The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

"Impossible." Sean Sinclair frowned. "Nathaniel Cole is the heir to a top-tier wealthy family. Why would he be interested in an ordinary person like Leila Jennings? Besides, he knows Leila and I are legally married."

"It’s just that Nathaniel Cole has a terrible personality. After finding out Leila is my wife, he’s just using her to target me and Stellaxis."

The Cole Group is formidable, but Lantech Technology is a company Nathaniel Cole only recently founded. In terms of industry strength, it certainly can’t compare to Stellaxis Technologies, which the Forrester Family invested in ten years ago.

Sarah Lynch gave a bitter smile. "Is that so?"

’She believed Nathaniel Cole wouldn’t be interested in Leila Jennings, but Nathaniel using Leila to target Sean? It was too much like children playing house.’

"It is." Sean Sinclair was incredibly firm.

Sarah Lynch changed the subject. "Are you here to see Leila?"

"Yeah, I want to apologize, but she won’t see me." Sean Sinclair sounded a little dejected at the mention of this.

The high-spirited young man, who had once fallen into despair only because of Sarah Lynch’s departure, was now dejected because Leila Jennings refused to see him.

Sarah Lynch felt a sense of crisis she had never felt before.

"How could Leila Jennings be living in a place like this?" She looked around. Although it was in a remote suburb, it was the kind of place only the rich could afford to live in.

Usually, the people who lived here were elderly, enjoying their golden years.

’Leila has connections here?’

"It’s her mentor’s wife’s home," Sean Sinclair said. "Leila’s academic background isn’t bad, and she’s hardworking and ambitious. Maybe she just doesn’t have the talent. She couldn’t get into a Ph.D. program and didn’t find a good job, so she ended up at The Cole Group as an admin with no future."

Sarah Lynch was initially a bit curious about who Leila’s mentor’s wife was, to be able to live here. She couldn’t help but associate Leila with the Dr. Jennings from their research institute, even though she thought it was impossible.

When she heard Sean say that Leila only had a master’s degree and had failed to get into a Ph.D. program, she lost the desire to probe any further.

"Your opinion of Leila isn’t that low, is it." Sarah Lynch feigned jealousy, moving closer to him and asking with sparkling eyes, "What about me?"

"Of course you’re amazing." Although Sean Sinclair still felt a wave of irritation, he answered her seriously. "Women like you, who can persevere in scientific research and achieve something in the field, are rare. Sarah, you’re exceptional."

"Sean is exceptional too. To get to where you are today, you must have gone through a lot."

Sean Sinclair froze for a moment. Leila Jennings had said something similar.

It was on the day he got promoted.

His whole family was celebrating with him, and Leila had come out of the kitchen with a bowl of the white fungus and lotus seed soup he loved.

"It’s been a tough road for you to get here. Here, have something sweet."

He was lost in the memory.

Sarah Lynch had to call his name twice before he snapped out of it.

"Sean, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

’A woman’s sixth sense is always sharp. She knew he was thinking about Leila. And now he was going to wait here for Leila, just to apologize to her?’

’This is ridiculous.’

’She wasn’t going to stand for it.’

Sarah Lynch suddenly clutched her stomach, her face scrunching up.

"What’s wrong?" Sean Sinclair asked with concern.

"My stomach hurts so much. I don’t know what’s wrong. Sean, I think I need to go to the hospital." Sarah Lynch looked to be in great discomfort, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.

Forgetting everything else, Sean Sinclair immediately drove her to the hospital.

The check-up showed nothing was wrong. They suspected her period was about to start.

When Sean Sinclair heard the word "period," his gaze flickered to her stomach, and he felt a strange sense of relief.

Sarah Lynch said perfunctorily, "Maybe."

’In reality, her period wasn’t due for a while.’

’It would be best if it didn’t come at all.’

’That would give her one more bargaining chip to make Sean divorce Leila and marry her.’

"Sean, I want some brown sugar and egg soup. Can you make it for me?"

As if possessed, Sean Sinclair said, "I want some white fungus and lotus seed soup."

His answer was completely off-topic.

Sarah Lynch was stunned.

...

Leila Jennings wanted to make a thank-you meal for Nathaniel Cole, but she couldn’t very well just throw something together.

She sent a message to Cherry Cole, asking what Nathaniel liked to eat.

Cherry called her immediately.

As soon as Leila answered, she heard Cherry spit a couple of times, followed by the sound of her rinsing her mouth with water.

"What’s wrong?" Leila asked her.

Cherry Cole said aggrievedly, "I was running an experiment, and it failed again. It’s about the chips again, but I really don’t know much about this stuff! My brother told me to wait, but I wanted to give it another try."

"Why the rush?"

"Not really, I’m just not ready to give up. I always feel like I can give it one more shot," Cherry said. "I’m planning to find some papers on chips to read. Why were you just asking what my brother likes to eat?"

"President Cole helped me, so I want to make him a meal to thank him."

"Heh." Cherry sneered. "He asked for this ’thank-you’ himself, didn’t he? So pathetic."

’He didn’t even dare to ask for something bigger!’

’Don’t people usually repay a debt of gratitude by promising themselves to their benefactor?’

’Huh, my brother is such a wimp.’

"Hmm?" Leila didn’t understand that last part.

Cherry said with a grin, "It’s nothing. My brother is very picky, especially about food. I can’t even explain it properly. Wait, let me ask the butler."

"If you can, put it in a spreadsheet for me."

"No problem. I’ll bring it over to you myself. I need to get away from the lab and clear my head." Cherry hung up, went home personally, and listened attentively as the butler listed her brother’s dietary restrictions. She felt the urge to smash her tablet several times.

The butler asked, "Miss, why the sudden concern for the Young Master?"

"This isn’t for him. It’s for Leila."

"Ah, so it’s for Miss Leila Jennings." The butler’s smile was full of meaning.

Cherry asked, "How do you know about Leila too?"

The butler replied, "The Madam mentioned her to the Master."

Cherry pressed, "What did Mom say to Dad?"

"The Madam scolded the Master for being nosy. She said if she lost her daughter-in-law, she would divorce him. The Master is still trying to placate the Madam."

"Hahahaha..." Cherry laughed mercilessly, then suddenly thought of something. "What did my dad interfere with? Does he not like Leila? Does he look down on her?"

Seeing that the young miss was about to get angry herself, the butler quickly explained, "No, it’s not that. It’s just that something happened to Miss Leila Jennings a couple of days ago."

"What happened?" After pressing the butler and getting the gist of the story, Cherry Cole left in a hurry.

She went to The Cole Group. Nathaniel Cole was in a meeting with his special assistant and secretary, leaving only Leila Jennings in the office.

This was because she was leaving soon and wasn’t involved in anything project-related.

"Cherry?" Leila Jennings noticed that Cherry Cole looked very upset. Her eyes were filled with sadness, yet she seemed to be angry with her.

"Why didn’t you tell me about what happened at The Cole Crest Hotel?"

Leila Jennings froze, her lips parting slightly.

"Didn’t you say we were friends? Even though I’m younger than you, aren’t we friends?"

Cherry Cole felt incredibly wronged.

Leila Jennings took the initiative to step forward and gently hug her. "Yes, I was wrong."

"I’m not saying you were wrong." Cherry was still glaring at her. "You have to tell me when something happens. I’m good at cursing people out and fighting. My family background is powerful, too. I know how to use my status to crush people."

"I know." Leila looked at the girl who was half a head shorter than her. "Next time, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll just be the fox."

Cherry Cole nodded. "You’re forgiven. But I don’t want to be the tiger."

’Her brother was the scary tiger.’

Then she handed over her tablet. "Here. It’s a whole list of things my brother won’t eat. I think you should just give him a glass of water. As long as he doesn’t die of thirst, you’re good."

"Gossiping again." Nathaniel Cole walked in just in time to hear his sister badmouthing him to Leila, and his eyes turned cold.

’Does she even want Leila to become part of the family?’

Cherry Cole pressed her lips together and shut up. Just then, her professor called, so she stepped out to take it.

"I found a few papers for you. They’re all by the same author. You should study her work carefully; it should be enlightening."

"Okay-dokie." After hanging up, Cherry had just opened the document when someone popped up behind her.

Nathaniel Cole said coldly, "So sneaky."

"You’re the one who’s sneaky! I’m looking at the papers the old man sent me." Cherry showed him her phone screen.

The first thing Nathaniel Cole looked at was the title and the author.

Jen...