Chapter 461

The tone and delivery of this text message instantly transported Stella back to the days of the rose garden.

In the Roland family villa, Adrian reclined in his office chair and let out a long sigh. Ever since helping Stella with her work, his heart had been unsettled. He worried she might be angry if she discovered he had accessed her email, and feared his efforts might not meet her expectations.

The last time he had felt this anxious was when he pursued her as a student. Now, with Ethan already in elementary school, he found himself reliving the nervousness of his youth.

His phone vibrated. Stella replied: How did you get into my email?

He didn’t answer immediately.

Minutes later, a string of numbers appeared: 08261231

It was a combination of their birthdays.

She had used it for years.

Later, when she considered changing the password, she discovered "Mr. Alistair" also shared the birthday of 1231, so she kept it.

Another message arrived: The password wasn’t compromised—even Penny doesn’t know it. If you’re worried, you can change it.

Stella’s mind flashed to the image of a younger Adrian—domineering yet shameless.

He had deleted every confession text sent to her by boys, scowling as he lectured her: "You’re too young to be dating!"

Caught red-handed, she shrank guiltily. "Adrian, I’m not dating anyone. They sent those messages on their own—I’m innocent!"

Back then, Adrian wore a white dress shirt, his tie loosened in frustration. He stared down at the girl who was blossoming into a beauty, radiant enough to make any boy restless.

"How did they get your number?"

"I don’t know..."

Seeing her pout, it was clear she had no interest in those boys. Adrian secretly relaxed but still inspected her phone thoroughly.

"I’ll let it slide this time." He returned the phone with a stern expression. "Stay away from them from now on."

"You’re the best, Adrian! I’ll focus on studying!"

"Ask me anytime if you don’t understand something."

He tapped on her phone. "I changed the password. Don’t lend your phone to anyone."

"What’s the new password?"

"08261231."

"0826 is my birthday. What’s 1231?"

Adrian nearly jumped in frustration. "Figure it out yourself!"

She hadn’t even known his birthday.

Eventually, he succeeded in bringing his little rabbit home. It wasn’t until high school that Stella finally realized, her cheeks flushing as she mumbled, "So you liked me that early..."

No longer pretending to be proper, Adrian kissed her triumphantly. "After we get married, we’ll use this for our bank account too. Each of us holds half—how romantic."

Time had passed, and now she could smile at those memories. Staring at the option to change her password, she hesitated.

Adrian was right. As a company executive, password security mattered. But what should the new one be? The kids’ birthdays weren’t secure enough, and every important date in her life was intertwined with Adrian.

In the end, she didn’t change it, returning instead to her design revisions. The company’s legal team wasn’t for show—if anything happened, the other party would be at fault.

Adrian waited at his computer for half an hour, each second dragging. When he logged out and back in, finding the old password still worked, he nearly laughed aloud.