Today was Sunday. Julian Sterling rose very early, went downstairs for breakfast, and then returned to his room. By calculation, there was only one week left until his wedding with Ethan Caldwell. Consequently, everyone was incredibly busy, leaving him as the only leisurely one.
Perhaps his only duty was to show up at the ceremony on that day and play the role of the groom perfectly.
Initially, both the Caldwell and Sterling families had intended to hold a truly grand wedding. After all, both were renowned wealthy families in St. Lawrence. However, after Julian's recent incident, it was unclear how the two families had renegotiated, but they ultimately decided to organize only an intimate dinner between the two households.
That was why the date had been moved up so urgently. The day for registering their marriage was even more pressed, falling in the middle of next week.
Rumor had it that this idea was proposed by Ethan Caldwell. At first, Grandpa Arthur did not agree. But Ethan argued that since the two of them did not have deep feelings for each other yet, making a big spectacle would only lead to people spotting the cracks, and Julian would be the one to bear the scandal. After all, three years ago, the name "Julian Sterling" and the label of "a toad turned phoenix" were still prevalent. If he were seen as climbing the social ladder into another family now, it would look even more unsightly.
Therefore, Ethan wanted to wait for a while until Julian was more mature and their relationship was better before organizing a proper wedding ceremony.
Julian had no objections; less organization meant less trouble. He didn't know if it was because he had socialized too much in his past life, but in this life, Julian had fallen into a state of "not wanting to interact with humans." Even normal conversation felt like a chore to him.
Julian sat on the bed thinking aimlessly for a bit. Seeing that it was nearly 9:00 AM, he stood up and went to his wardrobe. Julian's wardrobe now was not like before. Previously, there were only dry suits and monotonous white shirts. Now, his closet was filled with many styles of clothing. Julian selected for a moment and decided to wear a beige hoodie.
Autumn had arrived, bringing a slight chill, so dressing like this would be much better. Who asked the "original owner's" constitution to be so weak? Just a light breeze was enough to make him cough all afternoon.
After changing his clothes, he stood before the mirror and looked at himself for a moment. The young man in the mirror was no different from before, except those dark eyes were much more lively. Even when Julian deliberately narrowed his eyes, although his youthful face held little lethality, those eyes exuded a chilling, threatening glint.
A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf. The nature is still in the blood and bones.
It was just that Julian did not want to compete.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!* The sound of knocking arose, immediately followed by the voice of a servant: "Young Master, Mr. Caldwell is waiting downstairs."
"Coming right away," Julian raised his voice, sounding very delighted.
However, his actions showed no sign of urgency. He walked leisurely to the window and looked down. In the distance, a silver car was parked there. Julian recognized it; yesterday, when Ethan took Grandpa Arthur home, he had driven this same car.
Julian let out a laugh full of incomprehensible meaning, then turned around, grabbed his phone, and strolled out.
The moment Julian stepped out of the room door, his footsteps became a bit faster. His fair face flushed slightly pink, looking incredibly happy. Even the rhythm of his feet was a bit disordered.
The butler downstairs, seeing him like this, burst into laughter and waved at him.
The entire Sterling family was out, so he didn't need to greet anyone. Out of politeness, Julian waved to the butler, then dashed out the door.
Ethan sat in the car, watching the teenager in the bright hoodie running toward him, short fluffy hair flying in the wind. Seeing him like that, Ethan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Julian ran up, opened the passenger door, and sat in, then sweetly called out: "Good morning, Ethan."
"Good morning, Jules."
Hearing this, Julian smiled until his eyes formed crescents. He pulled the seatbelt across his body, then asked Ethan: "Where are we going?"
Ethan tilted his head to look at him, thought for a moment, and said: "Let's go watch a movie, shall we?"
Julian nodded repeatedly: "Yes."
Ethan drove Julian to a nearby shopping mall. Actually, he had originally intended to take him out to eat something, but considering it hadn't been long since breakfast, perhaps watching a movie and then eating would be better.
The two of them went up to the cinema on the 8th floor together. Julian walked slowly behind his back, glancing around as if evaluating everything. Seeing this, Ethan took his hand and lowered his voice: "What do you want to watch?"
Julian looked at the posters hanging around, thinking for a moment. In his previous life, he didn't often watch movies; perhaps his only form of entertainment was those sappy novels. But asking to watch a romance movie now seemed a bit childish, didn't it? When people kissed on screen, what would he do? Pretend to be innocent and cover his eyes, or turn around and kiss Ethan?
No, it was better to avoid those movies.
Wanting their feelings to progress a bit further... Julian thought for a moment, then pointed at the poster of a horror movie located in the center position of the cinema. Just looking at the poster and the display, one could tell this was a hot movie; even the ticket line was crowded.
Ethan saw this and laughed, asking him: "Are you sure? Not scared?"
Julian shook his head, then nodded.
Ethan smiled, but he indulged his wish. He let Julian stand to one side while he went to the counter to buy tickets. In no time, he had purchased a pair of tickets and a combo of popcorn and soda.
It was unclear if they arrived at the perfect time or if the movie was highly sought after, but just after buying the tickets, it was time for the screening. Ethan held Julian's hand and walked into the corridor reserved for moviegoers. After turning left and right for a while, they arrived at the theater door indicated on their tickets. Ethan pushed the door open and led him inside. The corridor was lit only by a dim light, surrounded by darkness, with the eerie sound of the trailer playing.
The movie audio was deep and low, occasionally punctuated by the screaming of a woman. After walking for a bit, Julian pressed closer and closer to Ethan. He even heard a low laugh coming from the man.
Only when they neared the seats did Julian separate from Ethan. At this moment, he realized they were standing in the right corner, the very last row of the theater—which was the couple's row. Julian stole a glance at Ethan, then scurried into the innermost corner of the seat.
Ethan placed the popcorn and water on Julian's side, then sat in the seat next to him. By this time, the movie had begun to play on the screen.
Julian stared intently at the screen, his thin lips pursed, his face showing an expression of extreme concentration.
Seeing him like this, Ethan fell into thought. In reality, people born into families like theirs didn't have much time for this kind of entertainment. Today, to be able to take Julian out, he had expended quite a bit of effort dealing with tasks at the corporation.
However, when they were small, naturally they had been more relaxed. Perhaps they didn't go out to theaters, but at least they could invite friends to watch together in their home cinemas.
Julian was not like that. In his previous life, he barely had a childhood; his life had almost entirely focused on studying well and managing the company well. And the original owner was even less likely to; how could a poor boy have the money to go to the theater?
There are things that, for some people, are very ordinary. But for others, they are dreams that can never be touched in a lifetime.
Ethan didn't watch the movie. He looked at the teenager beside him for a moment, then lowered his head to handle some trivial matters on his phone.
Suddenly, a small hand reached out and grasped his sleeve. Ethan looked up at the screen, seeing only a rather dark atmosphere being displayed. Even the movie's sound became rapid and more dangerous.
According to standard logic, there was probably about to be a jumpscare to frighten the audience.
Ethan glanced to the side again, only to see Julian's eyes still fixed on the screen, but his body had a tendency to press closer and closer to him.
Perhaps he was very scared, but couldn't bear to miss it.
Ethan curled his lips in a smile. He pried the fingers grasping his sleeve loose, then wrapped his arm around Julian's back, almost pulling his entire body into his embrace.
Perhaps Julian was watching the movie too intently, so he hadn't yet realized how intimate their posture was right now.
"Ah!"
A startled, soft cry was heard, and Ethan saw a fluffy head dive into his chest. Around them, small screams also erupted, accompanied by terrifying, rapid music.
He wrapped his arms around Julian, patting his back. A while later, when everything had passed and everyone had calmed down, Ethan felt that the person in his arms not only didn't pull away but also tended to bury his head further into his chest.
"What's wrong?" Ethan lowered his head and asked by his ear.
Julian's body trembled slightly, then he burrowed deeper into him. Ethan looked for a moment and burst out laughing.
Without realizing when it happened, Julian had climbed completely onto him, face buried in his chest. Two small hands grasped the front of his shirt, and a few strands of hair brushed against Ethan's chin.
This little one was shy.