"???"
The coffee spoon in Diana's hand landed on the rim of her cup with a sharp "clink."
She'd considered many possibilities for what Ethan wanted to discuss, but she never expected this. Her face showed complete astonishment as she said, "Baby, are you too stressed about the SATs and hallucinating or something? Where would you even get the funding? You want to start a company? What... why am I so confused right now?"
Before coming to the café.
She'd also thought that Ethan wanted to tell her something important—maybe about the nature of their relationship going forward, or how they'd keep in touch after graduation, stuff like that.
She never in a million years expected that as soon as they sat down, he'd drop a bomb about wanting to start a company...
She really didn't see that coming. Diana's brow furrowed, completely thrown for a loop.
Ethan looked directly into her eyes. "I'm dead serious."
"You don't need to worry about the funding. What I need is your help. But this whole thing needs to wait until after the World Cup."
Diana carefully studied the young man sitting across from her. They hadn't been together for very long, but after three intense "meetings," she realized at this moment that he wasn't joking around.
Ethan took a sip of his coffee and continued, "I'm telling you in advance so you can be mentally prepared."
Diana had her own career. She worked at a multinational corporation and was considered high-income by standards here.
She'd twisted her ankle a few days ago.
The company had immediately granted her a week of paid leave.
This kind of job was pretty damn hard to find.
It was better than many government positions.
Diana really loved this job. It not only brought her a generous salary but also broadened her horizons, gave her a sense of accomplishment, and most importantly—she genuinely enjoyed doing it.
But she never expected that the young man sitting in front of her, who had made her fall so completely physically and mentally, was now telling her he wanted to start a company and needed her help.
This made her panic all of a sudden. It felt way too surreal.
Although she didn't know where Ethan would get a large amount of capital from, she believed what he was saying. Just like when they were in bed together—she could always feel he was reliable, except for his dirty talk.
"So have you thought about what industry the company would mainly focus on?" Diana blinked at him.
Ethan folded his hands on the table, his eyes firm and steady. "In the early stages, it'll mainly be investment and the stock market. But long-term, the goal is definitely to develop into the tech sector."
Diana thought for a moment, then asked half-jokingly, half-seriously, "You little devil, you're not planning to sell this bad auntie off, are you?" She deliberately dragged out the last word, her fingertips lightly tapping the table.
Ethan reached over and pinched her cheek affectionately, saying with a smile, "Why would I ever sell you? You're my precious auntie."
"Oh!"
Diana shyly dodged his hand.
She said with mock annoyance, "Don't let anyone see! How embarrassing!"
But the smile at the corners of her mouth kept rising uncontrollably—it was harder to suppress than holding back a sneeze. That phrase "precious auntie" made her heart flutter sweetly, and she was totally eating it up. She pursed her lips and smiled. "When we're out in public from now on, you should call me your sister."
"Okay, whatever you say—my auntie-sister." Ethan deliberately drew out his words, a teasing glint in his eyes.
"Pfft!"
Diana laughed, her heart feeling like someone had knocked over a jar of honey—sweet and delicious.
She hadn't been this happy with herself in over ten years. Even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes seemed filled with joy.
She was crystal clear in her heart—she and Ethan were destined never to get married. But as a lover? She was more than willing. After all, all she wanted was to be by Ethan's side.
Who told him to be so damn capable?
Who told this little devil to be so... satisfying in every way?
When she thought about this, the corners of her mouth curved up into a smile, her eyes practically turning into crescents as she looked at Ethan.
"Alright, let's talk about all these specifics after this World Cup thing you mentioned! I'll think it over when I get home."
"Sounds good."
Ethan made an OK gesture. Right now, he needed to build up more startup capital first. Looked like Jack was gonna have to put in some extra work.
Back at home taking a nap, Jack suddenly sneezed a few times.
Diana glanced at her phone screen, then stood up. "I should head back. Ashley's studying at home, and I need to cook dinner for her."
"Yeah, you should go! We'll catch up another time."
Diana threw him a flirtatious look and gently poked Ethan's shoulder with her fingertip. "Want to come with? You could study with Ashley too."
Ethan took half a step back, shaking his head repeatedly with a helpless smile. "Come on, don't start. I didn't make plans with Ashley ahead of time. It'd be weird to just show up out of nowhere. I'll pass for today—another time. You're getting bolder and bolder, aren't you scared Ashley might find out?"
Diana didn't seem concerned at all. "If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, how would Ashley ever know? Besides, you're not there for me—she's your classmate. Obviously you'd be there to see her!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I still got stuff to do anyway. Gotta find Jack."
The two walked out of the coffee shop as they talked.
"Alright, I'm heading back. I'll come by to see your mom tomorrow when I'm free!" Her slender hand unexpectedly reached toward Ethan's ass in a quick strike, then she walked away without looking back.
Ethan's whole body suddenly tensed up. He watched Diana's retreating figure, her graceful silhouette swaying as she walked, finally disappearing around the street corner.
He pulled out his phone, his fingertips quickly swiping through his contacts until he dialed Jack's number.
On the other end, Jack lazily picked up the phone.
[What's up, dude? I'm trying to nap here]
[It's five o'clock and you're still sleeping? Get your ass to the first floor of Target. I'm waiting for you by the jewelry store]
[Why the hell would I go there right now? I could sleep a bit more and then have dinner]
[Stop bitching and get over here. It's an emergency]
Without waiting for a response, he simply hung up.
Listening to the dial tone coming from his phone, Jack grabbed his phone and tossed it onto the bed, rubbing his sleepy eyes and cursing. "This asshole Ethan, what the hell is he up to now?"
A little while later.
Jack rode his bike over to Target.
As soon as they met up, Jack raised his voice. "Yo, I'm saying dude, why the hell are you dragging me out here at this time? What's the deal?"
Ethan reached out and ruffled his fluffy mushroom-cut hair, unable to hold back a grin. "It's because that hairstyle of yours is too ridiculous. I'm taking you to get a makeover."
"Damn it."
Jack slapped Ethan's hand away, protecting his hair like a mother protecting her calf. "My hairstyle is awesome, thank you very much. What the hell do you know? This is called fashion. So many girls have told me my hair looks great."
Jack said this while patting his mushroom cut defensively.
Two minutes later, the two pushed open the glass door of a familiar barbershop. The wind chimes on the door made a crisp tinkling sound, and the scent of shampoo wafted through the air.
This was an old-school spot they'd been coming to since middle school. Even the posters on the walls hadn't been changed.
The two sat down in front of separate mirrors, and Jack asked for confirmation repeatedly. "Ethan, are you really sure about this? I think this mushroom cut is perfectly fine. Is it really as bad as you're making it out to be?"
At this point in time, the remnants of the emo/scene kid era hadn't completely faded away, and Jack's thick mushroom-style haircut actually had a bit of that throwback vibe to it.
Ethan was secretly grateful that he hadn't been fooled by Jack into getting a mushroom cut himself. If he'd also kept a mushroom head, it would've become total blackmail material for the rest of his life...
"Relax, I'm not telling you to go bald or anything." Ethan said to the barber behind him, "Alright Tony, let's get started."
Then he turned to Jack. "Both of us are switching up our hair. It'll be good—change of look, change of mood."
When the barber heard himself being called "Tony" instead of just "dude" or "boss," the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted. He was in a good mood now. He picked up his scissors and did a nimble little flourish with them around his fingertips.
With the final crisp "snip" of the scissors.
Jack slowly opened his eyes, and he almost didn't recognize himself in the mirror—the previously heavy mushroom cut had been transformed into a clean, sharp crew cut with a textured front.
The sides were clean and tight, with just the right amount of layered texture on top near his forehead. The whole look instantly made him look ten times sharper and more put-together.
There are 15 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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