Chapter 272 There's a bit of humblebragging in him.

Chapter 272 There's a bit of humblebragging in him.


Samuel quickly realized what had happened.
What a clever tongue.
He had been completely taken in.
But the words were already out, and he couldn't take them back.
"Anyway, I hope you understand that Stella doesn't owe you anything, and as for the family, this situation wasn't intentional."
Ariana continued to smile boldly, "So you think the family owes Stella? Are you, as her brother, here to stand up for her?"
Samuel found himself caught up again.
"I didn't say that."
"I haven't bullied her, and if you want to know why she's crying, you should ask her yourself. As for our relationship, if you consider me your sister, then you're my brother. If not, well, to me, you're just a stranger."
Samuel was taken aback by her cold and indifferent words.
A stranger, she actually called him a stranger.
He was her brother.
"As for whether you want to keep the peace between us in front of Mom and Dad, that's up to you. I'm going to sleep now, so please leave."
Samuel was left speechless.
"Ariana, I hope you understand..." Samuel tried to make one last attempt.
"I get it," Ariana said, shutting the door firmly.
Samuel stood outside, feeling a bit lost.
He had lost the first round against his little sister.
James noticed Samuel lingering by Ariana's door and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"What happened? Did she kick you out?"
Samuel snapped out of his daze and headed back to his room, with James following him.
"Hey, what's up? You don't look right. What did you say to her?"
"She's got a sharp tongue! Cold and ruthless, nothing like our family."
James thought about it. While Ariana did have a sharp tongue, cold and ruthless didn't quite fit her.
"Maybe you misunderstood her. She's actually really nice. Did you know she's the famous artist Lemon? Her teacher is Old Qian! Finally, someone in the family can carry on the legacy."
Samuel turned to James, "Are you favoring her too? No wonder Stella is crying. You all must be biased towards her!"
"Come on, you just got back today, actually less than an hour ago. How did you come to that conclusion?
When Ariana came home the first day, I told her that Stella would probably feel a bit left out and asked her to be understanding.
I feel bad for her. She had a tough time before, and now that she's finally back with her parents, she still has to consider others.
Mom probably talked to her too. Ariana is very considerate."
Samuel frowned, still skeptical.
When she talked to him, her words were like rapid-fire, leaving him speechless.
"As for favoritism, there's none. We carefully look after Stella's feelings every day, worried she might be upset. We've watched her grow up; how could we treat her poorly?
Even if we were a bit biased towards Ariana, wouldn't that be justified?
The family owes her! Making it up to her now is only right, isn't it?"
Samuel was once again left speechless by James's reasoning.
In less than an hour of being home, Samuel had been criticized twice.
Once by his younger brother, and once by his younger sister.
Naturally, Samuel was a bit upset, even if he knew James had a point.
"Alright, since when did you get to lecture me?"
James shrugged, muttering, "It's clearly your fault."
"I'm tired. Let's talk tomorrow."
James immediately headed out, "You should think about it."
"Think about it?" Samuel replied, not in the best mood.
After Ariana exposed Stella's little schemes, Stella became much more subdued.
She stopped entertaining those pointless thoughts.
However, she grew more silent than before, unsure of how to face Ariana.
It always felt like Ariana was a mirror, reflecting the ugliness inside her.
So, she often avoided running into Ariana.
Samuel was rarely home, and after that minor clash, there wasn't much contact between the siblings.
The days passed by one after another.
When Ariana woke up in the morning, she found everything outside covered in white.
She opened the window to see that it had snowed heavily last night, blanketing the world in white.
Unknowingly, it was already deep winter.
Soon, it would be time for the New Year festival.
And soon, she would be getting married.
Lately, Lucas had been incredibly busy. With several companies under his management, he was running around like a headless chicken.
On top of that, he was also preparing for the wedding, making him even busier.
Ariana hadn't seen him for several days.
She recorded a short video and sent it to Lucas, "It's snowing! Should we go skiing?"
The ski resort had opened at the start of winter.
But without snow, skiing was easy to forget.
Lucas didn't reply to her.
Recently, his response time had been getting slower and slower.
He used to reply instantly.
He must be really busy.
Ariana got out of bed and went downstairs. James had a late night out, so he was up late.
"Morning, big bro!"
She had gotten used to calling him "big bro" now.
"Morning," James yawned, "It's snowing."
"Yeah, it is. Do you know how to ski?" Ariana asked, clearly excited.
"A little."
"Want to go skiing?"
"Do you?" James asked.
"Drop the 'do' part. I once won a street skateboarding championship. Skateboarding, rollerblading—I can do it all. With that foundation, skiing and ice skating are a piece of cake for me."
James looked at his sister, feeling a bit of admiration for her.
"Is there anything you can't do?"
Ariana thought for a moment.
The silence was deafening.
Then they both burst into laughter.
"That silence was a bit too much like a humblebrag," Stella said as she came down the stairs.
"Stella, want to join us for skiing?" James asked.
Stella watched them, feeling a bit envious of their camaraderie.
"I think I'll pass. Remember a couple of years ago when I went skiing and broke my leg?"
Stella knew Ariana was talented, and she didn't want to be the comparison point.
"You can skip skiing and try the slide instead."
"That's for kids."
Sitting on a big tire, being pulled along, or sliding down from a height—those were for children.
"You're just a kid," James chuckled.
Stella didn't respond.
Ariana didn't know what to say. She always felt that Stella was sensitive, and the more she said, the more likely she'd say something wrong. So she chose to stay silent.
James quickly made arrangements to take Ariana skiing.
Meanwhile, Lucas sat in his office, frowning deeply.