The door opened, and it was Pedro Langley.
Nora Scott had inford Butler Loxley in advance to bring Marcus Shaw when she ca for dinner. Obviously, Butler Loxley had already passed the ssage to Pedro Langley.
Pedro gave Marcus a faint glance and then withdrew his gaze, stepping back, "Co in."
Marcus, however, felt a slight pressure from that look.
"What’s for dinner tonight?"
Nora slled the aroma of the food.
"Pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli." Pedro turned back to look at her, "The dish you ordered yourself."
She had ntioned it casually, not expecting Butler Loxley to actually make it. Nora was montarily stunned, then nodded, "Oh."
Having visited nurous tis, Nora was familiar with the routine, found the slippers Butler Loxley had prepared for her, and let Marcus find his own shoes. Once changed, they entered the house.
Her casual and comfortable deanor made it seem like she was in her own ho.
One stepped into the living room without introducing themselves, and the other entered and changed shoes without offering any introductions.
Marcus resisted the urge to turn and leave, with a shadow of gloom between his brows, forcefully treating himself as invisible, silently changing his shoes at the back.
"Miss Scott, Master Shaw."
Jack Carter brought out the pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli and greeted them with a bright smile upon seeing them.
Marcus, who had just entered the living room, paused upon hearing this, feeling a total sense of discord that made him uncomfortable all over.
He showed no expression, calmly looked at Jack Carter, and emphasized, "Marcus Shaw."
"Oh, Master Marcus," Jack Carter smoothly changed his address, then said, "There are still two dishes and a soup not ready yet, it’ll take a while. I’ll get so fruit."
Having said this, he placed the pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli on the table and dashed into the kitchen like a whirlwind.
Marcus: "..."
When he ca to his senses, Nora was nowhere to be seen in the living room; after a careful search, he found her in the kitchen.
He furrowed his brows slightly, standing quietly in place.
At this mont, a low, steady voice ca from behind—
"My na is Pedro Langley."
Marcus turned around to see Pedro Langley standing behind him, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, holding a glass of water, looking down at him with a remarkable temperant.
Pedro added, "In the kitchen are Jack Carter and Butler Loxley."
Marcus’s frowned quickly smoothed out, "Oh."
"Your sister doesn’t see you as a child. She’s always been careless and doesn’t pay much attention to you." Pedro took a sip of water, his eyes lingering on a certain figure for a mont, "Just feel at ho here."
Ignoring the words ’ho’, Marcus asked expressionlessly, "Does she often co for als?"
Pedro curled his lips, "Depends on the situation."
"You and her—" what kind of relationship.
His question was cut off by Nora’s voice: "Just sliced blood oranges. Want so?"
"Sure."
Pedro responded and bypassed Marcus, heading straight to the sofa.
Marcus looked up and saw Nora shuffling in slippers, bringing over a plate of blood oranges, and sitting casually on the sofa. As Pedro approached, she passed him the fruit plate and took a blood orange herself.
Natural as lovers.
If they were dating...
Why wasn’t there a direct introduction earlier?
*
In the kitchen, Jack Carter and Butler Loxley were busy.
Marcus sat wordlessly on a single sofa, stuffed his earbuds in, and started playing gas on his phone.
Nora wandered to the balcony, admired the plants Jack Carter had been growing these days, and bored, sat in the rocking chair checking her ssages on the phone.
[Boss Alex]: OK.
On Weibo, a piece of news about Lily Turner suddenly appeared, shocking the netizens who had been engrossed all day in the gossip about "Zero" and "Rain, Nora Scott".
The bought marketing account and trending search clearly indicated that soone was targeting Lily Turner.
However, the news was loaded with juicy content.
Hotel, basent, intimate photos in the car, all in high definition, with the man’s face blurred.
The rumors could be positive, like "The popular actress Lily Turner is dating soone," or negative... with wild, crazy speculations.
An eye for an eye, but Nora didn’t let Boss Alex overdo it.
As for how many would kick soone when they’re down, that was out of Nora’s control.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
"Did you go on a date with Miguel Smith today?"
It was Pedro Langley.
Nora’s fingers halted on the screen, but she didn’t put away her phone guiltily, raised an eyebrow, and glanced sideways, "Shopping."
She stepped onto the balcony.
Pedro’s voice was low, "Not much difference."
...
The gunfire in the ga and the real-life sounds of the balcony seeped into Marcus’s ears together.
When Marcus realized it, he found that his character was dead.
He was playing a "chicken dinner" ga, duo queue, his teammate cleared the surrounding enemies, then ca over to his loot box with a grenade and suicided on the spot.
At the sa ti, a WeChat ssage ca in—
[SJY]: Your skills have dropped a bit today.
[SJY]: Can’t use voice chat?
Marcus looked complexly towards the balcony.
The floor-to-ceiling window to the balcony was open a mont ago, but in a flash, it had been closed shut.
One sat on the rocking chair, slightly leaning back, the other stood in front, looking down, talking about sothing.
[XN]: Having dinner with my sister at her neighbor’s place.
[SJY]: You have a sister? Never heard you ntion that.
[XN]: Yeah.
[SJY]: But if she can mooch dinner at a neighbor’s, she must be easier to get along with than you.
[SJY]: Learn well, young man.
Recalling the conversation he overheard, Marcus felt a twinge in his stomach.
A mix of emotions.
Well, whether or not she’s easygoing, he wasn’t sure, but her interpersonal relationships... seem quite complex.
[SJY]: When will the new ga be ready?
[XN]: Soon.
[XN]: I’ll make sure you get to play first.
[SJY]: Number one.
[XN]: I know.
[SJY]: I’ll help you promote it when the ti cos.
Marcus stared at the screen for a mont without replying. No sound ca from his earphones; the sounds from the balcony and kitchen, faint and scattered, reached his ears.
He logged back into the ga, the familiar music drowned out the noise from outside. After thinking for a mont, he sent a party invitation to [SJY] and started a new ga.
[SJY] accepted in a second.
Pausing, Marcus pondered and sent him a ssage.
[XN]: You seem free?
[SJY]: Don’t ask, asking will just make shut down.
Marcus didn’t ask further.
*
On the balcony.
The glass door was suddenly shut.
The balcony window was slightly open, allowing a cool breeze that stirred Nora’s hair to co in and brush against her neck.
"What are you doing?"
Her phone turned a couple of tis in her hand as Nora propped it vertically on her knee, looking inexplicably at Pedro Langley, who ca up to her.
Pedro looked down at her, his eyes flickering with light, and after a mont, he suddenly spoke—
"What is Biel Hall?"
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