The two sat facing each other, the atmosphere strangely harmonious and tranquil.
Thinking back, she had known him for more than half a year. This was the first ti they were sitting together so openly, without any entanglent, having a al.
Previously, Julian Ford would only look for her when he had business to attend to, mostly at Cloud Mansion, occasionally at her ho.
Later, the relationship broke off; even if they ran into each other, it was either by coincidence or due to work.
Moreover, it was always a ss that was hard to untangle, with so lingering unrest.
But now, despite the oddness, there was an unexpected calm and comfort.
The air was quiet, and for a mont, neither of them spoke.
Scarlett Shaw lowered her head to sip tea, occasionally sneaking glances at Julian Ford. But his expression remained calm and inscrutable, unchanged no matter how many tis she looked.
She was too lazy to guess, so she simply asked directly, "Julian Ford, why did you go to the hospital again today?"
He looked perfectly fine, not at all like soone who was ill.
Julian Ford said, "Of course going to the hospital is to see a doctor, not to go clubbing."
Scarlett Shaw: "..."
She really couldn’t imagine what Julian Ford would look like clubbing, with his aloof and noble deanor.
"Are you sick?"
She focused on asking.
Julian Ford didn’t answer, just looked at her for a mont, then said, "Scarlett Shaw, do you hope I’m dead, or still alive?"
Scarlett was stunned.
Not many people would casually ntion death; when Julian Ford said this, it was light and without any heaviness.
Although, she actually had the dream of dancing on his grave.
But for now, under the premise that she liked him, of course, she hoped—
"I hope you’re always happy and live a long life."
Scarlett looked into Julian Ford’s eyes, clear and without any hesitation, as she said.
In their current circumstances, she had feelings for him. And this dog of a man, despite clearly expressing his indifference to her affection, held the upper hand emotionally. Saying such words to him was undoubtedly seeking her own doom.
Yet she still followed her heart and spoke the truth.
Part of it was driven by her feelings for Julian Ford.
The other part was because Scarlett didn’t want to regret one day, for a word left unsaid or words that didn’t reflect her true feelings.
Just like back then, when Benjamin Shaw told her that everything would be up to dad, her immature self selfishly complained that it was dad’s fault she didn’t have a big house to live in.
She didn’t anticipate those would be her last words to Benjamin Shaw before he died.
For a long ti after, Scarlett would repeatedly have the sa dream.
In the dream, Benjamin Shaw gently patted her head and smiled softly:
"It’s alright. Scarlett knows that dad loves Scarlett the most, so dad is reassured."
"Dad also knows that Scarlett loves dad the most."
"So Scarlett must be always happy and live long, okay?"
Awoken in the middle of the night, the grievance and discomfort of living under the Grant Family’s roof, the shock of Benjamin Shaw’s sudden departure, the guilt of the last words she spoke to him, mixed with the stubborn resentnt toward being abandoned by Serena Ford, all tangled together, overwheld her like a bloodthirsty maw.
She couldn’t hold on any longer.
Thus, she went alone to the woods where Benjamin Shaw’s body was found.
Standing by the river, Scarlett thought of jumping in, but in the mont she stretched her foot out, fear made her retract it.
"Just endure it a little longer; isn’t life just sothing you have to endure?"
She told herself.
Yet she hadn’t expected that after crossing her internal threshold, fate refused to spare her, as if punishing her for the words she had said to Benjamin Shaw. Thunder roared, rain poured down, leaving her trapped, all alone.
In a daze, she felt like she was lying on a warm, broad back, and the gentle instinct to survive made her clutch that person’s clothes tightly.
"Such a coward, can’t jump, but running around recklessly."
She heard soone say coldly in her ear.
However, the voice was too vague, like a distant dreamscape; the specifics were unclear to Scarlett. She just subconsciously felt it sounded nice, and estimated that a handso man had saved her.
"Scarlett Shaw."
The cold and pleasant voice echoed in reality.
Scarlett snapped back to the present, falling into Julian Ford’s deep gaze.
He asked her, "Lost in thought?"
"Nothing."
Scarlett finished speaking, then rembered the earlier topic and said, "You still haven’t answered , what’s wrong with you?"
"Just like you, I’ve developed nodules." Julian looked at her, saying, "Maybe you frustrated ."
Scarlett was taken aback and felt unjustified, "How did I frustrate you?"
Julian paused upon hearing this, as if suddenly rembering sothing, "Last ti the hand warr gift return, you haven’t given to yet."
"..."
"You said yourself you didn’t want it," Scarlett replied, "Once that village is passed, the next shop won’t be there. After all, you told sothing in the car, which you might not rember, but I rember it clearly."
Julian remained unmoved, "You hit people’s nerves with your words, and you don’t expect to get angry?"
Scarlett was puzzled, "What did I say? Just asked about your birthday..."
At this point, catching Julian’s eyes filled with coldness, Scarlett knew not to ask for trouble, imdiately closing her mouth, remaining silent.
An unyielding mouth, just let it be.
The two exchanged words back and forth, and the dishes on the table unknowingly were all served. Julian Ford, as always, ate quietly and elegantly.
Scarlett was also committed to respecting the food, eating with care.
Julian finished his al first, seeing Scarlett still eating, he served her a bowl of soup, placing it in front of her.
Then naturally asked, "Do you want anything else?"
Scarlett paused with her chopsticks, gently set them down, glanced at the soup beside her, and looked at him intently.
Julian lifted his eyes: "?"
Scarlett said, "Don’t seduce ."
Julian raised an eyebrow, "What am I seducing you with."
Scarlett was silent.
She just felt that today Julian Ford was quite abnormal, various subtleties all teased at her thoughts.
The most important thing was that the man’s usual high and aloof deanor was unexpectedly completely absent.
Scarlett asked, "Julian Ford, did you have a brain change in neurosurgery today? What are you thinking?"
Julian glanced at her twice, his phone rang just then, it was a work call.
"I’ll step out to take a call."
Julian stood up and told her.
Until his tall figure disappeared from view, Scarlett, who had been on edge throughout dinner, with a heart pounding aggressively like a wild beast, finally slowly settled down, calr.
She held her cheek in her hand, turning her head to look outside.
The restaurant had floor-to-ceiling windows, with Julian standing by the steps.
His deanor was distant, yet his expression was focused.
He had left in a hurry, not wearing his coat, his long legs and narrow waist quite eye-catching.
By the restaurant entrance, there were a few girls who had just finished eating and were about to leave. Seeing Julian, they boldly approached him, their eyes bright, faces slightly flushed, saying sothing Scarlett couldn’t discern.
Scarlett guessed they were probably asking Julian for his contact info or sothing.
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