The Returning EX (Sophia and John)

Chapter 1495 Doorbell

He also told her that he was very satisfied with how the photos had turned out, and that he trusted Yulia’s good eye.

To his surprise, she called him just a moment after he sent the text.

His brows knitted slightly as he stared at the screen for a second or two before picking up. He then said gently, “Hello.”

Yulia’s voice was soft when she replied, “Are you really satisfied with the photos?”

Ian responded with a light hum as he smiled courteously and answered, “Of course I am—they were taken by you, after all.”

Yulia paused for a bit. She sounded a little annoyed when she replied, “You don’t have to be polite with me, you know. Just let me know if there’s anything you’re unhappy with, and I’ll make the changes after this.”

“No, no. I really am happy with them,” Ian quickly responded.

In truth, he wasn’t very interested in such matters. Photos that were processed lost their touch of natural beauty anyway, so he didn’t feel the need to have an opinion on things that were fake.

Yulia chuckled and swiftly changed the subject. “How are you managing alone since your assistant is on leave?”

Ian was a little surprised to hear that, but he wasn’t bold enough to ask how she’d found out about it.

On the other hand, Yulia unhesitantly referred to Cindy as his assistant right off the bat; it seemed like she had forgotten that Cindy wasn’t just an assistant to him.

Hence, Ian replied, “I don’t have much going on anyway. Besides, Cindy seems to be tired these days, so I gave her some time off. She’s my girlfriend, after all. I can’t possibly bring myself to treat her as an ordinary assistant.”

Yulie responded nonchalantly, but she didn’t stay on the topic. “Celebrities who act like you are rare these days. Back when I attended a program some time ago, almost all of them were walking around with a bunch of assistants and bodyguards by their side. It was as if nobody could recognize them if they didn’t have an entourage behind them. At the end of the day, I still prefer simple and humble ones like you.”

Her words had another underlying meaning to it, but the way she said it was quite ambiguous. Depending on the listener’s interpretation, the meaning could be there or not.

Ian simply chuckled without saying anything.

Following that, Yulia said again, “I saw your assistant today when I was out searching for inspiration. She was sitting alone at the park and seemed quite relaxed—I’m so jealous! She must be so blessed to be your assistant.”

Ian’s expression gradually went stone cold on the other end of the line, for the way Yulia kept referring to Cindy as his assistant was making him feel quite uncomfortable.

He took two deep breaths before saying, “It is I who should be blessed, not her. Back then, I actually begged her to become my assistant; she graduated with a major in design and had a bright future ahead of her. I was the one who held her back from her dreams.”

Ian sighed with perfect genuinity. “Come to think of it, I still feel quite bad about this.”

Yulia went silent instantly.

Ian only pretended to snap out of his thoughts after a few seconds. He sighed and said, “Why am I telling you this? I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Nevertheless, Yulia managed to keep her cool and brushed it off lightly.

Since they were on the topic, Ian asked, “By the way, where did you see her today? Was she alone? I called her earlier and she told me that she’s with her friend.”

Yulia replied calmly, “She was indeed alone, but she was probably waiting for her friend.”

“I see,” said Ian.

Right then, Yulia’s assistant started calling for her in the background. She turned away and responded before speaking into the phone again, “Things are getting busy here. If you really are satisfied with the photos, I’ll just go ahead with them.”