CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: SKINNER CHAUCER

Even though Shannon Quinn wasn’t familiar with the families living on her floor, she would inevitably run into them coming and going. But she had never seen Landon Sutton before.

And she remembered that the house next door used to be occupied, seemingly by a family of three. Occasionally, she could see children’s clothes hanging on the balcony.

Could it be that it’s Landon Sutton’s relatives’ house? Or is it... Landon Sutton’s house all along, and she just didn’t know it before?

No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make sense. Shannon Quinn returned to her own apartment and immediately went to the balcony to sneakily observe the opposite balcony.

Unfortunately, the curtains were drawn on the neighbor’s balcony, and aside from a bit of light seeping through, she couldn’t see anything.

Upon closer inspection, the clutter that used to fill the balcony seemed to be gone. She remembered seeing a child’s stroller there, but now the balcony was empty.

Could that family have moved out?

But moving is such a big event; it’s impossible that she wouldn’t have noticed at all, right?

Did they move out just within the day while she was at work?

Shannon couldn’t figure out how Landon Sutton ended up as her neighbor, but she knew she had to be more cautious going forward.

Luckily, after she made things clear with him that time, he hadn’t clung to her shamelessly, so there shouldn’t be any issues in the future.

Honestly, what she’s worried about now isn’t just Landon Sutton; she’s even more afraid of Vincent Rhodes. She always feels like Vincent has someone following her; otherwise, how would he know everything?

Lost in thought, she suddenly saw the curtains of the opposite balcony open, and then Landon Sutton walked out.

Even with a meter’s distance between them, Shannon was sure Landon saw her, which scared her into quickly retreating back inside, locking the glass door to the balcony, and pulling the curtains shut tightly.

If not for the flowers on the balcony, she wouldn’t even plan on going out there anymore.

After her bath, she grabbed some paper and pen and sat at her desk, but she couldn’t gather any inspiration. After sitting there for more than an hour, the page in front of her was still blank.

Noticing it was almost eleven, she tidied up and lay down in bed, chatting with friends on WeChat.

A friend’s cat had kittens recently, and she’s planning to adopt one. Her home felt so cold and empty, at least with a cat, there’d be something waiting for her return.

The next morning, Shannon quickly tidied herself up and headed out.

These days, every time she goes out, she’s on edge, afraid of running into Landon Sutton.

She only relaxed once she was inside the elevator, thinking she’d dodged a bullet, but when it reached the first floor and the doors opened, she saw Landon Sutton in sportswear standing at the entrance, looking like he’d just finished exercising, with sweat beads on his temples.

Both were surprised momentarily, and he naturally greeted, "Morning."

Shannon dropped her gaze, buried her head, and strode out of the elevator without pausing, muttering, "Morning my ass! Bad luck!"

She rummaged in her bag for change, ready to take the bus later, and only then noticed the car keys in her bag, realizing she had a car now.

Wanting to enjoy her ride, she headed towards the parking lot.

Sitting in her beloved new car, Shannon had already put the earlier unpleasantness behind her.

But she hadn’t driven in so long and the car’s setup was different from the learner’s car she used during lessons, so she searched online for quite a while before starting the car.

Her hands were a bit rusty, operating clumsily, but she managed to drive; it was just a bit slower.

As she drove slowly up the ramp out of the parking lot, a black Maybach zoomed past her from the side, smoothly passing over the slope.

At first, she admired the driving skills, but after realizing whose car it was, she said, full of disdain, "So what if you can drive well!"

Exiting the parking lot, she saw the Maybach parked by the side of the road with Landon standing outside, talking on the phone.

Shannon covertly rolled her eyes, deciding to speed up and reclaim some dignity, but then she heard Landon say, "With those driving skills, the traffic might get two hours worse because of you."

Hearing this, Shannon was displeased. She turned her head to retort, only to see him turned sideways, still on the phone as if that remark was meant for someone on the other end.

Since there was no direct mention of her, she couldn’t just put herself in that position, so she angrily rolled up the window and sped away.

Though her heart raced and her palms sweated, she safely reached her friend’s house.

Her friend from high school, named Chloe Locke.

They both applied to art school together, and even after graduation, they’d kept in touch off and on.

Her boyfriend happened to be out of town, so Shannon spent the morning chatting and stayed for lunch before leaving with the kitten.

It was a little orange tabby, named Mia, just over two months old, looking adorably chubby.

On her way back, she stopped by a pet store to buy necessary supplies and spent the afternoon setting up.

The kitten wasn’t very skittish and was quite playful; even a small paper ball on the floor could amuse it for a while.

Seeing the little creature lifted her spirits significantly.

Atop a skyscraper, in the transparent glass room, the sunset was just right.

Landon Sutton sat on a sofa, legs propped on the coffee table, flipping through a fashion magazine — a special edition by Shannon Quinn.

"Knock knock." Ronan Rhodes entered, holding a stack of files. Seeing another pile of documents still on the coffee table, he noted nothing had changed since he left.

"Master Nate, you haven’t looked at any of these?"

Landon didn’t lift his head, flipping another page in the magazine, casually saying, "I’m almost done with this."

"I meant the files!" Ronan exasperatedly sat on the sofa beside him, complaining, "Master Nate, you’ve become a different person since you came back."

"Changed how?"

"You’ve become lazy! Not doing any proper work anymore!"

Landon replied unhurriedly, "Didn’t you manage just fine while I was away?"

"Oh my God, Master Nate, I don’t like what you’re implying! I slaved away handling everything while you were gone, so busy I didn’t even have time to date. I thought with you back, you’d relieve me a bit. Do you know how long it’s been since I went on a date? I could use a vacation!"

"Leo seems quite free lately. Why don’t you calculate your salary and handover to Leo tomorrow?"

Ronan realized his job might be in jeopardy and immediately switched his attitude by 180 degrees: "Master Nate, we’re tight, money doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t pay me, I’ll still get the job done for you!"

"Does that mean we can save some money moving forward?"

Ronan widened his eyes: "Master Nate, are you surnamed Chaucer?"

"Hmm?"

"Skinner Chaucer!" Ronan quipped and hurriedly grabbed a stack of documents from the table, preparing to leave after the jab.

Only then did Landon lift his gaze to him and say, "Wait."