When you don’t live here often, dust easily accumulates. There isn’t much to eat at home, just half a bag of flour and some seasonings.
Every time she comes back, she cleans up and if she’s hungry, she’ll cook herself a bowl of noodles to eat.
Ethan sat for a while. This was the first time he had entered a girl’s room, and it was quite unusual, nothing like he had imagined.
He had pictured a pink princess room with lots of makeup and clothes, but Aoife’s room, just like her name, was very simple and ordinary. Even his housekeeper’s quarters were more lavish than this.
“I’m a bit hungry. Do you have anything to eat here?”
“I have some flour. Do you want noodles?”
“Sure.”
With few ingredients, Aoife needed to go downstairs to buy some groceries, and Ethan accompanied her.
Thinking about how much Ethan had helped her tonight, besides the side dishes and seasonings, she also bought spare ribs, beef, and seasonal fruits.
She made braised pork noodles and packed the cold beef for Ethan to take home.
As soon as it was ready, Ethan couldn’t resist and took a sip of the soup before slurping up the noodles. The taste was even better than what his family’s cook made.
“Aoife, with your cooking skills, you could be a chef instead of an artist.”
Aoife didn’t think her cooking was anything special, probably because she was used to it. She just smiled and didn’t say anything.
Ethan wasn’t used to being around quiet people, and it was awkward not having much to talk about. But Aoife was different; being with her created a particularly comfortable atmosphere.
She was a good listener, even if she didn’t say much, her attentive listening and occasional responses made people feel close to her.
“By the way, are your family members not here?”
Aoife shook her head. “I don’t have any family.”
“Sorry.” Ethan’s eyes displayed regret. He had misunderstood, thinking that Aoife’s family members had died in an accident, leaving her all alone.
Aoife probably understood what Ethan was thinking, but she didn’t explain. For her, such family members were no different from being dead.
She just shook her head.
After finishing his noodles, Ethan left. Before departing, Aoife handed him the beef.
“If you encounter any difficulties in the future, call me. By the way, do you have my contact information?”
Aoife thought for a moment. “We’re in the same group.”
During filming, there was an actor’s group where they would chat about work. Aoife, like her usual transparent self, rarely spoke in the group.
“Then let’s add each other as friends.” Today, Ethan had a new impression of Aoife. Initially, he had thought she was just a pretty face without much substance, but after working with her and tasting her cooking, he developed a fondness for her.
Aoife faced challenges, but she didn’t like to bother others. She preferred to handle things on her own.
After seeing off Ethan, Aoife, exhausted, returned to her room, added Ethan as a friend on her phone, and looked at her pinned chats. She didn’t need to search for Finn; he was always right there.
Aoife clicked on his profile, then blacklisted and deleted him, blocking him on Facebook and blocking his number too.
Meanwhile, Finn had no idea that Aoife had blacklisted him, never even considering the possibility that she would cut off contact one day.
He knew that Aoife liked him, perhaps even more than he had imagined.
He would hit and scold her, treating her like a stand-in, a dog even, burning her back with cigarette butts, and she wouldn’t leave, still staying by his side, cooking and doing laundry, waiting for him to come home.
She was as pitiful as a dog to him, maybe even less.
Finn had owned a dog before, but he had never treated it that way…