CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: REACHING FOR THE SKY

The person who arrived was Ethan Sterling. Although the people present were all familiar with him, the aura of the big boss was so intimidating that the girls’ expressions froze. Only Levi Joyce greeted him like an old friend, calling out, "Storm!"

This was Ethan Sterling’s nickname at the livehouse; compared to Mr. Sterling, he liked this better, feeling it added a bit of the martial world vibe and stories.

As a child, he actually admired martial arts masters and was obsessed with martial arts novels for a while, until his grandmother got angry and burned his collection of Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng novels.

Ethan Sterling smiled slightly, his dazzlingly handsome face became less distant, "Thank you for the blessing, I will drink on behalf of my wife." He said and then happily drank up the wine.

Wendy, who was originally as if struck by the Sunflower Acupoint Hand, couldn’t resist clapping with excitement when she saw the boss being so approachable, "Storm, you’re awesome!"

Ethan Sterling put an arm around Ruby Sullivan’s shoulder and said kindly, "Whatever else you want to eat, don’t hesitate, I’ll cover it."

Everyone immediately cheered, Levi Joyce didn’t miss the chance to exploit it, "Storm, we want to go to a second round too."

The tipsy Ruby Sullivan joined in the coaxing, tilting her head as she looked at Ethan Sterling, "Storm, can you cover the second round too?"

In front of everyone, Ethan Sterling pinched her cheek and wrinkled his nose at her, causing a wave of gasps, before saying, "Wherever you want to go for the second round, I’ll have Howard book the place, all on my tab, but with one condition!"

Seeing Ruby Sullivan foolishly cheering again, he couldn’t help but laugh and took her hand, "I’m taking my wife home."

"Alright, Storm, make sure you take good care of our boss in the future," Levi Joyce stood, a bit reluctant. He wanted to thank Ruby Sullivan but felt it a bit pretentious to say it aloud, so he kept it in his heart, along with all her goodness.

Ethan Sterling nodded.

Ruby Sullivan seemed a bit unhappy, "I want to go to the second round too." She was indeed a bit drunk, and under the influence of alcohol, the feelings from her unfinished little girl era surged forth.

In college, she was too overweight, and besides Sasha Shaw and Faye Truman, no one wanted to play with her, never having dinner with so many good friends, let alone a second round.

"Practice your drinking capacity first, then we’ll talk about the second round." Ethan Sterling gently coaxed, feeling her pouting and eye-rolling was adorably cute. He whispered in her ear, "We want kids, can’t drink recklessly."

Ruby Sullivan sobered up a lot at once, realizing she had forgotten such an important matter, almost cursing herself, she quickly got up to bid farewell, "You guys go have fun, I’ll head home first." Saying this, she reluctantly picked up her bag.

Ethan Sterling waited beside her, and as she walked around the chair, he stepped forward to hold her hand.

Behind them, Wendy watched enviously, "I wish my future husband could be half as good as Mr. Sterling, whether he has the looks or the wealth, I’m fine with either."

Claire hugged her shoulder, persuading her to be clear-headed, "Didn’t you watch the live streaming of the Qixi banquet? Our boss has gone through quite a bit to get this happiness, so don’t envy her."

Levi Joyce was quite reassured, "Seeing Storm’s performance, our lab shouldn’t get bombed in the future. Come on, Howard’s booked the boss’s private clubhouse suite; there’s food, drink, and we can sing. Let’s go, let’s go."

He said it as he got up and led them out.

On the other side.

Ethan Sterling saw Ruby Sullivan drank a bit too much and wanted to walk her around outside, told Howard to stay put until needed.

He took her to a convenience store to buy a line of Yakult, cracked one open and inserted a straw for her, "Drink."

The half-drunk Ruby Sullivan regressed into a child, obedient and giggly, took it and drank, "How’d you know I was thirsty?"

Ethan Sterling sighed, "Even as a boss, how can you not be able to control your intake?"

His voice wasn’t loud, Ruby Sullivan was still a bit dazed, didn’t hear clearly, and tilted her head to ask him, tongue not rolling properly, and habitually bit her words, unable to articulate properly, looked at Ethan Sterling seriously waiting for a response, like a child.

Ethan Sterling looked down at her, really helpless but amused, "Alright, let’s go home, get to bed early."

Ruby Sullivan suddenly squatted down, "So tired, need a rest." She gave him a sly side-glance, blinking.

That expression clearly brewing some mischief, did it look tired at all?

Ethan Sterling squatted down and gently rubbed her head, "Alright, then take a rest."

Ruby Sullivan looked at him, lowered her head, softly muttering under breath, "I want you to carry me."

As a child, whenever she saw little girls being pampered, she always envied them being carried by their favorite little boys. Later liking Ethan Sterling, she hoped he would carry her once. But being overweight, she felt embarrassed to say such things before him. How could she express that?

Today, for some unknown reason, all the things she desperately wanted to do came rushing back, and mentioning her wishes to him wasn’t terrifying at all. She felt her head was a bit hot, but her heart was racing fast, feeling unprecedentedly happy, like she could soar.

So when Ethan Sterling raised his eyebrows and asked, "You aiming to fly?" she nodded.

"I’ve walked the earth for nearly thirty years, can’t I want to fly once?" She looked at him, justifiedly.

"Right, indeed, who can’t let loose once?" Ethan Sterling laughed, looking at this Ruby Sullivan, no anger left.

He didn’t want to blame her for doubting him, investigate her regretting marrying, nor ask whether her enthusiasm for bedside matters was out of love or just wanting a child to save Honey. This moment, he didn’t want to question anything.

Just wanted this young Ruby Sullivan to feel a little more joy, even if she wakes tomorrow with him as a hostile challenge or forgets today’s events, he accepts it.

Ethan Sterling bent over, prepared the posture, Ruby Sullivan thought for a moment, took off her high heels to carry in hand, then awkwardly jumped onto his back.

"My goodness, am I dreaming?" She laughed foolishly.

Ethan Sterling walked forward step-by-step, unexpectedly finding even the slim Ruby Sullivan not light, making him feel a strain on his lower back after only a few steps.

He sighed internally, realizing he needed to prioritize working out.

At this moment, he heard Ruby Sullivan timidly ask in his ear, "Do you regret marrying me?"

He paused for a moment, then heard her wrestle with words, "Ah, never mind, I won’t ask; I’d be sad."

Ethan Sterling laughed, "You don’t even know my response but already know you’ll be hurt?"

Ruby Sullivan sighed, lay back on his shoulder, fingers poking his back, didn’t speak.