novelraw Chapter 134 - 132: If Chinese Medicine Won’t Work, Use Pesticide
Chapter 134 - 132: If Chinese Medicine Won’t Work, Use Pesticide
Noticing the smile fade from Ian Sinclair’s lips, Dixon sensed the strange atmosphere and nudged him with his elbow.
He lowered his voice and asked,
"What’s wrong?"
Ian Sinclair’s eyes met that surprised gaze. After a two-second silence, he grinned as if nothing had happened. His tone was playful, yet held a hint of familiarity. "You two are together? Since when?"
"You know your sis—... this student?" Catching a look, Dixon quickly corrected himself.
Ian Sinclair pulled out a chair and sat down. "Of course. She was my deskmate in high school."
Mia Grant coughed lightly, about to say something, but a voice next to her spoke first.
"We’re not together *yet*."
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
The young man was composed, his expression and tone as calm as ever. "We’re just friends."
Mia Grant’s eyelashes fluttered.
In fact, not long after she’d sat down, she heard the people around them starting to tease.
They all thought she was Felix Sinclair’s girlfriend. They even teased him, saying the stubborn old tree was finally blooming, as they’d all assumed he’d be single forever.
She had originally planned to explain.
But hearing their words, and noticing that everyone else had brought a partner, she hesitated and decided not to explain after all.
She had tacitly confirmed their relationship.
’Since I’m already here, I might as well help Felix save face.’
But she never expected Ian Sinclair to show up too.
’A professional saboteur.’
After Felix Sinclair finished his explanation, the private room fell silent for a moment. Then, Sutton, the host sitting at the head of the table, started to heckle. "Not together *yet*... Oh ho ho, okay, okay, we get it. We all get it."
"Not being together" and "not being together *yet*" were two completely different things.
Everyone understood in an instant, and the looks they gave Felix Sinclair and Mia Grant became even more meaningful.
Mia Grant just smiled. As for what Felix Sinclair had said, she wouldn’t even know where to begin to refute it.
When the others weren’t looking, she leaned over, patted Felix Sinclair’s leg under the table, and whispered, "Actually, you didn’t have to explain. Isn’t that why I came? To help you out?"
Felix Sinclair’s gaze had been on Ian Sinclair, but suddenly, the fresh, sweet scent of peach drew near, drifting into his nose without warning.
The perfume she wore tonight was completely different from her usual style. It was playful and cute, like a doll in a princess dress, dancing gracefully through an orchard.
Before he could snap out of it, a soft touch landed on his thigh.
Her fingers were soft. The touch, separated by the fabric of his pants, was light and fleeting, gone as soon as it landed.
But the strange sensation lingered long after, seeming to travel up from the skin on his leg, spreading until his entire torso felt numb, as if he couldn’t feel the slightest trace of blood flowing through his veins.
Hearing her voice, he finally turned his stiff neck and looked down at her fluttering eyelashes, her rosy cheeks, and the tip of her nose and cupid’s bow, which sparkled from some kind of makeup.
She was very beautiful. She had specially dressed up today to help him keep up appearances.
He didn’t know how long it usually took for girls to do their makeup, but he could see the effort she had put in.
Seeing him remain silent, Mia Grant couldn’t help but look up, casting a tentative glance his way.
Their eyes met. Felix Sinclair saw her blink softly, as if in confusion.
Looking closer, he realized her irises were pink today, like cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Stared at by her direct gaze, Felix Sinclair felt a tickle in his throat and slowly uttered a single word.
"Nothing."
In truth, he had only heard the first part of what she said. As for the rest, he hadn’t heard it clearly.
All he knew was that her glistening lips were moving nonstop.
「On the other side.」
Ian Sinclair watched the two of them, their heads close together, whispering to each other with expressions of sweet, passionate love. He couldn’t help but clench his fists.
The puppy ground his back molars, nearly mad with jealousy.
Luckily, Dixon had a firm grip on his leash.
"Hey buddy, what’s up with you?" Dixon followed his gaze, then looked back at him. Something felt off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
But his intuition told him the atmosphere between them wasn’t quite right.
When Dixon had first learned that everyone was bringing partners and friends to the dinner, he hadn’t cared.
His studies had been busy lately, and he’d been single for almost a year.
But that was fine. Felix Sinclair was single too, after all.
He wouldn’t be the only one overwhelmed by the sickeningly sweet smell of love.
But seeing that block of wood, Felix Sinclair, still so clueless, Dixon couldn’t bear it and decided to give him a hand.
And so, he was the only one at the party who had come alone.
He’d messaged Ian Sinclair to complain, asking him where he was.
Ian Sinclair sent back his location. He had just left the Sinclair Family estate and was on his way back to school.
He happened to be passing by the restaurant, so Dixon told him to come over and hang out.
Ian Sinclair didn’t know what kind of gathering it was; he’d only come because of Dixon’s relentless pestering.
Dixon hadn’t mentioned that Felix Sinclair and Mia Grant were there. He figured the kid, Ian, hadn’t met his mysterious ’little sister-in-law’ yet and wanted to give him a surprise.
Looking at it now... TSK, it seemed it was quite a surprise indeed.
"You and this sister-in-law of yours..."
The word "sister-in-law" was like a switch.
Ian Sinclair shot him a look.
Dixon paused, thought for a moment, and rephrased. "You and your deskmate... after all this time, you never ran into each other at school? You had no idea she and your brother were... involved?"
Ian Sinclair ran his tongue over his canine tooth, felt a sharp sting, and then spoke with a smile. "Never saw her."
"Do you think my brother would tell me?"
’This wasn’t what he was really thinking, of course. He wished everyone knew that the one entangled with Mia Grant was him, not Felix Sinclair!’
’But if he said that out loud, if anyone caught even the slightest hint, the entire dynamic would change.’
’It didn’t matter what people thought of the two brothers.’
’He didn’t care about his or Felix’s public image or the consequences.’
’None of that mattered.’
’What he cared about was Mia Grant.’
’If he weren’t worried about her... he wouldn’t just be sitting here, a million miles away from her.’
’He would definitely charge up there, pull them apart, and sit next to her himself. That’s where he should be.’
"True." Felix was a closed book; his lips were sealed.
Dixon tried to find a clue in his expression, as if trying to crack a major case. But the puppy caught him and shot him a vicious glare.
"What are you looking at?"
’...’ ’He’s acting like he just swallowed gunpowder.’
"Are you okay?"
"What could be wrong with me?" Ian Sinclair lowered his head to the fruit platter, bit off a piece of honeydew with force, and chewed hard.
That expression, that force... it was as if he weren’t eating melon, but chewing on someone’s bones.
Dixon swallowed. "You don’t exactly look okay."
Ian Sinclair looked over, raising an eyebrow.
"Your current state and expression give off a certain vibe... like Chinese medicine can’t fix you anymore. You need pesticides."
Ian Sinclair: "..."
The atmosphere gradually grew more lively.
Once everyone had more or less finished eating, they started playing a game.
The cliché game of Truth or Dare always got interesting with a group of couples.
Unfortunately, it was Mia Grant’s turn.
Everyone knew that Felix Sinclair and Mia Grant were also high school classmates and guessed that they’d had some kind of connection back then.
So, someone asked, "Grant, was there a boy you liked in high school? If so, please describe the first moment your heart fluttered for him."
Mia Grant froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she subconsciously glanced at the resentful puppy who was staring at her with his chin in his hand.