Chapter 399 - 379: Nervous to See Me? (1)

After Lana Caldwell met Dylan Heston, she talked about "her Dylan" all the time, and Nancy Hughes was getting sick of hearing it.

Nancy couldn’t be bothered to argue. Her leave was over, and it was time for her to go back.

She had a ticket for the bullet train that afternoon. Before leaving, she made sure to go over the details with Lana Caldwell.

Lana Caldwell waved her hand impatiently. "Alright, I get it!"

After instructing Lana, she had a few words with Zoey Zane.

"Nancy, be careful on your way. Give me a call when you get home."

"Okay, I’m off!"

The afternoon bullet train wouldn’t arrive in Portmire until three in the morning.

Nancy sat in a window seat, looking outside.

’If it weren’t for the lack of money, I really would have hired a caregiver.’

There were still five minutes until the train’s departure. Nancy glanced at the empty seat next to her, then looked around curiously.

There were still plenty of people behind her looking for their seats. She closed her eyes, exhausted.

It was a ten-hour ride; she needed to get some sleep first.

Sleeping while sitting up was a miserable affair. Her neck was constantly crooked, which was uncomfortable.

But after sleeping for a little while, it felt as if a pair of hands gently moved her head and rested it on a broad, comfortable shoulder. It was much more pleasant, and she fell into a deeper sleep.

She thought she was dreaming, but she wasn’t.

She dozed for over two hours before waking up.

She discovered that she had unknowingly fallen asleep on the shoulder of the person next to her.

Just as she was about to apologize, her gaze traveled up from his shoulder, and a familiar face came into view.

She was suddenly wide awake, too shocked to speak.

Dylan Heston watched her dazed and shocked expression, finding it indescribably cute. He couldn’t help but chuckle. "Awake?"

Nancy wanted to hit herself over the head with a hammer. It was highly likely she was still dreaming, and what’s more, she was dreaming about Dylan Heston.

But she was too embarrassed. She grabbed her hair and pulled hard. It hurt. A lot.

’It seems like everything in front of me is real.’

She was really on the bullet train, and he was really on the bullet train too!

’This is too much of a coincidence!’

The frequency of their recent meetings was absurdly high.

"Mr. Heston, I never thought you’d take the bullet train!" Nancy laughed, then immediately regretted it.

’I hope he didn’t take that as me mocking him.’

But seriously, Dylan Heston seemed quite wealthy. Logically, he should be in business class on a plane, not sitting next to her like this.

Dylan Heston was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I didn’t think I’d be taking this either."

This time, it was Nancy’s turn to be speechless.

Dylan’s status was clearly extraordinary. He was wearing an expensive suit, yet here he was, sitting in a noisy train car just like any other person.

Nancy averted her gaze out the window, looking very awkward.

’Should I find some topic to chat with Dylan about?’

"Um, thank you so much for visiting my mom the other day!" she said, quickly turning her head back.

"You’re welcome."

’Great, now there’s nothing else to talk about.’

Nancy gave him a silly smile. Smelling the strong scent of instant noodles in the air, she had a flash of inspiration. "Mr. Heston, are you hungry? Do you want to get something to eat?"

"Sure."

As soon as he agreed, Nancy pulled two cups out of her bag and dashed off.

Five minutes later, she returned, carrying two cups of instant noodles.

Nancy’s face was scrunched up. "Quick, quick, take one for me! It’s so hot!"

Dylan took one and placed it on the small table.

Nancy blew on her fingers and quickly set the other cup of noodles on the table.

After five minutes, the noodles were about ready. She lifted the lid, and the rich aroma washed over her, making her hungry stomach GRUMBLE.

She happily started eating. ’Instant noodles really are the most delicious thing in the world!’

Nancy had a couple of bites, then noticed the man beside her hadn’t touched his chopsticks. "Aren’t you hungry? Go on, eat!"

"Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until three in the morning. You’ll be even hungrier by then!"

Dylan looked at the noodles in the cup. "You really like eating this stuff?"

Nancy nodded. "It’s delicious."

Dylan didn’t particularly like this kind of food. First, the flavor was too strong. Second, it wasn’t very healthy.

But in special circumstances, a little couldn’t hurt.

Soon, the two of them finished their noodles.

Nancy let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Yup, when you’re hungry, instant noodles are the best!"

"You eat them often?"

"Yup!"

Full and satisfied, she started to feel sleepy again.

Perhaps because there was someone familiar beside her, she felt more at ease and slept more soundly.

Dylan saw her neck lolling to the side. He called her name softly, but there was no response.

He gently guided her head to rest on his shoulder.

At three in the morning, Nancy was woken up by Dylan.

"We’re here."

Nancy rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked out the window.

The night was dark. People getting off the train hurried past, pulling their suitcases.

She yawned. She was still very sleepy, her mind groggy.

She followed Dylan outside, yawning several times along the way before she finally managed to wake up a bit.

As they exited the station, Nancy was about to hail a taxi for herself and say goodbye to Dylan, but a car had already pulled up in front of them.

Dylan opened the door. "Get in."

She didn’t move. Dylan bent down, grabbed her by the wrist, pushed her into the car, and then squeezed in after her.

He gave an address to the man in the front. It took Nancy half a second to realize it was where she lived.

"If you’re tired, you can sleep a bit more."

Nancy shook her head. "I already slept for a long time!"

The car arrived at Nancy’s apartment building. Nancy got out and politely thanked Dylan.

"Thank you, Mr. Heston!"

"Go on up."

She scratched her head and went upstairs with her bag.

Back in her apartment, she was so exhausted that she didn’t think about anything else, just flopped onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

She slept for so long that she was almost late for work the next day.

She arrived at the office just in the nick of time.

She slumped over her desk, panting from exhaustion.

Gwen Gunn looked at her. "Miss the company shuttle?"

"Yeah, I accidentally woke up late!"

Nancy remembered something and took some money out of her bag. "Mr. Gunn, here’s the money I owe you."

"Is everything okay at home now?"

"Yes."

After a long break, her first day back at work left her dog-tired.

When she got home, she didn’t forget to call Zoey Zane.

She only hung up after confirming everything was fine.

Her current intern salary was three thousand a month, and she had to wait another three months before becoming a full-time employee.

Before that happened, she needed to find a part-time job.

She didn’t know how long the money she’d fronted for the medical bills would last.

She looked up part-time jobs online, saw an art studio was hiring a teacher, and sent in her resume.

She applied for several similar jobs. After waiting for two days, a studio finally called her.

She went for an interview after work. The studio was located across from an elementary school.

Because the studio was newly established and had enrolled a lot of students, they were in urgent need of teachers.

When the owner learned she was a designer at a large company, she was very pleased, and they quickly agreed on a rate.

That same evening, Nancy stayed to teach a class as a trial run.

Nancy’s fundamentals were solid, and she was incredibly patient with the children. The head of the studio, Ms. Chandler, was even more satisfied.

"Alright then, how about you come in at 6:30 every evening from now on?"

"Okay!" Nancy agreed.

The part-time job was pretty good. Three hours a day for over a hundred a day, which would add up to about three thousand a month.

The only downside was that the studio was far from her apartment.

Every night, she had to rush to catch the last bus at 9:40. If she missed it, she’d have to walk for twenty minutes to a station even farther away.

Nancy worked for two days. Each day, she didn’t get home until 10:30 PM.

By the time she ate and washed up, it was already after midnight.

Her salary was paid at the end of the month. Nancy sent the money home immediately.

"Mom, don’t be frugal with that money. Have Lana Caldwell buy you some good food. And don’t worry about the medical bills, I’ll send you more money in a little while."

Zoey Zane received the three thousand from Nancy. "If you give me the money, what will you use?"

"I’ve been working a part-time job recently. I have money, so just take this and use it."

"Nancy, you tell me the truth. Where did you get so much money?" Zoey’s voice sounded displeased.

Nancy was calling during her lunch break. "I’m working part-time as a teacher at an art studio. Mom, don’t worry, I’m not doing anything bad."

Nancy understood why Zoey was upset and quickly clarified.

On the other end of the line, Zoey sighed. "Nancy, do you feel like your mother is dragging you down?"

"Mom, how can you say that!"

"Nancy, you’re not young anymore. When are you going to bring a boyfriend home for me to meet? Then I could finally rest easy."

Nancy bit her lip. "Mom, you’re going to live a long, long life."

She exchanged a few more words with Zoey, but then seemed to hear some noise in the background. Zoey sighed and said hurriedly, "Phone calls are expensive, too. I’m hanging up!"

Before Nancy could even say goodbye, the line went dead.

Nancy stared at her phone, dejected, and walked back into the office.

She had been so tired lately. Leaving early and coming home late, with nothing on her mind but making money. She was mentally exhausted.

She laid her head on her desk and dozed off for a bit.

Just as she was about to drift off completely, the phone on her desk rang.

She hadn’t saved Liam Sheffield’s number from the last time he called.

She eyed it suspiciously for a moment before answering. "Hello?"

"Senior, it’s me, Liam Sheffield!" Liam’s voice was loud. "Senior, where are you working now?"

This Liam guy was too enthusiastic, and a real motormouth. He managed to force her company’s address out of her.

"Wow, Senior, you really are the best! Getting into Sharon’s company, that’s seriously amazing!"

"Er..."

’Dylan Heston is his cousin, and he’s on brotherly terms with my own big boss,’ Nancy thought, speechless. ’Who’s the amazing one here, really?’

"Senior, we’re having a get-together this weekend. Want to come?"

"I might be a little busy," Nancy said after a moment’s thought.

On the weekend, all she wanted to do was curl up in bed all day and make up for a week’s worth of lost sleep.

"Senior, think about it! We even ran into each other all the way out in Homeward! It’s fate! How can you not come?" Liam chattered excitedly over the phone, then rattled off an address. "It’s settled then! Saturday at seven p.m. You have to be there!"