“Young man?” Rosalind’s voice quivered with surprise, and the lady boss, noticing her reaction, raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know? I thought he made that request specifically for you.”
Back then, it was usually Rosalind who would come to eat hot noodles after evening self-study instead of hurrying home. The lady boss assumed the special request was connected to her.
“I don’t think it’s because of me,” Rosalind replied, doubting that anyone from middle school would treat her in such a way.
After chatting with the lady boss about changes at school for a while, Rosalind didn’t want to delay their rest, so she packed up the hot noodles and left the shop.
As she exited, she spotted Ulric standing across the street, patiently waiting for her. He had refrained from entering the shop and was smoking a cigarette.
“You haven’t been here before, have you?” Rosalind asked, assuming that as a wealthy young master, he wouldn’t typically dine at such a humble eatery.
“I have,” Ulric replied. He extinguished his cigarette, took the takeout bag from her hand, and continued walking beside her.
Rosalind glanced at him curiously. “Hmm?”
“I’m not as high and mighty as you think,” Ulric explained. Although the Walters family was indeed wealthy at that time, they were far from their current status.
“Did you think their food was good?” Rosalind inquired.
“It was okay. I ate here continuously for two months,” Ulric revealed, surprising Rosalind. She covered her mouth and chuckled. “Let me tell you a secret. I secretly worked here for two months when I was in middle school! Luckily, I was tall enough that no one realized I was a child worker. Otherwise, I would have really let down the couple who owned the place! I had to beg them to hire me back then.”
Ulric smiled quietly, listening to her reminisce about the past.
They strolled and chatted all the way to the hotel they had previously booked. By then, the noodles in the takeout bag had clumped together, but Rosalind still attempted to taste them.
“Just like I remembered,” she remarked.
She wanted another bite, but Ulric took it away from her.
“Don’t eat it, it’s cold now and bad for your stomach,” he advised, displaying concern for her stomach issues.
Rosalind paused, realizing that Sirena must also have stomach problems, which is why Ulric always reminded her.
It wasn’t that she intentionally thought of Sirena, it was simply that every time Ulric showed concern for her, Rosalind couldn’t help but recall his collarbone tattoo, his home’s password, and Sirena’s affectionate calls of “Ulric.”
“Are you hungry?” Ulric asked, perceiving her silence and assuming she was upset about him taking away the noodles. His tone softened. “I’ll have my assistant bring some food over.”
“No need! I just bought these noodles on a whim,” Rosalind assured him, rising from the bed and grabbing the pajamas. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Rosalind hurried into the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror with an indescribable frustration.
She suddenly despised her own face.
While it was this face that had caught Ulric’s attention and provided her mother with the opportunity for surgery, it also served as a constant reminder of her role as a substitute.
Since signing the agreement with Ulric, his tenderness, his attentiveness, his meticulous care-she couldn’t deny that they had deeply touched her. Growing up, she had rarely experienced such care from anyone.
But the cruelest part was knowing that these heartwarming gestures were intended for Sirena, using her face as a conduit.
If it weren’t for this face, she probably wouldn’t have even had the chance to speak to Ulric alone.
That night, as if seeking revenge or asserting her existence, Rosalind took the initiative in a way that left Ulric powerless to resist.
Their encounter that night was particularly intense. Exhausted and drained by his demands, Rosalind could barely lift her arms, yet she refused to cry out for mercy or ask him to stop.
In that moment, that man belonged to her.