CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 404: MY WIFE IS GONE AGAIN

Ethan Sterling had a social engagement today, and upon entering, he was unexpectedly greeted by two little ones. The usual cold expression thawed, blossoming into warmth as he lifted his daughter, spinning her around before softly asking, "Is Mom here too?"

Honey hugged her dad’s neck, smiling, and said, "Mom is on a business trip. My brother and I came to stay with Vivian for a few days."

Ethan took a few steps inside and finally saw Leon Sterling, who was sitting on the carpet playing with clay; he had been obscured by the sofa.

Seth was focused on molding a clay figure. He looked up at him briefly, "Dad."

"Big Brother," Leon greeted him as well.

Interestingly, while Leon Sterling handled company business admirably, he wasn’t fond of socializing. Even for business dinners where his presence was practically mandatory, he wouldn’t show up.

Ethan put Honey down and couldn’t help but mention, "I heard the chairman of the Prosperity Group has been trying to have dinner with you. Why not go?"

"Their collaboration with The Sterling Group is already a done deal; there’s no need for me to sell my charms, right?" Leon focused on the clay figurine, responding somewhat indifferently.

Seth widened his eyes upon hearing this, "Uncle, what do you do at the company? Why do you need to sell your charms?"

Ethan’s face darkened at his younger brother’s comment.

Leon chuckled sheepishly, "Uncle was just talking nonsense."

Seth frowned and continued molding his clay, feeling that his uncle’s later response was rather nonsensical, trying to gloss over the situation.

Honey was also very curious, "Dad, what does ’charm’ mean?"

Ethan rubbed his forehead, gritting his teeth, "Should I let your dear uncle explain?"

Seth, concerned that his occasionally unreliable uncle might say something inappropriate for his sister’s ears, quickly interjected, "It means looks."

Honey exclaimed excitedly upon hearing that, "Can looks be sold? I want to buy some!"

"You’re already good-looking enough; no need to buy more. There’s a saying, ’overdoing something is as bad as not doing it,’ meaning if you have too much beauty, it might turn into ugliness, understand?" Seth seriously and patiently rambled.

Ethan finally understood when his son said having a sister really hones his eloquence.

The expression on Honey’s face changed from joyful excitement to worry. When she finally understood her brother’s explanation of ’overdoing it is bad,’ she was even a little scared, "I don’t want to become ugly. Better not buy after all."

Leon exhaled a long sigh, giving his nephew an imaginary thumbs-up in his mind.

"Alright, now that your dad is back, it’s time to go to sleep." It was already past their bedtime.

But Honey really wanted to wait for her dad to return before sleeping, so Leon offered his clay, accompanying the children in the living room to play with clay until Ethan returned.

Upon hearing this, Honey clung to her father’s leg, "Daddy, can you tell me a bedtime story today?"

"Of course." Ethan picked up his daughter again and walked upstairs, chatting and laughing.

Once they were out of earshot, Leon whispered to Seth, "Have you noticed, when Big Brother talks to Honey, not only does he always smile, but there are more filler words too."

Seth put down his misshaped Batman figurine he’d been working on all night, casually saying, "In your adult world, there’s a being called a daughter-fool; Dad is a typical case. I think when you have a daughter, you’ll become like that too." He pondered, "So I might prefer a son in the future." He didn’t want to go through the trouble of becoming a dad only to be a slave.

Seth patted Leon’s shoulder, "Uncle, keep at it." Then turned and headed to the second floor.

In fact, he was already feeling a bit sleepy, just staying up to keep his sister company while waiting for their dad.

Leon watched his nephew’s departing back for a while before realizing, "Little rascal, keep at it," admittedly joining Vivian’s squad urging him to marry.

*

Ethan Sterling started asking about Ruby Sullivan’s whereabouts first, fearing his daughter might fall asleep before he finished the story, "Where did Mom go on her business trip?"

"Abroad." Honey thought for a bit, "I think it’s Gallia. Oh, this morning Master Valerius came by the house and gave Mom a gift." She said, taking out a Bodhi Seed necklace strung with a red string from around her neck, "It’s just like this one, but Mom’s bead is pure white and very pretty."

Ethan furrowed his brow, "Master Valerius came specifically to deliver a gift to Mom?"

Honey nodded, recalling her chat with Mom in the morning, smilingly saying, "Mom said she wants to find a boyfriend as handsome as Master Valerius."

Ethan felt like a bolt from the blue struck him squarely on the top of his head, leaving him speechless. The day they all went to the temple, he didn’t think Ruby Sullivan and Master Valerius knew each other, was it love at first sight? Impossible, Valerius is a consummate monk...

But then he thought again that nothing is impossible. After all, his wife is so outstanding, and having Master Valerius suddenly recognize the world’s beauty and temporarily leave monastic life to experience life’s hardships isn’t far-fetched.

Ethan furrowed his brow tighter, becoming more anxious the more he thought about it. Upon hearing his daughter ask what story he would tell, he quickly reined in his thoughts, suppressing his emotions, and began recounting the tale of Around the World in Eighty Days.

Upon exiting Honey’s room, still uneasy, he went to his son’s room.

Seth’s biological clock was quite accurate. Even lying down later than usual, he would fall asleep within two minutes, only to be woken up by his dad.

Seth opened his eyes, frowning, "What’s up?"

"Did Mom know Master Valerius before?" Ethan got straight to the point with his son.

"Probably not."

"Then why did Master Valerius come over to give your mom a gift early in the morning? What kind of spy are you? Not reporting such a big thing."

Seth slowly sat up, frowning, reluctantly saying, "I forgot to notify you, I want to resign from being a spy."

Ethan became anxious; could this kid have switched sides?

"Reasons."

"Mom seriously said it’s hopeless between you and her. If I keep spying for you, that’d be disloyal."

During the final exams, when he refused to let his deskmate copy his paper, she felt he was disloyal, but he later shared many great principles with her, and she forgave him.

Being a few years older than Honey, she was a lot more complicated to deal with. However, after that, he researched the meaning of loyalty and didn’t want to be disloyal.

Ethan’s gaze darkened as he turned and walked away.

"Turn off the lights, thanks." Seth reminded him, yawning, and promptly lay back down to continue sleeping.

Ethan’s mood was still very bad during his soak in the bath. Ruby Sullivan really had him under her thumb; could it be he has to acquire The Lawson Group before she would return to his side? It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it’s just that accomplishing this was somewhat difficult, and he wasn’t sure if it could be done in his lifetime.

He muttered to himself, making a call to Aidan Sinclair, "I’m not going tomorrow to meet Mr. Mansfield."

"What’s gotten into you?"

"I have to go to Gallia; my wife’s leaving me." Ethan hung up after saying this, immediately calling Lucy Larkin to check Ruby Sullivan’s flight to Gallia and then book the fastest ticket for tomorrow.

On the other end, Aidan Sinclair cursed at his phone, "Your wife left ages ago; why the urgency now?" He tossed aside his phone, his face turning grim.

The Stellaron Group and The Sterling Group had a massive project in Nihona, and Mr. Mansfield was the head of the Nihona side. This meeting was extremely important and could determine the project’s fate, and this idiot just said he’s not going to show up!