Chapter 225: Chapter 225: More Shock Than Joy
Ashley Shaw keenly noticed the relief on Ariana Grant’s face.
It seems it’s more "shock" than "joy."
She pretended not to hear, picked up the phone on the table, and said, "I’ll take a call on the balcony, wait till I get back to chat."
"Alright." Ariana Grant’s voice was even hoarse.
Ashley Shaw walked to the balcony to see the caller ID.
"Ms. Grant."
She suddenly felt a pang in her breath, realizing she had forgotten about Ms. Grant.
So much had happened this evening; her brain was barely functioning.
No wonder there’s a saying online about "Gao Sheng Small," meaning that after the college entrance exam, people’s IQs regress to elementary school and their brains are returned to the teachers.
She quickly pressed the answer key and quickly called out: "Ms. Grant."
Claire Xavier’s voice came from the phone.
"Ashley, where are you? Have you come over yet?"
Ashley Shaw said a bit embarrassedly: "I’m at home now, haven’t left..."
"At Ariana’s place?"
"Yes."
"That’s great, Archie will pass by your house, and I’ll ask him to pick you up. It’s not safe for a girl to take a taxi at night, so let him take you."
"Uh... this..."
Ashley Shaw wanted to say that she was a bit tired today and didn’t want to go.
But before she could organize her words, she heard Claire Xavier say: "Bring your phone charger and stay with me for the night, okay?"
Ashley Shaw opened her mouth, finally nodded.
Since they had agreed, she didn’t want to break the promise.
Realizing Claire Xavier couldn’t see her actions, she added: "Okay."
"Alright, you don’t need to bring anything else. I have everything here. Just bring your charger."
"Okay."
"Come downstairs in fifteen minutes; he’ll arrive in about fifteen minutes."
"Alright. See you in a bit."
"See you in a bit."
After the call ended, Ashley Shaw exhaled slowly, forcing herself to energize back into the living room.
However, Ariana Grant, who was originally in the living room, was nowhere to be found.
Her heart suddenly raced, and she hurriedly called Ariana Grant’s name.
"Ariana? Where are you?"
"In the room!"
Ashley Shaw sighed in relief and walked towards Ariana Grant’s room.
She saw Ariana Grant rummaging through closets, periodically placing items from her room into an empty cardboard box.
When Ashley Shaw went over to take a look, the box was filled with small plush toys and similar items.
But Ashley Shaw quickly noticed that besides the pile of small things, there was also a signature from Leon Zeller.
The signature was framed in a delicate frame, and Ashley instantly recognized it as the one she had asked Leon Zeller for at Ms. Grant’s cake shop.
The signature was carefully preserved in a frame, indicating Ariana Grant’s cherishing of this signature.
But now it was casually tossed into this cardboard box.
Ashley Shaw’s eyelids twitched as she looked at Ariana Grant, who was still searching for things.
"What are you doing? Tidying up in the middle of the night?"
Ariana Grant didn’t lift her head, continuing to search the cabinet, saying as she searched: "I’m finding all the gifts he gave me. You help me return them to Warren Prescott to give back to Leon."
Ariana Grant, who always called him "The Wolves," had suddenly changed the way she addressed him.
Ashley Shaw walked over and grabbed Ariana Grant’s arm, forcing her to look at her.
"What exactly are you doing? Your online romance is with a gaming industry god, your super idol, not a scammer. Shouldn’t you be happy? Why return his things?"
Ariana Grant looked at her, her eyes full of self-mockery.
"Ashley, do you know what I feel like right now?"
"What?"
"A toad. A toad who wants to eat swan meat."
Ashley Shaw frowned, her face full of disapproval.
"I forbid you to speak about yourself like that."
Ariana Grant chuckled wryly: "Isn’t it true? Look at my weight... I weighed myself this morning, I’m a hundred and sixty-one pounds, an oversized child who could celebrate Children’s Day."
"Dr. Tate said your prone-to-gain-weight physique is not innate; it’s due to your gastrointestinal issues. Once we resolve that, losing weight will be effortless. Don’t belittle yourself."
"Ashley, you’re not me; you haven’t been fat before, so you don’t understand the mindset of someone overweight. To me, losing weight is worse than killing myself. I’ve thought hard about it, between giving up delicious food to be with him and eating whatever I want, I choose the latter."
"Isn’t it possible that The Wolves doesn’t care about your appearance? He likes you for who you are inside. I even think you’re adorable and beautiful just as you are now."
"That’s you seeing beauty in the eyes of the beloved... Anyway, stop talking, I’ll find the last item and you’ll help take it to Warren Prescott for me another day."
"I won’t do it! You give it to The Wolves yourself in person."
Ariana Grant said with reddened eyes: "Then don’t, I’ll just mail it to his previous address."
Ashley Shaw felt powerless.
She couldn’t understand Ariana Grant’s thoughts, only feeling it was such a pity.
In her eyes, Ariana was more than good enough for The Wolves.
But clearly, right now, Ariana couldn’t take in what she was saying.
After a moment of silence, she said: "Then don’t rush to return the items. He’s not in Westcroft right now anyway. Once he returns and you’ve thought it through completely, decide whether you want to return these things."
Ariana Grant asked: "Where has he gone now?"
Ashley Shaw shook her head: "I’m not sure exactly either; they seem to have a confidentiality agreement, and their phones were confiscated, so he didn’t reply to your messages. But he should be somewhere far away, once he’s back, I’ll let you know immediately."
"...Alright."
"Then stop searching, it’s so late, disturbing the neighbors."
"There’s only an eighty-year-old grandma living alone downstairs, she’s hard of hearing, she won’t notice."
"..."
Nevertheless, Ariana Grant paused her actions, asking her: "Who called you just now?"
Ashley Shaw slapped her forehead.
"It was Ms. Grant; she asked Cillian Xavier to pick me up to go to the Xavier Family and stay over for a night."
As she spoke, Ashley Shaw asked: "Do you want to go? If you do, I’ll call Ms. Grant and tell her you’re going too."
Ariana Grant indeed didn’t want to stay home alone and hesitated, "But she invited you..."
"It doesn’t hurt to ask."
Ashley Shaw said as she called Claire Xavier back.
After inquiring, Claire Xavier happily said: "Come on, the more, the merrier. I’ve never slept with two beauties together before. Come quickly, I have Ariana’s favorite truffle cake here."
"Alright, then we’ll both come and impose!"
After the call ended, Ariana Grant turned her head to start rummaging through the wardrobe.
"What are you doing? Didn’t you say to wait until The Wolves is back?"
"Looking for pajamas. Ms. Grant has yours, but not my size, no matter how rich they are."