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Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Hengheng

When they returned home, Kiki must have caught the scent of an unfamiliar feline. It wagged its tail, sticking close to Ian Sterling as he carried the pet carrier.

Ian Sterling glanced down at Kiki a few times. Seeing that it was merely curious and showed no signs of aggression, he set the pet carrier down.

They had taken the kitten for a check-up before coming home. Probably because of its high price and fine breed, the owner of the already high-end pet shop had given it extra attention; it was in perfect health.

Kiki crouched in front of the carrier, sniffed, and meowed a few times. Lynn Winslow then tried to hold Kiki back while opening the carrier door.

”This is your new little brother. Mommy and Daddy won’t be here tomorrow, so you can’t bully him.”

Lynn was genuinely worried, mainly because Kiki was so much larger.

Fortunately, Kiki was good-natured and warmed up to the new kitten in no time. Lynn then started trying to think of a name for him.

”What should we name him? Haha? Heehee? Or maybe Huhu?”

Ian Sterling, who was sitting to the side texting Nina Norton, heard her and let out a snort of laughter.

”Do we have to name him to match Kiki? That sounds so silly.”

Lynn playfully swatted him. ”Watch your mouth! Of course we have to name him to match Kiki.”

Ian Sterling threw his hands up in surrender, and Lynn turned to the kitten, who was crouched by her feet with Kiki, and tentatively called out the names.

”Haha?”

”Heehee?”

”Huhu?”

”Meow~”

Lynn’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. She repeated, ”Huhu?”

”Meow~”

”Alright, Huhu it is.” Lynn bent down and scooped him up, examining him closely. ”He really does look an awful lot like Kiki.”

Ian Sterling commented offhandedly, ”Maybe they have the same parents.”

”That makes sense.”

Ian Sterling put his phone down. ”I talked to my mom. We don’t have to rush out early tomorrow. We can take them to Aerie Garden whenever we wake up and get ready.”

Lynn Winslow nodded, her attention shifting from teasing Kiki to teasing Huhu, completely ignoring Ian Sterling.

Ian Sterling had no choice but to sidle up and lean against Lynn, watching her with a lazy gaze.

The next morning, Lynn Winslow and Ian Sterling brought the two cats to Aerie Garden.

Kiki was used to car rides and laid down nonchalantly after getting in. Huhu, however, was a bit curious, but awed into submission by Kiki, it obediently settled down on top of him.

Nina Norton had instructed the staff to clean all the cat supplies and arrange them in a corner of the living room—out of the way, but still easy for the cats to find.

With his arms crossed and a stony expression, Spencer Sterling looked at her. ”Why do we have to have two more cats in the house?”

”These are Finn and Lynn’s sons, which naturally makes them our precious grand-kittens.” Nina Norton’s logic was perfectly sound.

”...” Spencer Sterling let out a dry, humorless laugh and turned to leave. Just as he took a step, Nina Norton said, ”That’s right, the big one’s name is Kiki. I didn’t expect you to remember it so clearly.”

Spencer Sterling: ”?”

Just as he was about to speak, Lynn Winslow and Ian Sterling walked in, each carrying a cat.

Nina Norton’s eyes sparkled as she stepped forward to take Kiki from Lynn’s arms, exclaiming, ”He’s so heavy!”

Lynn looked a little embarrassed. Kiki’s weight had indeed been skyrocketing lately, all thanks to Ian Sterling, who had been giving him two to three times his usual amount of snacks and extra meals each day.

Ian Sterling let out a hum and placed Huhu in Nina Norton’s arms as well.

Fortunately, Huhu was still small, so he wasn’t that heavy. It wasn’t too much of a struggle for Nina Norton to hold both.

”How long are you planning to be gone?”

Lynn said, ”We’re not sure yet.”

”It’s good for you to get out and have fun. Go on and don’t worry, just leave these two to me.” Nina Norton bent down to place the cats beside their bowls. Seeing they weren’t particularly scared, she was secretly delighted.

”They’re so brave. I thought they’d need a few days to adjust.”

Lynn stood beside her near the cats and chuckled. ”Kiki has been around many people since he was a kitten, and Huhu was in a pet shop where he saw people every day, so they’re both a bit bolder.”

Spencer Sterling watched silently for a moment, shot his son a glare, then got up and went upstairs.

Ian Sterling didn’t react at all, but Lynn asked with some concern, ”Is your father angry?”

”Don’t mind him, he’s always like that.” Nina Norton scoffed lightly, taking Lynn’s hand and leading her to the sofa to sit down.

”Why don’t you two stay for lunch before you go? You can tell me everything I need to know about taking care of them.”

Ian Sterling was about to open his mouth to refuse, but Lynn cut in, ”Of course! We’ll leave after lunch. We’re driving ourselves, so there’s no rush.”

Nina Norton looked at him. Ian Sterling pressed his lips together and finally relented, ”Fine.”

”So ungrateful,” Nina Norton muttered, rolling her eyes before turning her attention back to Lynn.

For lunch, the chef prepared Lynn’s favorite style of cuisine. The moment they sat down at the table, Ian Sterling consciously took on the duty of placing food on Lynn’s plate.

Spencer Sterling hesitated, debating whether to scold his son in front of his future daughter-in-law, but decided to speak up after a moment’s thought.

”I have no objection to you going on a trip, but have you settled everything at your company?”

Ian Sterling gave a quiet hum of assent. ”It’s all settled.”

He looked up, a playful tone in his voice. ”Why, Dad? Are you offering to manage the company for me?”

Spencer Sterling had only been resting for a few days. Just recently, with his first and second sons away, he had been left in charge of both of their corporate groups. Even with his eldest daughter helping, for a man who had been retired for a long time, suddenly shouldering such a massive responsibility had been truly exhausting.

”In your dreams,” Spencer Sterling said with a frown.

But Nina Norton said, ”He can go. Let your father do it. It’ll keep him from being idle and stirring up trouble at home all day.”

Spencer Sterling glared at her, but Nina Norton pretended not to notice.

Ian Sterling couldn’t tell if Nina Norton was joking or being serious, but either way, he took her at her word. He called his assistant then and there, telling them to prepare to welcome his father to the company the next day.

After hanging up, Ian Sterling gave Spencer Sterling a breezy look and chuckled. ”I’ll even pay you a salary.”

”Do I look like I need your pocket change?” The antics of the mother-son duo made Spencer Sterling laugh in exasperation.

But Ian Sterling replied nonchalantly, ”I have to give it to you, whether you need it or not. Otherwise, how ungrateful would that make me?”

Spencer Sterling took a deep breath to compose himself, terrified of losing his temper and making a bad impression on his future daughter-in-law.

Lynn kicked Ian Sterling’s foot under the table and shot him a warning glance, telling him to stop provoking his father.

But Ian Sterling secretly grabbed Lynn’s hand and gave it a squeeze, telling her not to worry about it.

Lynn sighed, pulled her hand back, and said to Spencer Sterling, ”Mr. Sterling, please don’t take him seriously. He’s just teasing you. How could he possibly let you manage his company? He’s already made all the arrangements.”

”Who says I am? I really am—”

Before he could finish, Lynn stomped hard on his foot and said through gritted teeth, ”Say one more word and I’ll get angry for real.”

Caught off guard, Ian Sterling let out a yelp and was forced to swallow the rest of his sentence.

Spencer Sterling looked from Ian Sterling to Lynn, then said with gratification, ”If only Finn were half as sensible as you, I’d be a little nicer to him.”