Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Every time they encountered each other, she could sense that the woman wasn't fond of her. So, she thought, why pretend to know each other? Besides a few chance meetings, they had no further connection. Silver, on the other hand, couldn't help but frown. This girl wasn't just not to her taste in appearance; she seemed to lack basic manners too. As they brushed past each other, Silver quickly moved on. "Anne, where did you disappear to? Come over here, I've picked something out," Madge called out to her.

"That fast? I just went to the restroom, didn't even see you try anything on..."

"I'll show you at home."

"Alright."

Madge mentioned, "I ran into a woman earlier and helped her choose a few dresses. She said her son has been binge-watching Seven Days..." Meanwhile, far away in a lab, Owen sneezed several times.

Seeing this, Stoddard couldn't resist a tease, "Owen, with all these sneezes, how many women are thinking about you?"

Owen retorted, "Seems like you have a lot of spare time?"

Stoddard suddenly felt a chill, sensing impending trouble. "Looks like you'll be attending tomorrow's academic conference at the Crystal Hotel."

"Seriously? Just my luck!" he thought with sarcasm.

Jen chuckled, "Serves you right! All talk, no game!"

...

After a day of shopping, it was already six in the evening. They decided to have dinner at the mall. As the mother and daughter debated over what to eat, Stoner called unexpectedly. He'd already booked a restaurant and insisted they head straight to the basement level. Madge hesitated, "How can we let you treat us?"

"I invited you to Lumina City for the book signing. Honestly, I should be covering all your expenses. Dinner's the least I can do, and I'm still ahead!" Stoner's voice was as hearty and cheerful as ever.

Knowing that Madge was from Pinehollow, where tastes tend to be lighter, Stoner chose a bistro popular with both locals and visitors. The place was in high demand, requiring reservations. Knowing they were out shopping, Stoner had thoughtfully reserved a private room in advance.

The view from the floor-to-ceiling windows offered glimpses of the newly developed social media hotspots on Medieval Street, creating a surreal feeling of being in South Mountain while observing the bustling city.

Throughout the dinner, Stoner

proved to be the perfect host, efficiently taking everyone's preferences into account without being overly zealous, making

everyone feel at ease. Even

vel

Roseanne had to admit, Stoner had a knack for dealing with people.

Madge was more than pleased. A match made in heaven, they immediately clicked, even

discussing outlines for a new book.

Roseanne noticed a significant change in her mother. Gone were the days of heated phone calls with editors. Now, her eyes were all lit up and excited, way different from how tired she was before. She knew these changes were all thanks to Stoner. And it was York who introduced him...

Perhaps it was a mother-daughter intuition, but during a restroom break, Madge suddenly expressed her gratitude, "You know, we really should thank the friend who

introduced Stoner to you.

him, there'd be no Seven Days. Let's invite him for dinner, the whole family, to thank him in person."

"Sure," Roseanne agreed.

The following day, the book signing went as planned.