At this moment, Byron turned to look at her and asked, "What are you daydreaming about?"


    "Nothing." Maeve said, snapping out of her thoughts. She then walked up to him. "Howe there''s a tree here?"


    "It''s a gift from Ray." Byron''s expression was indifferent. "He suddenly said he wanted to celebrate Christmas and went up the mountain with Jarrett to look for this kind of fir. He also sent one to me Actually, Ray and Jarrett went to steal trees behind the resort owned by Mcdaniel Group and got caught by someone who was sent to transnt the fir. Hence, theborers who were supposed to transnt the fir ended up being them.


    However, Byron thought there was no need to tell her this.


    Maeve opened her mouth. "But Mr. Mcdaniel, Christmas trees are usually ced at home to create a festive atmosphere and are generally small and delicate. Isn''t this one too tall?" It was ten feet tall.


    Byron frowned slightly. "Are you talking about that kind of trash that is reced every year and is such a hassle to dispose of? How can this tree not beparable to that kind of thing?" ''Does this woman have any taste?'' he thought.


    The corner of Maeve''s mouth began to twitch when she heard the words "trash that is such a hassle to dispose of".


    She suddenly thought of a question. "Mr. Mcdaniel, is it okay for this tree to be nted in the courtyard? Will thendlord criticize you?"


    Byron''s expression froze. "No, the tenants have the right to use the courtyard here."


    Maeve


    e frowned in confusion. "Speaking of which, after living here for a while, I don''t think I''ve seen any other tenants. We are not the only ones in the whole apartment building, right?" She guessed correctly.


    The whole apartment building belonged to Byron, so there were naturally no other tenants.


    "I''m not sure. I haven''t paid attention." Byron looked away calmly. "If you''re curious, you can knock on every door and ask."


    "Forget it then. Maybe it''s just a coincidence that we didn''t run into them." Maeve''s curiosity wasn''t strong enough to go that far. Looking at the bare fir tree in front of her, she was a little tempted. "Can I decorate it then?"


    "Up to you," Byron said indifferently. "I''m not interested in this kind of thing."


    "Help me hold thedder when the timees then."


    "Sure."


    Sure.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Hearing him agree, Maeve had a cheerful expression, but theplicated feelings within her still did not dissipate. Karen''s words came to mind. She thought, ''With Byron''s high and respectable status, you''re not worthy of him at all. Was Karen referring to Mr. Mcdaniel''s family background or to him personally? If it''s about him personally..."


    felt a pang of tension in her chest, and she immediately discarded this possibility out of her mind.


    Maeve felt


    Seeing Byron walking into the apartment, she rubbed her temples and followed him.


    There was a utility bill pasted at the door of the apartment.


    Maeve took it down and had a look. She was so shocked that she was momentarily at a loss for words. "We''ve seriously overspent on the utilities this month. Mr. Mcdaniel, why don''t we reduce the number of times we use smart home devices?" took out a bottle of cold water from the fridge and asked casually, "How much?"


    Byron mentioned the


    figure.


    Hearing this figure, Byron did not think much of it.


    He thought, ''But if this amount is converted into the cotton candy that Maeve likes and her pile of junk snacks...


    Perhaps influenced by her frugality recently, Byron thought for a moment and said, "Use the sprinkler less. Taking care of your pile of vegetables consumes more electricity."


    If you don''t turn on the She did not want to take the me. "My vegetables don''t need to be watered all the time. It''s the air conditioner that''s been running more."


    Maeve''s e''s eyes widened.


    air conditioner in this weather, you want to freeze to death at home, huh?"


    What do you think we should do then?"


    "What do


    In the end, the two of them sat on the carpet in front of the sofa and argued for a long while before they managed to keep the appliances they wanted to use,


    The appliance Maeve wanted to use was the sprinkler, while the one Byron wanted to use was the air conditioner.


    As for other electrical


    I appliances, they would avoid using them as much as possible lest they receive a hefty utility bill next month. Just looking at that line of numbers, Maeve was very distressed.


    She sat cross-legged, tapping away on the calctor. "We have to make up for the overspending in this aspect by cutting back elsewhere... I''ll skip buying snacks for now, use up household items until next month, and buy ingredients at the market where they are up to for this amount of money by cutting costs in other areas, not letting a single dor slip by


    cheaper... And Mr. Mcdaniel, your coffee and


    She muttered about needing to make un mineral water in the fridge are running low. Try to hold off on buying for a while. Saving even a little helps..."


    Byron sat


    t with his leg bent, leaning against the edge of


    s of his blue and mysterious eyes.


    A faint sense of amusement appeared in the depths the sofa, propping up his chin with one hand, and casually watched her as she was being meticulous in budgeting while mumbling incessantly.


    He thought, ''If that group of fogies were to speak nothing but this kind of nonsense during meetings, they would have been scolded badly. Yet Maeve, despite talking for a long while without a single useful point, is exceptionally soothing." "You seem to have forgotten to ount for how much the Christmas tree decorations will cost," Byron reminded herzily as he tapped Maeve''s ledger.


    Maeve was shocked. "Yes... I forgot about this. How about we skip decorating for now?"


    "Are we not celebrating Christmas either?"


    97


    Maeve looked conflicted, pondering where else she could cut some costs.


    "Let me buy them." Byron tapped his knuckles on the table. "The money in your card should not be counted as part of the monthly fixed expenditure, right?" Maeve''s eyes lit up. Then, she said sheepishly, "If you insist on buying them for me, I wouldn''t say


    Byron sneered. "I''m just afraid that you''ll continue to cut back on my coffee and mineral water."


    Afterpleting the bookkeeping, Maeve took her clothes and went into the bathroom.


    She stood in front of the mirror and could not help but chuckle.


    ??


    no."


    ''I knew it, she thought. ''Mr. Mcdaniel is just an ordinary guy. If, as Karen said, he had such an esteemed status, why would he worry about utility bills with me and even haggle over whether to turn on the air conditioner? It wouldn''t be necessary, right?'' After figuring this out, the emotional pressure that had been bothering Maeve''s mind was finally eased a bit. She hummed a song as she went to take a shower. Byron could hear her singing in the bathroom all the way from the living room. He was speechless.


    He pressed the spot between his eyebrows and instructed Archer on the phone, "From now on, you don''t have to pay the apartment''s utility bills. I''ll handle it myself."


    he


    Archer''s forehead was covered in sweat. He quickly exined, "Mr. Mcdaniel, thepany has been too busy this month. I overlooked this matter for a moment. I assure you that I won''t be negligent next time..."


    "I''m not holding you ountable. Also, help me buy some Christmas tree decorations and choose them ording to a girl''s preferences."


    Archer was stunned, thinking, I must be hearing things due to working too manyte nights.''


    Right after ending the call with Archer, Byron''s phone rang again.


    Gilbert''s helpless voice came through. "Byron, it seems your parents have found out about your marriage to Maeve and want to meet her formally. What do you think?"


    Byron frowned slightly. "Howe they know?"


    "It wasn''t me who revealed the secret," Gilbert said. "Karen came to see your mom in the afternoon. After she left, your mom came to tell me about this. Perhaps Karen told her."


    Byron''s expression was one of surprise as he thought, ''Karen? Does she have too much free time?''


    "Byron, are you listening to what I''m saying?" Gilbert asked, urging him.


    "I''m listening." Byron''s voice was calm. "Grandpa, please help me convey this message to them. Tell them to forget about the meeting and that they shouldn''t disturb our lives if there''s nothing important."