Ava Sterling heard the first sentence from Jace Kingsley and instinctively wanted to refuse, but when she heard his second sentence, the words she was about to speak stopped. And when she heard his third sentence, the refusal in her heart diminished significantly. By the time Jace Kingsley paused, Ava Sterling was no longer thinking about refusing and immediately asked, "Especially what?" Jace pointed to the area near the bar in the living room, where there was an extremely long fish tank, even longer than the bar itself, and it nearly surrounded the entire bar. At first, Ava Sterling didn’t notice because the tank had no water, and inside were various beautiful stones, plants, and mock mountains, creating a one-to-one terrestrial landscape that was very beautifully arranged. So Ava Sterling thought it was a unique design that added a touch of vitality to this minimalist villa. But now, following Jace Kingsley’s gesture, Ava Sterling saw a turtle slowly crawling in the tank, and she realized this wasn’t a unique design but a place specifically for keeping pets. Jace Kingsley said, "It needs someone to feed it." Ava Sterling understood that having a pet at home would make going out inconvenient. However, at this moment, Ava Sterling wasn’t thinking about the issue of caring for it; the moment she saw the turtle, her eyes lit up instantly. She remembered something. Something very important. "Turtles seem to have a long lifespan?" Ava Sterling said as she quickly walked to the tank, soon standing in front of it with glowing eyes, looking at the turtle inside that seemed to carry a small mountain on its back. Jace Kingsley didn’t expect Ava Sterling to be so interested in turtles, but this suited him just fine. However, he wasn’t sure what she was thinking at that moment. Seeing the bright light in her eyes, he said happily, "Yes, this is an Angonoka Tortoise, a land tortoise with a lifespan of fifty to a hundred years." "Yes, as long as it’s properly cared for, a hundred years is no problem." In an instant, Ava Sterling was excited. "A hundred years, that’s really wonderful! Wonderful!" Seeing her so excited, he asked gently. Ava Sterling immediately started to explain, "You don’t know, I’ve always wanted to have a pet, but the lifespan of pets is too short. I don’t want them to die; I would feel very sad. I want them to accompany me for a lifetime, but I just never thought there was an animal with such a long lifespan as that of a human. So I’ve never kept a pet." "But now seeing this turtle, I realized I can keep a turtle. They can accompany me for a very long time, and I don’t have to worry about them dying." Jace Kingsley’s gaze grew even softer: "Well, I’ll give Abby to you." Ava Sterling pointed at the turtle in the tank, quite surprised. "Yes, its name is Abby. It’s very gentle and smart. I’ll give it to you so you can take care of it. It can always be with you." Just like he would be with her. Ava Sterling immediately shook her head: "No, no, this is your treasure. How could I take it?" "And this turtle is a bit too big. I prefer the small ones." Ava Sterling said, gesturing with her hands, but soon thought of something and quickly took out her phone to search. Very quickly, she found a picture of a little green turtle. "Look, this one, a Brazilian turtle, just a small one. That’s the kind I want to keep." Ava Sterling didn’t have much knowledge about turtles and purely thought turtles had long lifespans. She didn’t know how expensive Jace Kingsley’s Angonoka Tortoise was, equivalent to the price of a house. Jace Kingsley, seeing her pointing at the green little turtle in the picture, laughed: "Then I’ll buy it for you." Ava Sterling’s face immediately sank: "I showed you that not to make you buy it for me. If I wanted you to buy it, I wouldn’t have shown you at all." "No worries, it’s not expensive, really cheap." Ava Sterling put away her phone, crossed her arms, and looked at him seriously: "Jace Kingsley, if you keep this up, we won’t be friends anymore." Seeing her immediate change in expression, Jace Kingsley sighed, "This Brazilian turtle is just a few bucks. Ava, if you’re going to argue with me over a few bucks, I really don’t know what to say." Ava Sterling was stunned. She had never kept a pet, but in her understanding, no pet was worth just a few bucks. She was truly surprised and couldn’t believe it. Jace Kingsley, seeing her expression, said, "If you don’t believe me, you can search online and see if I’m lying to you." Ava Sterling immediately shook her head: "No, I won’t search." "You wouldn’t lie to me." Jace Kingsley was always genuine, honest, especially with her. Jace Kingsley’s eyes slightly moved, and the corners of his mouth lifted: "Then can I gift it to you?" Ava Sterling nodded: "Sure, but I also want to give you a gift." Between friends, there must be an exchange; it’s not right if only one side gives gifts without reciprocation. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novｅlfire.net Jace Kingsley laughed: "I’ll accept a gift, but about that cooking you promised me, I wonder when it can be fulfilled?" Ava Sterling suddenly remembered this matter; indeed, she had promised earlier but hadn’t yet fulfilled it. See how forgetful she was, her mind had been preoccupied with someone else these past few days, completely forgetting about Jace Kingsley. "Tomorrow, will tomorrow work?" "Today, let’s settle the work matters first. Tomorrow, I’ll see if I cook for you at noon or in the evening." Jace Kingsley’s eyes filled with laughter: "Tonight works too. We can wrap up work tonight and then cook here." "Come to think of it, I haven’t even started cooking here yet." Ava Sterling immediately frowned: "Tonight’s not possible; I have something tonight." Actually, tonight would have been perfect—discussing work with Jace Kingsley and making dinner for him at the same time would be just right. But there’s no way around it; tonight, she had to accompany Poe Vaughn to visit his grandfather, so she couldn’t be here. Jace Kingsley looked at the expression in Ava Sterling’s eyes. Within them was genuine remorse; she really had something going on and was in a bind. She wasn’t lying to him. "What is it? Is it important?" Before Ava Sterling could answer, he said, "Are you teaching students tonight, too?" Ava Sterling immediately let out a dry laugh: "Haha... no, it’s something else." "Anyway... anyway, delaying it by a day won’t affect things, right?" "When do you have time tomorrow? I’ll cook for you right here." She couldn’t cook at Poe Vaughn’s Azure Hills villa, so it would either be at her own Kingsley apartment or here at Jace’s place. And Jace’s previous words had made it clear that he wanted her to cook here. In that case, she’ll cook here. Between friends, a little sincerity is necessary. Jace Kingsley’s lips curved slightly: "I’ll listen to you." Ava Sterling smiled, patting him on the shoulder: "I knew you were the best." "Let’s go upstairs to the study and talk about work matters." Time passed without notice, and around four o’clock, Ava Sterling left the Silvermist Isles. She asked Jace Kingsley to drop her off somewhere she could easily catch a ride home. Jace Kingsley didn’t say much, nor did he ask. He dropped her off at a convenient spot to get a taxi. Shortly after, Ava Sterling got out of the car: "See you tomorrow~" Jace Kingsley smiled: "Call me if you need anything." Ava Sterling agreed readily as Jace Kingsley turned the steering wheel and the car drove off. Ava Sterling looked for a taxi, and very quickly, one came by. Ava Sterling got into the car and said directly, "Azure Hills villa, please hurry." The driver shifted gears, and quickly, the car drove away. At this moment, a white Maserati was coming from the front.