Chapter 35:Trapped in a ss Cage


    It didn''t matter who the mother of his sessor was.


    Hearing that, Ran finally understood what the problem was with Chow.


    He frowned. "Chow, marriage is not a game. Just set it aside if you don''t know whom you want to


    marry. You''re still young. You don''t need to think about marriage just yet—"


    "There won''t be anyone I''ll want to marry," Chow interrupted, quickly cutting him off. He looked at


    Ran with a calm expression on his face. "It doesn''t matter how old I am. There won''t be anyone I''ll


    want to marry, so it doesn''t matter who my partner is. Marriage is inevitable anyway."


    The way Chow talked so lightly about marriage while disregarding love made Ran clench his fists in


    anger. "What about Vivian?" he asked. "Don''t you feel anything special for her?"


    Chow stiffened when Ran brought up the subject of their argument a few days ago. "Why are you


    bringing her up?"


    Ran didn''t stop there. He continued asking Chow with a frown, "So, what''s going to happen to Vivian


    after you''ve married that woman? Have you ever thought about what you were going to do with her?"


    Chow clenched his fists and replied in an icy tone. "Stop sticking your nose in her business."


    Ran was not afraid of his attitude at all. He continued speaking in a calm voice. "I''m not sticking my


    nose in her business. It''s you I''m concerned about."


    Considering their friendship, it was only natural for Ran to ask him questions like that.


    If Chow instantly thought of something else, it just meant that he was being overly sensitive about the


    topic.


    Chow''s face was still cold and stoic as he answered Ran''s question. "There''s no need to think about


    Vivian. She''s just a toy. I''ll just get rid of her when I''m sick of her."


    "A toy?" Ranughed scornfully. "Are you sure that you really think of her as a toy? And did you


    really think that you''d ever get tired of her?"


    Chow''s entire body went rigid again. However, before he could say anything, the examination room


    door opened and Celine was wheeled out by a nurse.


    Celine heard Ran''sst sentence and asked curiously. "What are you guys talking about? What


    toy?"


    Ran stole a nce at Chow, who was still all tensed up. He smiled and turned back to look at


    Celine. "We were reminiscing about our favourite toys when we were young," he said. "Hello, my name


    is Ran Gordon. I''m Chow''s best friend."


    Celine shook hands with him and smiled excitedly. "Hello, it''s a pleasure to know you. My name is


    Celine, and I''m, um, I''m Chow''s girlfriend."


    She secretly nced at Chow when thest word rolled off her lips.


    It was clear that she was thrilled to be introduced to Chow''s best friend.


    "Are you a doctor here?" Celine asked Ran, noting the white coat he was wearing.


    Although Chow had never talked about Ran in front of her, Celine had already heard many things


    about him. She knew that the Gordon family was a major shareholder of this hospital.


    However, since Chow had never told her about him, she was not going to show that she was aware of


    his identity.


    Ran smiled and tugged on his white robe. "I''m just an intern here. I''m not as smart as Chow so I


    only just graduated this year."


    Even so, Celine knew that he had already obtained his doctorate at just twenty-two years old.


    There was no way Ran wasn''t a genius like Chow. He was just being modest about it.


    "It''s very impressive for you to be an intern at such a young age," Celine hurriedly replied.


    Never had she thought that she''d be able to be introduced to Chow''s best friend tonight. What a


    wonderful coincidence indeed!


    She couldn''t wait to be introduced to more of Chow''s friends and acquaintances and establish that she


    was indeed Chow''s girlfriend.


    That way, she would eventually gain the title of ''Mrs. Howard'' for sure!


    Celine thought quietly to herself, unaware that her ns were all reflected in her scheming eyes.


    Ran observed Celine''s eyes for a while before turning to look at Chow, who was caught in another


    daze.


    Surely Chow wouldn''t be as dumb as to pick a woman who was so obvious about her ulterior motive to


    be his wife. Was there really no other reason behind his decision?


    Despite having not slept a wink because Chow never came home after all, Vivian still forced herself to


    crawl out of bed early the next day.


    Aunt ine had woken up earlier than her. As soon as she was done washing up, breakfast was


    already on the table. Aunt ine had made some toast and eggs, and she was still in the midst of


    frying up some sausages in the pan.


    "Good morning, Miss Vivian. Come and have some breakfast," Aunt ine said, cing the fried


    sausages on the table.


    "Thank you, Aunt ine." Vivian walked over and sat down. Looking around at the empty dining room,


    she piqued, "Aunt ine, do you want to have breakfast with me? It''s a little lonely eating alone."


    Aunt ine shook her head with a smile. "Thank you, Miss, but I can''t possibly do that. It''s not how


    things are done here."


    Aunt ine had been with the Chow family since she was a youngdy. She had served Old Master


    Howard the longest.


    Therefore, she took proper etiquette very seriously.


    Vivian knew that there was nothing she could do to change Aunt ine''s mind when she spoke in such


    a firm tone. She nodded meekly. "Alright, then I''ll just eat by myself."


    "Miss, please take your time. I''ll take my leave." Aunt ine bowed to her and turned to walk out of the


    door.


    Seeing that she was about to leave, Vivian called out to her again. "Aunt ine..."


    Aunt ine stopped and looked back at her in confusion. "Miss, is there anything else you need from


    me?"


    Vivian held her fork tightly in her hand and hesitated for a moment before making up her mind. "Aunt


    ine, did Brother Chowe backst night?"


    Chow rarely stayed out for the whole night if he wasn''t out on a business trip. Vivian thought it was


    rather peculiar that he never returnedst night.


    Hearing her question, Aunt ine''s face darkened. She coughed lightly before answering. "Young


    Master didn''te backst night, Miss."


    Vivian bit her lower lip and looked at her hopefully. "Was he out on a business trip again?"


    There was a flicker of sympathy in Aunt ine''s eyes, but she was an honest woman and couldn''t lie to


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Vivian. "No, Miss. Miss Celine sprained her ankle yesterday. Young Master stayed over to take care of


    her."


    Vivian turned pale when she heard Aunt ine mention Celine''s name.


    Ever since sleeping with Chow, she had actively avoided thinking about Celine.


    She knew that whatever happened between her and Chow that night was because of Chow''s one-


    sided coercion, but she still couldn''t suppress the deep desire she had for him.


    That was precisely the reason why she was overridden with guilt every time she heard Celine''s name.


    Vivian gripped her fork tightly and smiled stiffly at Aunt ine. "Of course, Brother Chow needs to take


    care of Sister Celine. How is her ankle? Is it very serious?"


    Aunt ine noticed the stiff smile and sighed. "It''s nothing to be concerned about, Miss," she said. "He


    took her to the hospitalst night. She should be fine."


    Vivian nodded quickly and hung her head. "That''s good to know."


    Seeing her awkward expression, Aunt ine just shook her head and walked out of the dining room


    with a resigned look on her face.


    Vivian kept her head down as she bit into her fried eggs. Her tears fell with a plop onto the eggs as


    well, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.


    She was too naive for her own good. No matter what kind of rtionship she had with Chow, in the


    end, the only person in his heart was Celine.


    What exactly was she hoping for?


    Did she really want to follow after her mother and be a mistress despised by everyone even after


    her death?


    She shouldn''t be that selfish!


    The more she thought about it, the more her appetite withered away.


    Everything tasted like cardboard to her. It took a lot of effort to finish the food that Aunt ine had put


    on the table for her.


    Since she no longer had to go to school, Vivian stacked up her dirty dishes and brought them to the


    sink to wash without waiting for Aunt ine.


    Just as she was done putting the dishes away, she heard a loud knock on the dining room door.


    Knock knock!


    At the same time, she heard Aunt ine calling out to her. "Miss Vivian, Assistant Ethan wants to see


    you."


    Assistant Ethan?


    Vivian was no stranger to Chow''s assistant. When she first came to the Howard family two years ago, it


    was Assistant Ethan who had helped her settle in.


    However, she had no idea why Ethan was looking for her today.


    "Okay, I''ll be right out," Vivian answered Aunt ine with a yell. She quickly dried her hands and


    walked out of the door.


    Ethan was waiting in the living room for her. Another woman was seated right next to him.


    The woman looked to be over forty years old. She was dressed neatly and had a prim and proper


    temperament about her.


    When he saw Vivian, Ethan introduced her to the woman at once. "Professor Bender, this is our


    chairman''s sister, Miss Vivian," he said. "Miss Vivian, this is Professor Bender, the tutor whom Mr.


    President hired for you. She will be in charge of your science subjects. Another professor will be here


    tomorrow for yournguage subjects."


    As soon as Ethan introduced them, Vivian quickly bowed to the woman and greeted her. "Nice to meet


    you, teacher Bender."