Chapter 28: Someone Sleeping Beside Him

Willow Avery looked closer.

It really was her uncle.

Why was he here?

At the same time, the phone in her pocket rang.

It was Julian Kingston's number. She had noticed it when adding him on WeChat and had accidentally memorized it.

After a moment of hesitation, she picked up. "Uncle Julian, is something wrong?"

The man was brief and to the point: "I'm at the school gate. Come here."

He hung up.

Willow walked over, and Julian spoke immediately. "You left some things at the penthouse. I brought them to you."

The car's trunk was open. Looking inside, Willow could see two large suitcases.

Almost all of her clothes and daily necessities had been moved to the estate that day. Even if there were leftovers, there shouldn't be this much.

"Uncle Julian, is there a mistake?"

Julian shot her a faint glance. "They're the clothes delivered that day."

Willow remembered now.

Since Julian had paid for them, she hadn't packed them at the time.

"Uncle Julian," she looked at him tentatively, "can they still be returned?"

She hadn't even removed the tags.

Moreover, she felt she should have the self-awareness to draw a line.

Since she had decided to keep her distance, she shouldn't have too many entanglements.

Otherwise, it would be easy for her to lose control of her... eyes.

"Willow," Julian frowned, "if I go to return these, how will people look at me?"

Willow shook her head.

What was wrong with returning items?

Wasn't it perfectly normal?

Could it be that the service industry in Riverford was more snobbish than in Riverford?

They wouldn't allow returns?

"How about you keep them, Uncle Julian? Just in case a girl comes over to your place, they could be for an emergency."

"Willow," Julian strode to her, looking down at her with dark eyes that betrayed no emotion. "Do you think I would give your clothes to someone else?"

Willow thought about it and realized he had a point.

Given her uncle's status and net worth, the clothes for any girl he brought home in the future would surely be even more carefully selected.

But even so, his words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Fine, a gift is a gift.

With that thought, she nodded and accepted. "Thank you, Uncle Julian. When Grandpa Sterling arrives, I'll take the suitcases back to the estate."

Just as she finished speaking, Grandpa Sterling’s car pulled up.

The rear window rolled down, and Sterling poked his head out. "Julian, you came to see Willa?"

"Uncle Julian brought some things I forgot," Willow spoke first, afraid the old man would overthink. "Grandpa Sterling, I'll take these up right away."

She quickly walked to the trunk and reached for the suitcase handle.

A hand was faster than hers.

It gripped the retractable handle and pulled the suitcase out.

Standing beside the man, Willow could smell his unique scent.

It carried the sweet aftertaste of traditional herbs.

"Uncle Julian, I can do it myself."

Julian brushed past her. "Don't force it. Breaking the door handle was a fluke."

Willow: "..."

Why did he suddenly bring that up?

Breaking the handle was one thing, but the events that followed made her face burn with shame.

She fanned herself for a while before her temperature finally dropped.

Walking to Grandpa Sterling's car, she heard him ask Julian, "...Are you moving back to the estate?"

Willow's body tensed instantly.

Was she going to live under the same roof as her uncle again?

Should she stay close to him or keep her distance?

Julian’s gaze swept over the girl's face and was quickly withdrawn.

"Not tonight."

After saying those two words, he turned and got back into his car.

Willow didn't have to worry about the living situation anymore and sat down next to Grandpa Sterling.

"Willa," he chatted casually, "how are there still so many things left?"

Willow spoke helplessly, "Uncle Julian bought them for me that day. Grandpa Sterling, maybe you could ask him for the bill? I'll transfer the money to him."

Since the tags didn't have prices, it was hard for her to calculate.

"Transfer? No need," Grandpa Sterling laughed heartily. "Julian has finally seen the light; he actually knows how to care for his juniors. But this reminds me—do you young girls all like clothes and bags? This old man doesn't understand these things. When you're free, shall I take you to the mall?"

"No need, Grandpa Sterling," Willow waved her hands hurriedly. "I don't lack anything."

This time, it was Grandpa Sterling's turn to be surprised.

Willow wasn't a child who took initiative to ask for things.

So, it was his cold-hearted, frost-covered son who had proactively bought things for her?

Truly a fairy tale.

...

Willow had a lot of training every day.

As the weekend passed, many people were groaning.

It was too tiring—even more exhausting than the training classes before the arts entrance exam.

Being watched closely by the teacher, Willow was more fatigued than her classmates. Upon returning to the estate, she would usually shower and fall straight into bed.

The layout here was different from the penthouse; the bathroom was outside the bedroom.

However, she was the only one living on the first floor.

She felt quite free, not having to worry about Grandpa Sterling discovering anything if she talked in her sleep.

To maintain her figure, she had only eaten half a cucumber for dinner and downed two large glasses of water.

In the middle of the night, she was woken by the urge to use the restroom. She didn't turn on the light and fumbled her way groggily to the bathroom.

Coming out, her mind was hazy, her eyes blinking sleepily at the cracks in the doors.

One room had no light; one had a light on.

It should be the one with the light.

Thinking this, she walked in.

She turned off the light as she entered.

Julian, leaning against the headboard reading, froze. "..."

Before he could even speak, someone was sleeping beside him.

The girl unceremoniously lifted her leg and draped it over him. Her head burrowed into the blanket for a while before finding a spot near his waist and stopping.

Long, soft breaths followed.

Julian was only dressed from the waist down, his upper body bare.

The warm breath puffed right against his waist.

It sent a wave of tingling numbness through him.

Moonlight poured into the room, blurredly outlining her soft profile.

Her sweet scent slowly spread, weaving its way into his nostrils.

It made his Adam's apple bob repeatedly.

Julian shifted his body slightly, afraid of startling her, and lowered his voice. "You're in the wrong room."

Willow wrinkled her nose.

Her lips murmured, "I'm not wrong..."

She had worked so hard; she hadn't made any mistakes in the dance.

Julian continued, "Willow?"

"Mm..." the girl hummed, "stop it, it's so annoying..."

Her voice, laced with a coquettish tone, made certain parts of Julian lose control.

Lifting the blanket, he planned to go to the bathroom to deal with it.

To his surprise, Willow grabbed his pajama pants.

She kept tugging downward.

"The blanket... don't take my blanket..."

Julian: "..."

If he let her continue this nonsense, he really wouldn't be able to control himself.

His palm wrapped around her hand, pulling her away from his pants. He raised his voice slightly: "Willow, wake up."

Willow opened her eyes in a daze.

What met her sight was a row of neatly arranged abdominal muscles.

However, since he was backlit, she couldn't see clearly.

She instinctively reached out to touch them.

So hard.

She poked them again...

It felt familiar, as if she had touched them somewhere before?