My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 19: A Weird Dinner

The downpour lasted for a full half hour.

Silas Norwood had already finished his work. He sat across from Celia Sterling, drinking tea with her while they waited for the rain to stop.

Today, he was dressed in custom-made black casual attire. Unlike his usual style of buttoning his shirt all the way to the top, the first two buttons were undone, offering a faint glimpse of his sexy collarbones. The steam from the hot floral tea seemed to have warmed his cool demeanor. With his long legs stretched out casually, he exuded an air of both patrician grace and relaxed ease.

Celia Sterling’s gaze lingered for two seconds on his collarbones and his jade-like wrist bones.

"You don’t like wearing accessories, Silas?"

Silas Norwood’s long, slender fingers leisurely held the delicate teacup. He hummed noncommittally. "I don’t like feeling restrained."

Celia Sterling looked at the iridescent black thumb ring on his hand. It was pretty much the only accessory he wore.

"Family rules," Silas Norwood said coolly. "Unavoidable."

Celia Sterling took small sips of her floral tea and smiled. "It seems that apart from this symbol of your family’s authority, you’re destined to go without any other accessories for the rest of your life, Silas."

Silas Norwood’s expression was very serious. "I’ll wear a wedding ring."

For a moment, Celia Sterling didn’t know how to respond. She lowered her head and subconsciously toyed with her cup.

Silas Norwood had made his point and didn’t press the topic further. He simply leaned over and elegantly refilled her tea.

He was extremely close to her, and a strange, faint scent lingered at the tip of her nose. It was like ice and snow in a deep ravine—a chill that seeped into her very bones.

Celia Sterling couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at him.

The sound of rain outside finally died down.

Celia Sterling let out a soft sigh of relief and checked the time on her phone. "Silas, should we head out now?"

Silas Norwood nodded, elegantly buttoning the top button of his shirt with one hand. "Alright."

They both stood up. Celia Sterling glanced at her wrinkled clothes, her almond-shaped eyes showing a hint of embarrassment. "Silas, where’s the restroom?"

"There’s one in the lounge inside the office," Silas Norwood said, pointing in a certain direction.

"Then please wait for me for a few minutes, Silas." Celia Sterling picked up her handbag and pushed open the door to the lounge.

Silas Norwood stood in the hallway outside the office, waiting with a leisurely and unhurried air that was half noble, half languid.

A personal assistant from the secretarial office, always on standby, saw the Chairman preparing to leave and perceptively came over. They carefully collected the tea set from the Chairman’s office to take it for cleaning. Carrying the tray, they cautiously passed by Silas Norwood and greeted him respectfully:

"Chairman."

"Mm," Silas Norwood responded coolly. His gaze fell upon the exquisite tea set, and his expression paused for a moment.

He reached out and casually picked up Celia Sterling’s teacup, holding it in his palm. There was a very faint pink lipstick mark on the rim. Silas Norwood’s eyes darkened, and a strange itch seemed to tickle his throat. He pressed his lips together with restraint, his thumb rubbing lightly back and forth over the lipstick mark for a moment before he impassively wiped it away, bit by bit.

The personal assistant kept their head bowed cautiously, not daring to look around.

Silas Norwood placed the cup back on the tray, his aura distant and cool. "You may go."

The personal assistant left respectfully, holding the tray.

Silas Norwood remained where he was, leaning back lazily. He lifted the finger stained with lipstick and gently pressed it to the corner of his own lips, but pulled his hand back nonchalantly the moment he heard Celia Sterling’s footsteps.

Celia Sterling walked out of the lounge. She had touched up her makeup; her previously light lip color was now a few shades deeper. She had also straightened out her clothes. Her fluffy bun had been replaced with a fresh, high ponytail, adding a touch of innocent charm to her bright beauty.

"Silas, sorry to keep you waiting." She offered, "I’m a good driver. Want to take my car?"

An image of that cool, oversized "lizard" of a car appeared in Silas Norwood’s mind. "Then I’ll be troubling you, Cece."

It was already seven o’clock, and The Dynasty Restaurant was starting to fill up.

The two entered the private room Celia Sterling had booked in advance. Less than five minutes later, the well-prepared owner personally brought over a platter of exquisite delicacies.

"Miss Sterling, these are the Glazed Cups that Eldest Miss Sinclair specifically requested we make for you."

Six exquisite and adorable Glazed Cups, each a different color, were arranged on a white jade plate. A layer of crushed ice covered the translucent desserts. Celia Sterling’s expression was joyful as she picked up a Peach Blossom Glaze and said politely to the owner:

"Thank you!"

"Miss Sterling and this gentleman, please wait a moment. The rest of the dishes will be out shortly."

The owner said something over his walkie-talkie, and then several handsome waiters brought out dishes, one after another, and placed them on the table.

A healthy, low-fat fruit and vegetable salad, chilled snow-white rice balls, a simple and elegant white snow-cloud soup, and an artfully presented plum blossom noodle cake...

The table was full. A single glance brought a few words to mind: cool, bland, elegant, and watery.

Silas Norwood picked up his chopsticks, but his hand hesitated to move.

Celia Sterling waited until the owner and the waiters had left the room before saying softly, "Silas, this is a restaurant my friend recommended. It’s light and healthy, perfect for someone like you who doesn’t seem to partake in the pleasures of the mortal world."

Silas Norwood’s tone faltered slightly. "I quite enjoy the pleasures of the mortal world."

"Oh," Celia Sterling said. "It’s just a metaphor. Of course you have to eat, Silas. These are all famous dishes. Why don’t you try some?"

Silas Norwood silently picked up one of the chilled rice balls and put it in his mouth.

It took him a long while to swallow it.

He looked at Celia Sterling. "Why aren’t you eating, Cece?"

"I’m not interested in those. The Glazed Cups are enough for me." Celia Sterling picked up another one, a Sakura Glaze, and took a small bite.

Silas Norwood gave her a complicated look, then casually tried a couple of bites of other things before quickly putting his chopsticks down.

Celia Sterling looked up at the table full of virtually untouched food. "Are you finished eating, Silas?"

Silas Norwood: "Yes."

"Is your appetite always this small, Silas?"

"People like us, who don’t partake in the pleasures of the mortal world," Silas Norwood said slowly, "have always eaten very little."

The entire meal lasted no more than ten minutes.

It didn’t even last as long as their tea had.

Celia Sterling felt it would be rude to let their first dinner date end so hastily. As the host, she had no choice but to start searching for another topic to prolong the evening:

"Norwood Group has taken on a lot of big projects recently. You must be very busy, Silas?"

Silas Norwood replied gently, "Not really. The Group’s affairs are basically handled by Julian Langdon and his team. I’m more or less a hands-off boss."

Julian Langdon was the CEO of the Norwood Group, one of Silas Norwood’s personally groomed confidants, and a formidable figure in the business world. However, talking about another man in front of her fiancé was a rather presumptuous topic.

Celia Sterling hummed in agreement and dropped the subject, once again at a loss for what to talk about.

Silas Norwood poured himself a glass of lemonade. Seeing the girl’s slightly conflicted expression, a hint of a smile touched his eyes as he said in a light, unhurried tone:

"Cece, you don’t have to be so reserved around me. It’s not like we just met. We’ve known each other for ten or twenty years, you could say."

Celia Sterling nearly choked.

The Sterling and Norwood families were not particularly close. In the early years, Silas Norwood had accompanied Old Master Norwood to the Sterling estate a few times, but he always went straight to the study to discuss business upon arrival. Celia Sterling had only ever caught a glimpse of him from a distance. Later, after the internal strife within the Sterling Family and the passing of Old Master Norwood, Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood each took charge of their respective families, and the relationship between the two clans grew even more distant. They really couldn’t be said to have much of a deep connection.

"Every time I saw you, Silas, it was from too far away to see clearly," Celia Sterling said, a little embarrassed. "The only time... I think I was about nine? I couldn’t crack open a chestnut no matter how hard I tried, and you peeled it for me yourself. That must have been the first time I was ever that close to you."

Silas Norwood was eighteen that year, and so devastatingly handsome it was as if he were a celestial being gracing the mortal world. It was said that the girls in their circle were completely infatuated with him.

And that refined, jade-like young man... the hands that had peeled the chestnut were as exquisite as fine jade themselves.

Silas Norwood also remembered the scene with the crying little girl trying to smash a chestnut. But—

"That wasn’t the first time we met, Cece." He took a leisurely sip of his lemonade. "I saw you on the day of your 100-day celebration."