Turning over, with half of her face buried in the pillow, Nora Scott put the phone to her ear.
She spoke in a muffled voice, "What are you doing?"
There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by a deep, magnetic voice, "Not awake?"
"Your school is hosting a robot exhibition, thought you might want to have a look." Pedro Langley’s voice smoothly conveyed through the phone, "Care to join me?"
With her eyes half-open, Nora was starting to wake up, "Capital Tech?"
"I want to try the hotpot outside your school’s north gate." Pedro added unhurriedly.
"Oh." Still uncertain about the location, Nora responded quickly since he provided a clear address. She squinted slightly, asking, "What time?"
After a brief pause, Pedro decisively said, "Why don’t you come over, have lunch here, and then we can head out together."
As soon as Nora replied, she ended the call.
Still groggy, she lingered in bed for about ten minutes before fully waking up. Feeling drowsy, she got out of bed, shuffled to the window in her slippers.
The blackout curtains were drawn open, flooding the room with soft light, brightening up the dark bedroom instantly.
The snow last night was light and had stopped by the time Nora slept in the early hours, but because of the dry and cold weather, the ground was still covered with a thin layer of snow, reflecting the light brilliantly.
Running her fingers through her soft hair, Nora tilted her head slightly.
What did she just agree to with Pedro Langley?
Standing outside the door, Nora drooped her eyebrows, looking weary and not fully rested.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened.
Pedro Langley was dressed in a black cashmere sweater and casual pants, giving him a very homely look, yet with a calm and composed demeanor, making him quite pleasant to look at.
Raising her eyelids, Nora said, "Crashing your meal."
Pedro glanced at her, his expression momentarily strange.
She was wearing just an over-knee long sleeve dress, gray, loose in style, with an irregular hem, resembling a draped sheet. But given her good looks, she pulled off a casual and lazy beauty effortlessly.
Her straight and slender legs were quite eye-catching.
Her hair was slightly messy, probably just washed her face, as the fine hair and wisps on her forehead were still wet.
Completely bare-faced.
She showed up at the door , clearly without giving much thought to it.
Since she was wearing slippers, Pedro didn’t bother to get her new ones.
Nora walked in, glanced around the living room, and listlessly asked, "Where’s Loxley?"
Closing the door, Pedro followed closely, seeing her hair all messed up, feeling a bit annoyed, he replied, "He had some errands, left right after he finished cooking."
Following the aroma of food, Nora’s gaze fell on the dining table, and sure enough, she saw a sumptuous spread of dishes.
Pedro said, turning and heading to the kitchen.
He hadn’t taken two steps before he sensed something off. Stopping, he heard the sound of shuffling slippers abruptly stop behind him. Turning around, he saw Nora following in his footsteps.
Initially with her head slightly lowered, Nora saw him stop, and listlessly lifted her eyelids, asking, "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?"
"Washing hands before eating."
As soon as she finished speaking, Nora bypassed him, heading straight to the kitchen.
Seeing her just now, that moment of fluster... he might as well forget about it.
Butler Loxley’s culinary skills are no joke; the dishes are nothing short of exemplary in color, aroma, and taste.
Nora had two bowls of rice.
She didn’t even bother with her image at all in Pedro’s presence.
Putting down her bowl and chopsticks, Nora asked the Pedro sitting across from her, "What time are we leaving?"
"Rest for half an hour, you can freshen up a bit."
Nora nodded, leaving the cleanup to Pedro, she unceremoniously slipped away in her slippers.
When next Pedro saw Nora, the woman who had little concern for her image at his house seemed almost like an illusion.
In just half an hour, Nora had a complete transformation from an unkempt, lethargic neighbor mooching a meal, into a sparkling, elegant, and fashionable beauty.
Wearing a biker-style leather jacket paired with high-waisted skinny pants, and Martin boots. Her slender neck wrapped twice with a broad black scarf, her hair casually tied up, with loose strands framing her face, with ends curling to her jawline.
The wave of coolness was enough to stun every nerve, senses crackling uncontrollably.
Spinning the car keys twice around her finger, they disappeared into her hand before she tucked them into her pocket. Nora raised an eyebrow at him, "Let’s go."
Pedro remained silent, his gaze deep, following behind her.
In Nora’s mind, since she was treating, naturally, she’d do the driving.
Pedro let her have her way.
Not a top-tier configuration, but the car Nora chose wasn’t cheap, and the interior was comfortable.
"Have you contacted your teachers or classmates?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt, Pedro casually asked.
Starting the car, Nora furrowed her brow, puzzled, "What would I contact them for?"
"It’s being held at your department."
"Shouldn’t our department be holding a car show? It should be arranged at the Mechatronic or Computer department, right?"
"...How do you have such a misunderstanding about your major?"
After a moment, Pedro said, almost speechlessly, "It’s being jointly hosted by your department along with the Mechatronic, Computer, and Information & Electronics departments."
Acknowledging quietly, after a while, Nora slowly added, "I don’t have their contact info."
Her tone was flat, with little interest.
Pedro glanced sideways at her.
At the end of her sophomore year, Nora had handled her leave of absence all alone.
At that time, it had been less than a week since they broke up.
Nora was nineteen then.
Since then, she’d changed all her contact information, completely vanishing from his world, leading a life he couldn’t possibly predict.
The cold air outside was biting, with few pedestrians on the road, but once their vehicle drove through Capital Tech’s main gate, they found it bustling inside.
The place was crowded, students roaming the campus, visitors for the exhibition, a constant flow of people shoulder to shoulder.
Some distance from the exhibition building, Nora eyed the dense crowd, found an empty spot, and parked the car.
Nora said, "Let’s walk."
Pedro had no objections.
Both unbuckled, got out of the car.
However, because they were striking figures, with noticeable appearances, once they entered the crowd, they frequently drew the attention of passersby.
The icy wind howled, cutting against their cheeks painfully, Nora reached up to pull the edge of her scarf higher to cover her chin and lips.
With the person’s deep voice beside her, an item was handed over.
It was a pair of sunglasses.
Taking the sunglasses with a slight laugh, Nora teased, "Such thoughtfulness?"
With one hand holding the sunglasses, her fingertips flicked open the frames, just as she was about to put them on, a cry came from the front—