The silence on the way was inevitably awkward. The boy seemed cold and aloof, as if he didn't want to be bothered, but Sydney Sawyer tried to talk to him anyway.
"You're Chester Sawyer."
"Yeah."
"A senior in high school this year?"
The boy nodded, offering no extra words. 'Kids these days are so hard to get along with,' Sydney Sawyer lamented to herself.
As they approached the Sawyer residence, they could see Edwin Sawyer waiting for them by the door from a distance. Though he was over fifty, he was still a handsome man. He smiled as he walked over to them.
"Why did you walk back?"
"We had a lot of stuff," Sydney Sawyer said with a smile.
"Let's get inside." Edwin Sawyer pulled her into the house, leaving Chester Sawyer behind to deal with the cart piled high with gifts, which was already giving him a headache.
Just as they entered, a woman in an apron came out of the kitchen.
Her hair was in a bun, her makeup was simple, and she smiled at her with great kindness. This was the woman her father had remarried—Lana Lowe.
"Hello, Mrs. Lara," Sydney Sawyer greeted first.
"You must be Syd, right? Come on, have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon."
Sydney Sawyer distributed the gifts she'd brought. When she picked up the health supplements, Chester Sawyer smirked and glanced at Edwin Sawyer, assuming they were for him. To his surprise, however, Sydney handed the gift to him.
"I figured you'd be under a lot of stress with the college entrance exams coming up."
She handed him two large bags of supplements designed to:
Calm the nerves and boost brainpower.
Chester Sawyer frowned. "I'm not taking the college entrance exams."
With that cocky attitude, he looked just like some good-for-nothing rich kid.
Sydney Sawyer just smiled. "How can you not take them? Are you feeling too much pressure?"
"There's no pressure."
"It's really just a small test in the grand scheme of things. Don't worry about it."
"I was granted early admission without needing to take the exam."
"..."
"To Aethelgard University."
"That's amazing."
Chester Sawyer didn't say anything, but his ears turned a little red.
"The kid just got lucky." Although Edwin Sawyer's words were modest, his face was beaming with pride.
She glanced around the room, noticing someone seemed to be missing.
"Lein is a senior in college this year, just like you. She's studying out of town, so she's not home," Lana Lowe explained.
Sydney Sawyer smiled and nodded, asking Lana Lowe to pass along Lein's gift.
**
During dinner, the atmosphere at the table was completely different from what she had expected. Although Edwin Sawyer was her father, he was very traditional and didn't say much. It was Lana Lowe who kept attending to her.
Given their unique relationship and this being their first meeting, their conversation was rather limited, mostly revolving around her studies and future career plans.
After having a little to drink, Edwin Sawyer brought up the topic of dating and relationships, steering the conversation toward Andrea Wyatt.
"Syd, that kid Andrea is actually a great guy. His parents adore you. If you really marry into their family, you won't be treated poorly in the future."
Edwin Sawyer certainly had his own selfish reasons regarding Andrea Wyatt, but it was undeniable that the Wyatt Family was a good match.
Sydney Sawyer smiled, pressing her lips together. "He has a girlfriend."
"I heard they've been having some problems. It's hard to say what will happen in the future..."
Lana Lowe coughed a couple of times, trying to interrupt him, but given her position, it wasn't appropriate for her to meddle in Sydney Sawyer's affairs.
It was Chester Sawyer who suddenly spoke up.
"Dad, what's so great about Andrea Wyatt? Is marrying him the only way to be happy?"
Edwin Sawyer frowned. "What does a kid like you know!"
"I just know that a melon plucked before it's ripe is never sweet."
"If you're done eating, go back to your room and study. Don't think you can just slack off all day just because you got early admission and don't have to go to school."
Chester Sawyer ignored him and looked at Sydney Sawyer. "His ideas are too old-fashioned. What era does he think this is, still trying to set up an arranged marriage? Don't believe a single word he says."
Before Sydney Sawyer could speak, Edwin Sawyer's voice rose in anger. "Chester Sawyer!"
"It's the truth! You promised me that if I got early admission, you'd buy me a PS5. You also said you'd pay for my driving lessons and buy me a sports car. And what happened...?"
"You just bought me an electric scooter, and it was a trade-in model at that."
"You're not even old enough to legally learn to drive yet," Edwin Sawyer explained.
"Whatever. That Andrea Wyatt isn't good enough for my sister. All he does is show off. He gives off this rich-but-brainless vibe."
Edwin Sawyer was so angry he nearly coughed up blood.
Sydney Sawyer, on the other hand, was struggling to hold back a laugh.
Judging by their pattern of conversation, this kind of thing clearly happened often.
Lana Lowe didn't get involved at all and gestured for Sydney Sawyer not to either, simply continuing to put more rice and food on her plate.
"Chester Sawyer, have I been spoiling you too much?" In front of Sydney Sawyer, Edwin Sawyer naturally wanted to maintain his dignity as a father. Being contradicted by his son was infuriating.
"If you were really spoiling me, you'd be letting me take driving lessons and buying me a Mercedes-Benz."
"..."
After saying his piece, Chester Sawyer turned to Sydney Sawyer. "Sis, am I right or am I right?"
He had a look on his face that seemed to say:
'What I said was totally reasonable, wasn't it? Go on, praise me!'
Sydney Sawyer gave an awkward smile.
She had been bracing herself for some kind of melodramatic family showdown, but it ended with Edwin Sawyer taking his blood pressure medication.
Still, she and Chester Sawyer were getting along fairly well. He looked quite aloof, but he meant no harm; he was just proud and a bit prickly.
During their chat after dinner, he showed off all the trophies and medals he had won, blushing when she praised him a few times. By the time she was ready to leave, he had already started calling her "Sister" familiarly.
Lana Lowe invited her to stay the night several times, but she politely declined.
She had arranged with Sebastian Lockwood to hand off Timmy Lockwood the next morning.
Chester Sawyer didn't want her to leave. He knew that as soon as she was gone, he would face his father's "loving iron fist" and would be in for a "vicious beating."
**
The next morning, Sebastian Lockwood brought the cat over.
"My windows don't have screens, but I'll be extra careful. I definitely won't let him run away," Sydney Sawyer said, holding Timmy Lockwood in her arms.
"I'll be back in about three to five days."
Sebastian Lockwood had brought over nearly all of Timmy Lockwood's things, looking as if the cat was moving in for a long-term stay.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
After seeing Sebastian Lockwood off, Sydney Sawyer was playing with Timmy Lockwood with a cat wand when her phone vibrated. It was an unknown number. "Hello?"
No one answered.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
Just as she thought it was a spam call and was about to hang up, the person on the other end spoke. "It's me."
"Chester?"
"Yeah."
Given that he had stood up for her last night by "angrily confronting" his father, Sydney Sawyer found this little brother of hers rather endearing. She smiled and said, "Is something wrong?"
"I've run away from home."
"..."
Sydney Sawyer wasn't an idiot. The subtext was clear:
'Please take me in.'
Sydney Sawyer couldn't just ignore him; after all, he was still a minor.
They agreed on a place to meet. As she took a taxi over, she expected to find a miserable-looking runaway. Instead, she found Chester Sawyer in a small park, drinking soy milk, eating a jianbing, and playing chess with a group of old men.
He even had a suitcase with him. He didn't look like he'd run away from home—he looked like he was on vacation.