Chapter 56: Exquisite Acting, Two Faces

The man first knocked on the door normally. A moment later, his expression turned furtive. He glanced left and right, and after confirming no one was around, he reached into his pocket and began to fumble for something.

Stella Sterling didn’t even need to watch to guess what he was up to.

Sure enough, he pulled out a set of lock-picking tools and proceeded to study her front door for a good while.

Stella Sterling watched as if it were a show, sneering inwardly.

’Looks like quite a few people noticed I didn’t come home last night,’ she thought. ’Just one night away, and someone’s already getting ideas.’

’And isn’t this supposed to be a high-end apartment complex? Why do so many people know these kinds of shady skills?’

It was a good thing she had replaced the door. Not only was it solid and reliable—even a standard bomb couldn’t blast it open—but the lock was military-grade. It couldn’t be opened by just anyone with a little lock-picking knowledge.

This gave Stella Sterling a complete sense of security. Even if she wasn’t home and had to be out for something, she didn’t have to worry about anyone breaking in.

River Larkin fiddled with her lock for a long time. Perhaps because he couldn’t get it open, his expression grew impatient. He kicked her door several times in frustration, a complete departure from the humorous, gentle, and polite image he usually projected.

It was like he was a completely different person.

Stella Sterling wasn’t the least bit surprised. ’This is just his true nature.’

Finally, as if realizing he couldn’t open her door, River Larkin gave up, unwilling. He turned to leave, muttering curses under his breath.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and a knock sounded at the same time.

Stella Sterling saw on the security monitor that it was, indeed, River Larkin.

Only now, he was neatly dressed, wearing his standard, approachable smile that so easily charmed people.

He was carrying something in one hand, and he used the other to knock politely. "Stella, Stella, are you home?" he called out softly. "I need to talk to you!"

Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow, watching with great interest his two-faced performance.

’His acting is better than a lot of celebrities,’ she mused, clicking her tongue. ’Not a trace of it feels forced. The real talent really does come from the streets.’

While Stella Sterling was admiring his performance, River Larkin had been knocking for a while. When no one answered, he grew impatient and confused, even muttering to himself, "Is no one home? That can’t be right. I definitely heard her door close from my apartment!"

His face fell, the thought darkening his expression.

Stella Sterling considered it and was about to open the door. She still needed to play along with him for now; after all, she wanted to use him to stage a dog-eat-dog drama.

If he felt there was no hope with her, he wouldn’t be so easy to manipulate.

But just then, on the monitor, the door across the hall opened.

Willow Young, her neighbor from across the hall, opened her door, her boyfriend beside her.

Willow Young stood in her doorway and said irritably, "What the hell are you doing? It’s the crack of dawn, and you’re waking everyone up. What’s wrong with you? How can you be so selfish? Just because you’re not sleeping doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have to."

River Larkin always maintained his gentlemanly demeanor in public. Even though Willow Young’s tone was far from polite, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled at the couple. "I’m so sorry to have disturbed you. I’m a good friend of your neighbor, and I have something urgent to discuss with her. Please forgive the intrusion."

Hearing this, Willow Young let out a cold laugh. What kind of "good friend" comes to pick someone’s lock in the dead of night?

She took two steps forward and opened her mouth to speak, but her boyfriend pulled her back.

Her boyfriend shook his head at her, then turned to River Larkin.

"Hey man, it’s still early. She hasn’t opened the door, so she might still be asleep. It’s not cool to keep knocking like this. Whatever it is, you should probably come back later."

"Alright. Well, if you see her, could you please tell her I stopped by? I live right downstairs," River Larkin said with a smile and a nod. Then he turned and headed down the stairs.

Willow Young and her boyfriend went back into their apartment as well.

Seeing that someone had already sent him away for her, Stella Sterling turned off the monitor and put it out of her mind.

She did nothing in particular, just warmed herself by the fire, sipped on some milk tea, and found the show she hadn’t finished watching. When she got to a good part, she’d even laugh out loud.

She couldn’t be bothered to make breakfast, so she just pulled some ready-made buns and soy milk from her dimensional space and continued watching her show while she ate.

’Thinking back,’ she mused, ’my life has never been this relaxed.’

Back in school, she had studied hard and worked part-time jobs to make money in her free time. After the Sterling Family took her in, she had worked herself to the bone just to gain their approval.

A life like this, where she could ignore everything, free from pressure and with no worries about food or drink... she couldn’t have imagined how blissful it would be.

After finishing the show, she took a short nap. By the time she woke up, it was almost noon.

Stella Sterling ran on the treadmill for an hour, then read a medical book for half an hour to calm her mind. Time flew by, and soon, there was another knock at the door.

Stella Sterling went to get the door, the book still in her hand.

She looked at River Larkin standing in the doorway. He was still holding the same bag from that morning. When the door opened, he started to raise a smile to greet her but suddenly froze, his eyes flashing with surprise as he took in her appearance.

Stella Sterling’s soft, long hair was down, and she was only wearing a set of pajamas, yet she exuded an aura of serene tranquility.

The sight of her was at once refreshing and beautiful, putting one at ease.

The surprise in his eyes slowly faded. He reined in his emotions and smiled. "You’re back. I came by to see you last night. When I realized you hadn’t returned, I was worried sick!"

Stella Sterling didn’t call out his lie. She just nodded. "Yes. What is it?"

River Larkin was long accustomed to her cold demeanor. He held out the bag. "This is for you."

She glanced down and saw a bag of rice, a few bottles of water, and some noodles—the exact supplies that had been distributed yesterday.

She looked up at him, her expression asking for an explanation.

River Larkin smiled, his expression warm and sincere. "I managed to get a few extra shares of supplies yesterday. You could only get one, and that won’t last long, so I wanted you to have this. If there’s anything else you need, you can just let me know."

In these times, food was the most precious commodity, yet he was just giving it to her. Most people would have been genuinely moved by his gesture. But Stella Sterling merely raised an eyebrow, feeling nothing at all. Under his smiling gaze, she reached out and took the bag. "Well, thank you."

Stella Sterling clearly saw it—for the briefest instant as she took the bag, his expression flickered. It wasn’t obvious, and he controlled it almost immediately, but she still caught it.

Her own smile deepened. "How thoughtful of you. But this doesn’t mean I’ll agree to your ’cooperation’."