<b>Chapter </b><b>201 </b>
<b>Although </b>Joshua and Shermaine kept their marriage quiet, their close friends were in the know,
<b>For </b><b>example</b><b>, </b>Roy and Henry were among those who knew.
The two insisted oning over for drinks with Joshua. In high spirits, he weed them warmly.
But as soon as Roy suggested a barbecue, more friends ended up joining in all from their circle, plus Joshua’s cousins.
Shermaine winced at the dwindling stock of fine wine in the cer–so many bottles already gone, yet they kept drinking
As for her brother–constantly away on business and currently overseas–he had initially objected to her registering the marriage with Joshua. But after a private talk with Joshua, all his objections vanished. She wondered what Joshua could have said to prompt such an abrupt change of heart.
She then invited Danielle and Lily to join them.
But Danielle couldn’t make it tonight–she was tied up in the OR, performing a brain tumor removal surgery.
Lily came straight over after work.
At the moment, the two of them were chatting away.
Shermaine asked, “Any tricky issues at thepanytely?”
<b>“</b>Not really,” Lily replied. “It’s just that our products are flying off the shelves right now, but our production can’t keep up, so we keep running out of stock. I’m nning to expand the factory and add more production lines.”
Shermaine reminded her, “Product efficacyes first. Make sure you keep <b>a </b>close eye on quality.”
“I will,” Lily replied.
Unlike those shady cosmeticspanies that only cared about profits and ignored product quality, Lily was perfectly content with <b>how </b>far herpany hade. She believed that true sess came from staying grounded and moving forward step by step.
They hadn’t been chatting long when Lily’s phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, her eyes lit up with a smile<b>–</b>she lookedpletely smitten.
“Boyfriend?” Shermaine asked.
Lily smiled and said, “Not quite a boyfriend yet–just a suitor.” She was actually pretty satisfied with him; both his family background and looks met her standards. Then she gestured that she needed to take the call.
Shermaine nodded. “Go ahead,” she said, then pulled out her phone and scrolled through some forums, and short–video apps.
Scrolling through the app, her feed was flooded with SAT news.
Now that the SAT was over, everyone’s attention naturally turned to the results.
The SAT results won’t be avable until the 20th or 21st.
While browsing, Shermaine noticed someone had started an online poll ranking this year’s top arts and science SAT scorers from <b>Basterel’s </b>major <b>high </b>schools. Jason was leading by andslide, with Shermaine trailing far behind in second ce.
Shermaine nced at it and lost interest. ‘What <b>a </b>meaningless poll,’ she thought. ‘Jason and his mom went viral recently-
the votes.‘
-no wonder <b>he’s </b>miles <b>ahead </b><b>in </b>
A few minutester, Lily returned with her phone, giving Sheary an apologetic smile. “Sheary, I think I’ll have to head out early.”
12:06
<b>Chapter </b><b>201 </b>
<b>So</b>, did <b>he </b><b>just </b><b>ask </b><b>you </b><b>out</b><b>?</b><b>” </b><b>Shermaine </b>teased.
<b>“</b><b>Yeah</b><b>, </b><b>Lily </b><b>nodded</b><b>, </b><b>a </b><b>shy </b>smile <b>on </b>her lips.
Shermaine nodded. “Alright<b>, </b><b>go </b>ahead. Stay safe.”
“<b>Got </b><b>it</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>Lily replied.
After Lily left, Roy and the others also prepared to call it a night.
Before leaving, they gave Shermaine ingratiating grins and said, “Happy newlywed days, Shermaine! We <i>won’t </i>bother you lovebirds anymore–we’ll get <b>out </b>of your hair now,” they added with knowing smirks as they slipped away.
They were considerate enough to tidy up thoroughly before leaving. But those knowing chuckles of theirs were downright baffling
Joshua escorted the guests out. When he returned, Shermaine was no longer in the living <i>room</i>–she had gone upstairs.
He’d had quite a few drinks tonight, but getting drunk was out of the question–with his legendary tolerance, he could drink anyone under the table<b>. </b>
Now, the only thing left was to move Shermaine’s belongings into his room. After all<b>, </b>there was <b>no </b>way they’d still be sleeping apart now that they were married.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Shermaine froze–her room had beenpletely emptied out<b>, </b><b>not </b><b>a </b>single thing left. She stood there, dazed for <b>a </b><b>few </b>seconds before the realization hit her.
She thought to herself, ‘Now that we’re officially married, there’s really no reason to keep separate rooms anymore. I guess from now on, I’ll be <b>sharing </b>both a room and a bed with Joshua.‘
At this thought, Shermaine pressed her lips. ‘Having to share a bed with him every night… he is going to drive me absolutely nuts<b>,</b>‘ <b>she </b>thought.
Before Shermaine realized it, Joshua had slipped into the room unnoticed. Before she could react<b>, </b>he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind<b>. </b><b>In </b>that deep, velvety voice of his, he murmured right next to her ear, “Sheary, you smell good.”
<b>AD </b>