Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Thea Lynch, Follow Me
Early morning, the fog was thick, the windows in the corridor weren’t shut, and the crosswind made Thea Lynch’s shoulders shake.
Thea lowered her head to check the time; it was ten past six.
She hesitated for a moment at Ian Preston’s door, then finally knocked, "Third brother."
"Third brother?"
It seemed he wasn’t home again.
Thea frowned. Could he really be out buying breakfast at this hour?
Taking out her phone, she called Ian. The ringtone went twice before the call was picked up.
"Third brother, are you not at home?"
"You’re up so early?"
Both voices sounded simultaneously.
Thea was momentarily stunned, then answered first, "I got up around five. Are you outside now, third brother?"
"Yeah." Ian was indeed surprised she was up this early. He was still driving, glanced at the time, and said, "I’ll be downstairs in about ten minutes."
"Alright, I’ll go down to wait for you."
"No need. It’s cold outside today, wait upstairs for me. I’ll call you when I arrive."
He didn’t forget to remind her at the end, "Wear a thicker coat when you come down."
"Okay."
——
Back in her room, Thea had nothing to do, so she reorganized the bouquet.
Aaron Lynch didn’t particularly like any kind of flowers, but there were plenty he disliked.
He didn’t like the colors too light.
He preferred something more vibrant.
Thea selected and chose carefully, eventually not preparing white chrysanthemums, opting for a more colorful bouquet instead.
It was indeed a bit nontraditional, but there was no choice; her brother liked it.
Ian said ten minutes, but when he called her, it had only been five or six.
"Is there a lot of stuff? I can come up to get you." It wasn’t so much a question of negotiation but more like a notice.
Thea didn’t let Ian come up, "There’s not much stuff; I can come down myself."
Afraid that Ian would say something else, Thea abruptly hung up the phone, cradled the bouquet in one hand, and hurried downstairs with the bag in the other.
Ian’s car was downstairs. Because they were visiting Aaron today, Ian drove himself and didn’t call for a driver.
Thea placed the items in the back seat and then circled to sit in the front.
As the car drove out of the community, Thea remembered, "Are we leaving this early?"
Of course, she wanted to arrive early, but then she realized it was a bit earlier than what their second brother had planned.
Ian looked straight ahead, "Let’s go get something to eat first."
Upon hearing this, Thea nodded. Once they’re done eating, it’ll just be about the right time.
"Where did you go so early, third brother?"
"To buy sugar pancakes."
"..." Thea was speechless, looking at him in surprise, "Did you actually find them?"
Ian hadn’t mentioned it to her these days, so she just assumed he hadn’t found them. Therefore, she didn’t dare to ask.
No need to make it difficult for him.
Ian, with a very light tone, replied, "Found them yesterday afternoon."
"Then why didn’t you call me?"
"I didn’t think you’d be up this early."
He had a hidden implication.
Thea: "..."
Not surprising Ian—on the way back last night, she couldn’t hold it and threw up once.
At the time, Ian was startled and insisted on taking her to the hospital.
She insisted on going back to sleep, so he let it go.
Luckily, she didn’t throw up anymore afterward, but she still felt quite uncomfortable.
In her hazy memory, Ian took care of her until late and then left; she couldn’t remember the exact time.
She trusted him enough that she fell asleep while he was still there.
So she didn’t remember what happened later.
Thinking of this, Thea tentatively asked, "Third brother must have rested very late last night, right?"
"Yeah, around three." Knowing what she really wanted to ask, Ian kindly provided the answer.
"You didn’t sleep much, third brother. How about later I take over driving?"
She had already renewed her driver’s license but hadn’t decided on what car to buy yet. She wasn’t interested in this area and was utterly clueless, so she’d let Sean handle it first.
"You’re not familiar with this road; you can’t drive it." Ian didn’t give her the chance to prove herself.
"Oh." Thea responded. Sensing her disappointment, after a pause, the man added, "You drive on the way back, then, following Silas Cheney’s car."
Having them leading the way ahead gave Ian peace of mind.
"Alright." Thea finally felt relieved.
Nervous yet expectant inside.
After breakfast, Thea and Ian officially set off.
On the road, Thea received a voice call from Silas Cheney; he called through a group chat. Soon, her second brother also went online.
Sean and her second brother were in the same car, Sean and Ian both driving.
Thea turned on the hands-free mode for Ian to hear.
"Sis, which route are you taking? Damn, it’s a bit congested over here."
Thea activated location sharing for Silas to see easily.
Sean: "Silas, you idiot, traveling Crown Avenue at this time? Who else but you’d be stuck."
Soon, the two were arguing over the phone, with faint background sounds of her second brother trying to mediate.
Thea couldn’t help but laugh.
"I just remembered, there was a time years ago when we went on a spring outing just like this."
Upon hearing this, Ian quickly knew what she was referring to.
Silas drove without looking at navigation. No matter if the road was known or unknown, he didn’t consult it.
His driving style was entirely casual.
He had once led a road trip; they were supposed to bike to a park for a picnic, but due to Silas taking the wrong road, the entire picnic was spoiled.
"Fourth brother, take a look at the navigation." Thea helplessly interrupted their conversation.
Silas remained mysteriously confident, "No need, no need, I know this road well."
"You know nothing." Sean couldn’t resist countering.
——
They thought Silas would be the last to arrive, yet when Thea and Ian reached, they saw Silas’s car already at the door.
Thea got out of the car, seeing Silas waving to her from inside.
"Fourth brother, how did you get here so fast?"
"I told you, I know this road well." Silas chuckled triumphantly.
The last to arrive were Sean and the second brother.
Upon seeing Sean, Silas naturally had to taunt him a bit, and didn’t forget to say to Julian Zimmerman, "We’ll have second brother in my car on the way back."
"Alright, alright," seeing them about to start arguing, Julian smiled helplessly, "You two are still like children."
They hadn’t changed a bit over the years.
"No more fussing. Keep it down."
Julian reminded them this wasn’t the place for their antics, signaling them to be quiet.
The last time they all came here was back when Aaron had just left. At that time, they parted on bad terms. Thea never thought there’d be a scene like today again.
She stood behind Ian, head lowered, looking at her shoe tips, moving slowly.
Gradually, she ended up at the back of the line.
No one knew how fast her heart was beating now.
Suddenly, the person ahead stretched his hand back.
Thea paused slightly. She quietly looked at his hand, hesitating to move. He didn’t retract it.
After a bout of inner turmoil, Thea slowly raised her hand, placing it into Ian’s palm.
"Thea, come along," he said.
