On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 24: I Hate Green Tea the Most

"I’m fine. I don’t really get cold," Chloe Sterling said.

Jasper Lockwood walked up to her, his fingers gently brushing her cool cheek. "The weather’s getting colder. You shouldn’t stay outside all the time."

Chloe Sterling: "...Okay."

"Get some rest. Good night."

"Okay. You get some rest, too. Good night."

Though they said their good nights, neither of them moved.

Jasper Lockwood’s sharp, intense eyes bored into her. He suddenly asked, "Need someone to warm your bed? A human one, I mean."

"..."

Chloe Sterling was suddenly reminded of that one night where she felt like she was being tossed about in a raging storm. "Not necessary," she said decisively.

With that, she turned and headed for the bedroom.

Watching her retreating back, a slight smile touched Jasper Lockwood’s lips before he headed to the guest room.

「A few days later.」

Chloe Sterling thought she wouldn’t see Damian Rivers again, but to her surprise, she spotted him standing at the base of the laboratory building as soon as she arrived at The Medical College that morning.

When he saw her approaching, a smile played on his lips. "What a coincidence."

Chloe Sterling raised an eyebrow. "A coincidence?"

’I come to The Medical College almost every day. If he just stands here, of course he’s going to run into me. And he calls it a coincidence!’

Damian Rivers said with a perfectly straight face, "Yeah. My grandfather asked me to come find Director Xavier. I didn’t expect to run into you as soon as I got here."

"Oh. Well, take your time waiting." With that, Chloe Sterling started to walk into the laboratory building.

"Wait!" Damian Rivers said, looking a little sheepish. "Actually, I came to see you."

Chloe Sterling glanced at him sideways. "Young Master Rivers, you need to honor the bet."

"I know, I know, but you never said it was a single round that decided everything. How about two more? If you win both, I promise I’ll never bother you again."

Chloe Sterling raised an eyebrow. ’I can’t believe the great Heir of the Rivers would be such a shameless sore loser.’

"So what do you say? I’ll keep my word this time, I swear!" ’This time, we’re not racing cars,’ Damian Rivers planned. ’Something else.’

Chloe Sterling replied, "Not interested."

’I don’t have time to play his games.’

Chloe Sterling walked into the laboratory building.

Damian Rivers couldn’t follow her in, so he was left standing helplessly at the entrance.

Just then, Esther Sterling slowly approached, her voice gentle. "Hello, Young Master Rivers."

Damian Rivers turned to her, his expression puzzled. "Who are you? Do I know you?"

"I’m Esther Sterling. Chloe Sterling is my sister."

"Oh." Damian Rivers had already looked into Chloe Sterling’s background and knew she’d been kicked out by the Sterling Family. His tone was less than friendly. "But isn’t she no longer part of your family?"

"It’s because my sister made some mistakes. That’s why my father... I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. Young Master Rivers, my sister grew up in the countryside and has a terrible temper, so please try to be patient with her. You’re here so early, you must not have eaten breakfast yet. Please, let me treat you. Consider it an apology on my sister’s behalf."

’Men are all about their pride,’ Esther Sterling thought. ’Damian Rivers was just publicly rejected by Chloe Sterling. If I step in now with some thoughtful consolation, he’ll never turn me down.’

But Damian Rivers just laughed. "As it happens, I have a thing for bad tempers. What a coincidence. Besides, she didn’t do anything wrong. Who are you to apologize on her behalf?"

Not expecting such a response, Esther Sterling’s expression faltered. She bit her lip. "I just thought you might be upset and wanted to comfort you. If you’re not interested, then forget it."

"I don’t need it."

Secretly clenching her fists, Esther Sterling added, "Young Master Rivers, this is pointless. She doesn’t like you. She likes Young Master Xavier. They’re always together."

’Chloe Sterling likes Julian Xavier?’

’No way!’

Damian Rivers scoffed. "Miss Sterling, I’m not blind! And another thing... I despise manipulative girls who pretend to be innocent."

"What... What are you trying to say?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Not wanting to waste any more time on her, Damian Rivers turned and walked away.

Esther Sterling stood frozen in place, her expression a nasty mix of colors.

She had known Damian Rivers would come back for Chloe Sterling, and she’d been waiting here for days for this chance. ’I can’t believe he humiliated me like that!’

’It must be that bitch, Chloe Sterling. She must have said something to Damian Rivers to make him treat me this way.’

Esther Sterling’s tightly clenched fists relaxed. She took her phone out of her purse and dialed a number.

Before long, it was noon.

"Chloe, time for a break. Let’s go get some lunch," Maya Jacobs said as she walked over.

"Okay." Chloe Sterling set down the medicinal herbs she was holding and took off her gloves.

The two of them walked out of the lab, and Chloe Sterling glanced at her phone. She had two unread messages.

[This is Esther Sterling. We need to talk.]

[I’m waiting for you at the coffee shop by the entrance to The Medical College.]

[If you want to come back to the Sterling Family, you’ll come. This is your only chance.]

Chloe Sterling scoffed and ignored them.

She had blocked all three members of that Sterling family ages ago. Esther Sterling must have used someone else’s phone to send the messages.

’Go back to the Sterling Family?’

’Even if she got on her knees and begged me in public, I would never go back.’

’Besides, I never really went back to them. Ever since I came to Crestfall, they’ve had me stashed away in an apartment in the outer suburbs.’

’I never even met any other members of the Sterling Family. Not that anyone in the family cared about the girl they’d dredged up from the countryside.’

"Chloe, are you okay?" Maya Jacobs asked with concern, noticing her sour expression.

Chloe Sterling forced a smile. "I’m fine."

She and Maya Jacobs had grown much closer over the past few weeks. The girl was straightforward and warm-hearted.

Maya sympathized with her predicament and her past life in the countryside.

Even when Chloe Sterling told her that her life in the countryside had actually been quite good—at least, after she met her master—Maya Jacobs just assumed she was putting on a brave face and must have had it very tough.

Eventually, Chloe Sterling stopped trying to explain. ’If she wants to believe it was tough, so be it.’ There was, after all, a period when her life had felt utterly hopeless.

The two of them arrived at the cafeteria.

Heads always turned wherever Chloe Sterling went, making her one of the most popular subjects of idle gossip.

After all, she was a village doctor who had never even attended medical school. Not only had she gotten into the First Medical College of Crestfall, but she had also been admitted into its top-secret laboratory.

It was simply unbelievable.

Just as Chloe Sterling and Maya Jacobs got their food and sat down, a woman’s snide voice drifted over from a nearby table.

"I wonder if it’s real talent or just... certain methods."

Hearing this, Maya Jacobs immediately shot back, "With your level of intelligence, it’s normal you can’t tell the difference."

The woman’s face instantly darkened. "Maya Jacobs! What did you say?"

Chloe Sterling looked at the woman, her voice cold. "It seems your intelligence isn’t the only thing that’s deficient—your hearing is, too. You should go to the hospital and get your brain and ears checked, to avoid making mistakes at work in the future."

The woman’s face grew even darker. "Chloe Sterling, don’t get carried away just because you have Director Xavier and Young Master Xavier protecting you. Without any real skill, you’ll be kicked out of The Medical College sooner or later."

Another girl couldn’t stand it any longer. "That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Director Xavier is always fair. If Chloe Sterling didn’t have real skills, why would he let her into the lab? He even let her treat Old Master Rivers."

"Who knows what shady methods she used! Besides, she’s not the one who cured Old Master Rivers. Everyone knows it was the eldest daughter of the Sinclair Family who cured Old Master Rivers with a priceless spirit pill. It had absolutely nothing to do with her."

The woman looked at Chloe Sterling and sneered, "I bet you’d never even heard of a spirit pill back in your village."