Chapter 560 - Perks Of The Language Barrier

"Why is she not picking up?" Ivan muttered as he stared at his phone in disdain. 

He had been trying to reach Zoey to ask if she lent her room to Cora and berate her why! Although he already knew the obvious reason, Ivan was still upset that he had to fight for his 'right' in this place.

"She should keep her phone close even if she's in the middle of an event." Ivan grumbled as he tossed his phone to the side.

His gaze then shifted to the shut door, glaring at it, or rather, the person inside it. How dare she walk around with only a towel covering her? 

What if it was someone else that came back? Does she have any idea how easy it was to infiltrate this building? Ivan could even intrude without the spare keys with him.

It was just that using keys was less hassle and more convenient. Even so, what annoyed Ivan even more was Zoey deciding for Cora to stay.

Did Zoey forget that someone infiltrated the building once? What if her lurking enemies tried their luck again and mistake Cora as Zoey? Just what was Zoey thinking?

Ivan's thoughts caused his mood to gloom with every passing second. With a click of his tongue, Ivan sprung up from his seat and took large strides towards the shut door.

When he arrived in front of the door, Ivan took a deep breath as he was about to knock on the door. He didn't know the reason, but he felt like he should tell her to find a new place as this place was not as safe as she thought it was.

However, just before his knuckles could knock the wooden surface of the door, it creaked open. He halted, holding his hand still as he looked down at Cora.

This time, she was covered with a large hoodie and sweatpants that reached the floor. His under eye twitched, figuring she was trying to cover herself but wasn't she going overboard?

"You here why?" Slowly, Cora snuck a glance over him before looking away as she held onto the doorknob so the door wouldn't automatically open wide.

She didn't want to appear like she was inviting him over. She heard foreigners were liberated and he might receive mixed signals. The memory of Ivan seeing too much of her skin was etched in her mind.

Just thinking about it, her face heated up. Because of embarrassment? It was more than that for sure.

Upon hearing her inquiries, Ivan's face scrunched up as a disbelief exhale escaped his lips. He took a step back, staring at her in dismay.

"This won't do. You won't understand me even if I rack my brain explaining the reason." He sighed as he clicked his tongue.

Cora knitted her brows, baffled by the sudden disappointment and annoyance resurfacing on his face. She watched him gesture a square in the air as he uttered ever so slowly as if she was an idiot.

"Dictionary. Me. Teach. We. Talk." 

Cora stared at how silly Ivan appeared right now. She could laugh out loud as he didn't need to gesture every word he said. She was not deaf, after all.

"Now?" She asked, frowning as he didn't seem like he bore ill-intentions towards her. 

Although his presence in this place was a huge question mark, Cora assumed he used to stay in this place and Zoey probably forgot to inform him that she would stay in this place temporarily until she found a place to stay.

"Yes, now!" 

With that being said, Cora dragged her feet inside as she closed the door behind her. Ivan's face distorted again as the door shut close before him.

"I don't even have the energy to get annoyed. I won't do anything, duh?" He scoffed as he shook his head sideways.

Soon, Cora exited the room, holding the dictionary, a small notebook, and a pen close to her chest. Ivan was already sitting on the far end of the couch, his hand over the back as his gazed at her.

He watched her take little steps towards the head seat. Placing her materials for her 'lesson' on her lap, Cora carefully raised her head as she pursed her lips in a thin line.

"Sit here," Ivan cocked his head to the vacant space on the long old couch. "I won't do anything to you, okay? Well, I doubt you will even understand me. This situation never fails to stress me." 

Ivan mumbled hopelessly as another sigh escaped his mouth. Arching his right brow, he scrutinized her reluctant face as it seemed she understood his first remarks.

After a minute of pondering, Cora finally dragged her feet as she shifted seats. Still, she squeezed herself on the other end of the couch as she was trying to avoid too much closeness.

She would go crazy coming close to him. This was better, to keep a safe distance even if his intention were pure despite his annoying countenance.

"Geez…" Ivan rolled his eyes as he spread his finger, holding out as he waited for the thing he was obviously asking for.

Cora's gaze stared at his palm, blinking in puzzlement before raising her gaze back to his cool blue eyes. 

"Dictionary." Cora saw him perk his chin towards the dictionary, snapping her senses back as she hastily handed it to him.

Once again, Ivan sighed but said nothing as he opened the book. He started flipping pages, finding the translation of what he wanted to tell her. However, he just realized how complicated it was to translate English to Mandarin especially because he was planning to construct a sentence.

"This will be easier if sis was not a huge troll." Ivan snapped his tongue in annoyance, recalling how Zoey trolled Cora in translating something for her.

Who knew if he asked Zoey's help, she would probably translate the sentence into something different. Amidst his current dilemma, Ivan glanced at her who was staring at the book before moving it to meet his gaze.

Cora's eyes bore curiosity as she blinked them and cocked her head to the side. Meanwhile, Ivan slowly leaned his head back, the side of his lips curling in a coy smirk as his eyes narrowed.

"You know what? Stop acting cute, okay? That's not needed anymore. I think I already like you." Ivan smiled while Cora furrowed her brows as he spoke too fast she couldn't grasp his sentence. Yet, Ivan was never satisfied with this language barrier as he could express himself without bothering.

"Speak slow. Me not understanding." Cora said in great difficulty.

"Nothing. It's nothing." As he averted his eyes away, Ivan continued on searching for the words before asking her for the pen and notebook. Cora handed them to him without question but her eyes fixed on his side profile.

'Did he make fun of me?' She wondered as the smile on his lips was bright and seemed it wouldn't vanish immediately.