CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 67: CARRYING IGNORANCE TO THE END

Before Conrad Sterling came, Mary was discussing the upcoming work plans with Anna Thornton.

The arrival of this man did not affect the continuation of the conversation.

"Anna, I’ve already contacted the ’Food and Love’ variety show team; they’ve set the date for the end of this month. By then, Pop will have completed the surgery and recovered for a while. You can confidently go to work as I’ll be taking care of things at the hospital for you. But with that arrangement... I won’t be able to accompany you to the variety show recording." Mary had decided to take care of Pop, but she was still a bit worried about Anna Thornton.

"It’s fine, I can handle it myself." Anna Thornton reassured her.

"Oh, by the way, I’ve discussed the process with them; they said that they’ll be inviting a male celebrity to record alongside you as a tasting guest. I repeatedly asked the company if they could send a more popular male artist to join us, but they refused."

At this point, Mary wanted to complain about Jane Jennings being a bit unreliable.

But seeing President Sterling was here, she decided to hold back.

"The male guest invited by the show team, I looked at their information, and indeed, they are quite well-known. It’s just... he’s not very reliable."

"How is he unreliable?" Anna Thornton asked.

"Uh..." Mary hesitated, "This time, the male guest who will be on the show with you, his name is Ethan Hawthorne, probably the most famous male guest this show has ever had."

After all, this little show is quite obscure, airing in the midnight slot, and even its name and content are a bit suggestive. Nowadays, male idols who follow the traffic route love to market themselves as emotionless AI personas; who would dare appear on such a show that casually talks about physiological needs?

Conrad Sterling was initially focused on watching the little one, acting as if he hadn’t noticed the other two women in the room.

But upon hearing Mary utter that name, his gaze instinctively glanced in her direction.

Mary caught his glance immediately: "By the way, President Sterling, you should know Ethan Hawthorne, right?"

The ’Hawthorne’ surname is one of the four major families in Aethelgard.

Ethan Hawthorne is a young master of the Hawthorne Family, belonging to the same circle as Conrad Sterling.

Upon hearing that Anna Thornton was going to participate in a show with Ethan Hawthorne, Conrad Sterling’s expression became slightly intriguing.

"I know him, but not closely," he said.

Although they are in the same circle, Conrad Sterling only came to Aethelgard three years ago, and he built his achievements and status from scratch, unlike those idle rich second-generation kids; not everyone can capture his attention.

For example, Conrad Sterling simply couldn’t care less about Ethan Hawthorne.

The reason he had heard this name was because Ethan Hawthorne had some connection with Henry Willow.

These two were known as the two leading womanizers in Aethelgard, equally lustful and shameless.

The only difference is, Henry Willow is slightly more human; although he is flirtatious, women who have had relations with him afterward always gave him a five-star rating. Even if they were just having fun and breaking up after a day, he could handle the relationship cleanly and say goodbye nicely, able to meet again next time.

Of course, Sarah Grant is an exception; that’s a mess Henry Willow messed up himself.

However, Ethan Hawthorne doesn’t have any of these considerations; he is a downright promiscuous jerk and takes pride in it, finding pleasure in conquering beauties.

Such a person, mixed into the entertainment industry, surprisingly was quite popular. Having acted in several low-intelligent urban idol dramas, with his half-baked acting, he managed to gain a large following of fangirls.

Ethan Hawthorne’s agency is called Grandview, it’s an established entertainment company, not weaker than Dynasty. And Ethan Hawthorne is one of the male artists they are currently promoting heavily. The reason he lowered himself to participate in such a small show is obviously not really to be any tasting guest; he’s here for Anna Thornton.

Mary thought of this too, seeing as her Anna is beautiful like a flower. Just returned to the country not long ago and already attracted the wolves.

"Anna, I heard Ethan Hawthorne is quite flirtatious; be careful around him. A few days ago, there was gossip about a newly debuted young female star being impregnated by him, having a miscarriage due to heavy bleeding on set. But due to her status being lower than his, and fear of the Hawthorne Family’s influence, the news was suppressed. The girl was only nineteen. These men are truly... despicable!"

"Getting someone pregnant at nineteen and not taking responsibility is indeed despicable!"

Anna Thornton echoed Mary’s words, then casually glanced in Conrad Sterling’s direction.

Mary noticed something was off and immediately added a clarification: "I didn’t mean you, President Sterling!"

She could have skipped that, but emphasizing this made Conrad Sterling’s face turn gloomy, befitting his bad temper.

"If Ethan Hawthorne wants to meet me, then there’s no harm in it; just consider it making a new friend." Anna Thornton continued from her previous statement.

Originally, after being hit out of nowhere, Conrad Sterling decided not to mind what was being said over there.

But Anna Thornton’s reckless words insisted on penetrating his ears, making the man frown.

"That’s a bad man; what good is there in making friends with him?" Mary asked.

"I haven’t been back long but heard plenty about the fame of the four major families. This young master of Hawthorne personally wanting to meet me is my honor. Anyway, the men I know now either are engaged or have girlfriends; maybe I should consider other people."

Mary took Anna Thornton’s words seriously, showing a worried expression reminiscent of a concerned mother: "But Ethan Hawthorne is a real jerk!"

"I had a three-year-old child at twenty-two, with the child’s birth father still a mystery. People say I’m quite the jerk too; just see who gets out-jerked."

At this point, Conrad Sterling couldn’t hold back and interjected: "Though Ethan Hawthorne is a Hawthorne, he’s not from the main branch. He’s mixing in the entertainment industry because he doesn’t have inheritance rights from the Hawthorne Family."

President Sterling meant that if Anna Thornton was seeking a new sugar daddy target by trying to meet Ethan Hawthorne, she should think again.

"By the way Mary, what should I wear that day?"

Anna Thornton completely ignored Conrad Sterling’s comment and continued to discuss topic shifts with Mary.

Is this woman treating him as if he was air?

"Hmm, the show says they’ll provide the clothing. As for preparation, I think you should learn a dish." Mary suggested.

After all, Mary had witnessed Anna Thornton’s cooking skills...

"What should I make then? Braised pork? Spicy chicken dices? Lion head meatballs?"

Anna Thornton listed dishes she liked.

But Mary mercilessly shot them down: "Those are too difficult for you; beware of cutting yourself, that’ll be too costly."

"How about I make vegetarian dishes? Stir-fried green beans? Fried potatoes?"

"No, can’t have too much smoke; it’s bad for the skin. And since you’ve never cooked, you don’t know how the oil splashes in the pan could reach your face, which would be awful."

"Then what can I make?"

"The day the show airs will be Dragon Boat Festival; how about making sticky rice dumplings?"

"Sticky rice dumplings?"

"It’s not too difficult; just pay a little attention to the appearance, and make sure they’re cooked through."

Mary, as an agent, aimed to reduce the difficulty in whatever an artist does.

Though she still didn’t quite understand why Anna Thornton insisted on choosing a cooking variety show, this was exposing one’s shortcomings, wasn’t it?

Mary still vividly remembered Anna Thornton’s cooking experience from a year ago, which wasn’t just terrifying — it could be described as a ’disaster’.