Chapter 183: Shopping

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Shopping

Well, not everyone in this world is like Ethan Sterling—he keeps his word, sees things through, never makes promises lightly, and always delivers when he does.

Renee Morgan has a very regular daily routine—early to bed, early to rise.

She got up early, washed up, and finished her morning workout by nine o’clock.

When she heard the knock at the door, she was still a bit puzzled about who it could be.

If Warren or people from the company needed her, they’d always contact her in advance.

Renee didn’t rush to answer. She picked up her phone from the sofa and just then a message popped up.

Ethan Sterling: [Open the door]

Renee scrolled up through the message window and remembered that when she invited Ethan over for dinner two days ago, she had given him her apartment address and unit number.

No time to change, still in her tight workout clothes, she grabbed an outer jacket, tied it around her waist to hide her curves, and didn’t bother with her upper body, sweaty as she twisted the door lock open.

Ethan stood there, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a food box. His posture looked lazy, yet his back was straight like a pine. His dark eyes narrowed, exuding a cold indifference. But when he looked up just slightly, there was a sharpness that made people unable to meet his gaze.

"Mr. Sterling..." Renee wiped the sweat from her forehead and invited him in.

The apartment was the one Renee rented after signing on with the company when she graduated—one bedroom, one living room, one bath, and a kitchen. It was already quite pricey for what she could afford at the time.

The place wasn’t spacious, but it was spotless, with a faint scent of lilies in the air.

Ethan sat down on the fluffy sofa, making it sink under his weight, making one worry it might collapse at any moment.

But he himself seemed perfectly calm, leaning slightly sideways, his elbow propped on the back of the sofa, his casual gaze unobtrusively taking in the room’s furnishings.

One dining table, two chairs. A vase sat on the table, lilies in full bloom with visible droplets of water clinging to the petals, filling the air with their fragrance.

A few steps away from the table sat a simple sofa—the one he was on—facing a small fridge. Turn left and that should be the kitchen.

Renee couldn’t find a suitable drink in the fridge, so she had to go to the kitchen to boil water, quickly found a tin of tea leaves, and brewed a hurried cup before coming back out.

Compared to the kung fu tea Ethan made, her big mug of ordinary oolong was naturally no match.

But Ethan didn’t show the slightest hint of displeasure—he drank quite a lot.

Renee glanced at the food box on the table. Before she could ask, Ethan had already explained, "Brought you breakfast."

Renee: "..."

Are bodyguards supposed to do this?

This was the first time she’d enjoyed this kind of service—it actually felt pretty good...

She had planned to shower after her workout and just fry an egg to eat with some bread and milk, but now, staring at the tempting food box, she couldn’t resist sitting down at the table, reaching out to open the transparent bag and then the food container inside.

The box had several layers, filled with exquisite little dim sum from a teahouse: a serving of chicken soup five-color shrimp dumplings, a portion of gold sand prawn red rice rolls, lilies in sauce-steamed chicken feet, and a box of fried crullers.

Renee went to the kitchen to get two sets of bowls and chopsticks and told Ethan to come over.

But Ethan just lounged on the sofa, unmoving, his voice cool: "I’ve already eaten."

"All this is for me alone?" Renee was a bit incredulous—did he have some misunderstanding about female artists’ stomachs?

Ethan suddenly sat up straight, elbow still on the sofa back, fixing her with his deep gaze, his casual tone tinged with seriousness: "Just cutting out food won’t make you lose weight."

"Really?" Renee looked skeptical.

"You need a balanced diet for a healthy complexion. As for fat, it can easily be burned off through exercise," Ethan replied earnestly.

Renee wavered, her clear eyes full of curiosity: "What kind of exercise? Or just more exercise?"

"Eat your breakfast first. Don’t let the food get cold. I’ll tell you afterward," Ethan said gently.

Renee cautiously picked up a big shrimp dumpling, popped the whole thing into her mouth, and as her teeth broke the surface, a satisfying burst of chicken broth and shrimp filled her mouth. Her face was one of pure delight.

Usually, she would have only eaten one shrimp dumpling and a piece of red rice roll. Perhaps thanks to Ethan’s encouragement, by the time she put her chopsticks down, everything was gone except the crullers.

In the past, eating this much would have given her a strong sense of guilt—she’d have wanted to run to the bathroom and make herself throw up. But today, she was simply happy and healed by good food.

After washing the three containers, Renee showered and changed quickly. By the time she came out, it was almost ten.

The film festival was ten days away. When the organizers called Warren, it was on short notice. The company didn’t want to take it at first, but Renee wanted to use the opportunity to return a favor, so the company accepted.

The audition for Director Miller’s film was next week, and the TV series contract had already been signed for the third female lead. Since the production was still in prep, the shooting schedule hadn’t been set yet.

As for the performance at the film festival, they had to wait for approval. Once the program was confirmed, she’d rehearse with the company. So all in all, these days were relatively free for her.

But since Ethan had come over, she wasn’t about to let him waste the trip. She decided to get fully geared up and take him shopping.

A little over ten minutes later, Ethan was looking at Renee, who had just groomed her brows, done smoky eye makeup, and donned a mask—silent for a moment.

But Renee was excited, grabbed her bag, and pulled him out the door.

"Did you drive? If not, we can take a cab..." Renee pulled out her phone, ready to order a ride.

Ethan walked slowly next to her, speaking up at just the right moment: "I drove here."

Renee responded with an "oh," put her phone away, and followed him into the elevator straight down to the underground parking garage.

When Ethan led her over to a twenty-something-thousand-dollar Buick, Renee wasn’t surprised in the least.

She knew there was no way that Bentley was his.

Ethan naturally opened the back door for her, but Renee widened her smokey eyes and looked at him eagerly: "Can I sit up front?"

Ethan gave an "en," circled the car, and opened the front passenger door for her.

Renee’s face instantly broke into a big smile.

Ethan drove steadily, and his nerves were even steadier. The downtown traffic was always jammed, horns blaring everywhere, but his eyebrows didn’t so much as twitch.

Renee pulled out her phone to look up shopping tips, sneaking glances at him now and then—even just his profile was stunning.

After parking in the mall garage, the two of them took the elevator up. They’d come to the biggest mall in City of Maridia, a gathering place for all the top international brands.

Once inside the brand section, Renee led Ethan straight into a men’s clothing store, claiming she needed to help him pick a few outfits suitable for accompanying her to the film festival.

For others, it was always "people fit the clothes"—you’re either too fat or too thin. But for Ethan, it was definitely "clothes fit the person;" some big-name brands couldn’t even contain his presence.

After trying on all the suits in the collection, there were only two sets that actually suited him.