Chapter 397 - 377: Just Got Off the Plane, Are You Tired? Part 1

Carrying lunch, Nancy Hughes heard Lana Caldwell whining to Zoey Zane, asking for money.

Lana Caldwell was bored staying at the hospital and wanted to go have some fun at an internet cafe nearby.

Since she didn’t have any money, she could only ask Zoey Zane.

Zoey Zane didn’t have any money either, and just as she saw Nancy Hughes walk in, she said, "Nancy, do you have any cash on you? Give some to Lana!"

Nancy Hughes placed the food on the table. "Mom, this porridge is still warm. Have some."

Then she turned to Lana Caldwell. "Come outside with me. I need to talk to you."

She turned and walked out.

Lana Caldwell snorted. ’What’s with the attitude? Who is she trying to act all high and mighty for?’

Nancy Hughes stood in the hallway. Lana Caldwell swaggered over, arms crossed. "What did you want me for?"

"What do you need money for?" she asked, turning to face her with a cold tone.

"To go to an internet cafe and hang out!"

"Mr. Caldwell sent you here to look after my mom, not to fool around!" Anger flared in Nancy Hughes’s head, and a suffocating tightness constricted her chest.

"You’re here taking care of her, aren’t you? You’re doing such a good job, what’s left for me to do?" Lana Caldwell retorted.

"You!"

Nancy was so furious she couldn’t breathe, her eyes wide as she stared at Lana, who just rolled her eyes and held out a hand. "Hurry up and give me two hundred! If you don’t, I’ll tell your mom!"

Nancy Hughes was speechless with rage. From the last few hundred she had in her wallet, she pulled out two bills and handed them over, resisting the urge to throw them in Lana’s face.

’At a time like this, she still had the nerve to go have fun at an internet cafe.’

She took a moment outside to cool down and push aside all her negative feelings.

She put a smile back on her face before going inside. "Is the porridge okay?"

Zoey Zane didn’t have much of an appetite and had barely touched the porridge.

"Did you give the money to Lana?"

"I did."

Nancy Hughes sat down and said angrily, "Mom, why do you always stick up for Lana!"

"She’s Mr. Caldwell’s daughter. You have to tolerate her a little. She has a bad temper, but she’s not a bad person at heart."

Nancy Hughes said nothing. ’Lana’s character was actually awful. She’s been bullying other girls since they were kids. I really can’t see what’s so good about her at heart.’

After giving two hundred to Lana Caldwell, she was now completely broke.

Life without money was unbearable. Nancy Hughes wanted to have a good cry, but she was afraid Zoey Zane would notice.

After Zoey Zane fell asleep, she went outside for a walk.

’It’s already March, why is it still so cold?’

Nancy Hughes wandered around outside for a while. The cold wind had turned her nose red, and just as she was about to head back, she heard someone call her name from behind.

"Nancy Hughes?"

Nancy Hughes spun around. A figure suddenly emerged from the dim surroundings behind her.

The tall figure ran toward her, exclaiming in pleasant surprise, "Hey, it really is you, my senior!"

’Senior? Were we at the same school? College or high school?’

Nancy Hughes didn’t have much of a memory of the person in front of her. She gave an awkward smile. "Excuse me, you are...?"

"It’s me, Liam Sheffield! You don’t remember me? It was the freshman orientation. You were the one who welcomed me!"

’Freshman orientation... that was ages ago. I’ve completely forgotten about it.’

"Hello!" Nancy Hughes said. She was about to leave, but Liam Sheffield was one of those people who got friendly too fast and just wouldn’t stop talking.

"Oh, right, senior, why are you at the hospital?" Liam Sheffield was in the middle of an exciting story when he suddenly switched the topic to her.

"A family member of mine is sick, so I’m here to take care of them."

"Oh, I see. What a coincidence!" Liam Sheffield said with a grin. "I just happened to get into a fight a couple of days ago and got sent here. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have run into you!"

"Haha." Nancy Hughes gave a dry laugh. ’He got beaten up, so why does he sound so proud of it?’

They walked back into the hospital as they talked.

Inside the brightly lit hospital, Nancy Hughes finally noticed that Liam Sheffield had just thrown a down jacket over his thin hospital gown bottoms.

’And he’d been standing outside talking with me for that long?’

"Um, aren’t you going back to your room?"

"I am, but I have to wait for someone!" Liam Sheffield scratched his head. "My cousin heard I was in the hospital and came all the way to see me."

Liam Sheffield suddenly leaned closer to Nancy Hughes. "Want to meet my cousin?"

"I don’t think so!"

Nancy Hughes shook her head, but Liam Sheffield’s eyes lit up. He raised his head, a smile spreading across his face, and waved energetically toward the entrance. "Don! Over here!"

Nancy Hughes’s scalp went numb. Lately, whenever she heard any name with "Don" in it, she couldn’t help but think of one particular person.

’Hopefully, I’m just overthinking it. Lots of people have names like that.’

She tried to reassure herself. Besides, there was no way that person would show up here.

Portmire was a long, long, long way from here.

"Don, you just got off the plane, you must be exhausted, right?" Liam Sheffield went over, acting like a suck-up.

When Nancy Hughes saw Dylan Heston, it was like seeing a glimmer of hope, but in the next instant, she felt like fate was playing a cruel joke on her.

Liam Sheffield was Nancy Hughes’s junior, and even though she didn’t remember him, he was still enthusiastically pulling her into the conversation.

Liam Sheffield was full of excitement as he introduced Dylan Heston to Nancy Hughes. "Senior, this is my cousin, Dylan Heston!"

Nancy Hughes forced an awkward smile. "Hello, Mr. Heston."

"Hello," Dylan Heston replied in kind.

The two of them greeted each other like strangers meeting for the first time—polite and distant.

The only difference was the added layer of awkwardness.

"Cousin, this is my senior, Nancy Hughes." Liam Sheffield shot Dylan Heston a suggestive look, as if to say, ’My senior’s pretty great, right?’

Dylan Heston remained expressionless as he placed a hand on Liam Sheffield’s shoulder. "Itching for a beating?"

Liam Sheffield’s face contorted in pain as he yelped, "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Cousin, I wouldn’t dare! Just let me off the hook!" Liam Sheffield doubled over, caught between wanting to laugh and cry, afraid of embarrassing himself.

Dylan Heston snorted and released his grip. "If there’s a next time, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to help you."

"There definitely won’t be a next time!" Liam Sheffield nodded profusely, the picture of a suck-up.

Nancy Hughes couldn’t understand what game the two cousins were playing. "Well, um, I have a few things to do, so I’ll be heading back now."

"You’re leaving already, senior?"

His shoulder freed, Liam Sheffield rolled it, thinking, ’His cousin really didn’t pull any punches. He used so much force he almost dislocated it.’

Nancy Hughes nodded. "Let’s get in touch next time."

"Wait, you haven’t even given me your number, senior. How are we supposed to get in touch next time?" Liam Sheffield hurriedly blocked her path, standing in front of her and saying with a smooth tongue, "I can’t count on being this lucky again to run into you!"

Nancy Hughes wanted to leave immediately. Standing there with Dylan Heston made her feel extremely awkward.

Even with her back to Dylan Heston, she could still feel his intense gaze on her.

She hastily recited her number to Liam Sheffield. "I’m heading back now!"

"Wait, let me call it first!"

He dialed the number, and a few seconds later, Nancy Hughes’s phone rang.

"I’m really leaving now!"

Nancy Hughes glanced back at Dylan Heston, gave him a nod, and then hurried upstairs.

Nancy Hughes walked so quickly that she vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Liam Sheffield watched her retreating figure and scratched his head. "Cousin, do you think I scared her off?"

"She ran off so fast," he muttered under his breath.

Dylan Heston shot him a look. "Get yourself home tomorrow and explain this to your parents."

While Liam Sheffield was still feeling confused, Dylan Heston had already started walking away.

"Huh? Cousin, you can’t do this to me! Didn’t you say you were going to help me?" Liam Sheffield hurried after him, grabbing his arm. "Cousin, I’m your only cousin in the whole wide world! Can you really bear to watch my dad break my legs?"

Dylan Heston shook off his hand, stopped, and looked down at his legs. "I’ll find the best doctor in the world to reattach them for you."

"..." Liam Sheffield looked as if he’d lost all will to live.

’I might as well be dead. What kind of cousin is this? He just watches you walk to your doom and does nothing!’

’So heartless!’

Back in the hospital room, Nancy Hughes saw Zoey Zane getting out of bed to pour some water.

"Mom, I’ll get it. You just sit down."

She took the cup, poured some water, and handed it to her. "Why are you up?"

"I couldn’t sleep. Your hands are freezing!" Zoey Zane said, grabbing her hand. Nancy Hughes shook her head. "I just went for a walk outside."

"It’s chilly at night. You should put on more layers so you don’t catch a cold."

"I know."

Zoey Zane was weak. After drinking the water, she fell asleep again.

Nancy Hughes curled up on the nearby sofa, but when she closed her eyes, she just tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

’To be honest, the moment she saw Dylan Heston, a thought had involuntarily popped into her head.’

’Dylan Heston probably wasn’t short on money. If she were to ask him for a loan, he would probably agree, wouldn’t he?’

’But when she met his deep, inscrutable eyes, she dismissed the thought.’

’They barely knew each other. She couldn’t assume he’d lend her money just because he’d driven her home once.’

’She had to find another way to solve her money problem.’

’Without money, it was truly hard to survive in this world.’

’No one was going to take pity on you and lend you money just because you were poor.’

After thinking it over and over, Nancy Hughes finally swallowed her pride and called Georgia Thorne.

Georgia Thorne scolded her over the phone. "You idiot! Why didn’t you call me sooner about something like this?"

Georgia Thorne had just received a sizable bonus, and without a second thought, she transferred the money to Nancy Hughes.

When Nancy Hughes checked at the bank, the amount was exactly fifty thousand.

"Georgia, thank you!" Nancy Hughes was so moved she didn’t know what to say.

"Don’t worry about me. If you need anything else, just call me."

’She’d already borrowed fifty thousand; how could she have the nerve to ask for more?’

"Once my mom gets better, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Nancy, we’re best friends. You don’t have to be so formal with me."

’Georgia Thorne treated her like a true sister. That was why, even though Nancy knew Zane Lennox liked Georgia, she could never bring herself to be jealous of her.’

’Because she loved her best friend, too.’

Nancy Hughes withdrew the money and immediately paid half of the medical fees.

Seeing that Zoey Zane could continue her hospital stay, the heavy weight on Nancy’s heart finally lifted.

Nancy Hughes had taken a week off from work, and five days had already passed.