Claudio Belles left the border and returned to Z to live alone in the Chalet on Lookout Mountain.
When the flowers bloom in spring, he spends his days raising and watering flowers, lying in the sun on a patio lounger and drinking tea freshly picked from his own patio.
She had promised Eduardo Tercero that she would fly to the western border of R every Friday, thinking at the time that it would be too much, but when she had time off, she found that she missed it from time to time.
She had been used to being alone since she was a child.
But what people who are used to being alone fear is not being alone, but that once they have been left alone, someone will enter her life single-handedly, breaking her loneliness and becoming a community with her.
Thus, she will no longer be able to stand being alone.
Idle in the Chalet at Lookout Mountain, she is not completely cut off from the outside world, following the current news from time to time, both Z and R.
On Thursday afternoon, Eduardo Tercero called.
Claudio Belles had just finished showering and was getting ready to pack his simple bags to go to the border the next day.
With one hand on the phone, he stuffed two or three changes of clothes into a backpack.
“Tomorrow is Friday, no cheating.”
Claudio Belles curved his lips and smiled slightly. “I hadn’t thought about cheating, but when President Eduardo reminded me, I realized that even if I did, President Eduardo couldn’t do anything to me now that I’m stuck at the border.”
Eduardo Tercero knew he was joking and asked him warmly, “How have you been these days?”
“Not too bad, other than being a little boring, it’s been quite satisfying.”
“Well, that’s because I’m less.”
The male voice on the other end of the line said it in a quiet, lighthearted way that sounded more serious than joking, but made Claudio Belles on the other end of the line stare.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, “President Eduardo, has anyone ever said that you are a narcissist?”
“No one has ever said that about me, except you.”
Claudio Belles threw his backpack on the floor and leaned back on the bed with his phone in his hand, saying seriously, “President Eduardo, if you really ignore who I am and stay with me, you could be at a great disadvantage.”
“Having identified you ten years ago, would it be too late for you to ask me that question now, Claudio?”
“What if President Eduardo is blind and wrong?”
Eduardo Tercero laughed softly, “Then you will be blind to the end.”
Claudio Belles bit his lip and said, “President Eduardo, this is the first time I’ve ever fallen in love and I’m not sure I can stay with you for the rest of my life. ”
She was not being pretentious, but was honestly laying out the possible outcomes of their relationship before Eduardo Tercero.
She was sure of shooting accurately at prey a hundred yards away, and winning a battle in which she was in a weak position to turn a defeat into a victory, but the battle of emotions was one she was not sure she could sustain.
Eduardo Tercero calmly told her, “You don’t have to feel pressured or worry about what I am doing for you, Claudio, when we are together, you just have to appreciate the moment and enjoy being with me in the moment. As for the supposed price, relationships are never worth it, only whether I want it or not.”
Claudio Belles added calmly, “President Eduardo, I am hardly a good girlfriend and even less a good wife.”
Eduardo Tercero smiled slightly, “To be honest, this is the first time I have had a relationship with such a formal woman, and I’m not sure I can be a good or even a good boyfriend, I have a lot on my shoulders and I’m not sure I can be a good husband.”
Hearing Eduardo Tercero say this, for some reason, Claudio Belles inexplicably did not want to dwell on the subject.
Since it was a first for all of us, let’s compete with each other, learn from each other and bond.
As Claudio Belles was about to hang up the phone, Eduardo Tercero said quietly, “Claudio, let’s not worry about these uncertainties. What matters is that I am trying to be a good boyfriend to you and you are trying to be a good girlfriend to me, and that is enough.”
Claudio Belles, who was holding the phone, smiled with the corners of his lips, “Good night, President Eduardo, I’m going to bed.”
Eduardo Tercero replied weakly, “Good night, Claudio, see you tomorrow.”
-See you tomorrow, President Eduardo.
Claudio Belles hung up the phone, lay back down under the covers, closed his eyes and mentally returned the call.
…
The next morning, Claudio Belles had just finished his breakfast when he received a strange call.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Almira Arenas.”
Claudio Belles, slurping his porridge, raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. “Miss Almira, you’re not an ordinary person either, you’ve managed to find out my cell phone number.”
“I thank Miss Claudio for the compliment.”
Claudio Belles didn’t want to talk to her and said, “Tell me, you didn’t go to so much trouble to call me just to exchange compliments, did you, is it for President Eduardo, or is it for President Eduardo?”
Almira Arenas let out a laugh over the phone and opened the door, “Since you know so well that I’m calling you for President Eduardo, I’m not going to beat around the bush. You were a Ming organization, and with that layer of history, you don’t deserve to be with President Eduardo at all.”
“If I am not worthy, then is Miss Almira worthy?”
“Whether I am worthy or not, Miss Claudio is definitely not worthy of President Eduardo, Miss Claudio, have you ever considered that President Eduardo is in a high position, how many eyes are watching him make mistakes, and if he were with a female agent of a rival organization… female agent, do you know what that would mean for President Eduardo?”
Claudio Belles did not respond, listening to Almira Arenas.
Almira Arenas added, “Do you know that being with you could ruin President Eduardo’s future in life? Can you bear to see…?”
“Enough already.”
Claudio Belles interrupted Almira Arenas and said amused, “Miss Almira, what does it matter to you what happens between President Eduardo and me? Besides, President Eduardo is a man who does not care about his own future, so why should it matter to you?”
Almira Arenas’ face turned red with anger at Claudio Belles’ words, and she couldn’t think of anything to say in response.
“Miss Almira, if there is nothing else, I will leave you. If Miss Almira has any comments or complaints about my relationship with President Eduardo, she can call him directly.”
“…,” Almira Arenas gritted her teeth.
Claudio Belles knew very well that there was no way she was going to call and say something like that to President Eduardo!
“Claudio Belles, I bet you and President Eduardo are going to break up!”
Claudio Belles heard Almira Arenas’ hardened tone, not as a bet, but as a curse.
But Claudio Belles didn’t want to talk to her anymore and hung up the phone. There was no point in talking to a woman like Almira Arenas, who was blinded by love and hate.
After breakfast, Claudio Belles went out to the backyard to see how cool and refreshing the tea plantation looked in the hills behind her, before the morning dew had faded.
I wonder if Edward the Third likes tea.
It’s the first wave of new tea that just opened this year.