Chapter 601: The Invaluable Present Moment

OK, not gifting "Five and Three" already shows I’m considerate to Evan.

It’s tough, being a senior high school student is really tough.

Light a candle for my younger brother.

As Cecilia pondered this, she stumbled upon yet another point of confusion.

"Adrian, you’re saying that during your high school days, you also kept a notebook for mistakes and notes?"

Turns out, there are no true geniuses in this world...

Geniuses, so-called, are all results of diligent and steady hard work.

Just as Cecilia was sighing over this, a steady, magnetic male voice abruptly cut into her thoughts.

"They’re not mine..."

The man gently shook his head.

"Zion and I went to the same school, and neither of us were in the habit of taking notes."

"..."

Alright, alright, aren’t you guys impressive enough already?

"Then what’s with this thick stack? You aren’t seriously saying you bought them as collectibles, are you?"

Cecilia spoke, unconsciously scanning the large bag in her hand with suspicion. Adrian had packaged this gift bag so well. Since electronic products weren’t allowed for senior students, Cecilia originally thought that with such weight, the bag might contain common clothes or food.

Who would have thought, at this moment, Adrian would so "thoughtfully" attend to her brother’s study issues?

...

As Cecilia voiced her critique internally, she saw Adrian looking at her with a serene smile.

"Didn’t spend any money, but indeed I collected them?"

"What?! Whose are they?"

What Adrian said stirred Cecilia to consider unwrapping them to take a look.

Although she knew Adrian didn’t typically interact closely with girls, Cecilia’s impression was that keeping such comprehensive notes was usually done by girls, given their relatively detail-oriented and gentle nature.

"Guess?"

"I can’t guess!"

Cecilia painfully rubbed her forehead.

She thought and thought, no longer caring to preserve the incredibly delicate wrapping, tearing off the ribbon and unfolding the wrapping paper, only to discover all the notebooks inside were elegantly bound in leather.

They appeared quite classy and atmospheric, without any name on the covers. Even after all these years, there was no sign of aging on these notebooks, which showed the original note-taker was very meticulous, and the storage was remarkably careful.

Cecilia marveled internally and casually flipped a page open.

She saw the exquisite and smoothly flowing style of calligraphy inside, the brush strokes precise, and couldn’t help but grow more puzzled.

"Adrian, stop keeping secrets now. Don’t tell me these are a girl’s notebooks?"

This stack upon stack, why would Adrian have a girl keeping such things.

...

"Not a girl’s."

"What?!"

Now Cecilia really had no idea where to look for answers.

Finally, Adrian stopped teasing, mischievously poking her on the head.

"I knew your little brain was just for show, I gave so many hints, and mentioned Zion and I were from the same school but never did these note-taking tasks, don’t you think of Felix?"

"Felix... Felix?!"

Cecilia couldn’t help but repeat it twice, her eyes growing wide and round.

"Are you seriously kidding me? I can’t believe that Felix, such a playboy, could have such good handwriting, let alone the patience to make such a stack of notes? It’s impossible..."

"..."

The man shook his head and laughed.

"Why not possible."

Adrian pursed his lips lightly, saying a few words casually.

"He just lost a bet at the time."

"What?!"

Cecilia was shocked.

"What kind of bet would make that playboy work so hard?"

Cecilia thought of someone like Felix, who seemed like the TV stereotype of a rich kid planning to live off their inheritance.

Ugh...

Maybe I was a bit harsh.

But to be fair, with Adrian and Zion, two exceptional guy friends, Cecilia couldn’t help but look unfavorably at Felix, feeling he was like a drop of ink in a clear pond.

...

Be it narrow-minded if you wish, but Cecilia inherently disliked men who flirted around. Although Felix had no official girlfriend, except for a slightly chaotic private life, he didn’t have much to criticize.

Adrian glanced softly at Cecilia, seeing her incredulous face, the curve of lips growing wider.

"Cecilia, actually it’s nothing special, but at that time, Felix coincidentally scored third-last in the whole school, his grandfather came to inspect the school, saying he would cut off all his allowance."

"And then?"

"Zion and I figured, if Felix had his allowance cut, he’d surely try to mooch off me and Zion, he’s very thick-skinned, even if we refuse, we may not have a way."

"We directly suggested to Felix’s grandfather that if Felix followed our methods and showed improvement, his allowance would be halved and he’d keep the rest."

"What if there was no improvement?"

"The allowance would directly go to Zion and me."

...

Cecilia almost burst into laughter, fortunately, she wasn’t drinking water at the time.

"Hey, do brothers really do this? I feel you aren’t helping Felix, but rather tricking him?"

"Sort of."

Adrian nodded unapologetically.

"..."

Ugh...

Alright, alright.

Cecilia finally realized why Felix could become good friends with Zion and Adrian, perhaps he was a spice of life.

Among the three, if someone were to be bullied, it would probably be him, since he couldn’t match up to those two tricksters.

"So... did old Mr. Lockwood really agree?"

"Why wouldn’t he?"

Adrian nodded as if it was self-evident.

"Old Mr. Lockwood even proactively suggested that if Felix improved, half his future allowance would still be split between Zion and me."

"..."

It’s known that back then, Felix was the richest among the three brothers—Adrian, Zion, and him. Lockwood Family believed in raising children wealthily, though it’s easy to spoil them, Felix’s monthly pocket money was truly more than the salary many working members earn over several years.

...

After hearing this story, Cecilia didn’t know whether to pity Felix for having such two good friends or to be amazed at her husband’s wit.

Oh well, as long as the mischief doesn’t affect her.

Cecilia opted to overlook the man’s nightly pressure.

"Alright, Adrian, I’m heading to school. You should go to the company early, and let me know ahead of time if you need to work late."

"Okay, Cecilia, if it’s too late, you don’t need to wait up for me."

After getting married, Adrian realized having someone willing to always wait for you felt incredibly precious.