Chapter 659 - 655: Really Can’t Do Anything About Her

"Of course, Miss Sterling."

Upon receiving Cecilia Sterling’s instruction, the staff member immediately began tapping away at the computer without hesitation.

Standing to the side, Helen White was completely stunned. She snapped out of it and turned to Ethan Sterling, saying in shock, "Ethan, you..."

"This is my sister," Ethan Sterling introduced with a smile. "You don’t have to be so formal with me."

"Hey, wait a moment!" Helen White called out to the staff member, then turned to Cecilia Sterling and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I insist on paying the bill today. I can afford it. My card was declined, but I can use another payment method. You really don’t have to do this."

"It’s no trouble, Helen."

"No!" Helen White shook her head and pulled out her WhatsApp payment code. "It’s one thing when you treat me to snacks and things, but I really can’t let you do this today."

’She knew exactly how expensive Aetherium was. This meal wasn’t cheap. How could she let someone else pay for it?’

"Please scan this one," Helen White said, holding her phone out to the staff member.

The young woman instinctively glanced at Cecilia Sterling. Only after Cecilia gave a slight nod did she take out the scanner and scan the code.

Payment successful!

Helen White breathed a sigh of relief. "I’ll figure out what’s wrong with my card when I get back. But thank you both again for the offer just now."

Ethan Sterling didn’t insist further. He knew Helen White wasn’t short on money; she just didn’t want to owe him such a big favor. After all, he still hadn’t given up on inviting her to join the team. Once she was in his debt, it would be much harder for her to say no.

Still, Helen White didn’t seem like that kind of person. Her firm attitude was even making Ethan Sterling begin to waver.

Helen White’s expression returned to normal. She said "bye-bye" to Ethan Sterling, then turned to Cecilia Sterling and said politely, "Goodbye," before leaving.

Cecilia Sterling watched her walk away before turning to her younger brother. "Your university has some real lookers, huh!"

As they continued walking further into the restaurant, Ethan Sterling explained the situation with Helen White to his sister. Cecilia Sterling nodded in understanding. "So you’ve already put a lot of effort into recruiting her. If she’s really not interested, maybe you should just let it go. There are other fish in the sea, right?"

Ronald, on the other hand, sounded a little disappointed. "At first, I thought she was Ethan’s girlfriend."

Ethan Sterling just smiled without saying a word. To be honest, he was at his wit’s end with Helen White. The woman seemed to want for nothing and need nothing. Other than just trying to persuade her with words, he had no other tricks up his sleeve.

"Let’s not think about that for now." Ethan Sterling handed the menu to Ronald. "You do the ordering today. Get whatever you want. Don’t be shy with our sister."

"Then I definitely won’t be shy! Our sister spoils me the most!" Ronald had clearly recovered his spirits. He took the menu matter-of-factly, but after flipping just two pages, he snapped it shut. "Whoa, this is expensive!"

"Don’t worry, you’re not paying," Cecilia Sterling said.

Ronald stared at his "sister" for a few seconds, then cautiously opened the menu again. He raised a hand and pointed to the "Crystal Fruitwood Roasted Duck." "In that case... I’d like to have the roasted duck. Is that okay, Sis?"

"Of course. As long as it’s on this menu, you can have whatever you want."

With his sister’s assurance, Ronald felt emboldened. After all, he had always been one to listen to her.

He boldly continued flipping through the menu, but in the end, he didn’t order too much. For the three of them, he only ordered four dishes and a soup, claiming he wanted to save some things to look forward to for their next visit.