Chapter 153: Unexpected Meeting

Over the past few days, Andrew hadn't noticed anything unusual about Scarlett, nor had she dropped any hints the way some girls did when their birthdays were approaching.

To Andrew, she had behaved exactly as she always did, seemingly unconcerned that her birthday was only a few days away.

"Yeah. Scarlett hardly ever celebrates her birthday. Back when I was her academic advisor, I only found out by looking at her student records. That's why I'm telling you now."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

"As for how you celebrate Scarlett's birthday, that's up to you. I'm hanging up now."

"Alright."

Andrew ended the call.

Just then, the water had finished boiling. After filling the hot water bottle, he carried it into the bedroom.

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

Scarlett accepted the hot water bottle and asked casually.

She had heard Andrew talking earlier but hadn't been able to make out the conversation.

"My mom. She was asking whether I've been listening to you."

Andrew answered with a grin.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

"So, how did you answer?"

"That I absolutely obey every one of your orders, of course."

"Hmph. What nonsense."

Scarlett pouted slightly and shot him a pretend look of dissatisfaction.

"When have you ever been absolutely obedient to me?"

Then she handed the hot water bottle to Catherine, who was still curled up beneath the blankets.

Just as Andrew and Scarlett were about to continue chatting, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the room.

Andrew assumed it had come from Catherine and immediately stood up.

"We don't have much else to eat. I'll make you some plain rice porridge."

"I'm not hungry," Catherine replied weakly.

"Then whose stomach was making that noise?"

Andrew looked around in confusion before his gaze finally landed on Scarlett.

Scarlett's cheeks flushed faintly as she admitted,

"It was mine."

Because Catherine had been in so much pain that morning, Scarlett had only eaten a little before coming to take care of her.

Now she was hungry.

"Then, Teacher, why don't you go eat something first? I'll look after my older sister for a while."

"Mm."

Not long after Scarlett left the room, Andrew leaned toward Catherine as though he wanted to tell her something.

But Catherine immediately shrank back under the blankets like a frightened turtle.

"I'm not listening! I'm not listening! Go preach all your life lessons to Scarlett instead."

"Who wants to lecture you?"

Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Trying to reason with you is like talking to a brick wall. I can't be bothered wasting my breath."

He paused before adding,

"I actually have something important to tell you."

Hearing that it wasn't another lecture, Catherine cautiously poked her head back out from beneath the covers.

"What is it?"

"Don't you have your own underground intelligence network? Do you know anyone who can make ice cream? Preferably someone here in Brooklyn City."

"Make ice cream? Why do you suddenly want to do that?"

Catherine immediately sensed there was gossip to be uncovered and poked her head completely out from beneath the covers.

"In a few days, on New Year's Eve, it'll be Scarlett's birthday. She loves ice cream, and all the shops will be closed that day, so I won't be able to buy any. I figured I'd learn to make it myself."

The moment Catherine heard that, she instantly felt wronged.

"What?! Whenever I ask you to cook something for me, you argue over every little detail. But you're actually willing to learn how to make ice cream just for Scarlett?"

"Scarlett is my girlfriend. If you want someone to spoil you like that, go find yourself a boyfriend."

"..."

Catherine was speechless.

There wasn't a single flaw in his logic.

All she could do was sigh before taking out her phone.

"I remember one of my friends' families owns a bubble tea shop."

"Good grief! How does someone who spends all day hiding in the dorm know so many random people?"

Andrew genuinely admired his older sister.

She might not excel at anything else, but when it came to building connections, she was second to none.

She practically had her own underground intelligence network.

If she had lived in ancient times, she would've been the perfect information broker.

"Let me see..."

Catherine began scrolling through her contact list of more than six hundred people.

Watching from beside her, Andrew's eyes quickly glazed over.

He seriously suspected she was just scrolling randomly and couldn't even see the names anymore.

"By the way, Sister... you're not secretly some kind of player, are you? Keeping hundreds of admirers behind my back?"

"Of course not! Ninety-nine percent of my contacts are girls, okay? I only tease those innocent little boys for fun before deleting them."

"..."

Andrew gave her a thumbs-up.

Finally, after searching for a while, Catherine stopped at a contact whose profile picture was a handsome guy downloaded from the internet.

The contact was simply saved as "L.Y."

"Found her! If I remember correctly, her family owns a bubble tea shop here in Brooklyn City."

"Do you even remember her actual name?" Andrew asked.

"Uh..."

Catherine thought for quite a while before shaking her head.

"Anyway, her initials are L.Y. Just pick any name that starts with those letters."

"Impressive."

After exchanging a few messages with the contact, Catherine got the address.

"It's the Mixue store on Tianjiang Road. Just tell her you're my younger brother, and she'll teach you."

"That was fast."

Andrew hadn't expected everything to be arranged so quickly.

"Yep. Don't worry. Everyone I know is reliable."

"Oh."

Seeing Catherine speak so confidently, Andrew decided to trust her.

Then he remembered something else.

"Sister, I need you to help me put on a little act."

"What kind of act?"

Catherine looked at him in confusion.

"I can't disappear for several hours without an excuse, can I? Scarlett will definitely get worried and insist on coming with me. Then the birthday surprise I'm preparing won't be a surprise anymore."

"That's true. So what do you need me to do?"

Catherine suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I'll tell Scarlett that your stomach hurts terribly and that I'm going to see an old traditional Chinese doctor my dad knows to pick up some herbal medicine for you."

"Oh... okay."

Catherine nodded.

"Then I'm heading out. Remember to look like you're in terrible pain."

After saying that, Andrew walked out of the bedroom.

"...Okay."

Lying in bed, Catherine absentmindedly answered before suddenly realizing something.

"Wait... Don't tell me I'm actually going to have to drink whatever herbal medicine my little brother brings back!"

"!!!"

...

In the living room, Andrew put on a black overcoat and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Scarlett immediately asked,

"Where are you going?"

"My older sister's stomach hurts really badly. I'm going to pick up some herbal medicine from an old traditional Chinese doctor my dad knows."

"Then I'll go with you."

"No need. It's not far away. Besides, if we both leave, who'll stay here and look after my sister?"

Scarlett actually wanted to go with Andrew.

She found staying at home rather boring, and as long as she was with Andrew, she never felt bored.

But Andrew's reasoning made sense.

If they both left, Catherine would be all alone, and she was already suffering enough.

Besides, Andrew wasn't going out to have fun.

After thinking it over, Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"Then be careful on the road."

Scarlett said this before going to the bedroom to fetch her scarf, which she carefully wrapped around Andrew's neck.

"Mm."

Andrew nodded and headed out.

The first thing he did was call his good friend, Ethan.

"I'm going to send you the name of a prescription. Go to the pharmacy, buy three doses for me, and then decoct them at home. I'll stop by and pick them up later."

"Hey! You really treat me like your son, ordering me around whenever you want? You just say the word and expect me to do it."

"One hundred dollars for the errand."

"Dad! I'll go right now."

...

Soon, Andrew drove to the address Catherine had given him.

"Hiss... I don't even know the person's name. How am I supposed to greet them?"

Andrew suddenly realized this was a bit of a problem.

Besides, a bubble tea shop would probably have several employees. He had no idea whether the person saved as "L.Y." was working behind the counter or simply sitting around as the owner's daughter.

"Sigh... My sister really is unreliable."

Andrew grumbled to himself, but he had no choice except to bite the bullet and walk inside.

Since it was close to New Year's, there weren't many customers in the shop. Most of the orders were for delivery, and five employees were busy preparing drinks.

Just as Andrew was about to ask someone for help, his eyes landed on a somewhat familiar figure sitting in a corner, leisurely sipping a cup of bubble tea.

The other person also seemed to notice someone staring at them and turned to look over.

The instant their eyes met, both of them froze in shock, their eyes widening in disbelief.

"Boss?!"

"Sweety?!"

Their simultaneous exclamations caused everyone in the bubble tea shop, the employees and the delivery drivers waiting for orders, turn and look at them.

The employees were confused.

Wasn't Sweety part of the family that owned the shop?

The delivery drivers were equally puzzled.

Why was someone as young as Andrew already being called "Boss," while they were nearly thirty years old and still delivering orders right before New Year's?

Andrew himself was just as stunned.

Sometimes he genuinely wondered whether the world was one giant stage play, where people kept meeting the same acquaintances again and again under completely different circumstances.