Baron was already waiting for Wendy at the campus gates after she got off work.
She walked over to him and said, “You can head back first, Baron, as I need to stop by the mall for a bit. I can go back on my own afterwards,”
“Let me drive you there, Miss Evans,” he insisted.
“You don’t have to, because it might take a while. I can take a cab home afterwards,” she replied.
“Miss Evans, if Master Henson finds out that I didn’t pick you up and drove an empty car back, he’ll be enraged and might even fire me,” he said anxiously.
“He won’t,” she assured him.
“Please, Miss Evans, I’ve already received my first warning. I need this job to survive. I could very well lose my job if I don’t pick you up right now,” he begged.
She didn’t want to make things more difficult for him than it already was, so she had no choice but to get in the car.
Just as he drove up to the entrance of the mall, she received a call from Henson.
She pouted and didn’t pick up his call.
Initially, she planned to ask him why he didn’t tell her about the hickeys on her neck, but
at the thought of him hiding it from her on purpose, she sulked and decided not to give him the time of day.
After walking around, she found a store that sold all sorts of accessories. She then focused her energy on picking a suitable scarf.
After paying for it, she treated herself to a cup of mango lemon juice at a juice store next door.
While waiting in line to pick up her drink, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
When she turned around to see who it was, she was so surprised she could barely speak.
A handsome lad towering over her at 185 cm was facing her and had flashed her a warm smile.
“Is that you, Wendy? I thought it was you from afar,” he chuckled.
She covered her lips with her hands, her voice somewhat shaky now. “Ross?” She gasped.
“Thank God you still recognise me. I thought you’d forgotten about me already,” he said.
She looked at him with eyes as wide as saucers.
She had a crush on this man, who was known as Ross Lowry, for the longest time.
She reckoned she would still recognise him even after he was ground up into dust.
“Ross, I thought you went abroad?” She asked with a slightly flushed face.
“I’ve been back for half a month now. I was actually planning on finding time out of my schedule to pay you and your mother a visit. I miss her cooking a lot,” he said.
Her heart tightened at the mention of her mother. She lowered her eyes for a moment and lifted her head to give him a wry smile. “My mother’s left,” she mumbled.
“Left? Where’d she go?” He asked, confused. But when he saw her expression, he realised all of a sudden. “Oh no, what happened?”
“She was diagnosed with clinical depression and had committed suicide afterwards,” she said with a nervous giggle.
He frowned. “How’d you manage to survive all those years?” He said in a pained voice.
“My mom left when I was 18, so I already knew how to take care of myself by then, which is how I survived,” she explained.
He lifted a hand to pat her shoulder in consolation. “It must’ve been hard for you all these years. Anyways, what are you up to now?” He asked.
“After I graduated from university this year, I stayed on campus to work as an assistant teacher,” she said while scratching her forehead.
“I recall you telling me you wanted to be a teacher when you grew up when we were kids. It’s great that you managed to turn it into a reality,” he chuckled.
She nodded. “Yes, it’s great. Anyways, what are you doing here? Are you here to buy something as well?” She asked.
“I work here,” he said as he took out a finger to boop her nose just like how he did when they were younger. “Did you come here to shop? I can accompany you if that’s the case,” he offered.
She hurriedly flailed her arms about to turn down his offer. “Ah, you don’t have to. I came here just to buy a scarf for my colleague who works in the same office. I’m already done shopping, so you can go first if you’re busy,” she said.
“I’m pretty free now actually. How about we grab a meal together tonight? We can reminisce about the good ol’ days by then,” he suggested.
Just as she was about to reply, her phone rang once more.
She immediately knew who it was and hung up.
The moment she shoved her phone back into her handbag, it vibrated again.
Initially, she had no intentions of picking up his call, but then she noticed Ross pointing to her bag. “Don’t you have to answer that?” He asked.
She looked at him and flashed him a bashful smile, then fished out her phone to pick up the call in frustration.
Henson’s clear and cold voice sounded from the other end. “It appears that Miss Evans’ a social butterfly who attracts all kinds of insects to her garden wherever she goes. Knowing this, how am I supposed to rest easy?” He said.
After hearing him say that, she frowned and started scanning her surroundings.
Seeing as she seemed to be looking for something, Ross followed her gaze and looked around as well.
She then motioned to him to give her a moment and walked to a corner by herself. ‘Where are you?” She whispered into the phone.
“A place where I can clearly see you having a jolly time chatting with another man,” he replied flatly.
“So what?” She scoffed.
“I took the effort to come and find you and this is what you let me see? Honestly, Wendy, I feel so jealous I feel like punching someone right now. Wanna guess who’s going to receive this knuckle sandwich I’ve prepared just for them?”
“You wouldn’t dare,”
“Then, you have five minutes. You better say your goodbyes now and quickly come downstairs and hop into the car at the entrance, where I’ll be waiting for you,” he commanded.
“Why should I listen to you? I’ll have you know I’ve made plans for dinner tonight with my friend here,” she refused to yield to this man.
“Scratch that, you have three minutes now. If you don’t get your ass down here now, you better prepare yourself for the punishment that’s going to come later,” he threatened.
At a lounge not far away, he hung up the call and glared at the two of them who were standing at a distance from him coldly.
“Who was he?” He thought.
It irked him, the way she talked and the way she looked so bashful in front of the man.
He didn’t think she’d have this side to her.
His intuition told him that their relationship wasn’t as cut and dry as it seemed.
Upon hearing a busy tone from the other end, she began to feel irritated.
“What a domineering and unreasonable guy,” she thought to herself.
She then spun around and walked back to meet Ross.
“How come you look so angry? Who pushed your buttons?” He asked with a chuckle.
“It’s not like that,” she said and shook her head. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to have dinner with you tonight anymore.” She apologised.
“How come? Did your boyfriend call just now? Is he worried about you?” He probed.
“Nah,” she said and giggled, “It’s just that I still have a few things to attend to tonight, so I’m afraid tonight won’t do.”
Since she’d already worded it like that, he felt it wouldn’t be right of him to continue pressing her.
He nodded in understanding and patted her on the shoulder. “Alright, I suppose we should just forget about tonight. Let’s meet up again another day then. Also, since I’m back, tell me your phone number so that we can contact each other. But of course, if you already have a boyfriend, you should tell him about me and let him know that you still have a big brother who can protect you,” he said amicably.
She pursed her lips and exchanged phone numbers with him.
After that, he offered to accompany her downstairs, but she daren’t let him do so.
“No no, it’s alright, Ross. I can go on my own. Since we already have a mean of communicating with one another, let’s just chat more from here on out,” she declined and shook the phone in her hands. “Since it’s still opening hours, I’m sure you also still have work to do, so I should leave you to it now. See you!” She continued.
With a wave, she started walking in the direction of the elevators.
He watched her leave before walking off.
After brisk walking to the entrance, she noticed that Baron’s car was no longer parked in the spot it was just now, but Henson’s car took its place instead.
Frustrated, she stomped over to his car and got in.
She didn’t even look at him after plopping herself down on the seat. She was so obviously pissed at him.