The Returning EX (John and Sophia) novel Chapter 396

John smiled. “You thought wrong.” Then, he hung up.

Logan kept calling out to him, but the call had ended, so he looked at his phone and said, “You could have talked a bit more. We have time.” However, his request was met with silence.

The next morning, John went to tell his grandmother that he could go to the banquet. “Good.” Belinda nodded. “We should be early on that day.”

John nodded. “Okay.” After a quiet breakfast, John went to work. On the way there, Isabelle called him, saying she had sent a resupply document to him. There was no need to call him over something so trivial, so he only gave a noncommittal grunt.

Isabelle didn’t hang up immediately. “Are you still on your way?”

John grunted again, then Isabelle chuckled. “Lucky. I am already here, and early too. I even worked overtime last night. To think I used to envy you white collars. This is hard work.”

John disliked small talk, especially when they were people he wasn’t close with. So, he didn’t even bother to grunt this time.

Isabelle didn’t notice that at first, and she continued, “When I had a migraine from overtime last night, I think I can understand how stressful your lives must be. Everyone thinks the typical white collar’s life is easy. Work for a few hours and make a lot of money, but we pay the price too. That’s why we reap the rewards.”

John still remained silent, and now Isabelle knew something was off. “Are you still listening, John?” she called out to him.

Only then did John grunt once more. Now, Isabelle noticed his reluctance to speak, so she smiled. “Are you driving? I’ll hang up then. Drive safely.” John said okay, and Isabelle hung up.

After that, he tossed his phone aside, his expression as calm as ever.

On the other hand, Sophia went to observe the shop’s renovation progress. The renovators told her it would be done on this day, so all she had to do was to let the place be properly ventilated, then she could open for business. They hadn’t started on the sign yet, but it was an easy job, so Sophia then told them her shop’s would-be name.

The renovators were surprised. “That does not sound like a good name.”

‘No Response’—she made it sound like nobody would come to her shop. It was a dark name, but it was real, and she had to learn how to accept reality, no matter how ugly it was. After Sophia said it was fine, the renovators said they’d do it. A moment later, she asked them about the fee.

They were surprised to hear that. “Mr. Constance has paid a lot in advance. We still have some left over, so we’re paying him back.”

John had paid them before they started work, telling them to ask for more if they needed it, and to pay him back if there was excess.

Sophia nodded. “I see. How much did he pay you guys? I should be the one to bear the cost, so give his money back to him.”

The renovators didn’t know what was between her and John, but they told her the price anyway, and Sophia transferred the money to them right away.

“Give John his money back and tell him I won’t have him pay for what I should be doing.” The renovators said okay, and they didn’t ask anything more.

Sophia checked her shop for a moment and left, feeling that everything was well.