"Ugh! I dated a younger guy once, and I regret it to this day. It started out great and then crashed and burned. The disappointment was unreal. I’m warning all you ladies here, don’t just dive in headfirst. It’s no different from raising a rebellious son. They’re all sweet talk and charm to your face, but behind your back, they’re figuring out how to stab you in it. It’s just not worth the pain."

"I’m ten years older than my wife. As a mature man, you can really spoil a woman. She’s been married to me for three years and has never set foot in a kitchen or been made to feel upset. I provide more than enough money and emotional support. They say love keeps a woman young, and my wife is honestly aging in reverse since she married me..."

...

Miles Trenton listened for a while. Knowing that his own boss had organized this little "networking event," and being a man himself, how could he not understand what was going on?

He silently cursed in his heart, ’Shameless.’

Then he looked over at Celia Sterling.

At first, Celia Sterling listened intently, but she gradually grew speechless. ’What are these people even talking about? It’s all so fake. How can this huge crowd keep feeding each other lines and propping each other up without getting sick of it?’

And the entire conversation revolved around a single theme: older men are more desirable than younger guys.

Overcome with boredom, she leaned against Silas Norwood and let out a disinterested sigh.

Silas Norwood wrapped an arm around her and asked in a low voice, "Why aren’t you listening anymore, baby? Is it not interesting?"

"Interesting? The whole thing is just a bunch of hints that ’younger guys are poison, touch one and you’ll die a horrible death’ and ’older men are fine wine that only gets better with age.’ I’m getting second-hand embarrassment just listening to them."

"And what about you, baby?" Silas Norwood gazed at her. "Which do you think is more... desirable?"

"They each have their pros, I guess." Celia Sterling thought for a moment. "For dating, older or younger guys are both fine. But for marriage, it’s better to have someone more mature."

Silas Norwood: "...Mm."

He paused. "So for you, baby... is it older guys or younger guys?"

Celia Sterling’s almond-shaped eyes studied his face for a moment. "Silas Norwood, you aren’t jealous of Declan Norwood, are you?"

Silas Norwood shook his head. "No."

He was jealous of all the potential "young pups" who might become his rivals in the future.

Perhaps seeing the look of insecurity on Silas Norwood’s face, Eldest Young Master Warren sidled up to him and steered the conversation.

"So, what about you, Chairman Norwood? Why don’t you tell us about your... romantic journey?"

Silas Norwood: "..."

Someone in the crowd, unaware of Silas Norwood’s identity, piped up, "Yeah, do you prefer twenty-year-olds or thirty-year-olds?"

Silas Norwood: "...Twenty-year-olds."

He wasn’t lying. While his wife was twenty-two, her age as Summer Sutton was a year or two younger than Celia Sterling.

A headache suddenly started to form.

The age gap really was a bit large.

Amidst the crowd’s silence, Celia Sterling let out a soft laugh.

"See? It doesn’t matter if they’re young boys or old men, they all like twenty-year-old girls. It has nothing to do with their own age; everyone, men and women, likes youth. It’s perfectly normal. Why get all sentimental about it? As long as you’re not hoping for a fairytale ending, you can still enjoy the ride..."

Silas Norwood: "..."

Eldest Young Master Warren hosted the rest of the team-building event, but Silas Norwood no longer had any interest in staying. Since Celia Sterling was also bored, she returned to the hotel with him.

Silas Norwood was leaving the next day, so they were bound to indulge themselves that night.

Silas Norwood gripped her by the waist, pressing her firmly into his embrace. He nibbled on her ear and asked, "Baby, you like younger guys... so what am I supposed to do?"

Celia Sterling wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "Call me ’Big Sister.’"

Silas Norwood was taken aback for a moment.

"Call me ’Big Sister,’" Celia Sterling repeated, standing on her toes to kiss him. "That look you had on the cruise ship in Seraphina was great. It gave you a very youthful vibe, no different from one of those ’young pups.’ If you can be both my big brother and my little brother, then I’ll only ever love you."

Silas Norwood: "...That’s not really appropriate, is it?"

"If you’re willing to be my ’little brother’ and play along..." Celia Sterling offered a grand promise. "I’d be so charmed that even as Summer Sutton, I would marry you on the spot."

Silas Norwood wrestled with himself for a long moment before finally pushing her down beneath him. "Forget it," he whispered. "I can’t say it."

For a man his age, that form of address was just too embarrassing.

’Rather than being his wife’s little pup, he’d be better off spending his time studying the Dog Beating Stick Technique...’

The two of them didn’t leave the hotel until noon the next day.

His flight was in the afternoon, and Celia Sterling planned to see him off, but Silas Norwood stopped her. "It’s a private jet; there’s no need for a send-off. You should get some more sleep at the hotel. This base is massive, and you have a lot of work ahead of you."

Celia Sterling nodded. "It is going to be very busy. A super-base has many more factors to consider."

Silas Norwood frowned slightly. "Leave the tedious work to Miles Trenton. And isn’t Eldest Young Master Warren also here? Just tell him what to do."

"I can’t do that with Eldest Young Master Warren yet. I haven’t spoken with Rivermoon."

Silas Norwood said nothing, just lowered his head and sent a message to someone.

After Silas Norwood left, Miles Trenton approached Celia Sterling, followed by a beaming Eldest Young Master Warren.

"Miss Sterling, the Boss was very impressed with Eldest Young Master Warren’s organizational skills during the event. He has decided to assign him as your assistant. You can delegate anything to him."

Celia Sterling’s gaze shifted between Eldest Young Master Warren and Miles Trenton, and she thoughtfully said, "Alright."

Miles Trenton had other important matters and was in a hurry to leave. "Miss Sterling, I have to accompany the Boss to a meeting. I’ll be going now."

Celia Sterling opened her mouth, about to say that she would be at the same meeting, but she stopped herself. The thought that Rivermoon—who had been pestering her with messages every other day—would be there made her feel a little uneasy, so she held her tongue.

Fortunately, right after Miles Trenton left, Rosalyn Lowell called.

Half an hour later, Celia Sterling arrived at the airport. Seeing her in a mask and a hat, dressed down in a simple sweatsuit, Rosalyn Lowell couldn’t help but smile.

"We’re not at the base anymore, why are you dressed so plainly? Look at the younger generation from The Aurelian Family, especially the Aurelian’s Little Princess. She’s dressed to the nines. I heard she’s on a mission to... further her relationship with that big shot from the base."

Celia Sterling watched the sexy Aurelian heiress with a thoughtful expression. "The old ’big shot’ definitely wouldn’t have paid her any mind, but the man he is now... he might actually be into her type."

"I don’t think so. I don’t know who the big shot is, but my aunt told me he’s completely devoted to his wife. He supposedly doesn’t have eyes for anyone else."

"You can know a person’s face, but not their heart," Celia Sterling muttered, pulling her mask up higher. "Rosalie, cover for me in a bit, okay? I don’t want that big shot to see me."

"Don’t worry. The airport conference room has a partition screen. We’re just there to observe, so we’ll be on the other side. No one will notice you."

After speaking, Rosalyn Lowell checked the time. "Let’s go. My aunt just met up with the Aurelian and Valois teams. They’ve already gone inside. I’ll take you in through a side entrance to avoid running into all the VIPs."

Inside a private conference room at the airport, a group of powerful figures had already gathered around a meeting table.

The atmosphere was still in the stage of exchanging pleasantries. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Celia Sterling quietly followed Rosalyn Lowell through the side door and took a seat in the observers’ section. Heath Lowell had already saved seats for them, but the Chief Perfumer, who had never been particularly close with Celia, was now looking at her with an inexplicably strange expression.