Hearing the female voice on the phone, the smile on Nozomi’s face instantly froze.

So, this is what you meant by ’being busy’?

However, the words were at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t utter a sound.

Cold raindrops hit her face, the neon lights reflected in her eyes blurred, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen, and her body trembled uncontrollably, like a petal swaying in the wind and rain.

Four words surfaced in her mind, ’A name, no substance’.

Even though she already understood that the destined gift had long been priced, at this moment, she still felt so wronged that she wanted to cry.

Why does this scoundrel have so many women around him!

On the other end of the phone, Alan looked helplessly at the girl beside him, raised his index finger to his lips, and made a shushing gesture.

Seeing this, Nino obediently curled and closed her lips, nodding blankly, like a child who knew she had done wrong.

"Hello? Nozomi?"

Seeing that there was no sound from the phone, Alan called her name, then continued:

"Where are you now?"

"..."

There was another silence on the phone, and after two seconds, Nozomi’s resentful voice came through the receiver.

"Alan, am I disturbing you?"

"..."

Alan’s took a deep breath, feeling a bit annoyed by this ’caught in the act’ situation, but he controlled his tone and said seriously.

"If you were really disturbing me, I wouldn’t even answer your call. If things were as you’re imagining right now, I also wouldn’t answer the phone."

"If you want to know what’s really going on, come and see for yourself."

He paused, then asked again, "Where are you now?"

Hearing him say that, Nozomi Sakura heart stirred, and her previous sad emotions were suppressed by reason.

Could it be that she really misunderstood?

Taking a deep breath, Nozomi Sakura completely calmed down now and reported her location.

***

When Alan arrived, as soon as he got out of the car, he saw Nozomi Sakura squatting at the entrance of the convenience store.

She was hugging her arms, her shoulders trembling, clearly shivering from the cold.

Seeing the car parked by the roadside, she quickly stood up and walked towards Alan.

Draping the down jacket he brought over the girl’s shoulders, Alan looked at her drenched appearance and couldn’t help but say.

"Didn’t you think to go inside the store to take shelter?"

Nozomi glanced at him, her lips trembling as she said, .

"Go, go..."

"Going into the store looking like this would be too embarrassing, wouldn’t it? I’d rather, rather just die."

Hearing this, Alan said, somewhat speechless, "Then staying at the entrance looking like this, isn’t that even more embarrassing?"

With the down jacket on, she was barely warmer. Nozomi swallowed and said, "At the entrance, the light won’t shine on my face..."

She was so concerned about appearances that she suffered for it.

Alan pushed her into the car. After getting in, he took out a towel from home and placed it on her face.

"Wipe yourself off."

"Oh."

While she was drying her hair, Alan leaned over, ready to help her fasten her seatbelt.

However, halfway through, his gaze suddenly fixed on the girl’s chest.

A damp, subtle fragrance emanated from her, entering his nose with his breath.

He had always known that Nozomi Sakura had a good figure, even knowing the specific measurements, but only when this close did he realize how full she was.

It seemed only slightly smaller than Hojo’s...

Completely different from Nino’s...

Alan unconsciously compared it to the sizes in his memory, then immediately snapped back to reality, fastened the seatbelt, and sat back.

However, despite it being only for a moment, Nozomi still noticed his actions.

The corners of her lips curved upwards, and a satisfied expression appeared in her peach blossom eyes.

However, as time passed, she quickly couldn’t smile anymore.

Alan seemed to have no intention of explaining anything to her.

She turned her head, her gaze sweeping over his face, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Finally, after passing two intersections and waiting at the third traffic light, she couldn’t hold back anymore.

"Um... can you tell me what’s going on?"

"Although I said I wouldn’t interfere with your life, if I don’t know what’s happening, I feel a bit confused... and the speed at which you two are rekindling your old flame is a bit too fast, isn’t it?"

Hearing this, Alan glanced at her and said, "Will you definitely believe it if I tell you? Even though I said I wouldn’t lie, seeing is believing, and hearing is not. You’ll still be suspicious even after you hear it, won’t you?"

Nozomi Sakura lowered her eyes.

Indeed, even if Alan explained, she wouldn’t believe him one hundred percent, believing fifty or sixty percent would be good enough.

After all, that phrase ’sleeping in the same bed’ on the phone was too ambiguous.

She pursed her lips, still unable to suppress her curiosity, and spoke. "But you should at least say something, right? In TV dramas, misunderstandings happen precisely because the male and female leads don’t say anything, causing a rift between them, and eventually they can’t even be friends..."

Her attitude at this moment was completely different from her arrogant demeanor when facing Hojo, her tone carrying a girlish bashfulness.

Alan glanced at her, and his heart stirred. He then intermittently explained the general situation to her.

Upon hearing about the waterfall-like condition of Nino’s home, Nozomi Sakura couldn’t help but widen her mouth, looking at Alan with astonishment.

Is it really that difficult?

Her eyes clearly conveyed this question.

Seeing this, Alan said, "I know you don’t believe it."

"I didn’t believe it at first either, but when I saw it with my own eyes, I found the situation was even worse than what I saw in the video."

He paused, then continued, "I contacted a real estate agent today. You and she will move into my residential area. If you’re willing, you can go and see for yourself."

Seeing is believing, he had originally planned to do just that.

As Alan’s words fell, Nozomi Sakura became silent.

She tried to put herself in Nino’s shoes and couldn’t imagine her living in such a place.

She herself enjoyed a life of luxury and extravagance...

Compared like this, it seemed she was indeed far inferior to that lunatic in some aspects.

Of course, this was assuming Alan’s account was true.

At this moment, a trace of sympathy arose from her original feelings of disgust towards Nino.

However, this sympathy lasted less than thirty seconds before Nozomi Sakura started to feel annoyed again.

The thought of having to live in the same residential area as her...

Wouldn’t that be even more dangerous? And wouldn’t her original plan be completely ruined?

She had originally thought that if she could live closer to Alan’s home, she could better cultivate their relationship.

Even if he was a blockhead, she could completely corrupt him, after all, water droplets can wear away stone.

But now, with the appearance of that lunatic, it was like Alan had countless layers of tempered glass added to him.

Her efforts to corrupt him would definitely be greatly reduced, and she might even be in mortal danger... 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The atmosphere in the car fell silent for a while.

Nozomi bit her lip, staring at the rain outside the car window.

It wasn’t until the car stopped downstairs at Alan’s home that she suddenly started to giggle foolishly, as if she had thought of something.

"Hahaha..."

Hearing the sudden laughter beside him, Alan flinched and couldn’t help but turn his head to glance at her.

Was she drenched silly by the rain?

Noticing his gaze, Nozomi explained with a smile.

"Do you like me?"

"Huh?"

Alan frowned, glanced at her, and said in a flat tone.

"Hold on a little longer, I have fever reducers at home."

Although she was rebuffed, Nozomi Sakura seemed not to understand at all, looking at Alan with eyes full of smiles and saying.

"Don’t deny it. Think about it, if you really didn’t like me, why would you explain so much to me?"

"Even though it was a misunderstanding, she said what she said. If you ignored me tonight, wouldn’t you have had a night of passion?"

Saying this, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stared at Alan with a lingering gaze, saying...

"Just admit it, you like me."