Chapter 282 

Her small hand clung nervously to Ronald’s shirt collar, her grip tightening with each passing second. 

Ronald glanced down at her, noticing the anxiety in her eyes, and an amused smirk tugged at his lips. 

With a swift motion, he grabbed her hand and tucked it inside his shirt. 

Stella felt the firmness beneath her fingers and instinctively tried to pull away, but Ronald held her hand playfully captive. 

“Let me go!” she exclaimed, flustered. 

Just then, Yvonne’s voice crackled through the phone. “Hey, Ronald, what are you guys up to?” 

Stella’s mind went blank. She’d completely forgotten that Ronald was on a call with Yvonne. 

How embarrassing! 

Ronald, still teasing Stella, responded coolly into the phone, “Curious, are you?” 

Yvonne fell silent, confused. 

Stella, too, fell silent. 

Was he playing with her? 

Yvonne hesitated, then said, “Uh… not really?” 

She knew better than to pry into Ronald’s business. As his sister, she was well aware of his intimidating ways. 

The last time she’d questioned him, she ended up on a two–month survival trek in the desert, unable to shower- an experience she hoped never to repeat. 

“Nope, not curious at all,” she quickly added for good measure. “Is Stella really up this early?” 

Both Stella and Ronald were left speechless. 

In Yvonne’s memory, Stella was someone who loved sleeping in and had a hard time getting up for school. She would almost always arrive nearly an hour later than the time the school required. It was Ronald who always indulged her. 

Ronald narrowed his eyes. “Yvonne.” 

“Hey, this girl is something else. She’s been gone for three years, and now she’s all of a sudden so diligent. Did the real world knock some sense into her? 

Ugh, is she good now? Can she cook? Please don’t tell me she’s still trying to make spaghetti for us like before when she’s never even stepped into a kitchen. Was that really spaghetti? It was more like it was going to killust One bite felt like losing half our life.” 

Stella was full of questions. She didn’t remember her cooking skill being that bad. 

Yvonne continued, “She’s been so diligent now, I’m sure her cooking skills have improved a bit, but don’t make me end up in the hospital again. You remember the time you had food poisoning, right? I had to take care of 

you.” 

“Shut up.” 

Ronald couldn’t take it anymore. 

Stella was also shocked, staring at Ronald. 

“I’m just saying, her cooking is dangerous! If you eat it, fine, but every time you make me and Mom eat too, that, one time nearly killed me. I ended up throwing up all over.” 

Stella twitched her lips. She couldn’t believe it. Was the spaghetti she made for them that bad? 

15:59 

nap 

She didn’t know how to cook, but starting when she was 14, she’d occasionally heard that her classmates 

would make a meal themselves when someone in their family had a birthday. So, she decided to try it herself to show her sincerity. 

Was it really that toxic? 

Ronald’s face hardened, and he directly spoke into the phone, “Go check your brain.” 

Yvonne asked, “Huh? After all these years, you’re still not going to let her know? You’d better tell her. If she hasn’t improved her cooking, don’t make food for me anymore. I don’t want to be vomiting all over again.” 

Yvonne kept rambling on the phone. 

But Ronald hung up the phone without hesitation. 

The room finally fell silent. 

Stella looked at Ronald, her eyes wide, “Did my cooking really send you to the hospital?” 

She hadn’t known about such a big thing. 

Ronald pinched the little hand that was still resting on his chest, and Stella realized where her hand was. Her face turned red again, and she instinctively tried to pull it back. 

“Let go.” 

She huffed, forcefully pulling her hand back and hiding it. 

Sa