Chapter 226: Chapter 226: How Can You Say That About Her
"Pfft—"
Ashley Shaw couldn’t help but laugh.
After Ariana Grant took out the latest pajamas from the closet, Ashley Shaw tentatively asked, "Do you want to try going for a morning run with me these days?"
Ariana Grant’s big, round eyes widened.
"Me, go for a morning run? Where to?"
"The greenway, isn’t there a newly built one across the community?"
Ariana Grant pursed her lips and said, "Come on! Aren’t you afraid I’ll scare the greenway?"
"..."
Normally, Ashley Shaw would find Ariana Grant’s words funny, but today it was complicated, and she couldn’t laugh.
"Don’t think too much about it. We’ve only been together for a short while, and I’m not even sad, so don’t overthink it."
Ariana Grant pinched Ashley Shaw’s cheek.
Hmm, she looks like a bamboo pole, but when pinching her, it feels just as soft.
Ashley Shaw said in a relaxed manner, "I’m not overthinking, I’m just concerned about your health. Dr. Tate said that more exercise is good for your stomach issues. Anyway, I’ll drag you to run with me these two days."
"I don’t want to. If you can drag me out of bed, I’ll admit defeat."
Just then, Ashley Wyatt’s phone rang again.
She glanced at the caller ID; it was Cillian Xavier calling.
"He’s downstairs, let’s hurry down."
Ashley Shaw directly rejected the call and hurriedly pulled Ariana Grant downstairs.
Downstairs, in a dazzling silver four-seat sports car, the pretty girl in the passenger seat glanced at Cillian Xavier’s phone screen.
Seeing the dialing screen without a saved contact, just a string of numbers, she couldn’t help but be puzzled, "Who are you calling? You remember the number without saving it?"
Cillian Xavier’s expression was indifferent.
"A friend of my sister. I’ll take her and then drop you off first."
Hearing it was Claire Xavier’s friend, the girl’s face brightened up instantly.
"So it’s Ms. Grant’s friend, but why does Ms. Grant’s friend live in such a shabby community?"
Cillian Xavier furrowed his brow imperceptibly, then spoke calmly, "I remember when your family’s business hadn’t started yet, you were renting an apartment? Conditions were worse than here, right?"
The girl’s expression froze.
"Why bring up the past? How many years has it been?"
"Not many years, just two or three."
Impatience had already built up in Cillian Xavier’s eyes, but his upbringing kept Ivy Bond in the car.
The girl’s face grew uglier.
Her name was Ivy Bond. Her family’s conditions were indeed poor before, with four people living in less than fifty square meters.
Even her brother’s college tuition was sponsored by the Xavier Family.
It was only after her dad luckily bought the right stocks that they earned their first fortune, following the Xavier Family’s investments, which greatly improved their financial status.
But she didn’t want to recall these things, and Cillian Xavier hardly ever mentioned them either, so why today?
Girls are sensitive, and after a moment of awkwardness, she quickly realized that Cillian was standing up for Ms. Grant’s friend.
Did she upset Cillian by saying something about Ms. Grant’s friend?
Well, the Xavier siblings always had a good relationship, so it was her slip of the tongue.
After two seconds of silence, she tried to make amends, "I didn’t mean anything else, don’t get me wrong. I just thought Ms. Grant’s friends were all well-off, so I was a bit surprised."
"Family background doesn’t represent anything. Just as when our family chose your brother from among the sponsored, it wasn’t about your family’s status, but about your brother’s talent and character."
Ivy Bond’s smile became increasingly difficult to sustain.
"You’re right. I won’t say things like that anymore. Please don’t be mad, okay?"
She reached to take Cillian Xavier’s hand through the car’s center control, but Cillian Xavier withdrew his arm to avoid her.
Ivy Bond’s hand grasped nothing, and the last trace of her smile disappeared, replaced by growing awkwardness.
"Sorry." Cillian Xavier noticed her awkwardness and, out of courtesy, offered an explanation, "I don’t like others touching me, sorry."
The explanation both comforted and saddened Ivy Bond.
Comforted because at least Cillian still explained to her.
Saddened because she was "others" to Cillian, while she thought they were "one of us."
And for some reason, she always felt that Cillian had become more distant since returning to Westcroft.
Before, although he treated her like a sister, now it seemed she was not even "sister" level.
Perhaps it was just because they hadn’t seen each other for so long?
After she went to school in Aethelgard, they only met during New Year’s.
But it’s okay; soon she’ll be going abroad with Cillian for studies.
Ivy Bond struggled to swallow the sour feeling in her heart with her tongue, just as she saw a fat and a thin figure coming out of the building, instantly reminding her of characters from Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, making her chuckle.
"Cillian, don’t those two look like the Fat and Thin Baptist?"
Following her gaze, Cillian saw Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant walking out of the shadows into the hallway light.
Although he couldn’t see their faces clearly due to the dim lighting, he recognized them instantly.
His expression immediately turned dark.
Yet Ivy continued, "Hey? Why are there two women? That Fat Baptist is really fat..."
"Ivy Bond!"
Ivy Bond jumped, quickly looking at Cillian.
In her memory, he had never called her by her full name; everyone just called her "Ivy."
Cillian seemed calm, but his eyes were a surging storm.
"Did a dog eat everything you learned in Aethelgard these past years?"
Ivy Bond’s eyes widened, tears quickly forming.
"Cillian..."
How could he say that to her!
"Don’t speak anymore; my ears hurt."
"..." Was he saying her voice was piercing?
Ivy Bond’s heart surged with blood, feeling both angry and hurt, nearly choking with emotion.
She tried hard not to let her tears fall, turned her head away from Cillian, and looked out the car window.
But the next moment, she saw those "Fat and Thin Baptists" approach their car.
The thinner one came closer and knocked on the driver’s window.
The window was quickly rolled down by Cillian, and under the bright interior car lights, Ivy Bond clearly saw the face of the "Thin Baptist."
What a stunning face it was!
Her hair, like seaweed, lazily draped over her shoulders, a few tendrils gently brushed her cheeks, adding an air of casual elegance.
Those pitch-black, clear eyes seemed bottomless.
Long lashes like two exquisite fans, each blink like a butterfly’s wings, seemingly enchanting.
And her features, need no words, naturally beautiful yet deeply moving.
Yet clearly she wasn’t wearing any makeup, just her bare face, naturally stunning.
For the first time, Ivy Bond truly understood what "a lotus emerges from clear water" and "six palaces of powder lose their color" meant.