Chapter 334: Chapter 334: Hugging the Big Shot’s Leg
Ashley Shaw originally thought Ariana Grant would ignore the money and leave with a cold face, but unexpectedly, she happily accepted the money.
She remembered in her past life, Ariana Grant had a stiff relationship with this woman because of Jade Coleman.
Later, Justin Grant didn’t manage the house matters or Ariana Grant, largely because of this.
So on their way over, Ashley Shaw had discreetly put in a good word for this woman several times.
At first, Ariana Grant was very resentful towards this woman, thinking that if it weren’t for her, their family wouldn’t be in its current state.
But after Ashley Shaw’s persuasion, she also realized that everyone has their own choices.
Especially in the case of this woman, the one making the choice wasn’t the woman herself, but her father.
No matter whom she blamed, she couldn’t blame this woman.
Moreover, this woman wasn’t a third party; she only met her dad by chance after his divorce.
So, she wouldn’t get into a conflict with this woman.
As a result, Ariana Grant’s reaction now was even better than she expected.
She reached out to take the wad of cash, revealing a gentle smile.
"Thank you, Aunt Sutton, I don’t even know your name yet."
The woman was taken aback, clearly not expecting Ariana Grant to speak to her with a smile.
A moment later, the coldness on the woman’s face slowly melted away, and she introduced herself: "My name is Joyce Sutton, you can just call me Aunt Sutton."
Ariana Grant nodded and said, "Aunt Sutton, thank you for inviting us to eat, and for taking the trouble to accompany my dad today. Sorry for the trouble."
Saying that, Ariana Grant gave both of them a deep bow.
Justin Grant’s eyes reddened.
"No need to be formal with family."
Ariana Grant smiled slightly.
"In that case, we’ll be leaving. We won’t disturb you any longer, you two carry on."
With that said, she hooked her arm with Ashley Shaw’s and turned to leave.
Joyce Sutton suddenly spoke up: "Wait a moment."
Both of them turned back simultaneously.
"What is it, Aunt Sutton?"
Ariana Grant wondered if she was going to ask for the money back?
The other person didn’t seem like someone stingy.
The next second, she heard Joyce Sutton say: "I just realized I don’t really have anything else going on this afternoon, and it’s just about mealtime. So, if you don’t mind, how about we all have a meal together? Since I’ve been with your dad, I haven’t properly had a meal with you."
Ariana Grant looked at Ashley Shaw, using her gaze to ask what she thought.
Seeing Ashley Shaw give a slight nod, she smiled broadly and said: "That sounds great, I’ve also been wanting to get to know Aunt Sutton."
Joyce Sutton was a bit surprised: "You’ve been wanting to meet me?"
"Yes." Ariana Grant nodded and said: "My dad had poor taste in the past, I wanted to see if his taste has improved over the years."
Ariana Grant was merely criticizing Jade Coleman’s character, but she inadvertently said something that resonated deeply with Joyce Sutton.
She genuinely liked Justin Grant, so naturally, she cared about his ex-wife.
Hearing even his own daughter speak ill of Jade Coleman made her happy.
"So, do you think your dad’s taste has improved a bit?" Joyce Sutton asked.
Ariana Grant is someone who speaks based on her feelings; she no longer disliked Joyce Sutton, so she naturally said something nice.
"Not just a bit, it’s as if he got a whole new pair of eyes."
Joyce Sutton was taken by this praise and cheerfully said: "You’re such a sweet-talker, so different from your dad. He’s like a man of few words, and you’re a vibrant delight."
Just as Ariana Grant was about to respond, her stomach let out a loud growl.
Her face immediately flushed red.
Joyce Sutton’s smile deepened: "Look at you, why didn’t you say you were hungry? Come on, ride with me in my car."
Ashley Shaw then timely spoke up: "Aunt Sutton, Uncle Grant, I won’t be going, I have another appointment with friends."
"Huh? Ashley, you’re not coming? If you’re not coming, then I..."
Ashley Shaw gently pinched Ariana Grant’s arm.
With such a close friend, she immediately knew what was on the other’s mind.
Is Ashley hinting at her to cling to this wealthy stepmother?
She might not be able to do that.
Anyhow, this wealthy stepmother wasn’t as unlikable as she had imagined.
"You go ahead, I’ll leave now. Goodbye, Uncle and Aunt." Ashley Shaw waved her hand and turned to leave with a smile.
She didn’t want to intrude on their family dinner.
As Joyce Sutton’s car drove away, Ashley Shaw let out a gentle sigh.
In her past life, because of the provocations from Jade Coleman, Ariana’s relationship with Joyce Sutton was very strained, but in this life, there might be a turnaround.
If Ariana could be liked by Aunt Sutton, life might become much easier for her.
It was harder than she thought to hail a cab here, and while Ashley Shaw waited by the road for a taxi, her phone rang.
She took her phone out of her bag and saw that Warren Prescott was calling.
She didn’t know why he now preferred using WeChat to contact her.
What Ashley didn’t know was that WeChat calls, if not deleted, would always remain in the chat history, unlike ordinary calls that would soon be overlaid.
It was Warren Prescott’s preference—important things, he wanted to keep forever.
No matter what it took.
Ashley Shaw answered the call, hearing Warren Prescott’s voice: "Is the mediation over?"
"Just finished," she replied honestly.
"How did it go?"
Ashley knew that Warren Prescott, due to Elder Prescott’s instructions, had been following this case closely, so she detailed the mediation results to him.
"Anyway, you could say today yielded no results, everything depends on the court tomorrow."
"Then we’ll see tomorrow."
"Mm."
"Where are you now?"
Ashley Shaw was about to speak, when Warren Prescott said: "I see you, come over."
Ashley instinctively looked up to see a white McLaren parked across the street.
The car window rolled down, revealing Warren’s face.
He gestured for her to come over with a slight wave of his hand.
Ashley initially intended to refuse over the phone because she needed to visit Pastoral Songs, but then she thought of something she wanted to ask him, so she stepped over to the car.
The McLaren’s door opened upwards. In her past life, Ashley had sat in this car several times and even drove it once, so she skillfully walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in.
Glancing sideways, she saw Warren looking at her in surprise.
He had already unbuckled his seatbelt, preparing to exit the car to open the door for Ashley, not expecting her to get in by herself so smoothly.
"Have you ridden in this car before?" Warren asked.
Ashley’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly regained her composure and said: "Haven’t eaten pork but I’ve seen pigs run before, haven’t I? These kind of cars are all over the popular dramas now."
Warren didn’t think much of her answer and directly hit the gas pedal.
The car revved before smoothly and steadily merging onto the main road.
Ashley gets carsick, so Warren specifically had the McLaren in the garage taken for a modification. He didn’t care much for performance and whatnot; what mattered was that it remained stable.
The car just got back from the modifications today, and he purposely took it out to see how it turned out.