The room was silent except the sound of Spencer eating his dinner.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room reflected the city lights, the traffic on the viaduct, the colorful neon lights and Fiona's thin figure.
Fiona walked over to the door. Staring at Spencer's two-meter high parcel, she bent down and dragged it into the bedroom.
Spencer ate quickly as he was starving. After a while, the plates were all empty. He started on his porridge while watching Fiona. She took a few steps forward and he crossed his legs, looking at her with a wicked grin.
Fiona was reluctant, and yet she couldn't disobey him, which made Spencer feel very comfortable.
'Spencer, you are so shameless!'
he thought to himself.
Standing in the guest room, Fiona removed Spencer's sheets and quilt cover and began to make the bed. 'Just hold on a little longer. When the new semester begins, I can live in the dormitory room, and if Spencer wants to live here, just let him,' she thought.
He walked barefoot to the guest room and gazed at her back. There was a gentle fluttering in his heart, which made him a little restless. His eyes traveled down her neck all the way to her back, but he frowned and asked, "What's that on your back? It looks like a scar."
Fiona shivered. She quickly straightened up and turned around to face Spencer. She was afraid, but she pretended to be angry. "What are you looking at?"
Spencer looked away and snorted. "I just saw it by accident. It's not like I'm not interested in it! Hey, you should go buy a pair of slippers tomorrow because I forgot to bring mine."
"I have no money," she replied shortly. She started removing clothes from his parcel and tried to keep her back out of Spencer's line of vision the whole time.
"How much does a pair of slippers cost? You are so stingy!" Spencer turned around and marched into the bathroom.
While he was out of sight, Fiona hurriedly put her hand around her shoulder and touched her scar. Her eyes grew sadder as she thought she couldn't wear this nightgown anymore. She was lost in thought when she suddenly heard the sound of Spencer's footsteps. She quickly put her hand down and started hanging up his clothes in the closet.
He returned with his wallet and tossed it in front of Fiona. "Here you are. The wallet is loaded."
Fiona was taken by surprise when she picked up the wallet, because it was wet. She had a strange expression on her face. She stared at Spencer and asked, "Did you just wash your wallet?"
"Of course not. It was in my pocket the whole time." Spencer shrugged.
Fiona quickly opened the wallet. Sure enough, the bag was moist. She hurriedly asked, "Spencer, do you have any important identification in this?"
"Yes! What's wrong?"
Fiona's eyes widened. She held up his wallet and said, "But the wallet is drenched!"
"What?" Spencer grabbed the wallet and looked at it. "Shit!"
It was the first time that Fiona had seen so much emotion from him. He carefully removed everything from his wallet. All kinds of cards and bills were scattered on the bed and the floor.
Fiona picked up a card near her feet and said, "This one is fine."
However, it seemed that he hadn't heard what Fiona said, as his eyebrows were still tightly knitted. He shook his wallet rapidly. All of a sudden, a photo, two inches wide, flew out of his wallet, and fell on the floor with the reverse side facing up. Just as she was about to reach out to pick it up, she was stopped by Spencer. "Don't move!"
Fiona was startled. Spencer picked up the photo and carefully lifted it to his mouth. He gently blew it dry.
"You may leave now," Spencer said dismissively.
"Hmm." Fiona nodded and walked to the door. She turned to look at him and saw deep love and longing in Spencer's eyes.
She was really curious about the identity of the person in the photo. But the next minute, she banished the thought from her mind.
In the bedroom, Spencer was standing still, his hand trembling slightly. Sadness was written all over his face. In the photo, there was a boy and a girl. The two of them looked like they were very close to each other. The boy looked cool and was expressionless, and the girl's head was tilted and she was smiling.
He still remembered how his heart had been pounding when the photo had been taken. He had pretended to be cool just to hide his shyness. The photo was a little yellow now. Where was the girl in the photo now?
Would everything be different if that terrible car accident didn't happen?
Fiona woke up the next morning and quickly got out of bed to cook. She was annoyed about how hard it was to live with Spencer.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Spencer?" She knocked on his bedroom door. "Hey, Spencer? What do you want for breakfast?"
There was no answer. Fiona tried to turn the doorknob. The quilt and the bed sheet were already neatly folded.
'That's odd. Where is he?'
Fiona shrugged her shoulders. She relaxed as a tiny ray of hope filled her. She ate her breakfast in peace. Then she settled down in front of the French window and began to paint the beautiful coast not far away.
Suddenly, a message popped up on her phone, interrupting her drawing. She glanced at it absent-mindedly.
"There is a new ice cream shop around our colleg
e. Do you want to try it, Fiona? It's my treat."
The message was from Ryan.
Fiona smiled. Since their encounter at the museum the last time, they had saved each other's phone number. Ryan would send her messages from time to time. Today was the first time that he had invited her out
'Should I go?'
Fiona was contemplating and didn't realize that a smile had crept up on her face. Ryan's white shirt and bright smile were exactly what Fiona liked in a man.
"Where are we going to meet?"
As she was typing the message, she heard a sound behind her. She turned around to examine the source of the sound. Spencer had opened the door and was sauntering in. He had donned sportswear and didn't look as arrogant as he usually did. In fact, he looked like a teenager—sunny and energetic.
"Oh, you're up?" he commented, looking at his watch. It was just past seven o'clock.
Noticing the sweat on Spencer's face, Fiona asked hesitantly, "Did you go for a run? Have you eaten anything yet?"
He pointed his chin out of the window and replied, "I went for a run round the coast and of course I haven't eaten anything. Have you cooked?"
'If he finds out I ate without waiting for him, he will be upset,' Fiona thought to herself.
"No, I didn't eat anything either," she lied. Standing up Fiona put her phone aside and asked, "So what do you want to eat, Chinese food? Western food?"
"Ugh! Western food? I never eat that!" Looking at the shoe cabinet angrily, he said, "And don't forget to buy me slippers after breakfast. I'm going to take a shower."
Raising her eyebrows, Fiona watched him walk into the bathroom. She turned to the kitchen. Her phone, which was on the table, dimmed.
When he came out of the bathroom, he saw that Fiona was still cooking, so he said, "Cook a little more. I have a good appetite."
"Okay, sure!" Fiona replied without looking back at him.
Spencer walked to the window as he dried his hair. Looking at her sketchpad, he flipped through the paintings and spotted the necklace's pendant.
'Is this the finished design? Why was she in such a hurry to paint this? Who is she planning to give it to?' he wondered with a frown.
"Spencer! What do you think you are doing? Don't touch my sketchpad! Get away from it!" Fiona had emerged from the kitchen and seen Spencer standing in front of her sketchpad. She was startled.
Turning around, he let out a snort at the sight of her panic-stricken face. "I told you it was an accident. Be alert," he remarked dryly.
Fiona pressed her lips together and didn't say anything. She was still on guard with Spencer.
She was eating a bowl of porridge at the dining table. Spencer pursed his lips. "Look at your thin figure. You should eat more."
'I've already had breakfast,' she thought.
Fiona nodded, gently licking her lips. She raised her eyes and glanced at Spencer. "Spencer, I have something to tell you," she started.
"What?"
"You are going to live in here, aren't you?" She tried to speak in an appeasing tone. "Shouldn't we share the utilities?"
"If you want money, just say it," Spencer blurted.
Fiona's face turned red at once. It was not because she was shy, but because she was humiliated by his accusation. 'Just tell him if I want money? How humiliating! He's talking to me like I'm some gold digger!'
"I'm just a student. I don't have parents to support me. I don't have much money. I hope you can understand that," she said as calmly as she could. "Anyway, since you only to stay here one day a week, I shouldn't be asking you for money. Besides, I haven't returned the money that you spent on buying me the phone to you yet. I'll give it back to you soon.
I'm done! I'll clean up after a while."
He watched as Fiona walked back to her bedroom with her sketchpad. Something twisted in his heart. He couldn't say a word in response to her tirade.
It was not until Fiona returned to her bedroom that she realized that she hadn't replied to Ryan's message. Still hurting from Spencer's comment, she decided to hang about with Ryan.
"Hi Ryan. Where is the shop? I would like to go and eat some ice cream."
Ryan replied immediately, "It's right near the school gate. Do you need me to pick you up?"
"No thanks. Don't bother. I'll be there in an hour. Thank you for treating me."
"I'm so happy that you can come. I'll wait for you. See you!"
Setting her phone down, she changed into a dress and walked out of the bedroom.
When Spencer saw that Fiona had come out all dressed up with her bag in her hand, he asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yes," she replied curtly. She walked towards the door.
"Where are you going? He suddenly got up from the sofa and stood in front of Fiona. "Hanging around with my friend."
"What?
You've made a friend as soon as you came to M City? Who is it? A man or a woman? Is it a bad person?"
'I can't believe this! You are the worst person in the world!' she wanted to yell.
Instead of answering him, she made a detour.
"Fiona! You are not allowed to go out today!" Spencer commanded, stretching out his long arm to obstruct her path.
"What nonsense? Why not?" Raising her head, Fiona looked into his eyes defiantly.
"Because Grandpa's birthday is coming soon and we have to choose a gift for him today."