Chapter 645 - 641: I Brought You Here to Enjoy Life

"Next time I wear high heels, you’ll hear me."

Her words made Cecilia Sterling laugh.

John Lawson, however, looked at Cecilia with appreciation and nodded. "You’ve been doing well recently. You haven’t missed any of your classes. Now that’s how a student should act."

"You already called me out and criticized me to my face. If I didn’t get the hint, wouldn’t I be disrespecting you?" Cecilia said, half-joking.

John Lawson snorted. "Don’t try to flatter me. You’re studying for your own sake. What you learn is yours."

"I know, Director Lawson. Did you need me for something? If not, I’m going to head in."

As Cecilia spoke, she started to enter the classroom, but John Lawson stopped her. With a flick of his hand, he produced another envelope.

Cecilia’s eyes widened slightly. ’What is with today?’

’The battle of the envelopes?’

’I feel like some female spy making a drop.’

But she quickly noticed something was different. John Lawson’s envelope wasn’t like the others; it was red.

A bright, festive red!

Cecilia’s expression shifted from shock to pleasant surprise. She looked up at John Lawson and saw that he looked a little embarrassed.

"Are you serious, Director Lawson? Getting married so quietly?" Cecilia took the envelope, pulled out its contents, and saw that it was, indeed, a wedding invitation.

"It wasn’t exactly quiet. She’s an old classmate from university," John Lawson explained, a bit shyly.

Cecilia asked with a gossipy look, "An old flame reignited?"

"Not exactly," John Lawson quickly denied, shaking his head. "It’s just that at this stage in our lives, we both feel we’re a good fit for each other, so we decided to get married."

Cecilia nodded in understanding. "Okay, congratulations! I’ll definitely be there."

Back in the classroom, Cecilia put away the envelopes from Director Lawson and Elias Warner, then handed another envelope—a love letter—to the female classmate sitting next to her.

The girl was taken aback. "Aren’t you going to read it?"

Cecilia shook her head. "This guy’s name is... what was it again?"

"Simon Spencer."

"Oh, right. I’ve never even met him. I gave you all the breakfast he sent over before. So, do me a favor. Give the love letter back to him tomorrow and tell him I have a boyfriend."

"Huh?" The girl hesitated, pursing her lips, her expression a little strange.

Cecilia raised an eyebrow at her. "You’re not going to refuse to help with such a small favor, are you? It’s just passing on a message."

’She’d given this girl all the breakfast from Simon Spencer, and the girl had been more than happy to eat it.’

"It’s not that." The girl took the love letter and nodded lightly. "Alright."

After her morning classes, Cecilia went straight to her aunt’s new house. As soon as she walked in, she saw her aunt and uncle cleaning.

"Aunt Yvonne, Uncle Brendan!"

"Cecilia’s here!"

Yvonne Sterling saw Cecilia and hurried over to greet her, pulling a pair of high-quality slippers from the shoe cabinet. "I got these slippers especially for you. They’re very comfortable."

"Why are you cleaning by yourselves? Didn’t I tell you to hire professional cleaners?" Cecilia said as she changed her shoes.

"Cleaners are so expensive! And this place is over five hundred square meters!"

"That’s exactly why you need to hire cleaners for a place over five hundred square meters! If it were fifty, you and Uncle Brendan could clean it however you want," Cecilia said helplessly. She then called out to her uncle, "Uncle Brendan, please stop wiping. All the furniture and appliances in this house are top-of-the-line. Some of them need special tools for cleaning, or you’ll ruin them."

This frightened Brendan Harris, who quickly put down the rag in his hand.

But in reality, Cecilia was saying this on purpose. No matter how expensive the furniture and appliances were, they wouldn’t break from a simple wipe-down.

"Our family owns a cleaning company, and here you two are, busy cleaning yourselves. If my mom found out, she’d definitely be mad at you," Cecilia said, feigning displeasure.

Yvonne Sterling, however, was still pained by the cost. "It costs several hundred dollars for one cleaning."

"Of course it does. My mom’s cleaning company caters to high-end clients. Every job is a deep clean. A place over five hundred square meters needs several people working for several hours. Several hundred dollars isn’t expensive." As she spoke, Cecilia had already taken out her phone and placed an order for her aunt’s house. "If everyone was as frugal as you two, my mom’s company would have gone out of business long ago."

Just as she finished speaking, Cecilia glanced over and saw several cardboard boxes piled up in the living room.

"What’s this now?"

Brendan Harris smiled sheepishly. "This is stuff Ronald sent over from Veridia. It’s all clothes."

Cecilia shook her head, feeling a little faint.

She gave her aunt a speechless look. She didn’t even have to think to know it was her aunt’s idea.

Yvonne Sterling giggled. "The clothes are all fine, they’re still wearable. We can’t just throw them away, can we?"

"Of course we’re throwing them away. Everything in a new home should be new." Cecilia walked over, took her aunt’s hand, and said earnestly, "Aunt Yvonne, when my mom first came to Lorcain, she was exactly like you. It took so much effort for me to change her spending habits. Can you please not make me do the same thing twice?"

"Cecilia..."

"Aunt Yvonne!" Cecilia interrupted her, then softened her tone to persuade her. "Back then, our family had five kids to raise and send to school. You, Uncle Brendan, and my mom all worked hard for your money, and our family’s finances were limited. So of course, we had to save wherever we could."

"But things are different now. Lily and I can both earn money, and we’re earning a lot. My mom even has her own company now. We don’t have to live like we used to, hesitating over every little purchase."

"Just look at my mom. You’ve seen how much she’s changed since you got here. The clothes she wears, the jewelry she has on, the bags she carries—she bought all of it for herself."

"In my heart, you and Uncle Brendan are the same as my mom. We are truly one family. So please, don’t ever feel ashamed about spending my money, unless you don’t see me as your daughter."

Cecilia spoke with sincere emotion. Yvonne Sterling, already a sentimental person, felt her eyes redden as she listened.

"Cecilia, your aunt knows..."

"As long as you know. I’m grown up now and I’m capable, and I just want everyone in our family to live a good life. You and Uncle Brendan don’t need to worry about Sarah’s and Ronald’s futures, either. With me as their older sister, I’ll be their safety net."

"I brought you here to Lorcain to enjoy your lives. I didn’t buy you a big house just so you and Uncle Brendan could spend all day cleaning it. If that’s all you did, you wouldn’t get anything else done. You couldn’t finish cleaning over five hundred square meters in a single day."

Just as she was speaking, Cecilia’s phone buzzed with a text message.

She remembered the date. She deliberately turned away from her aunt and glanced at the message: "Your card ending in *1069 received a cross-bank transfer of 56,200.00 Dollars at 10:52 on December 9 from the Lorcain branch. Current balance: 5,650,159.38 Dollars. Sender: City of Lorcain Human Resources and Social Security Department. Memo: Pension. [Construction Bank]"

"Aunt Yvonne, I see the house is still missing some decor and soft furnishings. You and Uncle Brendan get ready, and I’ll take you out shopping. We’ll also buy you some new clothes to fill up the closets."

"I’ll have the cleaners take care of these boxes when they come."