Chapter 339: Chapter 339: Claudia Jennings Apologizes
Elder Prescott’s gossiping manner is exactly the same as Ariana Grant’s when she’s gossiping.
Ashley Shaw was utterly exasperated.
"We were just talking about something, regarding my friend."
"Really?"
"Really, truer than pearls."
Elder Prescott looked at her with a face of calmness and showed a disappointed expression.
When they went downstairs, Lars Prescott happened to come back.
Behind him was Mr. Rowan, holding a two-tiered cake, wishing Claudia Jennings a happy birthday.
"So thoughtful, even bought a cake, we already have cake at home."
Mr. Rowan glanced at Ashley Shaw coming downstairs and said, "It’s just right since there are a lot of people at home today, buying an extra cake just in case."
Claudia Jennings smiled and said to Lars Prescott, "Joy is also here."
Livia Sutton, whose name was called, immediately became a bit flustered and stuttered, "Hello, Uncle."
Lars Prescott was originally quite satisfied with Livia Sutton; a union between the two families would benefit both.
But seeing Livia Sutton so timid and constrained, he felt a slight disappointment in his heart.
If this child could be as calm and mature as Ashley Shaw, it would be perfect.
But being so timid and constrained made him feel she couldn’t be presented well.
If only Livia Sutton’s family background could be swapped with Ashley Shaw’s, he’d be satisfied.
Thinking this, his smile remained unchanged.
"Hello, welcome to our home, make sure to eat a lot later."
"Mm-hmm."
Livia Sutton nodded, catching a glimpse of Ashley Shaw coming down the stairs, and ran over as if rescued.
"Ashley..."
Their friendship had initially formed through the chat downstairs, so the address naturally changed.
Ashley Shaw laughed and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all." Livia Sutton lowered her voice and asked, "How did it go?"
Ashley Shaw made an "OK" gesture and Livia Sutton immediately said, "Congratulations!"
"But it’s not what you think..." She didn’t deceive Warren Prescott, just spoke the truth and explained things clearly.
Livia Sutton gave a look that said "you don’t have to say, I understand."
Claudia Jennings was surprised but said nothing when she saw the two whispering as if they were on good terms. She only said, "Dinner’s about to start, you two go wash your hands."
They both nodded and went to the bathroom on the first floor together.
Coming out after washing hands, the servants were already serving the dishes.
The Prescott Family’s dining table is a long one, able to seat twenty people.
Because the table is so long, making it inconvenient to reach for food, a servant stands every two people holding public chopsticks to help serve the dishes.
Today there were many people, apart from Ashley Shaw and Livia Sutton, there was also Mr. Rowan and a group of Claudia Jennings’s close friends, so nearly all the servants were mobilized.
With such a large formation, the meal was destined to not be very relaxing.
Since Claudia Jennings had driven one away earlier, the other ladies were afraid of saying more and being wrong, so they simply chose to smile without speaking.
In the end, it was almost only the birthday girl Claudia Jennings who talked, and the meal ended in silence.
Livia Sutton finished her task, had lunch, and made an excuse about having something at home to bid farewell to Claudia Jennings and was about to leave.
Ashley Shaw quickly called out to her.
"Livia, are you studying in Aethelgard too?"
"Yes, I’m a sophomore. But because my dad wanted me to get some experience at the company, I took a semester off, but I’ll have to go back to class once school starts."
"That’s great, my friends and I are also going to study in Aethelgard, let’s meet up there then."
Livia Sutton immediately made an "OK" gesture and asked her, "Which school did you get into?"
Just as Ashley Shaw was about to respond, she noticed Warren Prescott walking over and swallowed her words, saying, "I’ll tell you later, let’s add each other as friends first, okay?"
Livia Sutton thought Ashley Shaw might not have done well in her exams and was too embarrassed to say, so she didn’t ask further, smiling and nodding, "Of course."
They added each other as friends and agreed to have a meal together on a weekend in the first semester after school starts.
Watching Livia Sutton leave, Ashley Shaw turned around and saw Warren Prescott looking at her with a playful smile.
Ashley Shaw felt the embarrassment of having her little secret discovered, coughed lightly, and went to find Elder Prescott.
They played chess all afternoon, and unsurprisingly, Elder Prescott lost every game.
"When you go to school, I’ll just focus on studying, and the next time you visit, I’ll definitely beat you."
Ashley Shaw smiled and nodded, "Okay, but we don’t have to wait till next time, we can play on our phones now; I’ll share a mini-app with you for online games."
Elder Prescott’s cloudy eyes brightened.
"Good, good, no need to wait, share it with me now."
Ashley Shaw nodded, sent the little chess game mini-app to Elder Prescott.
They faced off again, Elder Prescott continuously praising it as a wonderful thing.
"This way, even when you’re not in Westcroft, I can still play with you."
Time flew by, and after dinner, Ashley Shaw was watching TV with Elder Prescott when Claudia Jennings came over.
"Dad, it’s time for your medication."
Elder Prescott slapped his forehead, "Oh, my mind, Ashley, I’ll go take my medicine upstairs, will be right back down."
"No rush, I have to go too."
"So early?"
Claudia Jennings reminded, "It’s not early, almost nine o’clock now. If she doesn’t leave, it won’t be safe for a girl to go home alone."
"How can we let her go home alone? Let Warren take her."
Ashley Shaw knew Claudia Jennings would help her refuse, so she said nothing, but unexpectedly, Claudia Jennings changed her usual stance: "That sounds good."
Ashley Shaw wondered what was going on.
"That sounds good?"
They were actually letting her precious son be her chauffeur?
It’s not like Claudia Jennings drank much wine tonight.
While she was in shock, Warren Prescott’s chauffeur duties were already arranged.
With Warren Prescott escorting her, Elder Prescott went upstairs with peace of mind.
Ashley Shaw was about to leave when Claudia Jennings called out to her.
"Ashley, I have something to say to you."
Ashley Shaw remembered Warren Prescott mentioning Claudia Jennings wanted to apologize to her, felt inexplicably uneasy and nervous.
She nodded, following Claudia Jennings to the poolside.
Standing by the poolside again, Ashley Shaw had many thoughts.
Just as she was still wary from last time, Claudia Jennings suddenly handed over a red envelope.
Ashley Shaw, caught off guard, instinctively took it.
When she reached for her phone, she realized she had taken it and quickly asked, "Aunt Jennings, this is...?"
Claudia Jennings’s expression showed a slight awkwardness.
"For you, keep it. With school starting, here’s a red envelope for you. I wish you... success in your studies."
Ashley Shaw was full of astonishment.
Living long enough really lets you see everything; she actually heard Claudia Jennings say something nice and even gave her a start-of-term red envelope.
Two seconds later, Ashley Shaw snapped out of her shock and said, "Th-thank you, Aunt Jennings."
"What are you thanking me for?" Claudia Jennings said, her lips moved and she wanted to say more, but before the words came out, her face already blushed.
"Ahem!"
She coughed into her hand, appearing to have made a significant decision.