Lowering her head, Sophia ate a few dumplings before she put her cutlery down. Startled, John asked, “What’s wrong? Are they still raw?”
Sophia shook her head. “No. I just don’t have much of an appetite.” The dumplings seem to be of shiitake mushroom filling. The taste of shiitake mushroom is rather heavy, so it’s turning my stomach.
At this, John spun around and went into the kitchen. Shortly after, he brought her a glass of milk. “How about some milk, then?” Hmm, I wonder when he became so proficient at caring for someone else.
After breakfast, he offered to accompany her to the shop. However, Sophia was very much averse to the idea. It’s my shop, and it’s not like I don't know where it is, so why do I need him to accompany me? She then urged him to go home with his luggage instead of hanging around her house, but he hemmed and hawed, stalling by insisting, “I’ll just accompany you to your shop first. I’m in no hurry.” She was no match for him when it came to playing pull-and-tug, nor was she in the mood to argue with him. This man will definitely resort to trickery when he can’t win with logic.
Instead of having someone drive over, John hailed a taxi with Sophia and accompanied her to her shop. Robin was already there, and she even had a smile on her face before she caught sight of him. “Good morning.”
Sophia nodded. “Morning.”
Her downcast mood surprised Robin who then asked, “Why are you…” However, she trailed off before she’d finished speaking.
Entering behind Sophia, John glanced at Robin. “Morning.”
Robin pursed her lips, only responding after a long time had passed. “Morning. You’re back.” John merely murmured an affirmation without expounding further.
Sophia didn’t sleep well last night, so she was suffering from a terrible headache at the moment. Upon seeing that Robin had already done the cleaning, she thanked her before plopping down onto a chair. John then went over and sat down in front of her. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
Raising her head to look at him, Sophia reflexively started growing impatient. “Why haven’t you left? What are you doing here?”
John leaned back against the chair. “I’m just taking a brief respite. I’ll leave soon. What’s the hurry?” Fed up with his roguish behavior, Sophia ignored him and massaged her temples.
Meanwhile, Robin wiped down the counter. “I thought you’d only be coming back a few days later.”
John chuckled. “My business trip actually hasn’t ended, but something urgent came up, so I returned earlier.”
Robin brought him a cup of coffee. “Then, why did you come with Sophia? Did you bump into each other on the way here?” John shifted his gaze to Sophia, looking as though he was stifling his laughter. Sophia, on the other hand, lifted her gaze to his and rolled her eyes without saying a single word. Taking in both their expressions, a vague sense of unease rose within Robin.
John took a sip of coffee before replying, “No, I came back last night, but I couldn’t get a taxi home, so I went over to Sophia’s place.”
Robin knew that Constance Residence was located halfway up the mountain, so she still helped to explain things despite her astonishment at his answer, echoing, “That makes sense. It must have been late when your flight arrived. Taxis won’t be willing to go too far in the middle of the night.”
John vaguely grunted in reply. After drinking half the cup of coffee, he stood up. “You guys get busy, then. I’ll be leaving first.” It’s going to be busy for them soon considering the time now.
Robin saw him to the door. She initially wanted to say something, but she then dismissed the idea upon seeing that he hadn’t even noticed that she’d followed him out. John then hailed a taxi and left, but she stood by the door and stared for a long while before turning around and returning to the shop.
At this time, Sophia had already gone to the counter and started prepping. After a moment’s contemplation, Robin went over to her. “John spent the night at your house yesterday?”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Next One Is a Babe