Chapter 741 - 737: What, Are You Going to Sue Me?

Julie, who now understood the situation, agreed without hesitation. "Okay, I’ll get it done right away!"

"Cecilia, don’t take it too far!" Shawn Lane growled, desperately suppressing the rage in his eyes. From his perspective, it was obvious that Cecilia Sterling was targeting him!

Cecilia Sterling sneered at his strained expression. "Too far? I don’t want to see people who ruin my mood in my own establishment. Is that too far?"

"Your own establishment?" Kylie Churchill looked doubtfully at the Japanese Restaurant before them and blurted out, "How is that possible? This restaurant belongs to Aetherium. You’re saying it’s yours..."

She trailed off, her eyes widening in shock as the realization hit her.

Seeing her reaction, Cecilia Sterling smiled with satisfaction. "It’s just as you’re thinking. We’ve met a few times, but I’ve never properly introduced myself. My name is Cecilia Sterling, and I am the largest shareholder of Aetherium."

With that, she smiled at the two dumbfounded individuals and raised an eyebrow. "Do either of you have any more questions?"

"This... this place is yours too?"

Shawn Lane’s heart pounded. Even though he had learned a few things about Cecilia from his father, he still couldn’t immediately accept this reality.

"How is that possible..." Kylie Churchill’s face was a mask of disbelief. "My parents have been bringing me here ever since it opened when I was in middle school. How could it possibly be yours?"

"Nothing’s impossible. And since you two probably don’t want to see me, either, this kills two birds with one stone. From now on, you won’t even be able to get through the door here." Cecilia said it so casually, as if she were doing them a massive favor. "You’re welcome."

"Cecilia, when someone buys a membership card and loads it with funds, your membership terms and conditions automatically take effect. It’s the equivalent of a signed contract. Do you realize what you’re doing is a unilateral breach of that contract?" Shawn Lane argued, trying to reason with her. He thought Cecilia was being completely unreasonable; no matter what, Kylie was a member here.

’And now Mr. Churchill might get involved. I can’t let him get dragged into this, and I definitely don’t want him getting angry because he thinks Kylie has been wronged.’

"I’m aware," Cecilia said, looking at them earnestly. "So? Are you going to sue me?"

"I..."

Faced with Cecilia’s attitude, Shawn Lane was rendered speechless.

Then they heard Cecilia add, "Go ahead and sue. A breach of contract penalty? I can afford to pay whatever it is."

After saying this, Cecilia and Julie walked around the pair to leave. But after two steps, she turned back with a reminder. "Remember to pay your bill. It’s pretty expensive here."

Kylie Churchill was so furious she felt dizzy and nearly blacked out.

"Kylie, don’t be angry. She’s just a vengeful person. She was bound to find a way to get back at us for what happened before."

Kylie Churchill stomped her foot in anger, her eyes red with grievance. "We lose every time! How can she own both Cirrus Palace and Aetherium? She’s about the same age as me, and those are the two most famous, high-end private clubs in all of Lorcain! Didn’t you say she was a vain, poor social climber?"

Shawn Lane’s expression was grim, his pride clearly wounded by Cecilia as well. "I honestly don’t know what happened to her. It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been subjected to this."

When a man admits he’s wrong, a woman’s compassion often overflows. Seeing him like this, Kylie Churchill quickly grabbed his hand to comfort him. "Don’t say that. You were abroad for over a year, so it’s normal that you weren’t up to date on things. It’s not your fault."

"If it’s hers, it’s hers. We just won’t come here anymore, that’s all."

Shawn Lane squeezed her hand, gave her a gentle smile, and nodded lightly.

*

After a flight of over ten hours, Lily Sterling and her group finally landed in Meridia.

Lily Sterling looked at Ronald and asked, "Are you tired?"

"Not at all!" Ronald was full of energy, his face glowing with excitement. "I’m so pumped, Sis! Besides, first class was amazing. You can lie down to sleep, and they have all kinds of food and drinks. I could have stayed on there longer."

"Me too," Yuri Tucker chimed in, leaning forward from behind them. "No wonder it’s so expensive. It’s a completely different world from economy class."

As first-class passengers, they were the first to deplane. The group waited at baggage claim to meet up with Yuna and the other assistants.

Getting through immigration and customs abroad was a hassle that took quite some time. It wasn’t until they were in the car sent by the film crew that Yuna spoke to Lily Sterling. "Lily, the accommodations Director Alan’s crew has arranged are pretty average. It’s a business hotel close to the filming locations for convenience. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Okay, I understand. Filming starts the day after tomorrow, right?"

"Tomorrow. We spent a whole day on the plane," Yuna reminded her.

It dawned on Lily. She looked at Ronald and said, "I start filming tomorrow. Do you want to explore on your own, or come with me to the set and check it out?"

"I can go to the set?" Ronald’s eyes lit up. "Can I watch you guys film?"

"If you want to go, I can take you. It’s not that exciting, but you can go for the novelty of it."

Ronald nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, I’ll go! I’ve never seen a movie being filmed before. You only think it’s not exciting because you do it all the time, Sis. I’ll definitely think it’s fun."

He had a point. Lily Sterling smiled and nodded, remembering how excited she had been on her first film set too.

When they arrived at the hotel, Lily Sterling finally understood just how "average" Yuna meant the accommodations were.

A business hotel abroad couldn’t be expected to match the standards of a star-rated hotel back home, but this one was barely on par with an express inn. The bathroom was oppressively cramped. Fortunately, Lily had a high tolerance for such things, having grown up in an ordinary family.

However, while she could tolerate it, others could not.

As she went down to get her luggage, she saw someone arguing with a member of the crew.

"That bathroom is way too small! The counter doesn’t even have enough space for our Chloe’s skincare products. And the closet has a weird smell when you open it. How are we supposed to hang clothes in there? They’ll all end up stinking!"

"And it’s so close to the elevator! Don’t you know rooms near the elevator are the noisiest?"

"We already communicated with you beforehand, expressing our hope to stay at a global high-end hotel brand. We let it slide when you downgraded it this much, but you have to at least meet the most basic requirements, right? Is that room even thirty square meters? Our Chloe usually stays in Summit-affiliated hotels!"

The person arguing was a middle-aged man approaching forty. His voice was naturally a bit shrill, and since he was angry, his pitch was even higher, making him sound extremely loud and his voice incredibly grating.

It had nothing to do with Lily Sterling and her group; they were just listening in on the commotion. But what they heard made all of them frown.

"Who’s that guy?" Finn couldn’t help but ask Yuna.

Yuna replied, "Probably Chloe Hale’s agent or one of her assistants."

"Chloe Hale?" Finn’s brow furrowed. "Isn’t she just another young actress? Who does she think she is, being so picky on one of Director Alan’s sets?"