Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Arrogant Man
Ivy Sherwood went into the bathroom. After quickly washing up, putting on some makeup, and changing her clothes, she finally came out.
Uncle Linton had already laid out breakfast. When he saw Ivy Sherwood, he greeted her, "Miss Sherwood."
"Good morning, Uncle Linton. I’ve told you before, you don’t need to call me Miss Sherwood. Ivy Sherwood is fine."
Uncle Linton beamed. He was fond of the young lady; she was warm, approachable, and very polite, making her instantly likable.
"Alright, alright. In that case, I’ll call you Miss Ivy from now on."
Ivy Sherwood said, "If you don’t mind, Uncle Linton, you can just call me Ivy. No need to add ’Miss.’ I’m just a regular person."
"Alright, Ivy." The more Uncle Linton looked at her, the more he liked her. ’She might not be breathtakingly beautiful,’ he thought, ’but she has a charm that grows on you.’
’The most important thing is that she’s a good match for the Master. Back in Aethelgard, I was always by his side managing his daily life, and the Master never, ever brought a woman home.’
’It was true that after coming to Lustre, besides Miss Sherwood, he had also brought home another beautiful woman. But that was the Master’s fault!’
’The Master ought to have someone to keep him company, and in my opinion, Ivy Sherwood is an excellent choice.’
"Ivy, come and have breakfast," Uncle Linton beckoned.
Ivy Sherwood came over. "It smells amazing! The cooking from Norhaven is truly on another level. It’s delicious."
"You brought so much, we’ll never be able to finish it all. Please, eat with us, Uncle Linton," Ivy Sherwood said.
"I’ve already eaten," Uncle Linton said. "You two go ahead and eat."
’Ivy really has no airs about her, unlike that Miss Sheridan from before. That woman was a complete snob, looking down her nose at everyone as if she were a cut above the rest.’
"Uncle Linton, please eat with us," Quentin Blackwood also spoke up.
"Oh, how could I?"
Ivy Sherwood gave him her stool and grabbed another one for herself. "There’s nothing to feel bad about. Besides, you and Quentin Blackwood are like family."
Uncle Linton was delighted. ’This young lady really knows what to say.’
After breakfast, Uncle Linton didn’t want to intrude on their private time. Once Ivy Sherwood finished packing up the containers, he took them and promptly left.
’I should ask Ivy Sherwood for a walk in the garden downstairs,’ Quentin Blackwood thought. He hadn’t been out in two days and was going stir-crazy in the hospital room.
But Quentin Blackwood had no idea how to bring it up or how to ask her.
Just as he was hesitating, after spending a long time psyching himself up to speak, Ivy Sherwood stood up.
"Oh!"
"What’s wrong?"
Ivy Sherwood said, "Nina just texted me. She’s here at the hospital too and asked me to come hang out."
Ivy Sherwood put her phone away and looked at Quentin Blackwood. "There’s not much going on here anyway, and you seem to be doing fine, so I’m going to go hang out with Nina."
Quentin Blackwood: "..."
’Look at how excited she is,’ he thought. ’It’s like she can’t wait to leave.’
"What’s so fun about a hospital?"
"You wouldn’t get it," Ivy Sherwood said. "I’m going to find her now. Bye!"
With that, Ivy Sherwood waved at Quentin Blackwood and dashed off to find Nina Scott.
She didn’t even notice the unnatural expression on Quentin Blackwood’s face behind her. ’What’s so great about Nina Scott?’ he wondered. ’Isn’t hanging out with me fun?’
’If I had just asked first, would Ivy have decided not to go see Nina Scott?’
’If I had asked her to stay right after she said Nina wanted to hang out, would she have chosen me?’
’Forget it. Girls’ friendships need to be maintained, too. Ivy will come back to find me sooner or later.’
Quentin Blackwood picked up his laptop again and resumed working.
The moment Ivy Sherwood stepped out of the room, she saw Nina Scott. Nina looked her up and down and began to tease, "Well, well. You spent the whole night with President Blackwood and didn’t even go home?"
"I was planning to go back, but... it’s a long story."
Ivy Sherwood couldn’t explain it in just a few sentences, so she dodged the question. "Let’s go. Where to?"
"I have to go downstairs and pay a bill for my brother first," Nina Scott said. "Wanna come with?"
"Sure, let’s go." Ivy Sherwood linked her arm through Nina Scott’s.
Girls always have endless things to talk about, and Nina Scott was especially curious about what was going on between Ivy Sherwood and Quentin Blackwood. "So you stayed with President Blackwood last night. He didn’t try anything, did he?"
"How could he? Nina, don’t let your imagination run wild."
"I’m not letting my imagination run wild! It’s obvious President Blackwood really cares about you. And when a man like that gets jealous, you’re the one who’s going to suffer. He’ll have you stuck in bed for days."
Ivy Sherwood: "..."
"Nina, what are you talking about!"
"I’m not just making it up! That’s how it’s always written in novels."
"I keep telling you to read fewer of those novels. They’re all lies," Ivy Sherwood said.
"Of course I know they’re fake, but life is hard enough as it is. Can’t a girl dream a little?"
The two of them chatted all the way to the payment counter downstairs. The hospital was always packed with people. Nina Scott went to get in line while Ivy Sherwood waited nearby.
The person in line behind Nina Scott was Miles Mercer. He stared at the woman in front of him, feeling she looked very familiar. ’Isn’t this the woman from the fashion show? The one who threw herself into my arms?’
’He usually wasn’t very good with faces, especially when it came to women, but for some reason, he remembered hers.’
’What’s this woman doing here, too? Is she sick?’
’She couldn’t have known I’d be at the hospital, could she?’
He leaned closer, trying to get a better look at her face and confirm if it was the same woman, but he couldn’t find an opportunity.
Nina Scott waited in line for quite a while before it was finally her turn. Once she was finished, she turned around, not expecting the person behind her to be so close. She walked right into his chest.
She rubbed her forehead, assuming it was her fault. "Oh, sorry! I didn’t do that on purpose."
Nina Scott apologized without even seeing who she had bumped into. Regardless of who it was, she was the one who had done the bumping.
"So it is you!"
Hearing that voice, Nina Scott looked up. "The arrogant jerk?"
"Who are you calling an arrogant jerk?!"
"Are you following me?" Nina Scott went on the offensive. Her strategy was simple: whoever accuses first wins.
’Why is this woman stealing my line?’ he thought. ’Who’s following who?’
"Hey, are you going to pay or not?" the staff member at the counter urged.
Miles Mercer shot Nina Scott an "I’ll deal with you later" look and then went to pay the bill.
The main reason he was at the hospital was that his older brother was sick. Ever since they got off the cruise ship, Xavier Mercer had been feeling unwell—it was unclear if it was the change in climate or the weather—so he had stayed behind in the city.
His condition had gotten worse today, so Miles Mercer had brought him straight to the hospital.
Ivy Sherwood had seen the confrontation and walked over. "Nina, what happened? Are you okay?"
Nina Scott pulled Ivy Sherwood closer. "It’s nothing, Ivy. Remember when we came back from the fashion show in Aethelgard? I told you I ran into that psycho, arrogant jerk? The one who thinks every girl on the planet wants to throw herself at him."
Ivy Sherwood nodded. Nina Scott had indeed mentioned it. "I remember."
"Well, he’s here in Lustre. Like a ghost you can’t shake."
"Hey, who are you calling a ghost you can’t shake? So rude!" Miles Mercer, who was right behind them, had heard every word.
When Ivy Sherwood turned around and saw Miles Mercer, she was also a little surprised. ’So he’s the guy Nina was talking about.’
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