Chapter 413 - 388: She Cares About Him 1

She was a bit depressed. When she saw other couples, they were always glued to their phones, texting back and forth. How come with her, there was nothing?

’Is he that busy with work? Or has he lost interest in me and wants to cut ties?’

’The latter seemed more likely.’ She sighed silently and slumped over her desk.

’Actually, not having much to do with Dylan Heston is fine too. My life would just go back to the way it was before.’

But her heart felt heavy, as if she couldn’t quite catch her breath.

To be honest, Dylan Heston hadn’t even been in her life for very long.

’Stop thinking about it. I need to work hard and make money.’

’Yes, making money is the most important thing right now.’

She repeated this to herself several times before opening a design draft and getting back to work.

"Hughes, are the revisions for the design draft I gave you last time finished?"

"They’re done. Just a moment, I’ll get them for you."

Nancy Hughes looked up from her work and rummaged through a pile of files on her desk.

Her desk was a mess. Her elbow accidentally knocked a stack of documents from the corner, sending them scattering to the floor.

She squatted down, brushing back her long, loose hair, her mood indescribably foul.

"Hughes, hurry up with those files!" Gwen Gunn called out.

"Ah, coming!" she called back, her voice raised. She abandoned the half-tidied mess, quickly grabbed the draft Gwen Gunn wanted, and rushed over. "Mr. Gunn, here’s the design draft you asked for."

"Mm. Go tidy up your things. You’re coming out with me in a bit." Gwen Gunn glanced at the file and set it on his desk.

Nancy Hughes muttered an "oh" and returned to her seat. She squatted down again to continue picking up the files from the floor and putting them in order.

In the car, Gwen Gunn was sitting beside her, taking a call.

Gwen Gunn was getting on in years and his hearing wasn’t the best, so he had his phone volume turned way up. Nancy, sitting next to him, could hear Hannah Gunn’s voice with perfect clarity.

It seemed Hannah Gunn was short on cash again and was asking Gwen Gunn for money.

Gwen Gunn only had the one daughter, so of course he doted on her. It wasn’t long before he relented and agreed to give her the money.

Sometimes she really envied Hannah Gunn for having such a doting father, one she could shamelessly cajole.

The car stopped in front of a restaurant. "Let’s get out."

The person Gwen Gunn was meeting was a former student of his who had later moved to Vesperia to advance his career.

"This is Zachary Stone. And this is my most recent student, Nancy Hughes."

Nancy Hughes and Zachary Stone greeted each other, and they all sat down.

"I’ll just call you Nancy, is that okay?" Zachary Stone had lived in Vesperia for five or six years and was naturally outgoing.

Nancy Hughes nodded. "Hello, Zach—"

She opened her mouth, unsure of what to call him. He finished her sentence for her. "You’re Mr. Gunn’s student, so just call me your senior!"

"Hello, Senior!" Nancy Hughes greeted him awkwardly.

Zachary Stone had been formally taken on as Gwen Gunn’s apprentice back when he was younger, whereas she was just learning from him at the company.

Zachary Stone had been building his career in Vesperia for a long time and hadn’t been back in years. He was in Sinea this time for a business trip.

The design firm he worked for wanted to expand into Sinea, so they needed to find a Sinean partner.

As it happened, he was in charge of this expansion. When his superiors at the Vesperian company learned he had connections in the country, they assigned him to work here for a while.

This meeting with Gwen Gunn was partly to catch up and partly for business.

Gwen Gunn was also very fond of this student. Of all the students he had taught, Zachary Stone was the most promising.

Young, handsome, and well-spoken.

Gwen Gunn had a lively chat with him, and they laughed constantly as they reminisced about the past.

Zachary Stone also knew Hannah Gunn, and the two of them roared with laughter as they brought up funny stories from her childhood.

Nancy Hughes silently took a sip of water, listening intently to their conversation.

On the way back, Nancy Hughes was texting Georgia Thorne when a quiet Gwen Gunn suddenly spoke up.

"What do you think of Zachary Stone?"

"Huh?" She turned to look at Gwen Gunn, stunned, nearly dropping her phone in shock.

"Zachary Stone is good-looking and has a great future. He’s a fine young man." Gwen Gunn was growing more and more pleased with his former student.

After listing a whole slew of Zachary’s merits, he glanced at Nancy Hughes. "You should consider him. It’s rare for someone to reach his level these days."

Nancy Hughes gave a dry laugh and shook her head. "Mr. Gunn, I think I’ll pass!"

"Why not? Are you already seeing someone?" Gwen Gunn asked.

Nancy Hughes nodded repeatedly. "I am, so you should introduce him to someone else, Mr. Gunn!"

’Zachary Stone really is a great guy. But the more outstanding someone is, the higher their standards are. He’d never be interested in me.’

"What a shame. I thought you two looked good together!"

"You’re kidding, Mr. Gunn."

"Hughes, when did you start dating someone? How come you never mentioned it before?" Gwen Gunn, full of curiosity, was like a gossipy middle-aged woman. "What does your boyfriend do? What’s his family situation like? Compared to Zachary, who’s better? Why don’t you reconsider? My student is a really great catch."

Nancy Hughes was speechless. ’He’s really gotten addicted to this matchmaking thing.’

Nancy Hughes never would have imagined that someone who had never contacted her before would one day reach out to her.

The moment she received the call from Zane Lennox, she instantly thought he must have dialed the wrong number.

When Zane Lennox asked if she was free over the weekend, she became even more suspicious. ’He must be drunk. This call was probably meant for Georgia Thorne, not me.’

In fact, Zane Lennox hadn’t been drinking. He was perfectly sober, and he hadn’t dialed the wrong number.

On Saturday, she arrived at the restaurant Zane Lennox had mentioned.

"Welcome!" As soon as she entered, two rows of staff by the door shouted in unison.

Startled by the grand reception, she walked nervously to the front desk. "Excuse me, is there a reservation under the name Zane Lennox?"

"One moment, please." The receptionist checked her records, then looked up with a smile. "You must be Miss Hughes."

She nodded. "Yes, that’s me."

"Please follow me this way."

The receptionist led the way, and Nancy Hughes followed.

Inside the private room, Zane Lennox was alone.

"Hi," Nancy Hughes said, greeting him awkwardly.

’It feels so strange for the two of us to be having a meal together.’

In the past, she had always been the one chasing after him. She’d get too shy to go alone, so she’d drag Georgia Thorne along.

Now that she finally had this opportunity, it just felt awkward.

"Have a seat. Someone else will be here shortly."

’Oh, someone else is coming? Good.’

Not long after Nancy Hughes sat down, the door to the room was pushed open again.

Her back was to the door, but when she saw Zane Lennox rise from his seat, she hastily stood up as well.

The moment she turned and saw who had arrived, she froze.

It was Dylan Heston, the very person who hadn’t contacted her in days.

Dylan Heston didn’t look too pleased either, especially after he saw her.

A sharp glint flashed in his dark eyes before they turned emotionless again.

"Mr. Heston, long time no see." Zane Lennox walked over and extended a hand to Dylan Heston.

Dylan Heston’s reply was a curt, "Hello."

Nancy Hughes stood there woodenly, at a complete loss.

’Should I go up and say hi? He hasn’t contacted me in days. Does that mean we’re over?’

’If we’re over, and I say hi, will he think I’m trying to get back in his good graces?’

For a moment, Nancy Hughes’s mind was a tangled mess.

The more she thought, the less she knew what to do.

Dylan Heston’s gaze swept past Zane Lennox and landed on Nancy Hughes’s face, his expression suddenly softening.

He strode toward her and, just as Nancy was panicking, took her hand. "What are you doing here?"

His palm was warm, but his fingertips were cool. The way he squeezed her hand was unexpectedly gentle.

’Didn’t he look upset just a second ago? Why is he being so gentle all of a sudden?’

Nancy Hughes was completely baffled. The palm of the hand he held tingled.

She was about to protest when she heard Dylan Heston say, "Didn’t I tell you to be good and stay home? Why are you always so disobedient?"

’Huh? When did he ever say that?’

Utterly confused, she was pulled into a seat by Dylan Heston.

Zane Lennox returned to his seat, his eyes landing on the pair across from him. A flicker of something profound crossed his eyes as he smiled and said, "Mr. Heston, actually, Nancy is my..."

"Sorry, she’s a bit shy around strangers. Please don’t mind her, Mr. Lennox."

Dylan Heston cut him off forcefully, looking at Nancy Hughes with gentle eyes. "If I’d known you were coming out to this place, I would have come to pick you up!"

Nancy Hughes gave a dry laugh and secretly tried to pull her hand away under the table.

But Dylan Heston was too strong. The more she struggled, the tighter he held on, his stubborn nature on full display.

Zane Lennox had asked Dylan Heston out to discuss a business deal.

Originally, the deal only had a fifty percent chance of success. But now, with Nancy Hughes present, the odds had jumped to seventy-five percent.

"You’re too kind, Mr. Heston. Nancy is my junior, after all. It’s only right for me, as her senior, to treat her to a meal." Zane Lennox picked up the wine glass to his right and raised it in a toast to the two of them.

Nancy Hughes wasn’t much of a drinker, but it seemed rude to refuse so abruptly.

She reluctantly picked up her glass and glanced at the man opposite her. Before she could bring it to her lips, the glass was snatched from her hand.

She turned to stare at Dylan Heston’s profile, watching his Adam’s apple bob as he swiftly downed the red wine in the glass.

He drained the glass, set it on the table, and said apologetically, "Sorry, she can’t really hold her liquor. She’ll get drunk."

With that, he finished his own glass of wine as well.

Zane Lennox watched the pair opposite him with a sharp gaze and said with a smile, "Quite the tolerance, Mr. Heston!"

’Drinking on an empty stomach is the worst for you.’

Worried that downing two glasses of wine in one go would hurt him, Nancy Hughes deliberately put a lot of food on his plate and whispered in his ear, "Drink less. Eat more."

Dylan Heston glanced sideways at her, and his mood suddenly brightened.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Worried about me?"

Nancy Hughes pursed her lips. ’Well, he did drink that for me, so I guess so.’