Ivy is like this, her mother was like this, and she herself... is also like this.
Ashley was silent for a second, then asked, "Does she know herself?"
Cillian shook his head: "No, we’re hiding it from her. The doctor said treatment is ineffective, so we and the Bond Family plan to keep it from her until... the day we can’t hide it anymore."
Ashley could only muster, "You... should also take care of yourself."
"Mm."
After that, neither of them spoke.
Ashley didn’t know what to say, afraid of saying the wrong thing and hurting Cillian’s feelings.
And Cillian dared not speak much, afraid of accidentally revealing his true feelings.
He no longer had the right to pursue her, so why make her feel more guilty?
Letting her think he’d stopped liking her was fine.
Love is about letting go, not possession.
As long as Ashley was happy and content, he had no other desires.
For a moment, the two stood facing each other, saying nothing.
There was a brief awkwardness in the air.
Fortunately, just then, Leo came over from somewhere in the lounge.
"Archie?" Leo said with surprise.
Ashley and Cillian both looked over, with a smile appearing at the corner of Cillian’s mouth.
"Leo."
"Why did you suddenly change your hairstyle?"
"Does it look bad?"
"No, it looks very energetic. I think it’s better than before."
Cillian smiled, with genuine happiness in his eyes.
"How long are you staying this time?"
"Not sure yet, at least three months. Maybe longer, but I won’t be leaving soon, that’s certain."
"That’s great."
As they chatted happily, Ashley found an empty booth to sit down, waiting for them to finish.
Her head was still a bit dizzy, and she couldn’t quite keep her spirits up.
Plus, she was on her period, with a faint feeling of something pulling in her lower abdomen, making her uncomfortable, sustained only by sheer willpower.
Just then, a girl in white hot pants so short they were barely visible came over holding two cocktails, scrutinizing Ashley.
"You’re Ashley Shaw, right?"
Ashley nodded: "Yes, hello."
"Hello, I’m Damian Ford’s girlfriend, Cherie Crawford, but you can call me Cherie."
"Yes, hello, Cherie, you can just call me Ashley."
The girl named Cherie handed her a cocktail from the bar.
"Here, have a drink?"
Ashley politely declined: "Thank you, but no need, I’m not good at drinking."
Cherie’s smile faded a bit.
Ashley noticed and was about to explain she was on her period and couldn’t drink.
Then Cherie said with a meaningful tone, "I should thank you for taking care of my Damian. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t be this busy lately. You do as you please, I’ll finish mine."
With that, she didn’t care whether Ashley drank or not, directly tipped back her glass and downed the drink.
After finishing, Cherie lifted her glass towards Ashley, signaling she was done.
"Cheers, to Miss Ashley who loves giving advice."
Ashley’s expression froze for a moment, then she calmly said, "Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean."
"Are you genuinely confused or pretending to be?"
Ashley’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Before she could speak, Cherie spoke again, "But it doesn’t matter whether you understand this or not, just understand one thing: right now, Warren likes you, so you can stir up as much trouble as you want..."
Ashley laughed at that.
Warren likes her?
Which eye of hers saw that?
And what trouble is she stirring up?
She’s not the Dragon King of the East Sea, stirring up what storm, making what waves?
"Have you had too much to drink?" she said.
Cherie’s face darkened, and her tone became even more pointed.
"Ashley Shaw, let’s be blunt!"
"No one can guarantee how long Warren’s affection for you will last."
"You are quite pretty, but using beauty can be a trump card, or a losing hand if played wrong."
"When the day comes that Warren tires of you, the enemies you make now will be the knives stabbing you. You have no skills or background; anyone here today could easily crush you, so I advise you to take care of yourself!"
With that, Cherie swayed her hips, ready to leave.
"Wait." Ashley stood up from the booth with a blank expression and called out to Cherie.
Normally, she wouldn’t let this kind of thing get to her.
Her patience had been trained by the Lynch sisters.
But today, unfortunately, she was in a very bad mood.