Stefan didn't reply to Renee's question but proceeded to survey the manor. "The layout doesn't work. The hall is too cramped, the dome looks awful, and the staircase is too steep. It needs a complete renovation. The decorations are so ancient they look like leftovers from the Republican era. The carvings on the pillars at the entrance aren't exquisite enough, either. It's best you knock it down and start from scratch."Stefan continued to nitpick on everything about the manor in an arrogant tone, and Renee was thoroughly confused. ‘What’s wrong with this man? He still thinks of himself as my husband, doesn’t he?!’"Do you have that much free time on your hands, Stefan? Did you get a degree in interior design when I wasn't looking? You don't need to point out anything about my house!"Stefan was currently standing in the middle of the living room, staring hard at the landscape painting hanging on the wall and ignoring Renee's moody words. "This is a nice painting. It's the famo
Renee realized she was the only one who felt awkward. Stefan seemed comfortable and acted as free as he was at home. It profoundly interpreted the quote, "It's only embarrassing if you care what people think."Earlier, Charles smashed the stuff in the entire living room and made a terrible mess. Only the sofa area seemed to be untouched.Stefan sat gracefully on the couch and crossed his legs. He asked Renee, "How are you? Have you gotten used to your new place?""What do you think? This is my home. Why can't I get comfortable here?"Renee looked around and flashed a meek smile. "I'm finally home after four years of wandering. I have to say, home sweet home!"Stefan's eyes turned slightly gloomy. He said quietly, "As you said, you have half of the property rights to Hunt Villa. If you want to go back, you can move anytime. It's your home."Renee almost thought she had misheard Stefan. The kind look on her face vanished, replaced by disdain."Stefan, aren't you being a hypocrit
Renee found Stefan's sudden change in attitude ridiculous. It must have been hard for an arrogant guy like Stefan to put up such a gentle facade for his lover. Renee lifted her chin and said with a fake smile, "Haven't I made it clear enough? All you have to do is let your lover kneel and apologize to me in front of all the media.""Don't go overboard." Stefan's eyes turned cold. Somehow, Renee seemed like a complete stranger to him. The old Renee was not so aggressive."I told you. Briar is still in the hospital with an unstable pregnancy. How can you have her kneel and apologize to you?""Is that so?!"Renee silently clenched her firsts. Despite the heartache, she maintained her arrogance and mocked Stefan. "She can't kneel, but you can kneel on her behalf. Well, Mr. Hunt, aren't you a man who would bend over for true love? How touching!"Nothing mattered to Renee anymore. Just let Stefan think of her as a mean and cold-blooded woman. Despite being kind and meek for the past
"We have feelings for each other?"Renee stopped eating and smiled helplessly. "Margaret, you're always good at reading people, but not today. Unfortunately, you've misread the situation. Do you know the reason behind Stefan's sudden visit and all that courting?""That's because… he can't let go of you and wants to reconcile?"Renee shook her head. "He came to plead for his lover. He's a prideful man but stripped his pride for such an awful woman. That's unacceptable. I'll never forgive him for that!""What…" Margaret looked at Renee, appalled. She did not expect Renee's former husband, who seemed so upright and noble, to be so dishonorable. That was a great disappointment."I don't think he's that kind of man. He should be able to distinguish between right and wrong. He probably won't condone his lover and her bad character. Is there some misunderstanding?""Misunderstanding?"Renee sneered, "Margaret, you lack experience in relationships. Do you know? There's no right and wron
'Here for a reason?!' When Stefan heard those words, he remembered his unpleasant exchange with Renee and got angrier."What business do you have? Don't blabber, or I'll block you."After that, Stefan continued to bury himself in work. He had a cold aura around him, as though he was an iceberg completely isolated from the world.'Gee. Stefan's really pissed!' Xavier thought and gulped. He finally realized Rachel's good intentions in telling him to come back another day.As Xavier turned to Rachel, trying to ask for help, Rachel obligingly smiled at him and left. "Mr. Stuarts, please feel free and talk to Mr. Hunt. I'm going back to work."And then... She just left like that!‘Damn! Rachel, seriously?!’Xavier watched Rachel as she casually locked the door and left the room. He suddenly felt a sense of despair, like he’d been strategically fed to the beast.‘Nevermind,’ he thought. 'I'm here already. Might as carry on.'After all, who else would suffer here if not him?"Ahem!"
Stefan grabbed his notebook. With a pen, he wrote "How to court a woman” in capital letters. Xavier took a glance and almost burst out laughing."Stefan, oh, Stefan. Everyone says you're as cold as an iceberg. Why do I feel like you're such a dork? Learn how to court a woman by understanding, not by reading. Why are you taking notes?"Stefan said with a blank face, "There are rules to follow for everything. Courting a woman is no different. I'm not only taking notes, but I'm going to do an analysis later. I'll compare various methods and increase the sample data to evaluate the reasonableness and feasibility of your teachings.""Are you serious… Do you have to go that far?" Stefan acted as if he was performing a feasibility test on a multi-billion project, which pushed Xavier's pressure sky-high."I take everything I do seriously." Stefan looked up at Xavier with a warning gaze. "You better be serious at teaching. If it doesn't work, you're finished."Xavier suddenly felt nervou
Xavier went on, "If she blocks you, use a different number. Whenever you're free, flirt with her and make her happy. Then, you move onto Step 2—romance.""All women like romantic things, especially dreamers like your ex-wife. If you're romantic enough, she's as good as yours."Stefan pushed his glasses into place and recorded everything carefully in his notebook. He was very serious the whole time. He even raised his hand and asked, "How do I be romantic?""That's an entirely different lesson. I won't go into that today because there's simply not enough time. You can try watching some romantic dramas, especially Korean dramas, and see what the male protagonists do. I'll find the time to make some PowerPoint slides to teach you the specifics.""Okay."Stefan nodded. "Go on," he ordered like he was Xavier's boss. "Step 3 is relaxing. After a period of fierce pursuit, you have to stop for a bit. This is called emotional push-and-pull. It's a crucial stage. You must control how much
Stefan's handsome face was calm. He merely raised his eyebrows slightly and asked the cautious-looking Xavier, "Why not?"Christopher and him, as well as Xavier, became sworn brothers a long time ago. They were even closer than real brothers.Now that the eldest brother was getting engaged, as the younger brother, there was no reason for him not to go.Xavier thought Stefan was just putting on a brave face. He comforted Stefan, "It's okay, bro, Chris said if you don't want to go, you don't have to. He understands. After all, the relationship between you, him, and Cecy is a bit complicated...”"It's nothing complicated."Stefan said nonchalantly, "One's a brother, the other's an old friend. They're getting engaged. I'll definitely go to the engagement.""But... alright!" Xavier heaved a long sigh with an even stronger look of sympathy on his face.In his opinion, Stefan was obviously just acting nonchalantly.Cecilia was Stefan's first love. Now that his first love was getting e