Zachary rubbed his arms and nodded. "It is a little chilly." He paused, then said pointedly, "Maybe someone's AC has gone out of whack."Ethan clucked his tongue and quipped, "I don't smell any refrigerant here or anything, but you know what I do smell? Jealousy."Zachary switched the subject to talk about Patrick. "Luce's senior apprentice looks like quite the gentleman, doesn't he? He also sounds gentle and composed, as one would expect of a scholar.""He's knowledgeable, too. It's hard not to be interested in men like him," Ethan added. "I have to admit that women find men like him quite attractive."Lucas listened silently. They seemed to be having fun teasing Spencer. Yesterday's meal had been more than enough for everyone to see how hostile Spencer was toward Patrick. His jealousy had basically been written all over his face.After a brief silence, Spencer said icily, "Go ahead and get him if you're interested in him. I think you guys are pretty good matches for him. If yo
"Patrick Horton is such a nice name. I hereby announce that Ricky is the man of my dreams and my idol!""What I want to know is which door God has closed for my lover boy.""The one that allows you to marry him.""Hahaha! That's so mean!"The viewers chatted away. Meanwhile, the backend staff watched as the livestream chat went from talking about the actual convention to discussing Patrick's looks. They rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things, and indeed, they weren't.In that instant, everyone understood that the viewers had come to check Patrick out. Well, that was none of the staff members' business. It was great that they had gotten more viewers without needing to spend a dime. They'd take what they could get.Thanks to this, the cameras basically zoomed in on Patrick's face. Some eagle-eyed viewers noticed there were several more handsome guys seated in the arena. Everyone had thought only old folks would attend such a convention. Who would've known there
"Now, let us welcome Adora, who has published over 200 SCI papers. She's also known as Ms. Lucille Johnson," Patrick said.Most of the people present clapped enthusiastically at his words, while a small group of people were stunned."Who did he just introduce Luce as? How many SCI papers has she published?" Ethan asked, looking a little dumbstruck.Among the four men, Lucas was the only one who knew who Adora was. His jaw dropped slightly—Lucille's identity was beyond his expectations. He didn't expect her to be the mysterious Adora that everyone in the medical field lauded as a genius in research.One had to have more than brains to publish over 200 SCI papers, and she was so young, too. She was undoubtedly a genius in this aspect, and she was only 24 years old. Most people her age had only just graduated from university. And so, Lucas didn't expect Lucille to be the internationally renowned Adora.Spencer frowned slightly at Patrick's announcement but didn't say anything. He
"Be honest with me—Luce isn't human, right?" Ethan felt a chill run down his spine as soon as the words were out of his mouth. This was followed by a look so sharp that it made him feel like he'd been stabbed.Zachary gave him a look as though saying, "You're on your own, mate." At the same time, Spencer gave him an icy look. He didn't follow up with anything else, but it was enough to make Ethan gulp.He had reason to believe that if not for this being the wrong place and the fact that he and Spencer were good friends, the latter would've killed him.In truth, he hadn't meant anything negative with his question. It was just that Lucille was involved in such different fields that it didn't seem like something humanly possible. It was almost like her genes were completely different from the rest of the Johnson family's.Why else would they have been biased against her since she was a child? And why would they go around ruining her reputation, even going so far as to sever ties with
Lucille didn't attend the tender meeting in the afternoon. Since her identity as Adora had been unmasked in the morning, Star&Ciel Group's stock price had increased exponentially.Bailey forced Lucille to sit on the couch in the latter's office. The former had already been staring at Lucille for the past 15 minutes without saying anything.Lucille placed a hand on her forehead and broke the silence. "If you have anything to say, just spit it out. It's kind of creepy for you to keep staring at me like that."Bailey pressed her lips together and scoffed. Then, she said, "Tell me how many more secret identities you're keeping from me! I can't believe I had to learn about this through the news!"She even sounded a little aggrieved. Lucille didn't even flinch as she said, "Spencer's only just found out, too."In other words, she was saying that Bailey didn't need to feel aggrieved, seeing as her own husband had just found out about this.Bailey fell silent. She plopped onto the couch
In truth, there was no need for Charles to thank Lucille. His company was one of the companies that had caught her eye right from the start.He was actually better at covering his tracks than anyone else she knew. He'd hidden himself so thoroughly that she'd never have known the company was his if he hadn't let her in on the secret.…That night, an unwelcome guest showed up at Sparrow Residence. Well, maybe he wasn't exactly unwelcome. The guest was Seth, after all.Lucille was the first to arrive home. As soon as she entered the manor, she saw Seth sprawled on the couch.She approached him and narrowed her eyes at him, watching him play with his phone. "What are you doing here?"He looked up at her voice and immediately sat up straight. "Hi, Lucille."She hummed in acknowledgment and sat on the couch across from him. Then, she glanced at the black suitcase by the couch and asked, "Have you run away from home?"He placed his phone on the couch beside him and smiled, looking a
The following morning, Spencer headed downstairs to see Seth seated at the dining table."Morning, brother dearest." Seth beamed while eating sourdough bread.Spencer frowned as he sat at the head of the table. He shot Seth a look and said coldly, "Did you come over here so early in the morning to disgust me? Drop that revolting smile."Seth was lost for words. How had he been disgusting or revolting? He turned to look at Herbert and asked earnestly, "Was my smile revolting, Herbert?"The latter smiled fondly. "No."Seth said, "I knew it. I'm so handsome that there's no way I'll ever look bad with a smile on."Spencer ignored him and took a sip of his milk. Then, he elegantly dug into his breakfast.However, Seth was a chatterbox and couldn't keep his mouth shut for long. He glanced at the staircase and asked seemingly casually, "Is Lucille still asleep?"Spencer didn't even bother looking at him. "Eat your breakfast, or get lost."He wasn't bothered by Spencer's iciness. He w
Seth witnessed an abrupt change in Spencer's expression and bearing. Then, the latter immediately noticed when Lucille came downstairs and got up to head over to her."Why didn't you sleep in a little later?" He caressed the back of her head, his eyes filled with love and tenderness. His actions were gentle and affectionate.Lucille cleared her throat a little awkwardly. Spencer had kept her up until the wee hours of the night, but she'd been a little embarrassed to sleep in too late since Seth was now staying with them. She said, "I was hungry, so I couldn't sleep anymore."Spencer didn't miss the trace of shyness that flitted past her eyes. Lucille was a strong and beautiful career woman to the rest of the world—only when she was with him did she reveal her shy side. He loved seeing this side of her.Seth watched them, suddenly thinking that agreeing to Lila's request to move into Sparrow Residence hadn't been the smartest choice. Didn't this mean he'd have to witness Spencer a