Currently, Scarlet was still living with William in the rental house, under the pretext that she needed his care.
Since the last time she personally came to find William, she hadn’t been to work.
During the past month, William managed to find a job.
He worked hard like before, putting in extra hours until almost midnight before returning home.
On this particular night, William came out of the company and fell asleep leaning against the glass on the last bus.
The exhaustion from work left him with no energy to think about anything else, not even his phone, which had become a mere communication tool.
After a while, William returned to the rental house and as soon as he entered, he saw Scarlet coming towards him with a smiling face.
“William, why is your hair all messy like that? Aren’t you afraid your colleagues will laugh at you for going to work in such a disheveled state?”
Scarlet teased him while helping him take off his coat, acting like a gentle and virtuous wife.
However, William had no interest in idle chitchat. He replied tiredly, “Appearance doesn’t matter. It’s better to earn more money than anything else.”
With that, he stretched and plopped down on the cheap, pink sofa.
Looking at William’s tired face, Scarlet sat beside him and considerately said, “You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Money is never-ending. Why don’t you come home at a normal time tomorrow? Isn’t that better?”
“Do you think I want to?”
William shook his head wryly. “My boss said we should embody the spirit of a wolf, so even if I stare at my colleagues in the office, I still have to work overtime.”
At this point, William lowered his head and rubbed his stomach, looking at Scarlet with a smile. “Did you make late-night snacks for me today? I’m feeling hungry again.”
Now, their relationship was like that of friends and lovers.
Although they lived under the same roof, William and Scarlet each had their own rooms, and he never made any inappropriate moves.
On the other hand, William was diligent in doing household chores. He took care of all the housework and even did the laundry for both of them. He would make breakfast before going to work every day.
Although William only saw it as paying off his debts, Scarlet treated them as an unofficial couple.
Upon hearing him say he was hungry, Scarlet responded gently, “I’ve already prepared the late-night snacks. I’ve been waiting for you to come back and eat.”
Scarlet spoke as she walked towards the kitchen, bringing out the warm late-night snacks from the pot.
At this moment, William could finally relax. He lazily leaned back on the sofa, picked up his phone, and prepared to check the news of the day.
“I’m in a state now where I don’t hear anything outside, my mind is focused on working overtime!”
Seeing Scarlet bring him the late-night snacks, William chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“You’ve worked hard, William. How about you come back earlier tomorrow, and we can go to the night market?”
Scarlet proposed with a smile. She enjoyed their current life and liked seeing William’s diligent and striving nature.
“Depends on the situation. If my boss doesn’t pressure me to work overtime, I’ll try to come back before 7 p. m.”
William casually agreed with her proposal and then started eating the late-night snacks while browsing his phone.
As he opened a website, a headline caught his attention.
“Fire Breaks Out in a Residential Area Tonight, Suspected Battery Explosion.”
William furrowed his brows upon seeing the news and sighed, “I told you lithium batteries are not safe. That’s why I’d rather take the bus than buy an electric scooter.”
When Scarlet heard him reading the news and commenting, her expression suddenly changed.
It seemed William didn’t know about the fire incident.
Scarlet thought to herself that if William knew the victims of the fire were Nana’s family, he would definitely rush to the hospital immediately.
To prevent William from refocusing his attention on Nana, Scarlet began to change the subject.
“By the way, William, I saw a nice shirt today. I’ll buy it for you, okay?”
Scarlet picked up her phone and opened a shopping website, attempting to divert William’s attention.
However, William was never interested in dressing up and casually declined, “No need to buy. I have clothes to wear.”
“I want to give it to you. Just take a look. Is it nice?”
Scarlet coquettishly pouted and directly held the phone in front of him.
William glanced at it and thought the color was a bit dull, shaking his head to indicate that she shouldn’t make the purchase.
“You’re tired, so go ahead and sleep. I’ll finish checking my phone and rest too.”
Because Scarlet waited for him to come home every day, William felt guilty and urged her to go to bed.
Scarlet noticed that William’s eyes were still on the news of the fire, so she continued to divert his attention.
“William, I bought a pound of discounted beef today, but it doesn’t seem fresh. Can you help me smell it to see if there’s any odor?”
Scarlet did her best, grabbing William’s hand and leading him towards the refrigerator.
Realizing that she was unusually talkative today, William found it a bit strange but still walked over to the fridge.
“The meat seems fresh, no odor. You can eat it with peace of mind.”
In reality, the beef wasn’t discounted at all. Scarlet just didn’t want William to continue reading the news.
After a moment, William devoured the late-night snacks and grinned at Scarlet, saying, “Scarlet, thank you for making the late-night snacks. I’ll go to the bathroom and take a shower.”
After speaking, he picked up his phone and headed straight for the bathroom.
Now Scarlet was anxious. She had used every trick to prevent William from using his phone, but she couldn’t follow him into the bathroom.
Scarlet paced back and forth in front of the bathroom door, occasionally listening attentively to William’s reactions inside.
Meanwhile, William sat on the toilet, bored and opened his phone again.
This time, he was browsing a short video website and swiped through the screen a few times, coincidentally coming across footage of the fire scene.
After staring at it for a few seconds, William recognized the neighborhood and quickly noticed a familiar figure collapsing on the ground.
“Nana? So her house caught fire!”
William’s face turned pale, and in his haste, he rushed out of the bathroom without washing his hands, preparing to leave.
“William, where are you going?”
Seeing William rushing out in a panic, Scarlet also chased after him.
“Nana’s house had an accident, I have to go to the hospital and check on her!”
William responded quickly, running out of the rental house in a hurry.
Just as she suspected!
Scarlet knew that William would react this way.
“It’s so late, don’t go out. You have to go to work tomorrow morning!”
She didn’t want William to see Nana, so she tried to stop him while following behind.
Unfortunately, Scarlet couldn’t stop him at all. When William arrived at the hospital in a hurry and inquired about Nana’s ward, he saw Carl carrying water coming towards him in the corridor.
Without thinking too much, William immediately approached him and asked, “How is Nana? Is she burned? How is Janelle doing?”
People tend to care for those they love, and William was no exception.
His tone was anxious, even though Janelle was not his daughter, he didn’t want the child to get hurt.