Chapter 187: New Neighbor?

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: New Neighbor?

The cashier recognized Vivian Lowell and Julian Faulkner.

She was a bit excited, her cheeks flushing slightly. Her eyes sparkled, looking exactly like a fangirl whose favorite ship was showing off their sweet romance right in front of her.

Vivian could almost feel the pink bubbles of romance floating between her and Julian.

At the same time, however, the hand holding the boxer briefs trembled slightly.

The cashier didn’t notice. She continued to smile shyly and said, "I didn’t expect to run into President Faulkner and Mrs. Faulkner here. I’m so lucky.

"I was feeling pretty tired working the night shift, but not anymore."

After speaking, the cashier carefully looked Vivian and Julian up and down before adding, "President Faulkner and Mrs. Faulkner look even better than in the photos and videos! You two are such a perfect match!

"Ah, I’m not a stalker fan! I’m just happy! President Faulkner, Mrs. Faulkner, you don’t mind me talking so much, do you?"

Vivian fell silent.

It was a bit much, but she didn’t mind.

Julian, on the other hand, curled his lips upward. He looked at the cashier and said, "It’s fine."

"That’s great!"

The cashier was overjoyed. After taking the boxer briefs from Vivian and scanning the barcode, she couldn’t help but add, "President Faulkner and Mrs. Faulkner really have a great relationship!

"We get a lot of couples shopping here, but there are actually very few ladies who are willing to come to the store in person to pick out boxer briefs for their husbands!

"With Mrs. Faulkner being so considerate, it’s no wonder President Faulkner prepared such a beautiful rose petal rain and fireworks show for you!"

Hearing this, Julian nodded in deep agreement and said with immense pride, "Yes, that’s right. She has always been very good to me, and I am very good to her too."

"Ah! How sweet!" The cashier was extremely happy. She took a tie out of a nearby drawer, placed it in a box, and packed it together with the rest of Vivian’s purchases.

"This is a complimentary tie for spending over five thousand. The color is usually random, but I think President Faulkner suits black better. What do you think, Mrs. Faulkner?"

Vivian had no objections.

She even thought pink would look nice. For a handsome man like Julian, even wearing a pink tie would only make him look gentle, not effeminate.

"Thank you."

Vivian thanked the cashier, and she and Julian walked out of the mall together.

By the time they left, it was almost ten o’clock. The shops inside were closing one after another, so Julian and Vivian headed straight back to the apartment.

Later that night.

Julian changed into the T-shirt, shorts, and boxer briefs Vivian had bought for him. When he came out of the bathroom, there were still droplets of water in his hair.

He was holding a towel, drying his head.

Vivian was chatting with Eleanor Rhodes.

Eleanor mentioned that a cat was trapped on a roof. A kind-hearted person had reached out to her, hoping she could rescue it, promising to cover the cat’s subsequent medical expenses and adopt it.

It just so happened that the neighborhood...

Was exactly where the Faulkner Villa was located. The neighborhood had very strict security, so Eleanor hoped Vivian could give the guardhouse a heads-up to make the rescue mission easier!

Vivian had just replied to Eleanor when Julian walked out of the bathroom.

She subconsciously turned her head and glanced at him.

Just as she had imagined, Julian’s T-shirt was clinging to his body. She didn’t know if he just hadn’t dried off properly after his shower.

Beneath the white T-shirt, his abdominal muscles were faintly visible, as were the defined lines of his calves under the shorts—muscles that looked highly explosive at a glance.

What solid muscles! They must feel rock-hard to the touch, right?

However, men usually had more leg hair, and Julian’s legs were no exception. This body hair added a lot of masculinity to him.

Vivian didn’t like men with perfectly smooth, fair legs. She felt that a bit of leg hair looked better, though certainly not as dense as a forest like some foreigners had.

In short, a man should look like a man.

And Julian was incredibly manly.

Whether he had a cold expression, was smiling with pursed lips, or was lazily walking out of the bathroom while drying his hair like he was right now.

"Umm..."

Vivian took a hair dryer out of a drawer and handed it to Julian. "It’s better to blow-dry your hair after washing it. It’s been a bit hot these past few days, so I turned on the AC.

"It wouldn’t be good if you caught a cold with wet hair. Oh, right, there’s another thing."

Vivian told Julian about Eleanor wanting to rescue a cat in their neighborhood and added, "It’s really strange. I remember the villa over there used to be unoccupied, right?

"Did someone buy it now? How come I never noticed anyone moving in?"

The villa Eleanor mentioned, where the cat was trapped, happened to be right next to Julian’s villa. It had been vacant for a long time and looked uninhabited.

However, Vivian had noticed several times when passing by that the property management seemed to be cleaning it. Weeds hadn’t really grown, and the courtyard still looked spotless.

It was just that there were no cars in the parking spots outside, and she rarely saw anyone going in or out, so Vivian had assumed it hadn’t been sold.

She hadn’t noticed anyone moving in recently, either. Yet, Eleanor said the person asking for help was the owner of that exact villa, which made Vivian feel a little puzzled.

"Hmm?"

Julian didn’t seem to know about this either. He came over, looked at Vivian’s messages, thought for a moment, and said, "I think that place was bought a long time ago.

"It’s just that the owner has been abroad, so it’s been sitting vacant. I heard Grandma say that a young couple used to live there when they returned from overseas.

"But it seems they didn’t live there for long. I was still very young at the time and living abroad. I’m not too clear about things back here, but the villas here were purchased a long time ago."

Vivian nodded.

The Faulkner Family’s assets in Aethelburg were indeed bought back in the 1990s. It was an old neighborhood, but it had been renovated, and the interiors remained very modern and grand.

The family next door must have bought their place around the same time Grandma Faulkner did. Grandma Faulkner seemed to have met the owner, but it had been so many years that she probably couldn’t remember their appearance anymore.

Regardless, since someone had finally moved in to be neighbors with the Faulkner Family, Vivian hoped they would be easy to get along with.

Judging by the situation, since the person was willing to let Eleanor come over to rescue a cat, adopt it, and take responsibility for it, their character shouldn’t be too bad!

That was a relief.

Vivian was still deep in thought when Julian asked, "Did Eleanor ask you to go home tomorrow to rescue the cat?"

"Yeah!"

Vivian nodded first, then quickly shook her head and hurriedly clarified, "No, no. She asked me to inform the guardhouse because it seems the owner next door won’t be there tomorrow!

"Grandma is sick, and I want to stay here to take care of her. Oh, right, and there’s Ms. Shaw. There’s no place to shower at the hospital, so I thought if she’s tired or wants to cook, she can come to my place.

"I probably won’t be able to get away. I’m worried about Grandma!"

After hearing this, Julian furrowed his brows and said, "It’s fine. There are people taking care of Grandma, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. As long as... those two don’t go over there again.

"It just so happens I have some things at home that I was planning to go back and get anyway. It’s good if you make a trip back to help me grab them."

So Julian needed to get some things.

Thinking about this, Vivian nodded in agreement. "Alright."

After the two of them agreed, Vivian went to wash up first. Julian also neatly straightened out the bedsheets and blankets before swiftly lying down on the bed.

However...

When he lay on the bed, Julian looked at the two pillows and couldn’t help but ask, "Why are there two pillows?"

Vivian paused for a moment. Failing to catch the faint jealousy in Julian’s tone, she replied, "They’re for Eleanor, of course.

"I’ve never even lived here. These things were bought when I first got the apartment. It’s a double bed, so having two pillows is perfectly normal."

Upon hearing this, Julian’s previously furrowed brows relaxed slightly, though they were still knit together. "For Eleanor? Aren’t there two suites?

"She’s an adult, and she still sleeps with you?"

"..."

Vivian finally caught on.

Julian’s scrunched-up expression looked exactly like he was jealous!

Vivian sighed. She really wanted to go over, pat Julian on the shoulder, and tell him, "You just don’t understand girls’ friendships!"

"Yep, that’s right."

Wanting to tease him a little, Vivian said, "Such a big apartment—it’s so boring sleeping alone. Eleanor can keep me company, and we can watch movies together at night!"

She pointed at the projector and screen on the wall. "I set it all up when I was decorating the place! We can lie in bed and watch movies. How romantic is that!"

"Romantic."

Julian muttered the word. He turned, walked back to the head of the bed, picked up a remote control from the nightstand, and turned on the projector, navigating to the movie selection screen.

"What do you want to watch?"

He asked, "Action? Romance? Or an espionage thriller? Or if you want to watch what’s currently showing in theaters, I can get the source files too."

"..."

Vivian’s jaw almost dropped.

How had she never noticed before that when Julian got jealous, he became so intensely competitive?

"Hahaha..."

Vivian finally couldn’t hold back her laughter, almost clutching her stomach as she said, "Alright, Julian. It’s so late. By the time we finish a movie, it’ll be past midnight.

"Don’t you have to visit Grandma early tomorrow morning, practice Tai Chi with her, and then head back to the company? Let’s just go to sleep! We can talk about watching a movie next time you’re free on the weekend, okay?"

Hearing this, Julian shot Vivian a look.

Although he was a little displeased, he still agreed.

"Alright."

After replying, Julian’s mind was already mulling over whether he had free time this weekend. He had to keep his promise to Vivian.

Early the next morning.

The alarm clock rang at six. Although Vivian was exhausted, she immediately got up.

She had to go to the hospital first, then head to the company, return to the Faulkner Family home before noon, help catch the cat and accompany Eleanor back to the pet hospital, rush back to the hospital before evening, and finally return to the apartment to sleep!

Her day’s itinerary was incredibly packed.

She didn’t feel tired; she only felt that these were things she ought to do and enjoyed doing, so she had to put in the effort to do them well!

"Julian."

Vivian woke up Julian, who was still sleeping beside her.

When he opened his eyes, they were clouded with sleep. Still groggy, he responded to Vivian with a soft, almost boyish murmur, "Mmm."

His voice was so soft and fluffy... it really made her want to bully him.

Vivian wanted to poke Julian’s cheek, but just as her hand reached halfway, she noticed that his previously clouded eyes had cleared up considerably.

Julian’s hand reached out from under the covers and grabbed Vivian’s hand. He asked in confusion, "Why are you reaching out? What are you trying to do?"

"..."

Vivian’s heart instantly skipped a beat. Feeling a bit caught out, she stammered, "Umm... it looks like there’s a mosquito on your face, haha!"

Julian clearly didn’t believe her, but he slowly let go. The warmth of his palm still lingered on the back of Vivian’s hand.

Vivian felt that his body was warm and comforting. He would make an excellent thermostat hand warmer in the winter, wouldn’t he?

How did that commercial slogan go again?

You’re my hot cup of tea, so I can hold you in the palms of my hands.

Although it sounded a bit cheesy, Vivian also wanted to hold Julian in the palms of her hands!

Unlike the line from the TV commercial, her reason for thinking this was simply because Julian was so warm.

She absolutely had no other dirty thoughts, absolutely none!

"What’s wrong?"

Julian felt it was strange.

Why was Vivian making that expression even after he let go of her hand?

"Nothing!"

Vivian shook her head guiltily, threw off the covers, and got out of bed. She walked into the walk-in closet and said with her back to Julian, "Hurry up and get out of bed to wash up and change! I move fast, so if you don’t hurry, I won’t wait for you!"

Julian couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

Shouldn’t he be the one saying that?

Vivian was a girl, and she had a lot to do before leaving the house—putting on some simple makeup, applying sunscreen, and all that.

Then she had to pick out an outfit perfectly suited for the day’s weather, match it with a bag, and only then could she head out.

It was more likely that he would be waiting for her.

However, he didn’t mind.

"Got it," Julian replied sincerely without any complaints, getting up to wash up as well.

Later that morning.

The two left the hospital after eight o’clock and returned to the company together. Vivian held a morning meeting, delegated the workload, and handled some documents that required her personal attention before heading off to Eleanor’s Pet Hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Vivian met up with Eleanor. Curiously, Caleb Quinn wasn’t there.

"He’s got a lot of classes lately, so he needs to study hard. He said he’s aiming for good grades this semester so he can secure a direct recommendation for grad school in September. That way, he’ll still be able to work here during the summer break," Eleanor explained.

When speaking of Caleb, Eleanor was clearly full of admiration.

This junior of hers was truly hardworking and ambitious.

Chatting along the way, the two got in the car and drove back to the Faulkner Family home.