The mid-October evening in New York wasn’t cold; the night breeze brushing against the face even felt somewhat pleasant.
William was strolling in the campus. The night sky was adorned with a bright moon and sparse stars, while every now and then, the rustling of leaves could be heard as the wind passed through the trees.
Although it was not that late, the campus was still dotted with young couples whispering sweet nothings to each other here and there.
Having lived for so many years, William had never lived for someone else. As for the lofty love spoken about by others, in his eyes, it was nothing more than an exaggeration coined by poets in the pursuit of women.
When he arrived at “Cozy Book Haven,” the store was still open.
In fact, Alice had sent William a message in advance, but William hadn’t responded. As soon as he entered, Alice, wielding her identity as a “distant cousin,” questioned him, “William, why didn’t you reply to my message?”
At this time, Evelyn was also present. Had she not been there, Alice might have been calling William with a more petulant tone. It was because of Evelyn’s presence that Alice managed to maintain some “cousinly” dignity.
William lightly lifted his eyebrows and looked at Alice, a gesture that made Alice involuntarily shrink her neck, looking at William with a hint of fear.
In a large city like New York, even though Alice was William’s apprentice, she had to understand that a certain level of respect and distance should be maintained between a master and a disciple. In the past, such remarks might have gotten her expelled by her master.
Yet William wasn’t so petty. He had been reflecting over the past couple of days, wondering if he was being too old-fashioned and indifferent, unable to blend in with the younger generation.
“I was just eating dinner, I saw it but didn’t reply,” he said.
If Alice were truly William’s cousin, she would definitely retort, ‘Is it that hard to reply to a message?’
But Alice didn’t dare to, managing only to say weakly, “Oh, are you still coming with us for late-night snacks?”
The message Alice had sent William was asking why Evelyn hadn’t gone with them, stating that she and Evelyn were hungry and wanted to have a late-night snack, planning to go together when William returned.
Despite several consecutive messages, William hadn’t replied to any.
William nodded, saying, “Let’s go, I’ll close up.”
Even though Alice was his disciple, taking care of such trivial matter as closing the shop seemed better suited for a man.
After coming out of the shop, Evelyn was still texting Lucy.
Lucy vividly described William’s behavior today, expressing that she might have quite a few competitors, and some appeared formidable.
“Evelyn, do you think William might be attracted to wealthy successful women?”
“Are you talking about Lana?”
“Who else could it be? She must be twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.”
“I don’t think William would be interested in someone much older than him.”
Even as Evelyn replied, she harbored doubts, aware of rumors about William keeping company with women in their thirties or even forties at bars, most of whom were wealthy.
Who knew if William was attracted to such successful wealthy women?
Moreover, Evelyn knew Lana — she was essentially a beautiful CEO.
After unabashedly praising herself, Lucy texted again: “When I got back, I sent William several messages. He hasn’t replied yet.”
Evelyn glanced at William, who was closing the shop door. Could it be that he set his phone to silent?
William asked, “What should we eat?”
Alice replied, “At this hour, it has to be barbecue, and you’re treating us.”
“Alright!” William had some money on him now. As for whether he had the appetite, that wasn’t a concern for him at all; if he wanted to, he could devour a whole cow in one night.
They slowly walked into a specialty BBQ restaurant in New York. Alice and Evelyn both opted for a strictly vegetarian menu, while William took a different route. He ordered two skewers of spicy chicken wings, two servings of pan-fried liver, accompanied by over a dozen beef steak skewers, and other meats.
Seeing this, Alice was somewhat astonished. Was he planning to have a feast to replenish his energy today? Just from the dishes William ordered, Alice’s imagination ran wild.
After ordering, William sat down, picked up a glass, and took a sip of IPA beer, while Evelyn was buzzing around busily on her side.
Lucy was becoming somewhat disappointed. She had sent several messages to William, and nearly half an hour had passed without a reply. Had he truly forgotten their previous agreement?
In this situation, Lucy couldn’t possibly call William; she could only vent to her close friend.
“William,” Evelyn called out while replying to messages, “Don’t you check your messages?”
Only then did William pull out his phone. There were several messages on WhatsApp, not just from Lucy, but also from Lana and Lila.
He opened it to find a message from Lucy explaining the per-person cost of the recent social gathering was 500 dollars. However, because David had paid for the previous bottle of red wine, Ryan had only settled the bill for the food and drinks that followed.
Lucy also mentioned that David would likely cause trouble for William, warning him to be careful, and then curiously asked if William had trained in mixed martial arts.
In short, the girl had developed a strong interest in William.
While William wasn’t adept at pursuing girls, it didn’t mean he was oblivious to the subtle hints girls gave.
When a woman became interested and curious about a man, it wasn’t far from falling head over heels for him.
However, William did not wish for Lucy to fall for him.
First, he transferred 2000 US dollars to Lucy, and then sent a message saying, “I have a girl I like.”
Lucy had yet to accept the payment when she swiftly sent a shocked emoji; at this point, her heart almost jumped out of her throat.
Receiving such a sudden message from William, could it mean William was about to confess his feelings for her?
Lucy even took a screenshot to send to Evelyn, indicating that she was extremely nervous at the moment, and consulted Evelyn on whether she should accept it if William really confessed, or show a bit of restraint. Acting as Lucy’s love advisor, Evelyn suggested she let it happen naturally, but it wouldn’t hurt to show a slight bit of restraint.
So, with an expectant heart, Lucy waited for William’s confession, even sending a cute emoji with text to express her feelings. Yet, William replied coolly tapping on his phone screen, “Well, it’s not you, anyway.”
Ah! ｂ𝚍ｎｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏｍ
Lucy felt as if thunder had struck on a clear day, her heart that was about to leap out was shattered into pieces.
William’s words were, plainly put, too direct.
She had gone to the extent of dressing up meticulously for the dinner she arranged with William today. Even though she didn’t show it very obviously, but…
But William shouldn’t reject her so bluntly, right? Lucy’s affection for William plummeted straight down, falling from its peak to below zero. She accepted the transferred money, and then sent him a message: “Stop being so shameless over there, who likes you?”
After sending the message, Lucy didn’t hesitate to delete William’s contact from her phone. This series of fluid and decisive actions perfectly demonstrated a woman’s changeable nature.
William initially replied with a, “That’s for the best.” However, he soon realized his message couldn’t be delivered because Lucy had activated the friend verification function. He needed to resend a friend request and get Lucy’s approval before they could continue chatting.