Chapter 455: Hideous pictures

Nix trotted over to Rory, quickly pulling up his personal device.

"Rory, let me take some photos of you! I’m actually a really great photographer."

"Sure!"

Rory happily struck a pose, letting him snap away.

Nix adjusted the angle of his device, thoroughly enjoying himself. He was determined to get as many shots of Rory as possible so he could pull them up whenever he missed her.

"Are you done yet?" Rory held her posture, the smile on her face starting to freeze.

"Almost! Don’t move—this one’s got incredible vibe!"

Utterly absorbed, Nix tapped his screen several times in quick succession, triggering a flurry of shutter clicks. He nodded in deep satisfaction at the results on the screen, a proud grin spreading across his face.

"All set! Rory, come look—I killed it. Absolute perfection!"

He eagerly held out his device to show her. Rory leaned in with high expectations, but the moment her eyes landed on the screen, her smile instantly vanished.

In one photo, he had caught her mid-blink, leaving her eyes awkwardly rolled back. In another, a sudden gust of wind had whipped her hair entirely across her face, making her look like a ghostly mess. In yet another, the bizarre angle managed to compress her height to look barely five feet tall.

"This... is what you call perfection?" Rory gritted her teeth, glaring at him.

Nix, still lost in admiration of his own artistic masterpiece, failed to notice her darkening expression.

"Yeah, totally!" He pointed at the screen eagerly. "Look, Rory, look how adorable you are in these!"

"Look at this one—you look so tiny, like I could wrap you right up in my arms."

"And this one—with your hair covering your face, it gives off this hazy, mysterious beauty..."

Rory desperately resisted the urge to spit right in his face. She stared at the photos, trying to hold it together, but eventually lost her composure. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

What kind of cursed photos are these? And he has the nerve to call them cute? Is there something seriously wrong with his eyes?

"Kidding you?" Nix looked at her, utterly confused. "Rory, why are you bringing up jokes right now?"

Rory frowned.

Deep breath. Don’t lose your temper. Don’t waste energy getting mad at an idiot! Today is about having fun; staying happy is what matters.

Rory took a deep breath and forced a tight smile. "These photos are... cute, but I’m not entirely satisfied with them. Why don’t you just delete them?"

No way am I letting anyone else see these hideous pictures.

"Huh?" Nix looked at her in shock. "Rory, you don’t like them?"

They’re so adorable! Why wouldn’t she like them?

"Yes, I don’t like them," Rory nodded with utter conviction.

Though Nix still thought the photos were charming, since Rory disliked them, he had no choice but to delete them right in front of her.

"Alright, I’ll delete them and take a few more for you."

"No need."

Watching him delete the files, Rory immediately shut down any idea of him taking more photos. She was not about to risk another atrocious shot.

Without another word, she turned and walked away. She didn’t want to look at Nix for at least a minute.

Seeing Rory walk away, Nix immediately slipped off to a quiet spot, opened his device, and quietly restored the deleted photos.

Rory told me to delete them, but she never said I couldn’t restore them. Man, I’m so smart.

When he got back, he planned to print them out and hang them in his laboratory office. Rory never went there, so she’d never find out.

Admiring the recovered photos, Nix thought for a moment and decided to send them over to Yuel. Yuel hadn’t been able to come along today; seeing photos of Rory would surely cheer him up.

Nix: *[Photo.jpg]*

Nix: *[Photo.jpg]*

Nix: Yuel, I know it must be tough not being here with Rory today. Here are some photos I just took of her—thought you’d want to see.

Nix: No need to thank me.

***

Meanwhile, in a meeting so boring he was practically dozing off, Yuel glanced down at his device. When he opened Nix’s message, his usually composed expression nearly cracked right then and there.

He quickly ducked his head, covering his mouth to hide his rising smirk.

To make Rory look like this in photos... she must really care about him to have let him off without a beating.

Just as Yuel was about to reply, another message from Nix popped up.

Nix: Yuel, whatever you do, don’t tell Rory I sent these to you! She wasn’t too happy with them and made me delete them. I secretly retrieved them, so she can’t find out.

Yuel: You never sent me any photos. I know nothing.

He certainly couldn’t say anything. If Rory found out, she’d beat Nix to a pulp, and he had no desire to end up as collateral damage.

Seeing Yuel’s reply, Nix nodded in satisfaction. He knew Yuel was the most reliable of the bunch.

"Nix, what are you sneaking around doing back there?" Vincent’s voice suddenly chimed in from behind him.

"Aah!"

Nix jumped in surprise, instinctively snapping his screen shut. He turned around to see Vincent and Jasper standing right behind him, though he had no idea how long they’d been there.

"I-I’m not doing anything!"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "If you’re not doing anything, why are you so jumpy?"

Jasper added, "I just saw you messaging Yuel. Looked like you were sending photos or something."

"What kind of photos are you covertly sending to Yuel?"

Nix had encrypted the files, meaning only the recipient could view the contents, and nothing showed on his own display interface. Consequently, neither Vincent nor Jasper could see what the photos actually were—only that he had sent image files.

Yuel was constantly coaching Nix on how to get on Rory’s good side, so whenever Nix stumbled upon something good, he naturally shared it with Yuel.

"Nothing, really," Nix stammered weakly. "I was just picking out a few outfits and asking Yuel to help me see which one Rory might like."

He couldn’t possibly tell Vincent and Jasper about the photos. Especially Jasper—he spilled everything whenever Rory asked him anything. If Jasper accidentally let it slip to Rory, wouldn’t he be totally finished?

"Outfit photos?" Vincent leaned in closer with a knowing smile. "Why so secretive over a few clothes? It’s not like we’re going to buy the same ones."

Jasper stepped in close as well. "I think you’re lying. And a beast who lies isn’t a good beast, Nix. If you don’t tell us the truth, I’ll go tell Rory that you and Yuel are keeping secrets from her."

Looking at the two of them, Nix felt a mix of anxiety and annoyance. "You guys are way too mean! How can you do this?"

"So are you going to tell us the truth or not?" Jasper pressed.

Vincent chimed in, "I saw you taking photos of Rory just a minute ago. Where are they?"

He paused, then added smoothly, "The photos you sent Yuel... they were the ones you took of Rory, weren’t they?"

Even without Nix confessing, Vincent had already pieced it together.