Chapter 424: So You've Learned to Egg Others On to Confess to Me? (Part 1)

Chapter 424: Chapter 397: So You’ve Learned to Egg Others On to Confess to Me? (Part 1)

After work, Nina Chandler made sure to say goodbye to Dylan Heston.

“Goodbye, Mr. Heston.”

“Mm, goodbye.”

Nancy Hughes still didn’t understand why Dylan Heston had thanked her, but she figured it out on the way back.

Back at his apartment, before the lights were even on, her body was forcefully pressed against the wall. “So, you’ve learned to egg people on to confess to me?”

“…”

Nancy Hughes was on the verge of tears. ‘Where did I egg anyone on? I just couldn’t bear to disappoint a child.’

A sharp pain shot through her lips, making her gasp.

Her hands instinctively clutched his collar, trying to push Dylan Heston away.

She heard Dylan Heston’s gentle voice. “Look up at me.”

Nancy Hughes was still in a bit of pain. She looked up at him, biting her lower lip. “What!”

“Be good.”

With that, his lips pressed down on hers again, but this time, there was less force and more tenderness and consideration.

‘I’m always good, okay!’ she thought mournfully.

She was probably the type of person who forgot the pain once the wound healed. Treated so gently by Dylan Heston, she forgot all about how he had just bitten her.

Overcome with emotion, she wrapped her arms around him.

She had basically been living at Dylan Heston’s place for the past few days. They were getting to know each other on a much deeper level, and over time, she had grown less shy.

She was gradually getting used to being intimate with Dylan Heston, and was even starting to enjoy the feeling.

He was the last person she saw before falling asleep and the first she saw upon waking. This was what life was all about: living sweetly with the one you love.

She had always loved to sleep in, and since it was Saturday, she didn’t have to get up early.

She slept until she woke up naturally, opening her eyes to an empty room.

She sat on the bed in a daze, looking at the room that wasn’t her own. Her mind was blank for a moment before she remembered that he had told her last night he had to go out for work today.

She was all alone in the apartment.

Dylan Heston had already prepared breakfast and even left a note on the dining table telling her to heat it up before eating.

Dylan Heston’s apartment wasn’t huge. It was a simple bachelor pad, everything visible at a glance.

After breakfast, she called Zoey Zane and chatted for a while. When she heard Lana Caldwell talking in the background, she hung up.

She had a company dinner to attend in the evening, but it was still early, so she decided to do some housework.

Around noon, Dylan Heston called and asked what she was doing.

Nancy Hughes had just finished her chores and was lounging on the sofa. “Watching TV at home. What about you?”

“Out entertaining clients.”

“When did you leave this morning? I don’t remember it at all.”

“Very early. I’m not in Portmire right now.”

“Oh, then where are you?”

“Mirengard.”

‘Mirengard… that’s pretty far. Why would he go all the way over there just to entertain clients?’

“Well, you should get back to your clients. I won’t bother you anymore!”

“Okay. I might be back late tonight.”

“Oh, right. I have a dinner with my colleagues tonight.”

“Be careful on your way.”

“Okay, bye.”

The call ended, and she went back to sprawling on the sofa like a corpse.

It was too boring being alone in the apartment, so she decided to take a nap.

She was sound asleep when she heard the doorbell ring.

Still groggy with sleep, she threw on a jacket and went to the door. “Who is it!”

She opened the door to see Liam Sheffield standing there.

Liam Sheffield had been happy at first, but his joy vanished the moment he saw Nancy Hughes opening the door.

His features froze on his face. “Nancy, what are you doing here?”

At the same time, Nancy Hughes blurted out in surprise, “How did you know where I live!”

Nancy Hughes was still muddled from sleep. For a moment, she’d forgotten she was living at Dylan Heston’s place and had treated it as her own home.

Seeing the awful look on Liam Sheffield’s face, she tapped her head. “Um, are you looking for Dylan Heston? He’s not home!”

Liam Sheffield was still too shocked to speak. Nancy Hughes was in her pajamas, her eyes drowsy, clearly having just woken up.

‘How did she and my cousin get together?’

“Nancy, you and my cousin…” He gestured stiffly with his fingers, unable to finish his sentence.

Liam Sheffield was both Dylan Heston’s cousin and her junior from university. Even though he was an acquaintance, she still felt embarrassed being caught like this.

She scratched her messy hair and said shyly, “Your cousin and I are dating.”

“Oh.”

A flicker of hope had remained in Liam Sheffield’s heart, but Nancy’s words had just doused it with a bucket of ice water from head to toe.

Nancy Hughes was a bit slow when it came to matters of the heart and had no idea that Liam Sheffield liked her. She just felt the atmosphere suddenly turn awkward.

She welcomed him into the apartment and poured him a glass of water. Liam Sheffield said distantly, “Thanks, Nancy.”

“You’re welcome.”

‘It seems like Liam Sheffield doesn’t like me very much. What should I do?’

“By the way, did you come here for something?”

“It’s nothing much. I just came to pick something up.”

“Oh, okay. What is it? Do you want me to help you find it?”

“It’s nothing, just a game console I accidentally left here last time.”

“Is it the one in the green box?”

“Yes.”

“Wait a minute, I’ll go get it for you.”

Coincidentally, she had seen that game console when she was cleaning up this morning.

She had been puzzled at the time, thinking, ‘A guy like Dylan Heston probably doesn’t play video games, right?’

Since she was the one who had put it away, she found it right away. “Here, is this it?”

Liam Sheffield barely glanced at it before taking it and saying it was.

He didn’t need to look at all. To him, the game console and everything else were unimportant now.

What mattered was that Nancy Hughes was really living with his cousin. And she was so familiar with the things in Dylan Heston’s apartment; she must have been living here for a long time.

‘When did they get together?’

Liam Sheffield tried to recall the details. ‘Could it have been from the very beginning?’

‘Then wouldn’t his cousin have known all along that he liked Nancy too?’

Liam Sheffield felt like a complete idiot. He had unknowingly confessed everything to his love rival.

Nancy Hughes saw that he looked pale and thought he wasn’t feeling well. “Are you feeling unwell? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I probably just overdid it with my workout this morning, so I’m a little tired now,” he said, making an excuse.

Nancy Hughes chuckled. “Well, exercise is good for your health.”

Liam Sheffield didn’t stay in the apartment for long before leaving.

Before he left, he couldn’t resist asking, “Um, how long have you and my cousin been together?”

“Uh… for a while now.”

“Is that so?” A wave of dejection washed over Liam Sheffield. “Nancy, I have class this afternoon, so I’m going to head back.”

“Okay, be careful on your way.”

In the evening, just as she was heading out, her work group chat blew up.

The rule was that whoever was late had to drink three shots of baijiu as a penalty.

She was a lightweight. After three shots of baijiu, she probably wouldn’t even be able to recognize anyone.

When she arrived at the restaurant, a few people were already in the private room.

She sat down next to a few female colleagues and started chatting with them.

As they chatted, the topic eventually turned to relationships.

Nancy Hughes just chuckled and kept changing the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Dylan Heston, unaware that this group was trying to pry information about him out of her.

They wanted to know if the man in the Porsche who had dropped her off that day was really Dylan Heston.

“Nancy, you don’t have a boyfriend yet? If not, I can introduce you to someone. I know a lot of guys, just tell me what type you’re looking for,” a female colleague said, patting her shoulder with bravado.

Nancy Hughes was speechless. ‘If she really knew that many good men, why hadn’t she managed to set herself up yet?’

“No, thanks. I already have a boyfriend!”

“You have a boyfriend? Then why didn’t you bring him? Let us see what he looks like!”

“No, it’s fine. He’s not very comfortable meeting new people,” Nancy Hughes said, declining.

She felt there was no need to show off her relationship. Whether they were happy or not was their own business.

Several female colleagues worked together to steer the conversation toward Nancy and her boyfriend, but Nancy’s lips were sealed; she wouldn’t say a word.

Eventually, everyone had to give up.

Six o’clock arrived. Many people had shown up, and many were late.

The latecomers all had to take their three penalty shots of baijiu.

There was another woman who had joined the company at the same time as her named Rose Everett. She was beautiful and had an arrogant personality.

She was the last to arrive, and she brought a man with her.

Nancy Hughes had never seen the man before. She heard her female colleagues gossiping that he was the heir to some company in Portmire, a standard second-generation rich kid.

They also said Rose Everett must have some serious skills to have reeled in such a great catch.

With her Flower Protector present, he would surely be the one to drink for her.

The man Rose Everett brought was named Landon Quinn. He gallantly took the penalty drinks for Rose, drawing cheers from the surrounding female colleagues.

Landon Quinn was quite handsome. Standing next to Rose Everett, they made a perfect couple, and many of the women envied her.

Everyone had finally arrived, and they all sat down to eat.

After dinner, they went to karaoke. Nancy Hughes felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and saw it was a text from Dylan Heston.

Just as she was about to reply, he called.

“Hello?” she said softly, turning her head to the side.

“Where are you?”

“We just finished dinner. We’re heading to karaoke now, on our way there,” Nancy Hughes answered honestly, then asked, “What about you?”

“On my way back.”

Nancy Hughes said, “Oh,” thinking Dylan Heston had just gotten back. His voice sounded a bit tired. “Did you drink?”

“A little. You?”

“How could I dare to drink? You know what a lightweight I am.”

The man on the other end of the line let out a chuckle. “Your tolerance for alcohol really is terrible.”

Nancy Hughes huffed. ‘If it weren’t for my terrible tolerance, I wouldn’t have anything to do with him.’

“Next time we have a chance, I’ll take you out and help you build up your tolerance.”

“No way,” she refused. She really had no confidence in her ability to hold her liquor.

The karaoke place was near the restaurant, only about a ten-minute walk away.

“Nancy, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and come over!”

“Coming!” she called back, then covered the phone and whispered to Dylan Heston, “I have to go now.”

“Okay.”

She put her phone in her bag and hurried to catch up with the group. “Who were you on the phone with just now?”

“My family.”

The female colleague gave her a cool glance, clearly not believing that a call with family would make someone smile so happily.