The Returning Ex

Ian didn’t see Aurora off. Rather, it was Cindy who saw her downstairs. Aurora looked at Cindy, her expression placid. “I heard
that your background isn’t that great.”
Cindy remained calm and unruffled. “It’s indeed not great.”
Aurora smiled. “Alright, then. I don’t think the two of you will last long, so I’ll save the speech.”
How direct! She’s saying whatever she pleases. Fortunately, Cindy wasn’t really dating Ian, so she wasn’t bothered. She merely
mused, If Ian truly dates a girl whose background isn’t all that great in the future, she’ll really have a tough time dealing with such
a mother-in-law!
After Aurora had said this, she put on her sunglasses and strutted away.
Cindy stood there until she was gone from sight before turning around and returning upstairs. Meanwhile, Ian had already gone
back to his room, so she stood in the living room and mulled the matter over. No, I just can’t bring myself to ask him what had
happened. Thus, she then went back to her own room after a while. He took a day off today to entertain his mother, but from the
look of things now, he didn’t have to do so.
She took out the menu he gave her back then and went through it from top to bottom. Now that she was familiar with his tastes,
she knew that while he wasn’t a picky eater, he still had his likes and dislikes. Although I couldn’t see anything amiss from his
expression earlier, he must be aggrieved after having a row with his mother. So, I’ll just cook a few nice dishes for lunch as
consolation. She couldn’t think of anything else she could do. This is the only thing I can do.
After lying on the bed for a while, she left her room and went to the kitchen where she started preparing the ingredients. She’d
thought that Ian would hide away in his room to lick his wounds, so she planned to call him when she was done cooking.
Unexpectedly, Ian came out just after she’d washed the vegetables. Frowning, he stared at her. “You’re cooking lunch so early?”
Cindy grunted. “No, I’m just prepping the ingredients.”
Nothing could be gleaned from Ian’s face, and he didn’t appear sad either. As Cindy carried on with her chore, he sauntered over
to the kitchen door. “What did the two of you speak of downstairs?” he asked.
Cindy chuckled. “Nothing much. Your mother disdains my background, but she feels that we won’t last long, so she saved the
speech.” She found it all truly intriguing. “At that time, I wanted to tell her that our relationship is fake to reassure her, but on
second thought, I decided to retain some mystery.”

“Don’t tell her. Don’t tell her anything,” Ian said. “In the future, stay away from her if I’m not with you.”
Stunned, the smile on Cindy’s face disappeared. She turned and glanced at him yet asked nary a question. “Okay, got it.”
Ian remained standing at the kitchen door. “Don’t tell anyone about our relationship regardless of who the person is to me.” After
saying this, Ian instinctively explained, “Because even those who are related to me by blood may be looking to set me up.
Therefore, don’t trust anyone.”
Cindy nodded, but this time, she didn’t look at him. “Okay, okay, got it.”
Still, Ian stood there and looked on as she deftly prepared the ingredients for lunch.
Cindy grew a tad self-conscious at his scrutiny. I’m just chopping vegetables. What’s so interesting to watch? As she cut the
vegetables with her head lowered, she suggested after a while, “You can go out and watch television. It’s boring to stand here.”
Ian murmured in acknowledgment, but he didn’t move. Instead, he commented, “You’re very proficient at cooking, so it seems
that you must’ve been cooking since young.”
The corners of Cindy’s mouth lifted. “Yup, I’ve been cooking since young. I have a little brother, and my parents were busy back
then, so I had to take care of him. For that reason, I learned a lot of life skills very early on.”