Being Pursued By Ex-husband

After a lengthy discussion, Celine and Harper finally decided to buy a high-quality fountain pen as a gift for Allan to express their gratitude for tutoring them in math.

Katherine gave Celine a card for her living expenses when she first arrived at the Lewis residence and every month, Katherine would deposit five thousand into it as her pocket money.

However, Celine had never once used it. She had some money on hand; before she passed away, Celine's grandmother had left her a sum that was enough for her to attend university.

Though it was not much, it was enough to cover four years of university tuition.

Ever since her grandmother passed away, Celine worked part-time on weekends and during winter and summer vacations to earn her living expenses. However, her aunt took the money she earned from her part-time job under the pretext of saving it for her.

Initially, Celine did not resist. She was shy, and the helplessness of living under her aunt's roof left her too scared to say anything.

Since she began getting her periods, there were times when she could not even afford sanitary pads. That was when Celine stopped giving her part-time job earnings to her aunt.

She no longer mentioned where she was going whenever she went out on the weekends during her summer breaks and would only spend a third of the money she earned during the winter and summer holidays on herself while entrusting the rest to Chermond for safekeeping.

From the second year of junior high to the present second year of high school, though Celine did not manage to save a lot of money, she had a sum of around twenty thousand to her name.

Since she began living with the Lewis family, Katherine would thoughtfully prepare everything for her so she did not have to spend very much.

Thus, even without using the card Katherine gave her, Celine had money to spend.

Though Harper had plenty of money to spend, she was accustomed to buying expensive, high-quality things, which quickly drained her allowance.

Her mother had given her a thousand for her current trip out, and she did not dare buy anything expensive.

Wandering about, the pair finally ended up in a traditional pen shop. They bought a fountain pen that cost just over a thousand, splitting the cost evenly at five hundred each.

That was the most expensive item Celine had ever bought in her life.

Gazing at the exquisitely wrapped gift box, it hit her how impoverished her past self had been.

“What's the matter, Cece? Do you think it's a bit much?”

Harper was aware of Celine's situation; she knew that Katherine had adopted her friend.

However, she privately thought that being adopted at that age was quite awkward.

She could tell from her usual interactions with Celine that her friend was frugal, so she refrained from being extravagant around Celine, fearing that it might make her friend uncomfortable.

This pen might not be expensive for me, but it is clearly a different story for Celine.

Celine retracted her gaze and shook her head. “No. I'm just marveling at the attractive packaging.”

Harper studied her and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her friend did not look upset. “You know, I didn't even notice until you mentioned it. The packaging is indeed very exquisite. Allan will love it!”

Celine's spirits rose at Harper's words.

After all, Allan had been tutoring them in math for a month and a half, and their progress was clearly visible.

Harper took the packed bag the shop assistant was handing over. “You'd better keep it, Cece. Knowing how forgetful I am, I might leave it at home,” she said.

“Oh, all right.”

Celine turned and held her knapsack to Harper.

The pair then strolled around for over two hours before they realized with a start that it was already time for lunch.

Harper took Celine for hot wings; it was her first time. Celine's lips swelled from the spiciness, but the stimulating flavor soon became addictive. Despite the heat, she thought it was delicious.

Harper began to feel drowsy after lunch. Yawning languidly, she declared, “I'm exhausted, Cece.”

Celine recognized the awkward predicament she was in. “Shall we go sit in a café?”

“Mm-hmm.”

As it was a Saturday, the establishment was bustling with patrons; there were no seats left when Celine and Harper walked in. Harper, being the bold one, grabbed Celine's hand and dragged her to share a table with strangers.

The girls ordered the cheapest coffee available. As soon as Harper sat down, she fell asleep in Celine's arms.

Celine became flustered. She took out her Ustranasion textbook from her knapsack and began memorizing vocabulary.

Harper must have stayed up late the night before, as she fell asleep as soon as she said she was going to. She slept from one in the afternoon to well over two. Celine had to call her name several times before she finally woke up.

It was already half past two by the time the pair arrived at the library. Celine had just finished her Ustranasion paper, and she had also completed all the questions on the literature paper, with only one more essay due.

Harper arrived at the library, still yawning incessantly. She sat down with her mind wandering and only began to focus when it was past four o'clock.

The pair remained in the library until six in the evening when Harper's mother came to pick them up.

It was already half past six when Celine returned to the villa. Lewinn had come back that day, which cheered her up. “Hello, Lewinn.”

“Celine.”

Lewinn nodded and handed her the lipstick he was holding. “I got it from a lucky draw.”

Celine paused for a moment, somewhat surprised. “F-For me?”

Lewinn could not help laughing when he heard her. “Who else? Do you expect me to wear lipstick?”

Celine felt her cheeks flush as she reached out to receive it. “Thank you, Lewinn.”

Lewinn chuckled. “It's nothing.”