The owner followed his lead, asking, "So, are you getting a portion for your wife?"
"Yeah, one for her."
Sean Harrison just went along with it and agreed.
The owner was enthusiastic. "Is your wife still working at this hospital? I don’t think I’ve seen her in years. Does she think my little stall isn’t clean? Make sure you tell her my oil is store-bought—it’s all clean and hygienic."
"She transferred to another hospital. She only cos over here if she has sothing to do."
Sean Harrison knew that telling one lie ant you had to tell ten thousand more to cover it up.
As the owner made the grilled cold noodles, he made small talk.
"How many years have you been married?"
"...Five years."
"Do you have kids?"
"He’s four."
"The kid’s that old already? He must be in preschool, right? Preschool is still fine. My little grandson just started school, and my son’s house is in an uproar every day over howork."
"Yeah."
Sean Harrison just answered, one question after another.
It was as if he were fluently describing the life they currently had.
If he had left a little more room for compromise back then, this would have certainly been their life now.
He took the two orders of grilled cold noodles back to his car. First, he called the director of Elysian Hospital and asked him to look up Evan Hollis’s paynt account. Only then did he have the driver take him to the entrance of Rory Linden’s residential complex.
He stood by the car, noticing the lights in Rory Linden’s apartnt were off.
He guessed she wasn’t ho yet.
He had only been standing there for a few minutes...
A car drove past his and slowly pulled over to the side of the road up ahead.
Rory Linden got out of the car.
"What are you doing here?"
Rory Linden’s expression faltered slightly when she saw the grilled cold noodles in his hands.
"I went to Elysian Hospital and said a few things to get Evan Hollis to sign up for an Elysian mbership. Once he does, I can check his paynt account and the information he fills out, then have soone investigate."
After explaining, Sean Harrison offered the other order of grilled cold noodles to her. "I just bought this. Want a late-night snack?"
Rory Linden glanced at the food in his hands, hesitated for a mont, and then said, "Okay."
The two of them stood by the side of the road.
Sean Harrison turned his head to the woman beside him and said with a smile, "The owner actually still rembers ."
Rory Linden couldn’t help but marvel, "That owner has a great mory. He even rembers so of my colleagues who only went there once."
The man continued, "He said he hasn’t seen you in a long ti and thought you were avoiding his stall because it wasn’t clean. He even specifically asked to tell you he uses good oil from the supermarket, so you don’t have to worry."
Perhaps it was because the night was so quiet and the evening breeze was so pleasant, but for a mont, Rory Linden let her guard down around him.
She asked, "So, did you explain for ?"
"Yeah. I said you transferred hospitals."
"Thanks."
After finishing her food, Rory Linden looked at the empty container in the man’s hand and held out her own. "Let throw that out for you. You should get so rest."
"Okay."
Sean Harrison handed it over.
He watched her back as she got back into her car, suppressing the urge to call out to her.
’It’s okay,’ he thought. ’I’ll see her the day after tomorrow.’
-
Sunday arrived quickly.
Rory Linden had the day off. In the morning, she took Leo Linden to his newly-enrolled Lego class, only returning ho in the afternoon to change.
During her years abroad, she had picked up so makeup and styling skills.
The dress was primarily white, and Rachel Lancaster had also sent a matching set of pearl jewelry.
Rory Linden rarely wore jewelry, but since she was going as Sean Harrison’s date, she felt that while the dress could be understated, accessories were necessary to make an impression.
She couldn’t look too shabby overall.
Rory Linden spent over an hour on her makeup and curling her hair before carefully changing into the dress.
She was terrified of accidentally smudging makeup on the fabric.
Just as she finished getting ready, Leo Linden woke up from his nap.
He ran over, and when he saw Rory Linden, his eyes sparkled. "Wow! Mommy’s a fairy!"
A child’s praise is always sincere and simple.
"Thank you," Rory Linden said with a smile.
Leo Linden sat beside her, his eyes fixed on Rory Linden, exclaiming from ti to ti, "Mommy’s so pretty! Mommy is the prettiest mommy in the whole world!"
"Alright, alright, you little flatterer."
Rory Linden was a little embarrassed by the complints.
Her skills were limited, so she had only applied light makeup.
The dress and accessories added a lot to her look.
She was sitting in the living room, phone in hand, about to text Sean Harrison for his arrival ti when the doorbell rang.
Leo Linden skipped to the door to open it.
The next second, the little boy was pulling the person from the doorway inside. "Mr. Sterling, look! Mommy is the prettiest today!"
When Rory Linden turned to look, Leo Linden had already pulled Ryan Sterling into the apartnt.
"..."
The mont Ryan Sterling saw Rory Linden, his expression froze.
He had seen Rory Linden many tis before, but most of the ti, her hair was tied back, and her style of dress was more academic and understated.
This was the first ti he had ever seen her so formally dressed up.
The cut of the dress perfectly hugged her figure, infinitely amplifying her charm.
Even so, the outfit wasn’t the type to stun at first glance; rather, its appeal grew the longer you looked at it.
Rory Linden felt a little uncomfortable under Ryan Sterling’s stare. She gently tucked a curl behind her ear. "Is sothing wrong?"
"...Oh, right! A friend of mine brought back a new Lego set from abroad, and I thought Leo would like it."
Ryan Sterling said, handing the Lego set over.
"How much was it? I’ll transfer you the money."
As Rory Linden picked up her phone, she saw a ssage from Sean Harrison.
He had ssaged to say he was already at her door.
"Don’t worry about it. My friend didn’t charge for it."
"But that’s you calling in a favor. It should be paid for."
In Rory Linden’s eyes, Ryan Sterling’s main source of inco was his family.
She couldn’t let him spend more money on her.
Ryan Sterling didn’t want Rory Linden’s money. He felt his ears getting a little hot and covered them with his hand before saying, "How about this? You can treat to a al when you have ti. Okay?"
"Okay." Rory Linden picked up a garnt bag from the sofa. "I have to go. I have sothing to attend to."
"Where are you going? I can give you a ride."
Seeing her head out, Ryan Sterling imdiately followed.
"No need, soone is picking up."
Rory Linden walked outside.
When they reached the door, Ryan Sterling’s mouth moved faster than his brain, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking resentfully, "Is it President Harrison? After everything he did to you, you’re still going to get back together with him? He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness at all."
Rory Linden had already reached the elevator.
Hearing the young man’s words, she turned her head. "Mr. Sterling, I’m truly grateful for how you’ve taken care of Leo. However, our relationship isn’t close enough for you to be asking about my private affairs."
She thought for a mont and added, "Besides, our relationship could never develop to that point."
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