The gentle wind swayed the weeping willow branches along the lake's edge. The pale sunlight penetrated through the green leaves, the lake surface was like a mirror reflecting the couple. On the old stone bench, Erina silently listened to Clement's heartbeat, her hand tightly holding his, reluctant to let go.
They will start school next week. The two of them study in two different sessions: he will study in the morning, and she will study in the afternoon.
The time they would meet would be counted on the fingers because she had to go to the mountains to practice martial arts and then go to the shooting range to learn how to use guns while he went to the company headquarters to work according to Hubert's wishes.
Although Erina tried to think positively, she still felt like Henry's father was trying to separate her from Clement. He even generously bought a new car for Clement to drive himself for convenience.
According to Clement, a few days after the purchase procedure is completed, a staff member will deliver the car to the farm for him. It seems that this chairman has spent a lot of effort and money.
“Are you hungry yet? It's four o'clock in the afternoon.” Clement gently shook her shoulder.
“I don't feel hungry when I'm with you.” She coyly nuzzled her head into his lap.
Unfortunately, the stomach betrayed its owner just a few seconds later. Hearing the gurgling sound, Clement laughed, pushed her away, and lightly tapped her beautiful forehead.
“You still say you're not hungry. Come on, I'll take you out to eat.”
Erina smiled shyly and left the park with him. Why was she suddenly so angry with her stomach? She felt so regretful for making him sad from yesterday until noon today.
The afternoon shadows gradually fell, and people and cars rushed back and forth on the roads, returning home. The barbecue restaurant was quite crowded at rush hour. Erina held Clement's hand and pulled him to an empty table in the corner.
Both she and he liked to eat at the cheap sidewalk eateries and did not want to go to fancy restaurants. The wonderful taste of the grilled meat here made her want to eat forever, just standing outside smelling the smoke made her swallow her saliva.
As soon as the meat on the charcoal grill was cooked, Clement carefully took it down and cut it into small pieces. Looking at her expectant eyes, he knew she was very hungry, but she stubbornly insisted on sitting in the park just now.
“Luckily I took you out to eat in time. If you eat a little late, you will probably faint.” He smiled gently, pushing the plate of meat to her.
“When I hugged you, I wasn't hungry, it was because you let me go that I was hungry.” She argued stubbornly.
“Because I heard your stomach protesting.”
He smiled lightly and brushed away the loose hair in front of Erina's face, just in time to stop her from sulking. The two of them laughed and ate happily, not knowing that a few tables away, through the hazy smoke, someone was witnessing everything.
Henry pursed his lips and lowered his head. This morning Erina said she would go with Fayre, but in the end, she went with Clement.
All day long, he refused many calls and locked himself in the shooting range just to kill time. When the afternoon came, he felt hungry so he came here, he didn't expect to witness this scene.
Feeling sad, Henry didn't want to enjoy the famous street food anymore. He stood up, paid, and quickly left, driving straight to the Kingdom restaurant.
He held the steering wheel with one hand and typed on his phone with the other hand to find Vincent's contact number. After the day he went to Vincent's farm, he preferred to sit at the roadside restaurant.
As soon as Isa saw Henry's silhouette, she happily came forward and bowed. This was the first time he had come since she had started working.
“Give me a room. A small room.” He said.
Isa nodded slightly and quickly led Henry to the dining room. Looking at the wry smile on his lips, she knew he was carrying his thoughts in his heart. A person who had not yet shouldered the burden of a career like him could only be sad because of love.
The cozy space, the elegant yellow lights, and the gentle scent of meranti wood did not make Henry's heart less cold. His hands flipped through the menu for a long time but could not choose anything.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Isa asked gently.
“Not yet.”
“Then let me help you choose some dishes to eat with rice and drink with wine.”
“Okay, then I'll bother you.” He threw the menu aside and grabbed the bottle of wine.
Seeing that Henry was in a bad mood, after writing down the names of the dishes, Isa gave the notebook to the male employee next to her to take to the kitchen while she stayed to chat with him.
“Is your work going smoothly? Is anyone bullying you?” He raised the glass to his lips and took a sip.
“No, everything is very good. You... what are you sad about?”
After the answer, Isa ventured to ask a question. In her simple thoughts, when people have something sad, they should talk about it to make themselves feel better.
Henry smiled faintly, his eyes dreamily looking at the person in front of him.
“Isa, have you ever loved anyone? Not love at first sight but love that deepens over the years.”
Suddenly receiving a question from him, Isa was confused and bowed her head in silence, not knowing what to say.
Henry laughed and continued to pour wine. Every time he wanted to quit beer and alcohol, Erina made him feel heartbroken, and to ease that pain, he had no choice but to drink this spicy yeast.
There was a knock on the door outside and after a few seconds, Vincent poked his head in to look. When he confirmed that he had found the right room, he boldly walked in.
In the past, there were a few times when he entered the wrong room because his friend suddenly changed locations, which made him extremely embarrassed, so now he is more careful.
Seeing that Henry had a drinking buddy, Isa quickly stood up, bowed, and walked out. Vincent just stood there staring at her back, wondering why this receptionist looked like the pole dancer who kicked him.
“Hey man, that girl...”
“Her name is Isa, the female knight who saved me from your clutches that night.” Henry quickly interrupted Vincent.
“It turned out to be that girl. I thought I was dizzy. You like her so you brought her here to work, right?”
While gossiping, Vincent suddenly caught Henry's sharp eyes. Vincent knew he had misspoken, so he grabbed the wine bottle and poured it into his glass.
Suddenly remembering that he had just met Erina this morning and that Henry had called him in the evening, he guessed that she must have conveyed his message to Henry, so he continued to open his mouth.
“Ah. This morning I met my sister-in-law drinking coffee with her friends at the coffee shop.”
“Friends? Who did you see Erina with?”
“Her name is Fayre. What a ferocious girl. She dared to call me a skull, and said I looked like a fossil skeleton.”
After saying that, Vincent picked up his wine glass and shook it.
Hearing him say that, Henry's anger also lessened a bit because at least she didn't lie.
But thinking back and forth, he suddenly became even angrier, it seemed that from the beginning she had intentionally used Fayre as a cover, then separated and went with Clement.
Although Henry wanted to drink to forget his life, he was still aware that today there was no Venn and he was the one driving, so he decided to only have one bottle of wine.
“Vincent, my driver is at home, so when this bottle is finished, let's go home.” Henry said while pouring more into his glass.
“Uh. I also drive myself. Come into my farm someday and we can drink freely.”
Time passed slowly with stories revolving around daily life. Vincent bragged that he had just been given a jar of long-brewed wine and asked Henry to arrange a time to visit his farm to play and admire the scenery.
When the two left the room, it was already seven o'clock in the evening. When passing by the reception desk, Henry did not forget to say goodbye to Isa. He didn't know that this social act would make the young girl's heart flutter.
The car drove through bustling streets, where there were countless sparkling signs of bars and discotheques that Henry used to frequent but now he didn't like to visit at all.
If possible, he just wanted to hold Erina's hand, hug her waist, and dance a gentle Waltz with her under the moonlight. That was enough to make him happy.
Seeing the fried corncakes that Erina liked being sold on the sidewalk, Henry hurriedly stopped the car. He remembered when he was young, every time his father asked Lucia to take him and Erina out, she would shyly ask Lucia to ask the driver to find a shop selling fried corncakes to buy some.
Time passed quickly, and she gradually became cold, no longer going out with him, he also forgot that she used to love this common dish. He wasn't sure whether she still wanted to taste it again or not.
Time can change everything, either in a good direction or in a bad direction. As for his situation now, it is bad.
When he got home, he saw two pairs of slippers still on the shelf, he knew that Erina was running around outside. Since the day she stepped on a piece of glass, he had bought them and forced her to put them on as soon as she took off her shoes.
“Young master, have you had dinner yet?” Lucia asked worriedly because she saw him carrying a bag of fried corn cakes in his hand.
“Yes, I have eaten. This is for Erina.”
Hearing him say that, Lucia felt reassured, bowed her head, and went to the yard, where the maids were huddled together drinking fruit juice and eating cakes to wait for their master to return.
Only when Henry and Erina stepped through the gate could they return to their bedroom to rest, this was a mandatory rule of this place, unless someone was sick, then they were exempted from waiting.
Henry looked at the big gate that was tightly closed. Honestly, when he was at the barbecue restaurant, he wanted to run over and snatch her from that man, but his reason stopped him. He knew that if he acted like a thug, it would only make her hate him more.