Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Waiting in the Rain
After dinner, Ashley Shaw followed Ariana Grant’s instructions by wrapping a boiled egg with a washcloth and gently rolling it over her forehead.
She had already changed back into her original clothes and put her black-framed glasses back on before returning home.
Compared to the previous disguise, she felt much more comfortable this way.
However, she decided to schedule her eye surgery soon, as she heard that wearing glasses as a doctor could be inconvenient.
"This is better than ice," Ariana Grant said while putting the ice pack she brought from outside into the fridge.
"Wait a minute."
Ashley Shaw suddenly spoke up, "That ice pack...don’t put it in the fridge; throw it away."
"Throw it away? We might need it someday. For a fever or something, an egg won’t do."
"Just throw it away."
Ashley Shaw repeated herself.
"Oh, okay." Ariana Grant, though puzzled, threw the half-melted ice pack into the trash bin.
Just then, Ariana Grant’s phone rang.
"Hello? Ah? Hmm, I see, I’ll go check. Okay, I’ll hang up now."
After hanging up, Ariana Grant hurried to the window, suspiciously peeking through a corner of the curtain to look downstairs.
Ashley Shaw raised her eyes quizzically, "What’s up?"
Ariana Grant waved her over, "My dad called, said the community cleaner told him there’s a car parked downstairs for a long time with someone inside looking over at us. He told me to lock the doors and windows... Oh, I see it, it’s a top-model Alphard. That car looks familiar. Quick, come and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Ashley Shaw immediately became serious, put down the egg, crouched down, and joined Ariana Grant in nervously peering downstairs.
After all, it was just the two girls at home, and the community was an old and shabby one with inadequate security, so if something happened, who knew what could ensue.
But in just a moment, Ashley Shaw relaxed her tense nerves.
"It’s nothing, don’t worry about it."
"Huh? Did you recognize that car?"
"Yeah."
"Who is it?"
Ashley Shaw walked to the umbrella stand, took an umbrella, and sighed, "It’s Cillian Xavier."
"Hey?!" Ariana Grant’s voice rose several pitches.
She suddenly remembered the day after the college entrance exams when Cillian Xavier voluntarily helped them carry books.
"No way... Ashley, he, he wouldn’t..."
"Yeah."
"!!!" Ariana Grant’s eyes were wide like brass bells.
Ashley Shaw’s expression was complicated.
She didn’t know how to assess Cillian Xavier.
He, in fact, wasn’t problematic, but the issue was, he was Warren Prescott’s friend.
Also, in her past life, she had dealt with the Xavier Family a few times, and their attitude towards her was, if anything, even worse than the Prescott Family’s.
Back then, she was still Warren Prescott’s wife, yet the attitude was such—let alone now?
For a family that cared so much about status, even if she had no romantic feelings for Cillian Xavier, even if they ended up together, it might lead to another turbulent trial.
"I’ll go downstairs and clear things up with him."
Ariana Grant quickly pulled her back.
"What is there to clear up? I think Cillian Xavier’s quite nice, at least better than Warren Prescott. Why don’t you give it a try and see how it goes between you two?"
"There’s no need, and there’s no reason to waste someone else’s time."
Ashley Shaw’s attitude was firm, so Ariana Grant reluctantly followed her downstairs.
The old building had no elevator, and by the time Ashley Shaw stepped off the last flight of stairs, she found that the Alphard had already driven away.
Meanwhile, in the Alphard, Cillian Xavier didn’t see Ashley Shaw coming down but tightly gripped the brown newspaper in his hand, his eyes full of struggle.
"Young master, should we head straight home?"
The driver turned his head to ask.
Cillian Xavier let out a breath of frustration, "Let’s go home."
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
Ashley Shaw brought Ariana Grant to the law firm to meet with Shane Coleman.
Under Shane Coleman’s "simulated teaching," Ariana Grant remembered what and how she should speak in court.
"Thank you, Attorney Coleman."
"No, I should be thanking you." Shane Coleman spoke sincerely, not just out of politeness.
Thanks to Ashley Shaw, the reputation of "Shane Coleman’s Law Firm" grew stronger by the day.
Additionally, Shane Coleman’s handsome facade that was hard to resist attracted a stream of "female clients" coming one after another.
Just in this half-day, he had already taken on two highly profitable divorce cases.
With his current industry reputation, the fees were no longer just simple attorney fees but also included a percentage of the opposing party’s post-divorce assets.
Now, overwhelmed with divorce cases, he was preparing to expand and hire more staff.
Ashley Shaw laughed sheepishly at Shane Coleman’s gratitude.
She had merely, thanks to her "rebirth," leveraged a time advantage, making use of Shane Coleman’s hard work.
At most, she had saved him some time, helping him gain fame faster.
After bidding goodbye to Shane Coleman, the two prepared to find a restaurant for a meal when Grandpa Prescott’s call came in.
"Ashley, it’s been days since you visited me. Can you come over for dinner today?"
Before Ashley Shaw could respond, the old man whispered, "In a moment, there’ll be no one else at home, just this old man alone."
Ashley Shaw hesitated, gripped her phone, and said, "My friend’s with me. Can I bring her along?"
"Of course! The more, the merrier!"
"Okay, then we’ll come over now?"
"Sure, I’ll have the kitchen start preparing the dishes. What does your friend like to eat?"
"Her taste is similar to mine, but she can’t eat spicy or overly greasy food."
"Alright, got it."
After the call ended, Ashley Shaw relayed Grandpa Prescott’s words. Ariana Grant felt both thrilled and apprehensive.
"He won’t be unhappy if I go, will he?"
"No, he’s different from the Prescott family, just a kind and somewhat childish old grandpa."
Ariana Grant initially wondered how a septuagenarian could be so childish, but upon meeting Grandpa Prescott, she was quite enlightened.
"No way! I just made a wrong move; I wanted to place it here! Take yours back!"
Grandpa Prescott tossed Ashley Shaw’s white chess piece back into the white piece box and moved his piece elsewhere.
Ashley Shaw was long accustomed to Grandpa Prescott’s fondness for taking back moves, so she asked calmly, "Are you sure this time, and won’t change again?"
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Prescott quickly took back his piece again.
"Wait, I haven’t decided yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Young people shouldn’t rush; let me think it through first..."
After pondering for a moment, Grandpa Prescott changed the placement of his piece again.
Ashley Shaw unhesitatingly placed her piece down.
Grandpa Prescott exclaimed.
"No, no, no! I made a mistake again; I didn’t mean to put it there. My hand slipped, my hand cramped up."
"..." Ariana Grant was dumbfounded.
Oh dear...
This isn’t just childish; he’s simply a child!
Just then, the housekeeper’s voice came from the entrance.
"The young master is back?"