Chapter 282: Promise

Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Promise

Vivian was a little nervous.

Right now, she felt like a student who had made a mistake and been punished by the teacher. Waiting for her parents to pick her up in the afternoon, she was worried sick about whether the teacher had told them what happened today.

Perhaps precisely because Vivian felt guilty, Julian, who had always known her so well, noticed almost immediately that something was off about her.

"What’s wrong?" Julian asked, turning to look at her. His gaze remained as gentle as ever.

However, just a second later, the highly perceptive Julian noticed something amiss. He twitched his nose, catching the scent of perfume on Vivian.

"I remember..." Julian hesitated for a moment, clearly recalling. He asked, "I don’t recall you spraying any perfume before leaving this morning. Did you bring some with you?

"But I seem to remember that you haven’t worn this scent much lately."

Hearing Julian say this, Vivian’s heart skipped a beat.

Indeed, she hadn’t used much perfume lately. She occasionally used to wear it, but usually only for meetings or banquets. She only wore perfume when the occasion called for it! At home, she never sprayed any, and especially since getting pregnant, she had steered completely clear of it.

Of course, the only exception was the perfume Julian had gifted her. She would only use it because she knew it was safe, and it was a gesture of his goodwill!

But today, she had merely gone out with Eleanor to catch a cat and then wandered around the mall. She hadn’t worn any perfume when she left the house this morning, so why did she smell like it now?

And the scent was still very distinct; it must have been sprayed recently.

"Well, this..." Vivian almost broke out in a cold sweat. She explained, "I got a little bored while waiting for you, so I walked around the mall with Eleanor.

"She saw a perfume brand she really likes, so I went in to take a look with her. The sales associate let me try a sample, and I thought the scent was pretty nice, so I bought a bottle.

"Uh, I asked her about it, and the ingredients are totally safe. Even pregnant women can use it. If you’re worried, I can just give it to Leo or Finn later!"

Vivian’s attitude was exceptionally earnest!

Julian looked at her and couldn’t seem to find any flaws in her story. He merely said, "If you like it, I’ll have someone look into it thoroughly later.

"The sales associates at the mall don’t always understand their own products as well as they claim to."

Some lacked professional ethics and only cared about pushing their products. Whether it actually suited the customer was a different story entirely! Julian was still worried that Vivian might get taken advantage of.

"Mhm." Seeing that she had managed to get away with it, Vivian nodded and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The car continued forward.

When they were about halfway through their journey, Vivian was starting to feel a bit drowsy. Watching the street scenery outside the window grow increasingly familiar, Julian suddenly spoke up again.

"I think I smell something else." Julian frowned and asked, "Vivian, what did you and Eleanor eat for dinner tonight?"

Vivian’s heart dropped again. Was Julian really this sharp?!

"We had a beef hotpot tonight! Uh, Chaoshan beef hotpot, to be exact! You know how it is—eating that kind of stuff leaves a bit of a smell on you!

"Julian, is something wrong?" Feeling guilty, Vivian spun a lie.

Julian, however, fell into a long silence before asking, "Vivian, you ate BBQ, didn’t you?"

"..."

How did he figure it out?!

Vivian smiled awkwardly. Just as she was about to speak, Julian said seriously, "If there’s something you want to eat, you can just tell me. I’m not an unreasonable person.

"As for BBQ, just try to avoid the unhealthy ingredients. The only reason I want to know what you eat and what you use is so I can figure out if those things are suitable for you beforehand.

"I don’t mean anything else by it, nor am I trying to restrict you. You really don’t need to be so nervous."

Julian’s tone had turned incredibly sincere. As they drove past an intersection, he even turned to look at Vivian, his dark eyes deep and profound.

Vivian fell silent for a moment. Knowing she shouldn’t keep hiding things from him, she said, "I was just worried you’d say BBQ is unhealthy and wouldn’t let me eat it.

"I was craving it so badly! Ever since I got pregnant, I’ve completely given up on barbecue. I know some of the barbecue stalls outside aren’t exactly clean, so I haven’t eaten any.

"But... BBQ and grilled meat are just so good!"

Sticking to a strict diet was just too difficult. Vivian recalled the time she had her wisdom teeth pulled! While her gums were inflamed, she couldn’t eat anything spicy or irritating. And after the extraction, she couldn’t eat anything flavorful either because she was still in the recovery period.

Right now, she felt like she was back in those days, and it was pure torture! But pregnancy lasted a whole ten months—several times longer than that!

Just thinking about those dreary days made Vivian feel exhausted. Naturally, she wanted to break the rules once in a while and indulge in a cheat meal!

"I understand." Julian let out a soft sigh. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It’s my fault too. I’ve been so overly cautious lately that it’s made you feel this way.

"If you want to eat BBQ or grilled meat in the future, just tell me. I can have Ms. Shaw prepare it at home. That way, we can make sure all the ingredients are fresh, clean, and hygienic.

"And don’t worry, the food we make at home definitely won’t taste any worse than what’s outside. I’ll personally cook for you. You just need to let me know in advance so I have time to prepare, alright?"

A sudden realization struck Vivian.

Julian knew how to cook, and his culinary skills were excellent! If he made the BBQ, it definitely wouldn’t taste bad, right?

Vivian thought about it and agreed immediately, wishing she could lean over and give him a kiss right then and there. "Mhm, mhm! Whatever you say! I agree to everything!"

Seeing Vivian so happy and excited, Julian chuckled and nodded. "Alright. By the way, I looked into that hiking trip you mentioned. I have time next Saturday.

"It’s a charity event organized by Aethelburg University, right? Sounds good. I told Vance Wyatt about it, and he said he wants to invite Finn to come along. You don’t mind, do you?"

Vance Wyatt was bringing Finn?

That meant they could probably get more donations. Naturally, Vivian had no objections.

"Sounds good!" Vivian agreed happily, suddenly feeling that her future was looking a whole lot brighter!