After Summer said that, she glanced at Rosie, who had curled her arms around Leonardo’s neck.
“Pretty lady,” said Rosie sweetly with her head tilted.
“Mhm.” Summer acknowledged her, sounding gentler without realizing it. “Rosie, you shouldn’t run around by yourself again next time.”
Leonardo finally recalled why he found the woman in front of him so familiar. It was when they were waiting for the light to turn green at the traffic junction that Rosie called her “pretty lady”.
There had been a ton of women approaching him, trying to make their presence felt for the past three years. He did not know why he was never interested in them; they all looked the same in his eyes.
Even Rosie’s biological mother, Amber could not arouse his desire. Had he not performed a DNA test on Rosie and himself, he would not have believed that he had once been together with Amber.
The woman in front of him looked so much more pleasing than when he last saw her. A lot had changed since the time he had a glimpse of her. She was so skinny and pale like a ghost. She was as ugly as they could get the last time. Now, she had gained some weight, but…
Leonardo’s eyes landed on Summer’s exposed wrists, which looked so slender and fragile that he could crush them with his fingers.
His penetrating eyes were making Summer uncomfortable. It was as if he could see right through her, so she changed the subject.
“Mr. Emerson, how did you know that Rosie had gotten help from a woman over the phone earlier?”
Leonardo pulled his eyes back, just looking at her face now. “She calls everyone who’s taller than her and of the same gender ‘pretty lady’.” In fact, it did not matter how old the person was, Rosie would still address a woman as “pretty lady” as long as she thought the person was pretty.
“I see…” Summer nodded. Her mobile phone suddenly rang inside her handbag. She took it out and saw that it was Jessica calling. Before answering, she glanced up at Leonardo. “I want nothing from you, Mr. Emerson. Please keep an eye on your daughter in the future; she’s still a child. I have to go now.”
She glanced at Rosie again and finally walked away. As she departed, she answered the call.
“I’m sorry. I forgot to call you back.” She had been busy playing with Rosie, and it slipped her mind. She just realized she liked children so much.
“It’s all right. Are you home now?”
“I’m on my way home now…”
After Summer hung up, Stanley’s call came.
“Where are you?”
Summer checked the time. It was past six in the evening.
“I’m outside now, about to take a cab home. You’re home right now?”
Stanley responded with an “Mhm”, then said, “Send me the address. I’ll go and fetch you home.”
“That’s okay. Get some rest. I’ll be home soon…” Summer knew that she could not persuade Stanley to not come if the conversation dragged on, so she hung up.
It was rush hour, and taxis were hard to come by. However, that was not the worst of it. A streak of lightning flashed across the sky as the heavens opened up and rain poured down. It was probably the last rain before the summer ended, and the rain tingled like thousands of needles on Summer’s face as rainwater soaked through her thin layer of clothing. She sought shelter under an advertisement board, but it did not help.
Just then, her mobile phone rang again. She squinted to take a look at the phone screen, and there was a string of numbers without a name. But she recognized the number. It was Leonardo’s telephone number, which she had called earlier but not saved. She hesitated for a second before she answered the call.
“Is there anything, Mr. Emerson?”
“Get in the car, the front passenger seat. It’s a no-stopping zone here.” The low voice of a man mixed with the sound of the rain thumped on her eardrum.
She heard the horn of a car as soon as his voice trailed off. Looking up, she saw a black vehicle stopping in front of her and blaring its horn again. Biting her lip, she held her handbag over her head and ran over. She opened the front passenger door and hopped in.
As soon as she settled in the seat, Rosie’s childish voice came from behind. “Pretty lady!”
Summer turned her head and saw Rosie sitting in a child’s car seat in the back. She was having a pack of milk, and her eyes formed into a pair of crescents as she smiled.
Summer acknowledged her. “Rosie.”
Leonardo pulled the car back onto the road and glanced over at Summer. He wondered why Rosie liked this woman so much other than the fact that she looked more pleasing than other women.
Rosie raised the milk pack in her hand and asked, “Do you want some?” Kids were simple-minded, often willing to share their favorite toys and food.
“No, thanks, Rosie. Please enjoy it yourself.”
Rosie heard that and continued to drink it heartily.
Summer looked over at Leonardo apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mr. Emerson, I’ve wet the interior of your car…”
She was expecting him to say something along the lines of “it’s all right”, but Leonardo just responded with an “Mhm”. What did that mean?
It was raining cats and dogs outside, but the cabin temperature was not low enough yet, so the air-conditioner was running. Since Summer was soaked to the skin, the chilly air that was blasting out of the air-conditioner vent sent her quivering.
Just then, the man beside her threw his jacket to her and turned off the air-conditioner. The jacket—made of the finest material, design, and workmanship—possessed the unique, refreshing scent of a man.
She was stunned as she held the jacket in her hands. After a while, she looked over at him. “Mr. Emerson…”
“Where do you live?” Leonardo asked.
He had the kind of overpowering aura that made Summer willingly reveal her address. Leonardo set the address into the GPS navigation system and said nothing again.
She looked at the side profile of his face, which was sharp and clean. After a while of hesitation, she covered her body with the jacket. Her physique was weaker than that of a normal person, so she felt cold easily. Stanley would get angry if she fell sick.
Rosie had dozed off while she drank the milk. As Leonardo was silent, Summer dared not breathe loudly. The silence was strange but harmonious at the same time as if the scene had played out before.
Right when Summer fell into her thoughts, Leonardo suddenly spoke. “Here we are.”
She snapped out of it and took off the jacket from her body. “Thank you so much, Mr. Emerson.”
Leonardo said nothing and just looked on as she got out of the car into the rain. Seeing her extremely fragile slender body, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel subconsciously.