Chapter 154: Catherine Make Sacrifice

"You all carry on. I'm going to chat with a friend."

Sweety said this to the five employees before sitting down with Andrew for a quiet conversation.

"Boss, Catherine is your older sister? She never mentioned that."

"Uh... She never mentioned you to me either."

At that moment, Andrew didn't know whether to feel awkward or surprised.

"Sigh. If your sister had told me earlier that she had a brother like you, Hannah would probably be calling me 'the boss's wife' by now."

"What?!"

Andrew immediately shot to his feet and stumbled backward in alarm.

At that moment, he remembered Catherine's repeated warnings:

A boy has to protect himself when he's out in the world.

"Aiya, I was just kidding, Boss. Don't be so nervous."

Sweety burst into laughter.

Seeing that she was only joking, Andrew slowly sat back down, still feeling a little shaken.

"I just meant that I've known your sister for a long time—probably since you were still in middle school."

"Uh..."

Andrew awkwardly glanced around the bubble tea shop before changing the subject.

"By the way, your family owns a bubble tea shop in such a prime location in Brooklyn City. You're obviously not short on money. Why were you looking for a part-time job before?"

A storefront on Tianjiang Road cost well over a hundred thousand dollars a month in rent.

Judging by that alone, Sweety's family was definitely well-off.

"Because my parents are rich—not me!"

Sweety rolled her eyes.

"It only counts if the money is mine. Otherwise, if I keep living off my parents, they'll nag me about blind dates every single day. It's so annoying."

"Fair point."

Andrew nodded before steering the conversation back to business.

"Let's talk about why I'm here."

After all, he had told Scarlett he was going out to pick up herbal medicine. Staying away for too long would only make her suspicious.

"Boss, if you want to make ice cream cones, why don't you just buy an ice cream machine?"

Sweety pointed toward the large soft-serve machine in the shop.

"You just pour in the ingredients, press a button, and wait for it to dispense. That's how everyone does it nowadays."

"Tsk."

Andrew clicked his tongue.

"If I wanted to use an ice cream machine, why would I come all the way here?"

"Boss, don't be so stingy with yourself."

Sweety looked at him with disdain.

"You're already pretty wealthy now. It's just an ice cream machine."

"Who said I don't want to buy one?"

Andrew rolled his eyes.

"I want to learn how to make it by hand."

"Why?"

Sweety blinked in surprise before immediately understanding.

"Oh... I get it."

"It's for Scarlett, isn't it?"

"It's fine now that you understand."

Andrew sighed in relief.

At least she had finally stopped teasing him.

"But handmade ice cream is much more troublesome."

Sweety scratched her cheek.

"It's almost New Year's, and my parents are busy handing out bonuses to all the employees. Suddenly taking time to teach someone..."

Before she could finish, Andrew already understood.

Of course. It all comes down to money.

"Teach me."

Andrew held up a hand.

"Fifty dollars an hour. Is that enough?"

"Holy crap! Boss, you're so generous!"

Sweety's eyes lit up.

"I promise I'll teach you everything I know!"

Sure enough, money was the world's greatest motivator.

After all, there were very few problems that money couldn't solve.

Sweety led Andrew into the back room of the bubble tea shop and brought out the ingredients.

"Actually, I think traditional handmade ice cream tastes much better than machine-made ice cream."

She smiled.

"Your sister used to sneak over here all the time just to eat it."

"Alright, enough chatting."

Andrew interrupted her impatiently.

"Just teach me how to make it. I'm paying you to teach, not to tell stories."

Sweety pouted.

"Fine, fine. You really don't have a romantic bone in your body."

Andrew spent a little over an hour at the bubble tea shop, learning roughly half the process before he had to leave.

He planned to practice at home that evening before returning the next day to learn the remaining techniques.

Three days should be enough for him to completely master making handmade ice cream.

After leaving the shop, Andrew immediately drove to Ethan's house to pick up the herbal medicine Ethan had prepared for him.

"Oh my goodness! Why is this smell so strong?"

The moment Andrew took the cup of herbal medicine, the pungent aroma nearly knocked him unconscious.

"Didn't you tell me to buy medicine to dispel the cold? You gave me so much money, so I made sure the pharmacist prepared something especially effective."

"Whatever. I'm not the one drinking it anyway."

After collecting the medicine, Andrew hurried home.

If he stayed out much longer, Scarlett would definitely call to check on him.

"Why did it take you so long?"

Scarlett looked at him suspiciously.

"I had the old herbalist prepare the medicine first, so it took a while."

"Then why didn't you just bring it home and boil it yourself?"

"The smell is way too strong. If I boiled it at home, the whole house would smell like herbal medicine."

Andrew replied with a smile before quickly heading toward Catherine's bedroom.

He wanted to avoid talking to Scarlett for too long in case he accidentally let something slip.

"I'll give this to my older sister first. She should drink it before it gets cold."

"Okay."

Scarlett watched Andrew enter the bedroom with a suspicious look.

From where she sat in the living room, she could clearly see inside.

Catherine was still curled up beneath the blankets, looking as though she was suffering terribly.

In reality, she had been secretly binge-watching a TV drama on her phone.

Only after Andrew entered did she quickly put it away and poke her head out.

"Sister, drink this."

Andrew handed her the bowl.

"It's herbal medicine to warm your body. It should help."

"Okay."

As a medical student, Catherine didn't think much of herbal medicine.

But the instant Andrew lifted the lid, the overpowering medicinal smell hit her, and her face immediately turned green.

It wasn't the smell that frightened her.

She was used to strange odors from the university laboratories.

What terrified her was how incredibly bitter something that smelled this strong had to taste.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

She stared at Andrew in disbelief and whispered,

"Why does it smell this awful?"

"Come on."

Andrew immediately switched into persuasion mode.

"The stronger it smells, the more Scarlett will believe you're really suffering. Just make this tiny sacrifice for your dear little brother. Besides, it really is good for you."

However, Catherine refused to be fooled.

"I'm afraid I won't die from the cold or the stomachache..."

"I'll die from the bitterness."

"Hurry up!"

Andrew urged anxiously.

"Stop dragging this out! If Scarlett comes in and figures everything out, all our hard work will be wasted."

"I'm making such a huge sacrifice."

Catherine narrowed her eyes.

"What compensation are you giving me?"

"I'll learn to make handmade ice cream. During New Year's, you can eat as much as you want."

"No."

Catherine immediately shook her head.

"I'm never eating cold food again. That pain today scared me to death."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want fried chicken."

She smiled smugly.

"You have to make it for me during New Year's."

"Fine, fine."

Andrew was already running out of patience.

He pushed the bowl toward Catherine.

Taking a deep breath, Catherine still struggled to summon the courage to drink the dark, bitter-looking medicine.

Just then—

"What's taking so long? Why is drinking medicine such a big production?"

Scarlett's voice suddenly came from outside the room.

Andrew nearly jumped out of his skin.

Catherine was equally startled.

Without another thought, she pinched her nose and gulped down the entire bowl in one go.

The next second, her expression twisted into absolute misery.

Her whole body trembled as she shoved the empty bowl back into Andrew's hands.

"Ugh... Ah..."

She gasped desperately, mumbling something completely unintelligible.

Scarlett looked confused.

"What is she trying to say?"

"She wants some water!"

Andrew immediately answered.

"I'll get her some."

Without waiting another second, he rushed into the kitchen to pour a glass of hot water.

Standing in the doorway, Scarlett looked first at Catherine's agonized expression, then at the flustered Andrew hurrying around the kitchen.

A suspicious look slowly appeared on her face.

Is this little troublemaker secretly up to something behind my back again?

After lunch, Scarlett remained in Catherine's room to keep her company.

Meanwhile, Catherine still had to maintain an expression of pain and discomfort to cooperate with Andrew's rehearsal.

Although her mouth was indeed very uncomfortable now, tasting strongly of medicine, her stomach no longer hurt at all.

And Andrew was constantly tinkering with something in the kitchen.

"Catherine, how are you now? Does it still hurt a lot?"

Scarlett suddenly asked Catherine, who was huddled under the covers.

"Ah? I..."

Catherine instinctively wanted to say it didn't hurt anymore and she felt quite comfortable.

But she quickly realized she was supposed to be acting, so she hastily put on a pained expression.

"It's gotten... a little better, but it's still quite uncomfortable."

"Then should I go pour you some hot water?"

"No need, no need!" Catherine repeatedly refused.