Chapter 258 - 256: Cecilia is Really Wise

Certain that the person before her was indeed Charles Jennings, Estelle Goodman walked up to him in disbelief and waved a hand forcefully in front of his face. "Can you see clearly?"

Charles Jennings furrowed his brow and pulled his head back. It had to be said, without his glasses, even his frown was handsome.

Estelle Goodman was fascinated. Without his glasses, Charles Jennings looked like a completely different person. She looked him up and down with delighted surprise. "Wow, Charles, you’re handsome! I never noticed you were this good-looking before. It’s like your glasses were sealing away your true face!"

"Did you switch to contacts?"

Charles Jennings glanced at Cecilia Sterling, who was walking over, and said in a low voice, "I had vision correction surgery."

"You had surgery?" Estelle exclaimed. "Does that mean you don’t have to wear glasses anymore? Geez, if I’d known you looked this good without them, I would’ve urged you to do it sooner. You probably could’ve had a few girlfriends by now."

Hearing Estelle’s thoughtless comment, Charles Jennings’s expression soured. "I didn’t get surgery just to find a girlfriend."

Cecilia Sterling approached, looking at him with a knowing smile. ’I can’t believe he actually took that casual suggestion I made,’ she thought. ’His follow-through is impressive. He just went and did it.’

The results were just as she had imagined. Charles Jennings was a handsome, clean-cut guy; it was just that his usually quiet personality, combined with the large glasses on his face, made him seem stiff and awkward.

Without the glasses, "stiff and awkward" had transformed into "coolly aloof and profound." His entire aura had changed!

Seeing Cecilia, Charles Jennings couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious. But after the procedure, his parents and Mr. Goodman had all praised him for looking much sharper, so he knew Cecilia’s advice had been correct.

"It was Cecilia Sterling’s suggestion," Charles Jennings admitted directly.

Estelle Goodman’s eyes widened as she looked at Cecilia Sterling, her expression full of surprise. "Honey, that was your idea?"

"Mhm. I thought he’d probably look great without glasses, so I suggested he either switch to contacts or get the surgery. I just didn’t expect the results to be this good." As she spoke, Cecilia deliberately looked at Estelle and asked, "He’s super handsome, isn’t he?"

Estelle Goodman nodded enthusiastically. "Very, very handsome."

Hearing Estelle call him handsome for the first time, Charles Jennings felt a small thrill of excitement, though he didn’t let it show.

"Are you still taking driving lessons?"

Charles suddenly asked Estelle.

Estelle blurted out, "Of course! I’ve even picked out the car I’m going to buy. I definitely have to learn."

"School’s about to start."

"So? I can still take lessons after school starts!"

Charles fell silent. ’She spent the whole winter break trying to learn and ended up with nothing to show for it except an injury,’ he thought.

The two said goodbye to Cecilia and started walking toward the Goodman Family home. On the way, still fascinated by his new appearance, Estelle couldn’t help but keep staring at Charles, faintly seeing traces of the boy he used to be.

’He didn’t wear glasses in elementary school, either,’ she recalled. ’But his features hadn’t matured yet, and I didn’t really have a concept of boys being handsome or not back then.’

’He started wearing glasses in middle school, and the lenses just got thicker and thicker, making him seem so quiet and withdrawn.’

"Are you done staring?" Charles felt completely unnatural under her gaze. ’What girl just stares at a guy’s face like that?’

Estelle grinned, saying unabashedly, "I never expected you to grow up to be this handsome. Cecilia is a genius!"

’She’s calling me handsome again.’

Charles’s face flushed slightly. Since he was naturally fair-skinned, even a faint blush was very noticeable.

But Estelle, ever oblivious, didn’t notice and just kept talking. "If I’d thought of this for you earlier, you could’ve been the campus heartthrob! I don’t think that guy they called the heartthrob back in high school was as handsome as you are now."

Charles muttered, "Alright, that’s enough."

Estelle continued, "A lot of girls will probably start chasing you."

Charles: "..."

"So, is there a girl you like? If so, you should confess to her when school starts. You might actually succeed!"

"..."

"I’m serious! Why aren’t you talking?"

"..."

When Cecilia Sterling returned home, she was struck by how quiet and empty the house felt. ’Humans really are social creatures,’ she sighed to herself.

She scheduled a cleaning service with property management, thinking that since school was about to start, the house could use a good cleaning.

Just then, someone @-mentioned her in the team’s group chat.

"Hey Cecilia, the contract with the Goodman Group was finalized today. As of now, our project has partnerships with twenty domestic companies. Shouldn’t we celebrate?"

The message was from Gavin Garrett, and she could feel his elation through the words alone.

The others in the group chat quickly chimed in to agree.

Cecilia smiled as she typed her reply, "Everyone’s been working on the project nonstop since the holiday, and with school about to start, we should definitely get together."

"How about tonight?"

"The usual spot?"

"Let’s not do the usual spot. This is an important celebration, so we should pick a better restaurant. We all deserve to splurge for once!"

"Agreed!"

Cecilia thought for a moment, then shared the address for Aetherium in the chat. "The investor’s treating tonight. We’re going here!"

When they saw it was Aetherium, the group erupted in a mix of shock and delight.

"I know that place! It’s one of the top business clubs in the country!"

"I just walked past it yesterday! The facade is so understated but luxurious. Super classy!"

"Leave it to Cecilia to pick a place! This is exactly the kind of spot we should be celebrating at!"

Seeing that everyone was on board, Cecilia set the time. "Six o’clock tonight. See you all there, and everyone better show up!"

Night fell early in Lorcain, and by six o’clock, the neon lights had already begun to flicker on.

Wrapped in a khaki cashmere coat, Cecilia Sterling hurried into Aetherium. An attendant with refined features immediately approached her. "Welcome to Aetherium."

"Miss Sterling?"

The attendant had barely finished speaking when another voice cut in. Cecilia turned toward the sound, stunned for a moment before breaking into a delighted smile. "Julie!"

Julie, dressed in a sharp business suit, looked at Cecilia with curiosity. "What brings you here at this hour? Mr. Young just left not too long ago. He was here this afternoon with the audit team for a financial review of Aetherium."

"I know, he mentioned it," Cecilia said casually. "I’m meeting friends for dinner tonight."

Julie nodded in understanding, then dismissed the attendant and personally escorted Cecilia upstairs.

"You’re still in school, aren’t you, Miss Sterling?"

Julie asked, seemingly offhandedly, as they rode the elevator.

Cecilia nodded, her gaze resting on Julie. "Julie, your parent company is having problems, isn’t it? They’re liquidating most of their investments in China. You’ll be affected too, right?"

She hadn’t expected Cecilia to be so blunt, but it wasn’t a secret. Julie offered a small, slightly bitter smile. "I’ll definitely be affected. But regardless, as long as I hold this position, I have a duty to stand my post until the very end. I’ll do my best and leave the rest to fate."