“It’s late at night over here,” Roger told Stella. “We’re just about to sleep. I wanted to give you a call
before going to bed. You just got up, didn’t you?”
Stella nodded. She scrutinized the screen and noticed that Roger seemed a lot thinner than when she
last saw him
“Have you lost some weight?” she asked, brows knitted in concern “Have you been eating well lately?”
“No,” Roger answered reluctantly, not wishing to worry Stella. “I’m probably still getting used to this new
environment. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
Stella sighed
“You must take good care of yourself!” she reminded him. “Oh, by the way, you do know how to cook,
don’t you? Try to eat home-cooked meals as much as possible, okay? And even if you don’t like the
local food, try not to skip meals…”
“Oh,” Roger smiled wryly. “Don’t worry about that. Even if I cook for myself, there’ll always be a
freeloader who always comes over begging for food.”
“Good!” Stella laughed. She instantly caught on that he was referring to Kiley. “Then make sure that
you ant as a good host and take good care of your guest.”
“Ella!” Stella heard a voice call out from a distance before she could finish speaking. “Robb has been
so lazy lately! I had to beg him again and again before he started cooking for me!”
A moment later, Stella heard the sound of approaching footsteps over the phone, and soon Riley’s
lovable round face suddenly popped up on her screen. “Hello, Ella!”
“Hello, Riley! Have you settled into the new environment over there?”
“Oh, yes! I’m settled in comfortably!”
“Of course you are!” Roger sneered. “You do nothing but eat and drink all day. How could you not be
comfortable?” Riley unwittingly smiled, a little abashed.
“I’m just not used to the food here, so… Besides, Robb’s an incredibly good cook.” “Uh-huh, unlike you!
You’re a girl who can’t boil water to save your life! Instead, you’re always ordering out every day like an
idiot!”
Roger was only willing to talk so much to Riley when he was admonishing like he was doing now, so
she didn’t want to argue with him. She just stuck out her tongue cheekily.
Riley thought of how she offered to cook for him
yesterday because she wanted to please him but ended up almost burning down the kitchen, and she
still felt embarrassed by it.
The sight of Roger and Riley bickering brought Stella a sense of relief.
“I’m glad both of you are taking care of each other,” she said. “And Robb, you’re not allowed to bully
Riley!”
“How is it going with you back home, Sis?”
Roger was dying to change the subject. “I’m doing fine,” Stella replied. “Shooting is over now. I think
the film will be released soon.”
“Really?!” Riley exclaimed with excitement. “I wonder if it will be released internationally. If it is, I’ll
definitely be the first to see it!”
The three of them then went on to chat happily for a while before they ended the call.
Stella let out a long, contented sigh. It had been so long since she last felt so at ease. At the very least,
she was secure in the knowledge that Roger’s life was going down the right path.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, something
suddenly occurred in Riley’s mind right after the call ended.
“Say…” she muttered with furrowed brows. “Did you
notice that Ella was acting a little weird just now?”
“Weird?” replied Roger impatiently as he put his phone away. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know how to describe it exactly…” Riley stroked her chin and considered it for a while before
adding, “It was as if she was trying to block the background behind her as if she didn’t want us to see
where she was…”
“Don’t be ridiculous !” Roger retorted. He was sure that Riley was overthinking it. “Why would she do
that? She’s at our house!”
“No!” Riley argued assuredly. “That definitely wasn’t your house!”
She had been to their house. She knew well what kind of furnishings there were at their place.
“I saw a vase behind her just now,” she explained. “It looked like an extraordinarily expensive antique
vase. I’m sure I didn’t see it anywhere at your place back then…”
“Impossible !” Roger hurriedly denied it. “Maybe she’s still on set.”
“But didn’t she say that filming was over now?”
Roger fell silent.
After a few seconds, he repeated under his breath,” Impossible…”
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