Mr. Warner, Your Wife is Running Away Again!-Chapter 431: Who Got You Hooked on Smoking?

Stephen Sutton ignored her, Phoebe King washed her hands, turned around, walked to the fridge, took out a cold bottle of mineral water, took a big gulp, put it back, and looked at Stephen’s back saying, "Don’t just wash the vegetables, I want to eat meat."

Stephen still didn’t respond, and Phoebe didn’t seem to expect him to answer. She now figured, whether he replied or not didn’t matter, as long as he heard her.

"I’m so hot, I’m going to take a shower first."

Hearing Phoebe say she was going to shower, Stephen paused for a moment while washing the vegetables.

His mind inevitably drifted to last night’s events.

Yesterday, Phoebe had followed him into the house and then refused to leave, stayed for dinner, and bothered him for a while in the living room. Stephen knew he couldn’t get rid of her, and continuing to tangle with her wasn’t a solution, so he just went back to his own room for some peace and quiet.

While he went into his room, Phoebe went back to Micah’s place to fetch her clothes and brought them over. Stephen came out with a water cup, wanting to use the excuse of fetching water to see what she was doing alone outside, and then saw the light of the public bathroom outside was on, with the sound of running water coming from inside.

At that moment, his mind couldn’t help but wander, but he thought nothing of it; she was prepared.

As he sat in the living room watching the evening news, Phoebe pushed open the bathroom door and came out.

Presumably hearing the sound of the TV outside, she first poked half her head out to check the situation outside.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Stephen glanced at her. Her little face had been washed clean of its usual makeup, appearing rather pure.

Her head of curly hair hung down wetly, with water droplets trickling down to the floor.

Phoebe smiled at him, used her hand to lift her wet hair over her shoulder, and walked out from the door...

Seeing what she was wearing, Stephen was momentarily stunned.

That red chiffon slip dress was really nothing more than a layer of thin chiffon, with the lace underneath clearly visible.

She had a great figure, slim but with well-defined curves — full bust, slim waist, and curvy hips. She was already captivatingly sexy in daily life, and now dressed like this, she exuded a bewitching charm that teased without seeming gaudy.

She walked barefoot toward him, leaving little wet footprints on the floor, and called out to him, "Teacher Sutton, am I beautiful?"

Stephen didn’t know how he was able to remain so calm at the time, resisting her allure and moving past her to enter his room.

So when he heard her say she was going to shower this time, he couldn’t help feeling a little worried inside.

If she tried the same trick as yesterday, he wasn’t sure if he could handle it.

Fortunately, when he brought the soup out, he happened to see her coming out of the bathroom.

She was properly dressed in a silk camisole dress, with her wheat-colored skin giving off a sense of casual beauty, and she immediately asked him, "Is the meal ready?"

Stephen just gave her a glance, said nothing, and returned to the kitchen when he heard her remark, "Didn’t your teacher ever teach you that it’s rude not to respond when someone speaks to you?"

In a position where she couldn’t see, Stephen smiled slightly, realizing that she did know the word "manners."

Phoebe returned to her room to dry her hair and came out to see that three dishes and a soup were already set on the dining table. Her stomach growled twice, and she walked to the nearby wine cabinet, casually picked a bottle of red wine, grabbed two wine glasses, and was about to open the bottle when she saw Stephen come out of the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks. As she poured the wine, she said to him, "I’m opening a bottle of your wine."

Stephen placed the bowls and chopsticks on the table and said, "Is it really that uncomfortable for you to go a day without drinking or smoking?"

Phoebe paused in pouring the wine and said, "... I smoke a lot less now, okay?"

Stephen: "So that means you still smoke."

Phoebe giggled, handed the wine glass to him, and said, "Quitting smoking has to be done gradually, it’s not something you can just stop at will."

Stephen: "That depends on whether or not you want to quit."

Phoebe took a sip from the wine glass and said, "If you don’t make me unhappy, I’m sure I’ll quit soon. But if I feel blocked or stifled inside, I just want a cigarette."

Stephen: "Before you met me, who made you unhappy? Who made you pick up the smoking habit?"

Phoebe sipped the wine on her lips, looked at him with a smile, and said, "Can I take this as you being curious about me?"

Stephen: "Curiosity and liking are two different things."

Phoebe: "Curiosity is the beginning of liking." After saying this, she quickly corrected herself, "No, it should be that you like me, so you’re curious about me."

Stephen spooned some soup into his bowl, and slowly took a sip, saying, "Interpret it however you like."

Phoebe smiled at him, grabbing a piece of rib and chewing it, said, "I started smoking out of curiosity. In my early teens, I thought smoking was really cool, so I stole cigarettes from my brother to smoke, and gradually developed a habit."

Stephen glanced at her arm and asked, "And the tattoo?"

Phoebe looked down at her arm, smiled, and said, "I just thought it looked good..."

Then, she pursed her lips and added, "If you don’t like it, I’ll go have it removed tomorrow."

Stephen served himself half a bowl of rice and said, "No need, I just thought those designs might have some special meaning."

"Did you think I got it for an ex-boyfriend?" Phoebe initially meant to tease him with this, but unexpectedly dug a hole for herself.

Hearing this, Stephen asked, "How many ex-boyfriends do you have?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Phoebe paused in picking up her food, didn’t answer immediately, and passed her bowl to him, "Serve me some rice."

Stephen glanced at her and didn’t indulge her. He simply pushed the small rice steamer to her side, gesturing for her to serve herself.

Phoebe pouted in dissatisfaction, taking the spoon to fill her bowl with rice while saying, "Actually, they can’t even be counted as ex-boyfriends. I never had any serious relationships, just thought it was fun, and broke up after a few days. Those ordinary guys couldn’t compare to you. I’ve never invested so much effort into one man, you’re the first and the last one."

Knowing it was flattery, Stephen still felt quite happy inside. His expression didn’t show it, as he coldly snorted and said, "Those words might fool others."

Phoebe: "How can that be called fooling? These are words straight from my heart. I’ve always said, you were just biased against me at first, thought I wasn’t a decent girl, so you don’t believe me."

Stephen: "No decent girl would recklessly enter a man’s room like this. Aren’t you afraid I’d do something to you and not take responsibility?"