Chapter 24

Stewart stammered, “The Fuller family is holding an auction tomorrow, right? I’ve just started dating a new girl, and I plan to buy some jewelry for her.”

“Girlfriend?” Aren’t you supposed to be preparing for the college entrance exam next year? You’re already dating at this age, huh?!

Stewart quickly waved his hands. “No, not yet. I’m planning to confess after the exam.”

Zayn licked his tongue in disbelief. “You’re really generous.”

Stewart didn’t catch the sarcasm and awkwardly laughed. “I like her, so I want to treat her well. What if I don’t and she ends up with someone else?”

Zayn looked at him with disdain. “Look at you.”

Grinning, Stewart said, “Zayn, please.”

“Fine. I’ll have the finance department transfer the money from my private account to you!”

Stewart immediately broke into a smile. “Thanks, Zayn! I’ll head back to school now. Don’t forget to transfer the money to me promptly.”

With his goal achieved, Stewart happily left.

Zayn leaned back in his chair, reflecting on what Stewart had said. So, Julie really did care about him. He sighed.

Since she had already made an effort to reconcile, he wouldn’t care why she was with him as long as she behaved in the future. He wasn’t short on money anyway. If she wanted something, he’d buy it for her.

Zayn felt a bit better with that thought.

His gaze shifted to the phone on the table. He picked it up and found Hans’ number. As soon as the call connected, Zayn got straight to the point, “Hans, how did you manage to get your girlfriend back?”

Hans immediately snapped, “When the hell did I ever have a girlfriend?”

Zayn paused for a moment, then casually replied, “Oh right, I forgot. You’ve always been single.”

“Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?”

Zayn chuckled. “I’m just asking.”

“You’ve had girlfriends. Surely, you know how it’s done? What happened? Did you have a fight with your girlfriend and need to make up?”

Zayn awkwardly responded, “No.”

Hans paused, then asked, “So, who are you trying to coax? Damn, you didn’t get another one, did you?”

Hans was confused. “Then who are you trying to…”

Zayn responded impatiently, “Who else? Julie.”

There was silence on Hans’ end.

Zayn pressed on, “Come on, say something. How should I coax her?”

It took a while, but Hans finally came to his senses. He said with a hint of inference, “Oh, you’re going to coax Julie? Just buy her something like last time. That should work.”

“Buy what?”

“Buy the same thing you bought her before,” Hans said, his tone growing more impatient.

Zayn paused, realizing he had never actually bought Julie anything.

His mind immediately flashed to what Blaine had said, calling him a cheap, stingy guy.

Damn. He wasn’t cheap at all!

Hans noted Zayn’s silence and cautiously asked, “Are you telling me you’ve never bought her anything?”

Zayn replied instantly, “What should I buy? I don’t even know what she likes.”

“Tsk, tsk. No wonder she so decisively left you,” Hans teased.

Zayn’s expression darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean? Look at Megan. You give her all the luxury goods she wants, right? I didn’t think you’d be so stingy with Julie, yet you’re still going… Well, great if you’re this cheap, let’s not keep in touch anymore.”

“You should shut your mouth if you have nothing nice to say,” Zayn shot back.

“I’m just saying she’s after your money?”

Hans chuckled. “I’m just messing with you. Don’t worry. Julie loves you. Even if you don’t coax her, she’ll come running back to you after a while. Just wait.”

Zayn smirked. “That’s true. She can’t live without me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to take care of me last night.”