Slowly but surely, days turned into nights, weeks turned into months, and without realizing it, a whole month had passed since the dinner at Shine's residence. Since that night, Mr. Shine had never attempted to contact Serena's home again. Serena also thought that it was time to reorganize the staff at her residence. Until now, everyone working in her house had been employed under Mr. Shine's orders.
However, whenever Serena wanted to discuss this matter with her son, they barely had time to meet. She sensed something different about Adrian. He seemed extremely busy, leaving at dawn and returning late at night. Serena had no idea whether there was a problem at the company that required Adrian to work so hard.
In the end, without consulting Adrian, Serena fired all the household staff. Now, she was alone in her home.
Looking at her fairly large house and thinking about the meals she and Adrian needed to eat, she slightly regretted her decision. She should have at least kept the chef and someone to handle the cleaning.
Even though she was feeling too lazy to go anywhere today, she decided to visit an employment agency to find three people willing to work for her.
Without changing her clothes, Serena drove straight to the agency.
Upon arriving, she immediately approached the staff, who provided her with a complete list of potential employees.
Looking at the overwhelming amount of data, Serena furrowed her brows. She had just realized that finding the right people to work at her house was not as easy as she had thought.
"Can I take these files home to read and review?" Serena finally asked the staff.
"Of course, Miss. Once you find suitable candidates, you can contact this number," the staff member replied politely.
"Thank you."
Serena left the agency and sat in her car for a moment, thinking. If the chef were still at her house, she wouldn't have hesitated to go home for lunch. But now, with no one to cook for her, she decided to eat at a restaurant she used to visit with Iril.
___________
" Are you really never going to get married?" Darian Shield asked his one and only younger brother.
Ren remained silent while eating his meal. Seeing his brother's indifference and lack of response, Darian sighed heavily.
"Ren."
Hearing his name, Ren finally looked at Darian.
"What?"
"You know Mom is really worried about you. Can you stop making her anxious? She's getting old," Darian began lecturing Ren.
Even though Ren was nearly in his forties, to Darian, he was still a younger brother who needed his attention.
"Tell her that I'm fine and that she doesn't need to worry about me," Ren replied flatly.
"You—"
Darian gave up trying to talk some sense into him and instead focused on his meal.
Seeing that his brother had finally given up lecturing him, Ren let out a faint smile—so faint that it would have been unnoticeable if not observed carefully.
As Ren was enjoying his food, a familiar voice reached his ears from the adjacent room. The voice he had been longing to hear. He immediately stopped chewing and listened intently.
"Yeah, I never thought finding workers would be this difficult," Serena's voice complained.
Ren waited for a response from whoever was with her, but he heard none—only Serena's voice again.
He then realized that she was talking on the phone.
"Yeah, what else can I do? I'll have to check through all these files one by one," she continued.
"If you know anyone looking for a job, you can recommend them to me—as long as they are honest and responsible."
Ren sat in silence, listening to Serena's words. The moment he heard that she was in need of employees, he immediately grabbed his phone and sent a message to someone.
After receiving a reply, he smiled in satisfaction.
Darian raised an eyebrow at Ren, surprised to see his brother smiling.
"What's making you so happy? Is it a work project again?" Darian asked curiously.
Hearing Darian's question, Ren paused for a moment before nodding.
Darian smiled, pleased to hear that.
After finishing their meal, Darian watched his brother with confusion. Ren didn't seem in a hurry to leave the restaurant, even though they had already finished eating.
"Why are you still sitting here?"
"Just a little longer."
Ren's response puzzled Darian, but he chose not to comment.
Then, as if waiting for something, Ren suddenly stood up, but his steps were slow and deliberate. Darian was truly baffled by his brother's behavior but refrained from saying anything.
Finally, after a month, Ren was able to see Serena again—even if only from a distance.
Seeing her outfit made him smile gently. Despite being in her thirties, Serena looked youthful in a plain white t-shirt paired with denim shorts and white sneakers. She still looked very much like a college student.
When Darian saw Ren's soft smile, his eyes widened in shock. He never imagined his brother could smile like that.
Following Ren's gaze, Darian spotted a young woman who seemed to be a college student. He was utterly stunned.
"Don't tell me you like that girl?" Darian asked, still looking at Ren in disbelief.
"So what if I do?" Ren replied.
"Ren, there's a huge age gap between you two!" Darian tried to knock some sense into his brother.
Ren frowned.
"We're only nine years apart," he said, giving Darian a sharp and cold look.
"W-what? Nine years? But isn't she a college student?" Darian stammered in shock.
Ren didn't answer. Once Serena had left, he made his way to his car.
Feeling ignored, Darian was deeply disappointed that his brother had completely dismissed him. But he quickly followed Ren, who had already walked quite far.
"What's her name?" Darian asked once they were both in the car.
"Serena," Ren replied after a brief pause.
"If you like her, why don't you go after her?"
Ren remained silent, flipping through some documents in his hands.
Seeing his brother ignoring him again, Darian sighed. He realized that Ren might not know how to pursue a woman.
"Listen carefully, Ren. If you like her, win her over. Show her that you're worth it. If she hasn't rejected you outright, don't give up—no matter what."
Darian began giving Ren advice.
Ren glanced at Darian.
"How do I approach her?" he finally asked, curious.
"Aren't you already acquainted? Just greet her and start a conversation whenever you see her," Darian said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Ren fell silent.
Seeing his brother's reaction, Darian frowned.
"Don't tell me... all this time, you've never even greeted her?" Darian asked in disbelief.
Ren remained motionless, completely frozen.