The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

While buying the last ingredient, Leila Jennings sent Cherry Cole a message.

[Cherry, please, you have to get me out of here tonight, no matter what. I can’t stay under the same roof as Sean Sinclair.]

[Leave it to me!]

After sending the message, Leila Jennings put her phone in her pocket and turned to Sean Sinclair. "Let’s go back."

When they got home, Leila Jennings headed straight for the kitchen.

Every pot and every utensil in the kitchen was something she had chosen herself. They were all styles that Sean Sinclair liked, but he had never once noticed.

Sean Sinclair sat on the sofa as usual, the TV playing the news. His gaze drifted to the busy figure in the kitchen from time to time, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

He liked things this way.

It made him feel secure.

A short while later, the doorbell rang.

Spencer Shelby had arrived.

He was carrying a fruit basket and smiled. "Sean, what’s with the sudden invitation? What delicious food is Leila Jennings making?"

"What do you mean, ’Leila Jennings’? Call her ’sister-in-law’." Sean Sinclair was a little displeased that his friend was using her full name.

Spencer Shelby paused for a moment, his eyes darting around, then he immediately said, "My bad, my bad."

’So, Sean really doesn’t plan on divorcing Leila Jennings?’ he thought to himself. ’Then what about Sarah Lynch?’

’Whatever, it’s not my place to worry about it. If my buddy tells me to call someone sister-in-law, then that’s who she is.’

Leila Jennings heard the noise and glanced over. She saw it was Spencer Shelby. The two men sat on the sofa—one sitting upright, the other lounging casually. The way they were talking was strikingly similar to the day she’d accidentally overheard the truth.

Leila Jennings lowered her gaze. The phone on the countertop lit up—it was a message from Cherry Cole.

She picked up the phone and slid open the kitchen door. On the sofa, Sean Sinclair and Spencer Shelby both looked over at the same time.

"Cherry’s here. I’ll get the door." Leila Jennings walked to the entrance, and the doorbell rang right on cue.

Opening the door, Cherry Cole shoved a bottle of red wine into her view. "Look! I stole—ahem, I mean, I *brought* my brother’s prized red wine."

She looked down. "Should I change my shoes?"

"Change into these." Leila Jennings took out a new pair of slippers.

Cherry Cole blinked. "Did you just buy these for me?"

"Yeah, I picked them up while I was out. I figured your feet are only one size smaller than mine."

"Then I’m wearing them home tonight!" Cherry Cole said, looking excited.

Leila Jennings said, "They cost a little over thirty yuan."

"But they’re still a gift from you, Leila!" Cherry Cole said with a grin as she walked in. Seeing the two men on the sofa, she put on a formal smile. "President Sinclair. Mr. Shelby."

Spencer Shelby was a typical cynical, second-generation rich kid, but The Shelby Family, even on their tiptoes, could never reach the level of The Cole Family. So, the moment he saw it was Miss Cole, he shot to his feet and respectfully greeted her, "Miss Cole."

"Mm," Cherry Cole nodded, set down the wine, and followed Leila Jennings into the kitchen.

Spencer Shelby wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. "How did Sister-in-law get Miss Cole to come over? Are they that close?"

Seeing them together at the party had already shocked him once, but that was just a party. People were just being polite and exchanging a few words. But a relationship where they’d come over to each other’s homes for a private meal—that was something else entirely.

Sean Sinclair grunted in affirmation, his voice tinged with annoyance. "I don’t know when they met and became friends."

The kitchen door closed.

Leila Jennings looked at Cherry Cole. "It gets smoky in the kitchen. You can wait in the living room, but I won’t be able to talk with you."

"That’s why I’m here to talk with you! I can’t help you cook—I’m afraid I’d just get in the way—but I can talk to you! And I can pass you plates and stuff. Anyway, I can’t just leave you alone in the kitchen. It’s not like you’re the only one eating," Cherry Cole said, standing with her hands on her hips, looking ready for orders.

"My dad sometimes cooks for my mom, and even though my mom can’t cook, she’ll stand beside him and help with small things, or just shower him with compliments like, ’Wow, you’re amazing!’ It’s totally over the top. My dad always gets so flustered by the praise he can’t think straight. I find it so ridiculous. I asked my mom why she insists on crowding in there when she doesn’t know how to cook."

"My mom just said that there’s nothing in this world that’s inherently one person’s job. If you don’t know how to do it, then you just be there for them. I think that applies to everything—family, lovers, friends."

Leila Jennings thought of the beautiful and gentle Ms. Neville and smiled. "You have a wonderful mother."

"And you, Leila, must have had someone wonderful like a mother, too."

"Oh?" Leila Jennings asked as she chopped vegetables. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you’re wonderful, too." Seeing that she had finished chopping, Cherry Cole grabbed a plate and handed it to her, though she had no idea if it was the right one to use.

Leila Jennings smiled. "The head of my orphanage was a good mother, and my mentor’s wife is wonderful, too."

She was happy cooking this meal. At the dinner table, she watched as Cherry Cole’s eyes would widen with every bite, exclaiming, "This is delicious!"

Spencer Shelby remarked, "Miss Cole, is there any delicacy you haven’t tried? Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?"

Cherry Cole’s expression darkened. She turned to the two men beside her. "People who are used to getting free meals never know how to appreciate them. When we eat out, we have to pay. The maids who cook at home get a monthly salary. Someone cooks a meal for you—a delicious one at that—and instead of being grateful, you call others exaggerated. You’re just ungrateful."

Stunned at being called ungrateful for a casual remark, Spencer Shelby turned to Sean Sinclair. "Is it really that serious?"

Sean Sinclair had a feeling Cherry Cole was cursing him out, too. He immediately said, "Cooking is her job."

"If you’re going to say that, then doing the dishes is your job," Cherry Cole retorted while eating. "Look at President Sinclair’s soft, delicate hands. I bet they’ve never washed a dish. Leila must handle it all, right?"

Sean Sinclair couldn’t argue. He looked at Leila Jennings.

Leila Jennings didn’t look at him, busy putting more food on Cherry Cole’s plate.

Cherry Cole smiled brightly and thanked Leila, then turned to take a passive-aggressive jab at Sean Sinclair. "President Sinclair earns millions a year, and he can’t afford a dishwasher?"

Sean Sinclair put down his chopsticks and looked at Leila Jennings again, clearly wanting her to get her friend under control.

Instead, Leila Jennings asked him, "Would you like some wine? It’s the red wine Cherry brought."

"Right! I got it from my brother. He has plenty." Cherry Cole hadn’t forgotten her mission for the night. She started pouring herself some wine. ’I’ll just have a couple of sips, pretend to be drunk, and then get Leila out of here,’ she planned.

When Spencer Shelby heard it was a fine wine from President Cole’s personal collection, his interest was immediately piqued. He poured some for himself and Sean Sinclair.

"Leila, can I take a picture? I forgot to earlier."

Leila Jennings asked, "Should I rearrange the dishes to make it look nicer for you?"

"No need." She just wanted to send it to her brother to show off. ’You’re away on business, and I’m eating a home-cooked meal by Leila. Bet you’re jealous!’

The photo was sent.

Nathaniel Cole, who had just gotten off a plane, wanted nothing more than to smack his sister.

She took his wine and made Leila Jennings cook for her.

[You just wait.]

[Then come back right now.]

Just as his sister’s message popped up on his phone, Zachary said from the side, "President Cole, we’re heading directly to meet the client now."

Nathaniel Cole shot him a look. "I just got off the plane." He hadn’t even had a sip of water.

Zachary: "This was scheduled by Jennings."

Nathaniel Cole: "..."

This is torture.

He sent a message to Leila Jennings.

[Jennings, I expect an eight-hundred-word self-criticism report from you when I get back.]

Leila Jennings, upon receiving the message, replied with a question mark.

"What’s wrong?" Cherry Cole inadvertently glanced over and saw her brother’s WeChat profile picture. "Is my brother giving you trouble again?"

Sean Sinclair’s eyes lifted.

"Does President Cole often give Leila Jennings a hard time?"