“Hello…” Aurora was muddled with sleep and, finding no one speaking on the other end, drifted back to sleep. Julian had a lot to say, but upon hearing her faint breathing, all words caught in his throat, knowing without seeing that the woman on the other end was sleeping soundly. He pictured her curled up like a small shrimp, so visibly insecure. Would waking her make it hard for her to fall back asleep? This thought inexplicably popped into his mind! The anger in his heart dissipated with her greeting, and he found himself unwilling to disturb her sleep. Julian suddenly felt foolish, as if he were bewitched! She had tricked him first; why couldn’t he be as ruthless with her as he was with others? Though he spoke of it, in the end, he said nothing and did not disturb her. He switched his phone to speaker and placed it beside him, making it feel as if she was right there with him. Sleep, which had eluded him until then, slowly overtook him, and the furious man finally fell asleep.
The next day, he woke up early, before dawn, and got up to wash. Aurora was obviously still sleeping. Last night, he had checked all the major hotels in the city and found no record of Aurora staying in any. He was curious about where this woman could be hiding. After taking a bath, he went downstairs for breakfast.
The butler was surprised. Normally, Julian wouldn’t come down until after seven, but today, he was down by six. “Sir, why are you up so early today?” the butler asked, having just gotten up himself. “Shh,” Julian gestured for silence, as if afraid of startling someone. The butler then noticed the phone on speaker in his hand; had he located Miss Montgomery?
Everyone had heard what Aurora said yesterday morning; she had promised to spend the night with Julian, but he returned home last night full of rage. It had been a long time since the butler had seen him so angry; Aurora must have stood him up. The butler silently prayed for her; if Miss Montgomery fell into his hands now, then…
But looking at Julian today, his mood seemed much calmer, though his expression was still stern. That morning, the mansion felt like a pantomime. Any slight noise seemed to draw Julian’s immediate and intimidating gaze, leaving the maids tiptoeing as if on a tightrope. Even the sound of his own breakfast was quieter than usual, and everyone was unsure of what had happened.
Julian, growing impatient, flipped through a magazine until finally, a voice broke the morning’s silence over the phone. “Ah, no classes this morning, right?” a groggy voice sounded. “It seems not, but we have an exam this afternoon.” “Then I won’t go this morning.” A woman’s voice came through, one Julian clearly remembered from the woman who had flirted with him yesterday! This Aurora, when he went to the school yesterday, she must have been watching from the shadows! She must have felt safe to move into the dorm after seeing him leave. Clever move!
Julian’s face hardened as he hurriedly drove to the university, determined to catch this elusive bunny today! It was still early, and the roads were clear of traffic; it took him just twenty-five minutes to drive from his villa to the school.
Aurora rubbed her eyes and got out of bed to freshen up, still oblivious to the phone and having completely forgotten about last night’s call, unaware of his furious approach. Taking advantage of her roommate still being asleep, she quickly gathered her things to leave. Just as she was about to call Cameron…
She noticed that the phone was still in a call, with an unfamiliar number displayed that seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps it was a spam call? When she received the message from Julian yesterday, she only paid attention to his words and the exclamation marks, not bothering to check the sender’s number. Moreover, in the villa, it was the butler who dialed the number before handing her the phone. The list Asher gave her contained only Julian’s work number, so Aurora never thought that last night’s call was from him. She comforted herself, thinking perhaps it was an accidental press during her sleep.
Not wanting to disturb anyone in the dorm, she only put the phone to her ear as she was about to leave the room. “Hello, who is this?” she asked. Julian had already heard rustling sounds through the phone, confirming that Aurora was up. He wished he could see her expression; his rage from last night had turned into a good mood by now. However, all he needed to do now was wait. Aurora, receiving no reply, was even more convinced it was a wrong number.
Just as she was about to hang up, a devilishly charming voice came through: “Guess who?” Julian Barnet! The name exploded in her mind like a nuclear bomb, creating a massive mushroom cloud! At that moment, Aurora stepped out of the dorm, just in time to see the cool supercar from last night parked not far from the dorm’s main gate. A man in a white shirt, slim-fit cropped trousers, and sneakers leaned against the car. He looked several years younger today without his suit and tie, one hand in his pocket and the other holding the phone, a smirk playing on his lips. A breeze tousled his fine hair as passing female students stopped in their tracks, wondering, “Is he shooting a TV drama?”
But his gaze was fixed on the woman in a big floral dress and huge black-framed glasses, also holding a phone, her mouth agape in an ‘O’. It took him three full seconds to connect this dowdy student with the elegant woman he knew. Realizing she was the same woman who had hidden behind a boy on the street yesterday, he thought to himself how well she played her tricks and disguised herself, even fooling someone as perceptive as him.
A second later, Aurora snapped out of her shock, looked at the phone in her hand, then at the luxury car and the handsome man in front of her. She turned and ran! Truly, for every trick she played, there was an equal counter-trick. “If you take another step forward, you know the consequences,” the man called out coolly, not bothering to chase her. He knew her whereabouts now, and his personality was such that he didn’t care this was a dorm.
“Three seconds to come back to me, or else you know what I’ll do,” he said with a wicked smile. There were other girls around, and he didn’t elaborate, given Aurora’s disguise was meant to be incognito. He was giving her one last shred of dignity; if she didn’t come to him, things would get serious. Aurora felt a tremendous conflict within as the nearby girls screamed in disbelief: Could this be real? This must be a TV show! A wealthy young man, waiting under a dorm for a plain ordinary girl, uttering such domineering CEO-like lines?