Chapter 399 - 409: Friend
Chapter 399: Chapter 409: Friend
She was Lawrence’s friend. It even seemed like she’d done him a great favor in the past. And from what Lawrence had said, this woman would be helping him out in a big way in the future!
So, in a way, she was their benefactor too. They should have given her a proper welcome.
But after the way they’d just acted, anyone would have been put off.
Now she was here to stay for a while, and she’d even brought them gifts.
Thinking about their own selfish motives, the two men were overcome with shame. Their faces flushed red, and they didn’t dare to look in Stella Sterling’s direction.
They knew they were being a bit too realistic, assuming she was just here to freeload and getting upset about it. They’d even given her that look, despite knowing she might be Lawrence’s benefactor.
Now that they saw what she’d brought, they had completely changed their tune. They were acting like such petty people, and they were ashamed of themselves.
But what could they do? They had been genuinely worried. Two more mouths to feed meant a heavier burden.
If their own supplies were plentiful, they wouldn’t have had to worry. But as it was, what they had on hand wouldn’t even be enough to last them much longer!
There was no guarantee they’d find any supplies on their next run, either!
That was why they were so anxious about two more people eating their rations.
Felix Lawrence stood to the side, and seeing their expressions, he knew exactly what they were thinking.
He felt a bit resigned. He didn’t say anything, just patted both of their shoulders in a silent gesture of comfort, telling them not to worry about it.
The two men silently looked up at Felix Lawrence, then turned to cast an apologetic glance toward Stella Sterling.
After muttering a "thank you," the two men turned and left with the items without another word.
"Sigh."
Felix Lawrence’s eyes widened slightly. ’One person is enough to put the things away; the other one is supposed to show Miss Sterling to her room! Why did they both just up and leave?!’
He shook his head with a resigned sigh, but there was no blame in his eyes, only a hint of amusement. He turned to Stella Sterling and said, "Miss Sterling, I won’t say anything more. All I can say is... thank you!"
"I’m just paying for my room and board. What’s there to thank me for? Of course, if you insist, I’ll graciously accept."
Stella Sterling grinned at Felix Lawrence, her tone teasing.
Felix Lawrence burst into a hearty laugh. "Of course, of course! No matter how many times I thank you, Miss Sterling, you deserve it."
"This way, Miss Sterling. I’ll take you to your room now. Afterward, I’ll have my son show this young man with you to his."
Luckily, the men had already mentioned which room was prepared for Miss Sterling, so he knew where to go.
That way, they wouldn’t all be left standing there awkwardly.
Stella Sterling nodded and followed him.
Andrew Shaw followed behind them, his gaze shifting from Stella Sterling to Felix Lawrence with a complicated expression.
’This woman doesn’t seem easy to get along with,’ he thought, ’but she treats the friends she accepts quite well.’
’And it seems she intends to give that big bald guy a hand, too.’
’Even though I was in the car the whole time last night, I’d occasionally overheard a few words of their conversation.’
’I could tell she was telling him all that on purpose. She was trying to help him.’
’Otherwise, there would have been no reason to tell him so much. After all, with matters like these, the more people who know, the worse it is. If word got out ahead of time, dealing with the situation would become much more difficult.’
’But she told him anyway, which means she must approve of him.’
’And she probably did it to put his mind at ease, too!’
’Otherwise, I really can’t think of any other reason why she would reveal her own plan to this big bald guy!’
’Don’t tell me she was trying to form an alliance with this big bald guy to take on Sanctyr Base.’
’There was absolutely no need for that!’
’Before coming to this bald guy’s place, I’d actually held out a little hope that he might have some real strength on his side.’
’If nothing else, I thought their numbers could at least be of some small help.’
’That would have increased our chances of winning against Miles Sanctus.’
’That’s why last night, I figured the reason Stella Sterling told the bald guy her intentions was to increase her odds of success by forming an alliance with him.’
’But after arriving here, I realized I was completely wrong. With just thirty or forty people, their group isn’t even a rounding error compared to a large base.’
’Besides, while I’d been quiet, I wasn’t just standing around doing nothing. I’d been sizing up the strength of this faction the whole time.’
’I was disappointed to discover that they were, at best, just a group of people who’d banded together to survive the apocalypse.’
’You couldn’t even call them a real faction.’
’How could they possibly help Stella Sterling? They’d be no help at all.’
’In that case, Stella Sterling must be doing this purely because she wants to help him.’
’I can’t see anything about this bald guy that she could use, so the only reason she’d treat him like this is... she must consider him a friend.’
At this thought, Andrew Shaw felt a wave of complicated emotions. Then, he silently gave himself a pep talk.
’It’s fine if she just sees me as her underling for now. People are emotional creatures. After we’ve spent enough time together, maybe she’ll see me as a friend, too. Then she’ll start treating me with genuine care.’
At this thought, Andrew Shaw’s steps grew much lighter. He spent the rest of the walk looking around curiously, his big, innocent eyes taking everything in. He looked exactly like a small child.
Felix Lawrence watched him from the side. He knew this five-year-old was no innocent child.
’I still remember clear as day what he looked like last night, ambushing someone with a knife.’
’This whole innocent act is probably just for show, to make people let their guard down.’
’Someone naive enough to trust him could easily be fooled by that innocent look and end up falling into his trap.’
Sensing a gaze on him, Andrew Shaw turned to meet it. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he flashed Felix Lawrence a purely innocent, childish smile.
It was clearly an adorable smile, yet for some reason, a chill ran down Felix Lawrence’s spine.
’This kid is a hell of an actor.’