"Bang."
"Bang."
"Bang."
The sounds from inside the door continued to resonate.
Oliver Scott, standing in the hallway, suddenly realized during the brief silence: Nora hadn’t prepared for him and Marcus Shaw to et at all.
After only a two-second pause, Nora walked to the door, entered the code, and pushed it open.
The knocking sounds in the living room abruptly stopped.
Three pairs of eyes peeked inside and saw Marcus Shaw sitting cross-legged on the floor, wearing a white sweater and sweatpants, a handso young lad, yet his hair was dusted with wood shavings.
The floor was littered with wood and debris; he held the handle of a wood chisel, with its tip resting on a fixed piece of wood on the ground, grabbing a hamr with his other hand.
When the door was pushed open, he stopped his actions and looked over. Upon seeing Nora, his expression was quite indifferent, but when he noticed Oliver Scott on the side, his grip on the hamr paused, and his face turned sour.
If he could, he’d really like to swing the hamr toward the door.
Bringing Oliver Scott ho, what’s that supposed to an?
Nora slightly tilted her head, said to Oliver Scott: "Co in, find your own shoes."
"..."
Oliver looked at Nora in surprise.
Couldn’t she feel the "killing intent" emanating from Marcus Shaw?
Standing awkwardly at the door for a mont, eventually, Oliver, under Marcus Shaw’s challenging and hostile gaze, nonchalantly stepped into the entrance, opened the shoe cabinet door, and found so slippers to wear.
Pedro Langley followed suit into the entrance, in a calm and composed manner, as if it was his own ho.
Nora pulled his arm, frowned, and asked: "You’re not going back?"
"I’ll help him with his wound." Pedro slightly lowered his voice, glancing at Oliver who was bending over to change shoes, slightly leaned closer to Nora’s ear, and casually reminded, "It’s inconvenient for you."
In Nora’s perspective, Oliver was just a kid, and being related by blood, it was no big deal to help with a wound.
But in Oliver’s unwitting eyes, the situation was different...
Pedro Langley had heard about the incident where Marcus Shaw and Oliver fought and had their parents called. The chances of getting Marcus to help were probably close to zero.
In short, despite being siblings, Pedro didn’t want to see them have any contact.
After listening to Pedro’s explanation, Nora thought for a mont, then agreed, releasing her hold on Pedro’s hand.
The three of them entered the living room one after the other.
"Was it necessary to drag him ho?"
Marcus Shaw spoke slowly, his mocking and dismissive tone was precisely like Nora’s usual manner.
Sparks flew, the atmosphere was tense.
Oliver furrowed his brows.
Following closely, Pedro Langley reached out and patted Oliver’s shoulder, signaling him to not mind.
Oliver’s tense muscles relaxed slightly.
Pedro asked, "Where’s the first aid kit?"
Nora replied, "On the bookshelf in the study, go look."
"You go sit on the sofa for a bit."
Giving Oliver a brief explanation, Pedro moved into the study.
Their natural interaction and conversation nailed their relationship in Oliver and Marcus Shaw’s eyes.
As Pedro left, Nora walked straight up to Marcus, glanced down at the scattered parts and wooden blocks, and quickly made a judgnt, "Wrong."
Marcus Shaw: "..."
In just one glance, she could determine what’s right or wrong?
At this ti, Oliver, who had already taken a step towards the sofa, heard this and looked over suspiciously, knowing that Marcus was repairing the chanical Box, and Nora’s calm yet confident assessnt...
The curiosity piqued his interest intensely, and Oliver decided to set aside the past disagreents, turned around, and walked over.
Marcus’s eyes turned cold, glaring daggers in this direction, but Oliver pretended not to notice.
Irritated, Marcus simply put down the chisel and hamr, frowned, and asked in a harsh tone, "Where’s it wrong?"
Bending down to pick up the drawing paper on the floor, Nora chuckled lightly, lowered her eyes to glance at him, lazily saying, "You’re asking ?"
"..."
Again with this attitude, full of confidence, arrogant.
Enough to make one grit their teeth in frustration.
Marcus chose not to speak anymore.
Her gaze quickly swept over the blueprints, and Nora Scott slightly curled her lips before putting them back, "The blueprints are wrong, it’s best to redraw them."
Marcus Shaw looked at her suspiciously, reluctant to believe her judgnt, yet he couldn’t help but lean toward her words.
After all, whether it was her bookshelf, toolbox, or the chanical Techniques he heard about from Evelyn Easton, Nora Scott seed to be connected to "professionalism."
Standing behind them, Oliver Scott caught sight of the blueprints on the floor, tilted his head slightly, frowned while scrutinizing them, pondering over "what’s wrong," but before he could figure it out, Marcus Shaw snatched the blueprints away.
Oliver Scott looked up, only to et Marcus Shaw’s cold gaze. They locked eyes for a few seconds, and then Marcus took the blueprints into the bedroom.
Oliver Scott shrugged.
The bedroom door closed, and soon, Nora Scott asked from beside him, "Hey, he doesn’t have friends at school, does he?"
"Huh?"
Oliver froze for a mont, then hesitated before guessing, "He might have."
Although they were in the sa class and he was the class president, he wasn’t familiar with Marcus Shaw.
As far as he knew, there were many who idolized and admired Marcus at school, but he indeed had few friends there. Rumor had it that Marcus t many people outside school, and there were all kinds of stories among students, though often exaggerated.
In fact, he was also curious about Marcus.
His academic performance was okay. Although he slept during classes every day, he managed to pass every subject. He was also good at sports, played basketball deftly, and they both joined the school’s basketball team in their first year, though Marcus left within a week after fighting with senior teammates.
He was reasonable, never seen causing trouble without reason, and his so-called fights always had an instigation.
However, his temper wasn’t great.
In fact, before he and Marcus got into a fight last ti, they had no grievances; they just lost control because they got too heated.
Nora Scott clicked her tongue, "Such a bad temper."
"Ahem, your words are also..." quite sharp.
Oliver Scott stopped himself before saying too much.
Guessing his aning, Nora didn’t mind, smiled, instructed him to sit and rest while her phone buzzed in her pocket. Seeing the note, she went to the bedroom to take the call.
"What’s up?"
She walked into the small study, closed the door, and sat on a chair.
"Weren’t you brainstorming a manga a few days ago? Just checking your progress." Laura Collins’ voice ca through, "The comic convention is next week, if you have a work, I can introduce you to manga artists and editors."
A few days ago when contacting Laura, Nora had indeed ntioned preparing a manga.
Casually picking up a few storyboard books from the desk, Nora said indifferently, "No need to trouble yourself."
Laura laughed, "Can I be content if I don’t drag you into this?"
Nora sighed lightly.
She first t Laura when she graduated from college. Laura wanted to take a graduation trip, planned to travel the northwestern loop, but feared for her safety alone, so she sought companionship. Eventually, through connections, she reached Nora at a high price.
At the ti, having nothing better to do, Nora agreed.
The two got along well during the trip, so they remained in touch even after, and now it’s been three years.
Laura was preparing her first manga in her graduation year, often sought Nora’s opinions, and later discovered Nora’s interest in manga, along with her excellent artistry and unique storyboard insights, she wanted to bring Nora into the scene ever since.
Seeing Laura’s enthusiasm for manga, Nora considered revealing her identity, but upon ntioning Zero, she discovered Laura was a long-ti fan, speaking fervently with praise.
After so thought, Nora held back, fearing to shatter her fantasy.
At present, though she couldn’t keep it a secret forever, the right opportunity hasn’t co... she’ll play it by ear for now.
Flipping a few pages of the storyboard books, Nora browsed leisurely, saying, "I’m not satisfied with the draft."
"What’s unsatisfactory?" Laura asked skeptically.
Fixing her gaze on the paper, Nora paused for a few seconds, then lazily said, "The story and character design."
In this regard, Nora was telling the truth.
Her new manga is set in a post-apocalyptic world, rebuilding civilization, with vast space for imagination and endless creative possibilities.
She liked the world setting, but the implentation of the characters and story felt lacking.
She used to lean toward more unconventional narratives, and this overly traditional story made it difficult to ignite her creative passion.
So one storyboard book after another was sketched without any concrete resolution.
"What genre?" Laura asked while sitting cross-legged on the sofa, tearing jelly packaging.
"Post-apocalyptic."
"Oh! What a coincidence."
Laura exclaid in surprise.
Detecting the odd tone, Nora asked slightly suspiciously, "What’s up?"
"Just today, a post-apocalyptic work called ’First Ruins’ went viral online."
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