"Pedro Langley, are you going to the northwest to become our village lady?"
"With me backing you, you can walk sideways, that kind of deal."
Pedro Langley was caught off guard by her sudden remark.
The casual words stirred up a storm within him...
Does she know what she’s saying?
His Adam’s apple moved up and down twice, Pedro’s eyes clear and calm, stared directly at the assertive Nora Scott, stabilized his voice, and asked her steadily, "Nora, how much of what you say when you’re drunk can be believed?"
Nora squinted, her gaze sweeping across his brows, his nose, his thin lips...and then stopped.
She let out a soft hum, "If you’re not willing, then forget it."
Answered irrelevantly.
Pedro Langley lightly ground his teeth, a bit anxious, a bit annoyed.
Then he saw Nora grabbing his collar and pulling him down, her arm hooking around his neck.
She said, "We people of the Martial World don’t like reasoning."
The next second, she leaned in. Check latest chapters at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Pedro stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
In the empty alley, the biting cold wind was entirely kept out.
In the faint morning light, the sky was gloomy.
Nora Scott gradually woke up to the sound of Rose’s "meow~".
Her eyes narrowed into slits, and as she opened them slightly, dim light fell into her pupils. She saw Rose fussing at the bedside, its snowy white fur, and deep blue eyes, reaching over with a paw to pat at her hair.
Her gaze went past Rose, and Nora saw...
"Pedro Langley, why are you here?!"
Nora suddenly jolted awake, sitting up directly.
Startled by her movement, Rose meowed, quickly turned around, and jumped onto Pedro Langley.
Hearing Nora’s voice and with Rose stepping all over him, Pedro knitted his brows lightly. He struggled to open his eyes, looked calmly at Nora’s moment of shock, felt satisfied, and then slowly closed his eyes again.
He extended his arm, pressing down the fidgety Rose, who indeed settled down obediently.
One person, one cat, confidently occupying most of her bed, Nora couldn’t help but grit her teeth.
Her voice was filled with a sense of danger.
Pedro lifted his eyelids slightly, asking, "Do you know what you did last night?"
Nora furrowed her brows, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart.
Generally speaking, to remain calm and composed in such a situation, one would either be extremely shameless or really have reason on their side...
Pedro clicked his tongue, propped himself up halfway, lifted his eyes, and accused Nora, "Your drinking behavior is worrisome, denying it afterwards."
Nora’s heart skipped a beat; a fleeting image flashed through her mind.
Sitting up, Pedro smoothed out his shirt collar, swept the squirming Rose into his arms. The backlight painted a soft, fuzzy halo around him, his silhouette gentle and hazy.
He stifled a low chuckle, his voice magnetic and deep, "Nora, after taking advantage of me, how do you plan to make amends?"
Your clothes are perfectly intact; who took advantage of you?!
"Knock. Knock. Knock."
A knocking sound came from outside the door.
Nora was startled, something rushed to her head, making her nerves tense.
However, the voice outside was Marcus Shaw’s utterly calm, "Are you two up yet? Breakfast is ready."
"Last night..." Pedro leisurely began.
Pedro remained calm, continuing, "Someone was pestering us shamelessly all night..."
Nora’s gaze turned cold inch by inch.
Pedro added, "Playing cards all night long with us."
A slight pause, Nora seemingly didn’t understand, "...What?"
A rare sight of her confused state, Pedro couldn’t help but smile, intentionally asking back, "What were you thinking?"
Nora rubbed her temples.
Vaguely, indeed, there were such memories.
Hangover, sleepless night, her mind fuzzy, aching and swelling, an overwhelming sense of fatigue and powerlessness, making her memories jumbled.
Isn’t there...something else?
"Skipping breakfast, catching up on sleep."
Nora coolly replied to the outside.
Then, without casting a glance at Pedro Langley, she flung the quilt open and collapsed onto her side, the quilt covering her entirely, leaving only a tuft of messy black hair exposed.
Rose extended her front paw, reaching toward Nora, seemingly very displeased with her going back to sleep.
Pedro Langley brushed Rose’s brows and calmed her down. Seeing Nora Scott in her withdrawn state, he smiled with satisfaction.
Who knows what kind of beer they were drinking, but it had quite a kick. Last night, when he carried Nora back, she was probably just a step away from blacking out.
After getting her settled, Pedro was planning to leave, but somehow she pulled out a deck of cards and insisted on playing Landlord. Her condition was quite deceptive; if you didn’t know she’d been drinking, you’d think she just suddenly wanted to play cards.
And so, they played until four in the morning. Only when she "won" to the point of boredom did they stop.
Marcus Shaw quickly made his retreat, sneaking off to his room to sleep.
After tending to this "ancestor" of his, Pedro was too tired to endure, so he took a nap by her bedside as "revenge."
As for what happened before...
She didn’t ask, he didn’t mention.
He wasn’t someone to take advantage, he’d waited this long, what’s the rush now?
A certain lady bandit said, the village’s lady boss can only be one.
Nora Scott fell back asleep, groggy, and had a dream.
In the dream, every scene was vivid and lively, the realism trapping her as if she were living it all over again.
Inside the building at Capital Tech, a dazzling exhibition, amid the bustling crowd, she noticed that tall and handsome figure at a glance;
A northern village covered in snow, forced to share a kang for warmth, his soot-stained face as he tended the fire in the middle of the night;
A leisurely afternoon, she was sketching on the balcony, caught by him during a tender, natural moment that moved her deeply;
At the moment of farewell, after her words, she glimpsed his restrained, forlorn gaze;
A snow-covered bridge at night, separated by flying snowflakes, she looked up and saw him inside the car;
In the pitch-black night, on an empty street, she stood on tiptoe to lightly kiss him;
Gentle brows, a warm palm, a broad chest;
The river in March, bone-chillingly cold, binding her hands and feet, suppressing her breath, pulling her slowly into the abyss.
Warmth, light, hope all vanished.
Endless darkness surged, the river water encasing her body as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Struggling, icy cold, despair.
Nora suddenly woke up in shock.
She turned over and sat up, breathing lightly, the fine sweat on her forehead instantly turning cold.
The sudden voice gradually drew Nora’s attention back.
She squinted and looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Pedro standing by the window.
The window was opened a crack, and the cold wind was pouring in, turning her body heat into a chilling cold.
She put her arms back under the covers and pulled the blanket up to block the chill from the fresh air.
"Just ventilating a bit."
Pedro said, casually picking up the jacket draped over the chair and tossed it toward her.
The jacket landed on the side, Nora didn’t move, listlessly responding to him.
Pedro walked over, picked up the jacket again, shook it out, and draped it over Nora’s back, asking, "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Mm, dreamed of you."
The offhand remark momentarily left Pedro at a loss, both amused and exasperated.
Without dwelling on it, Pedro asked again, "Let me ask again, was it a good dream?"
Her chin resting on her knees through the blanket, Nora turned her head slightly upon hearing this shameless question, lifted her brows, and shot him a glare, "In your dreams."
Pedro simply discarded all dominance and temper, going along with her, "I let you squash and squeeze me, isn’t that good enough?"
Nora was caught off guard by his words.
In her mind, she couldn’t help recalling last night’s remarks—
The village’s lady boss.
Under her protection.
Nora flushed slightly.
Fortunately, Pedro didn’t bring it up, so Nora pretended it never happened, keeping her mouth tightly shut.
A moment later, Nora suddenly asked, "What time is it?"
Glancing down at his watch, Pedro replied, "One in the afternoon."
Nora raised her head in slight surprise.
"The auntie went home, Marcus and Laura went to buy groceries," Pedro leisurely laid out the main point for her and then mentioned the real business at a relaxed pace, "What would you like to eat?"
"..." Nora sighed lightly, hitting the nail on the head, "Just say what you can make."
Nora rolled her eyes at him.
Pedro turned and walked out.
Nora suddenly called out to stop him.
Nora said, "Did I ever tell you, I’m actually pretty good at cooking."