Chapter 253 - 251: Young People These Days Really Have No Self-Control

The assistant director nodded and crossed out the three names with a pen.

The remaining people took their luggage to their assigned lodgings to settle in. The entire film crew didn’t have many actors, as the core story was very clear, revolving around a single family.

Lily Sterling took out her phone again. The signal was 4G, but there was only one bar.

She tried to send her sister a message saying she’d arrived in the village, but the message just kept spinning, failing to send.

In the end, she sighed and had to give up for now.

*

After Jane Sterling also moved in temporarily, the house became much livelier than before. To help Blair get through this most difficult period, everyone stuck by her side almost constantly.

And since the funeral, Blair’s condition seemed to have improved a bit. She was strong at her core. After letting out her grief, she began to actively pull herself together. Following a period of depression, she started her daily martial arts practice on schedule again.

"Looks like she’s much better. Not only did she eat breakfast today, but she also ate more for lunch than she has in the past few days."

In the living room, Cecilia Sterling and the other two watched Blair practice in the yard through the floor-to-ceiling windows, feeling much more at ease.

"School is starting soon. Are you two moving back to the dorms?" Jane Sterling asked, looking at Cecilia.

Cecilia Sterling nodded. "It’s more convenient to live in the dorms."

Estelle Goodman propped her chin on her hand, looking wistful. "I wish I could graduate sooner. I don’t want to go to school."

Cecilia and Jane Sterling smiled at her. Then Cecilia suddenly asked in surprise, "Hey? Where’s Charles Jennings? I haven’t seen him at all lately, have I?"

Estelle Goodman had also been staying here these past few days. Going by Charles Jennings’s usual playbook, he would definitely be coming over to deliver food every day, but this time, there had been no sign of him.

Hearing this, Estelle Goodman’s delicate brows furrowed, and she said impatiently, "I don’t know. Who knows what he’s busy with all day? I text him and he just says he’s busy lately. So secretive."

She herself might not have noticed the tone of her voice, but Cecilia could hear the resentment in it.

"Like you said yourself, ’out of sight, out of mind.’ Don’t you dislike him hovering around you all the time?" Cecilia deliberately probed.

At her words, Estelle Goodman pouted. "It’s not that I dislike it. It’s been like this since we were kids. I’m already used to it."

"So, now that you haven’t seen him for a few days, does it feel really strange?"

Estelle Goodman was about to answer reflexively when she sensed something was off. She turned her head, looking at Cecilia suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to trap me?"

Cecilia blinked innocently. "Just making small talk!"

Seeing this, Jane Sterling, who was standing by, chuckled and patted Cecilia lightly. "Stop worrying about others. Don’t you have to go out tonight? The sun is about to set. It’s almost time for you to leave, isn’t it?"

Cecilia glanced at the time. She had a date with Saul Thorne today.

She had been busy with her own affairs and taking care of Blair recently. She hadn’t had much quality time with Saul Thorne since coming back from the New Year holiday. With a house full of girls, it wasn’t convenient for Saul to visit, so they had arranged to have dinner together at his apartment today.

Saul Thorne said he would be cooking himself.

Cecilia didn’t say it outright, but her best friends understood.

Jane Sterling reassured her. "Go on, don’t worry. We’re here with Blair. Besides, she’s doing well today. You don’t need to worry."

Estelle Goodman also sighed. "You only saw him once on the day you got back, right? It’s rare for him to get time off. You should hurry and go."

Cecilia stood up and smiled at them. "Alright, then. I’ll go upstairs to get ready and head out."

Watching her go upstairs, Estelle Goodman and Jane Sterling exchanged a knowing smile. Estelle said, "I bet Saul Thorne won’t be letting her come home tonight."

Cecilia drove to a large supermarket. After going inside, she followed the signs and spotted Saul Thorne at the counter in the meat section. He was looking down, carefully selecting a package of pork belly from the display.

Before Cecilia could get close, Saul Thorne sharply sensed someone approaching and instinctively looked up.

His originally cold and stern expression melted into softness and joy the moment he saw Cecilia, and he instinctively reached out his hand to her.

Smiling brightly, Cecilia raised her hand to grasp his broad palm. "What are you picking out?"

"Pork belly." Saul Thorne looked at Cecilia gently and asked, "Or would you rather have beef?"

"I want braised pork belly," Cecilia said.

Hearing this, Saul Thorne picked up a container of high-quality, skin-on pork belly. "Then we need the kind with the skin on."

He was wearing a black overcoat. As Cecilia got closer, she realized he was actually wearing his police uniform underneath. Surprised, she couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you dressed so formally today?"

"I had a meeting at the municipal bureau this afternoon, and there was a dress code," Saul Thorne explained softly.

Cecilia’s gaze swept over him playfully from top to bottom. "This is the first time I’ve seen you in this uniform. It’s pretty handsome."

"Oh? You like it?"

"I do."

A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Saul Thorne’s lips. He whispered, "Then I’ll wear it to bed with you tonight."

Cecilia immediately shot him a look and poked a ticklish spot on his waist. Saul Thorne quickly grabbed her small hand and tucked it into his overcoat pocket. "Stop fooling around. Let’s go buy some vegetables, and then we can go home."

"Let’s just get a head of broccoli."

"Anything’s fine. It’s up to you."

After getting their items, the two pushed their cart to the checkout counter. It happened to be the evening rush hour, and long lines had formed at all the registers.

Perhaps bored from waiting in line, people were looking around. When they saw the good-looking couple, Cecilia and Saul Thorne, they couldn’t help but stare a little longer—especially since Saul was wearing a detective’s uniform today, which made people even more curious.

’Is that what they mean by a government-issued boyfriend?’

Little did they know that while the couple appeared calm and composed on the surface, their hands were inside Saul Thorne’s overcoat pocket, childishly playing by hooking their fingers together.

"Hi, do you have a membership? If so, please show me the QR code."

When it was their turn to pay, the young female cashier asked politely, only to notice that the handsome police officer in front of her was staring at the shelf next to the register.

And the shelves next to supermarket registers usually only display two types of items: chewing gum and condoms.

The next second, he reached out and placed two boxes on the counter.

Cecilia blinked at him.

Then she watched as he grabbed another two boxes and placed them on the counter.

Then, after a moment’s thought, he added another two boxes.

Cecilia was stunned. She quickly dug her nails into his palm, signaling that was enough.

But he just went ahead and grabbed two more.

This act drew frequent glances from the people around them. Their eyes shifted back and forth between Saul Thorne’s and Cecilia’s faces, with the gazes of some of the older people being particularly meaningful.

’Young people these days, they have no restraint!’

Even for someone like Cecilia, who was usually very open-minded about intimacy, being stared at like this made her cheeks burn slightly.

Saul Thorne, however, acted as if nothing was wrong. With a composed demeanor, he pulled out his phone and presented the membership QR code to the young cashier.

The young cashier was speechless.