The call connected, but no one answered.

Nora Scott dialed three times in a row, but it was the same each time.

Could something have happened because of the storm?

Pedro Langley generally didn’t ignore her calls, even if he was on a business trip or in a meeting. When he was busy, he always remembered to inform Nora ahead of time.

Nora wasn’t the type to cling to him, and she found the idea of constant reporting quite boring...

But precisely because of this, when Nora called Pedro, he rarely didn’t answer.

Now—

Three consecutive calls went unanswered.

Having just come out of the shower, Nora was dripping wet, wearing a nightgown and slippers. Her appearance wasn’t very presentable, but she couldn’t care less, holding her phone and stepping out of the door.

Reaching the door next door, Nora chose not to ring the doorbell and simply entered the password to unlock it.

As soon as she pushed open the door—

A streak of light hit her face.

The lights in the living room were on, and the room was brightly lit. Peering through the crack in the door, Nora didn’t see Pedro Langley in the living room, but as her gaze swept the entrance, she saw the shoes Pedro usually wore when going out.

In an instant, the worry hanging in Nora’s heart eased, and she let out a quiet breath.

Pausing slightly, she looked towards the study, where the door was ajar but there was a faint light visible from within.

Nora instinctively wanted to step inside to see Pedro Langley, but just as she was about to step in, she suddenly remembered—

In the study.

Reflecting.

!!!

Having been immersed in a manga story and long forgotten about this, Nora suddenly recalled the situation, feeling awkward, quickly stepped back, and promptly closed the door.

Watching the door close, she muttered to herself: if his alertness is this poor, it’s no wonder he wouldn’t notice if someone robbed his house clean.

Tucking her disheveled hair behind her ear, Nora shuffled back to her own place in her slippers.

—As long as he’s fine.

*

Nora wandered around her house absentmindedly for about half an hour.

She boldly went into Marcus Shaw’s bedroom, dug out the snacks Marcus had confiscated, scattered them over his neatly made bed as a form of provocation and challenge, and then picked a few packs to hide in a secret compartment in her small study;

Wandering into the study, Nora casually picked up one of Marcus Shaw’s tutoring books, solved a couple of physics problems, and even gave herself a score afterward. Since they were all correct, she wrote "good" and signed her name;

On the viewpoint balcony, she found a watering can, filled it with water, and thoroughly watered several cacti Marcus had purchased. In her misadventure, one cactus was not placed well and was tipped over by the strong wind outside, breaking in two on the floor. Staring at the mess for a moment, Nora quietly cleaned it up;

...

In short, she had a field day messing with his belongings while Marcus Shaw was absent.

After all the fuss, it was already late.

The phone was still silent.

Nora felt disgruntled.

If he couldn’t finish writing, he should’ve mentioned it earlier instead of making one wait. It’s really inconsiderate...

Checking the time, Nora pursed her lips, couldn’t be bothered to think anymore, turned off her phone, and then turned off the lights and went to the bedroom to sleep.

Maybe because she had been worried about Pedro Langley earlier and later found out Pedro was fine, Nora’s nerves relaxed as soon as she got into bed, and she quickly fell asleep.

"Rumble—"

Thunder still rumbled outside as it continued to pour, the rain tapping against the window.

The faint sound of opening and closing doors was easily drowned out by the sound of thunder.

In her dreams, Nora vaguely heard rustling sounds, slightly disturbing her. She turned over in her cozy bed, tugged the quilt over her ears.

However—

The bed sank.

The quilt was tugged away.

A warm breath brushed against her ear, "Are you asleep?"

"..."

The familiar voice made Nora subconsciously let her guard down. She turned, burying her face in the man’s neck, rubbing against him, and mumbled a barely audible "Mhm."

"I’ve finished writing the reflection."

"..."

Upon hearing the words "reflection", her muddled consciousness abruptly cleared.

It was like being pricked by a needle.

The voice lingered at her ear, "It’s time for you to fulfill your promise."

The waistband of her nightgown was tugged, and through the thin fabric, a hand rested on her soft, supple waist.

The heat was intense, sending a pulse through her heart, and Nora instantly lost all sleepiness and opened her eyes.

"Damn!"

Her whole body was enveloped by the man, and Nora instinctively cursed.

Pedro Langley’s voice was hoarse and gravelly, "Right away."

"..."

Nora was at a complete loss for words.

Enclosed by him, it was hard for Nora to break free, and his breath surrounded her from every direction.

On this stormy night, in the pitch-black room, every environmental factor seemed to heighten the senses, with even the air tinged with an air of intimacy.

Nora was kissed by him, murmuring softly, "You’ve finished the reflection?"

"Mhm."

"I haven’t read it yet."

Pedro Langley was full of confidence, "No need to read it, it’s definitely a model essay."

A sharp pain pricked her shoulder, and Nora inhaled lightly, gritting her teeth, "Do you know how to spell ’backfire’?"

"I know how to spell ’shameless’."

Nora’s throat tightened, her voice becoming somewhat ethereal, "I’m a bit..."

"Don’t worry."

Pedro Langley softly coaxed, exceptionally gentle, swallowing her words entirely.

...

The curtains weren’t drawn, and a flash of light from outside faintly illuminated the dark bedroom.

The room was full of romance.

"Rumble—"

The following thunderous sound completely drowned out all the movements inside, swallowing them entirely.

Plink, plink.

The rainstorm seemed to intensify, with the wild wind flinging rain against the glass window, leaving clean glass with winding rivulets, some traces of water, and then getting covered by rain again.

*

Two o’clock in the morning.

The storm outside seemed to have calmed a bit.

Nora Scott lay on her side, curled up in the bed, staring outside at the scenery, silently counting stars in her heart.

One, two, three...

The person lying next to her was breathing steadily, likely asleep.

Asleep?

Thinking of this, Nora felt increasingly annoyed, overwhelmingly displeased.

Eat and then sleep.

No sign of sincerity.

Heartless man.

Way too easy for him.

...

Nora cursed him inwardly.

"Bastard."

Truly aggravated, Nora cursed out loud.

A low laughter suddenly came from behind, a strong arm wrapped around her slender waist, and the man whispered into her ear, "Don’t think that just because you’re talking behind my back without naming names I don’t know who you’re cursing at..."

Nora was startled, turned her head, "You’re awake?"

Pedro Langley buried himself in her hair, savoring the fragrance of her soft locks.

"...Yeah."

Being beside her was torment, never a time to sleep peacefully.

This time...

Getting what he wanted only made it worse.

He’s floating, unable to calm down.

"Why curse me?" Pedro asked, then realized something, a hint of concern in his voice, "Not feeling well?"

"..."

Nora pursed her lips.

The heat spread from her chest upward, reaching her neck, cheeks, ears, then spreading throughout her body.

Embarrassed.

Seeing no answer, Pedro was slightly worried and quickly asked, "Hmm?"

"...No."

Afraid he’d keep asking, Nora took a breath and answered stiffly.

Pedro was taken aback, "Did I annoy you?"

Rolling her eyes, Nora honestly said, "Thinking you might be asleep, I’m annoyed."

"..."

Pedro was stifled by her bluntness.

After a long pause, he tightened his grip around her waist, asked, "Can’t sleep?"

Frowning, Nora replied, "Hungry."

"Hmm?" Pedro leaned closer, "I can..."

"Get lost!" Realizing something, Nora pushed him quickly and explained, "I didn’t have dinner."

"Hungry enough to keep you awake?" Pedro exclaimed.

"Otherwise?"

Nora asked irritably.

Pedro: "..."

Scoundrel.

Heartless.

Seeing him silent, Nora became a bit agitated, "Not asking what I want to eat?"

He used to be eager to ask.

Now he learned to stay silent.

Not paying attention after getting what he wanted?

Jerk.

Scumbag.

Sensing something was off from her tone, Pedro dared not stall and quickly followed up, "What do you want to eat?"

Nora glared at him, "What can you make besides noodles?"

"..."

This was her new trick to tease him, right?

Pedro sighed and honestly answered, "Recently learned how to make fried rice."

"Not eating!" Nora pushed him, "Go make noodles quickly."

"...Alright."

Affection?

Sweetness?

The unromantic girlfriend erased it all with her missed dinner.

Unable to do anything but get up, Pedro went to look for slippers, raised his hand to find the switch for the bedside lamp.

As soon as he touched it, he heard a slightly embarrassed anger warning from Nora —

"Don’t turn on the light!"

"..."

His movements paused, Pedro realized and chuckled softly.

He turned back, found Nora in the dark, and lightly pressed on her through the blanket.

"Scram—"

Before Nora could finish talking, Pedro kissed her forehead.

He softly asked, "Five years ago, the lamp in my bedroom, did you break it?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com