Joanna Lawrence walked outside as she corrected him: "Mr. Ashton, you’re still pursuing me, please mind your manners in addressing me."
A low chuckle came through the phone, accompanied by an indulgent and doting tone: "Mm, thank you, Ms. Joanna, for the correction. I’ll pay more attention in the future."
Joanna pursed her lips and smiled, closing the dormitory door behind her as she stepped out.
Her steps were light and quick as she headed downstairs.
Thinking of the man waiting for her outside, a sweet feeling welled up in her heart as she continued her conversation with him: "Didn’t you say it would take you 20 minutes to get here? How did you arrive so quickly?"
She had just checked the time, and it had only been 14 minutes.
"Mm." The man’s voice was low and pleasant, "I wanted to see you earlier, so I ran a few red lights on the way and arrived ahead of schedule."
Joanna was taken aback.
As soon as she heard him say he had run a few red lights, her brows furrowed, and she scolded him righteously: "Ashton Heath, did you really run red lights? You can’t do that, it’s wrong!"
"How could you run red lights? Don’t you know how dangerous that is? I’d rather wait for you a few more hours than have you risk running red lights just to get here early."
Running a few red lights!
That was totally unacceptable!
As a law-abiding citizen, she was determined to resist such unlawful behavior!
Even if the lawbreaker was her significant other.
She let out a series of scoldings in her soft voice, and after she finished, she heard the man on the other end laughing. His low, deep laughter seemed to be suppressed in his throat, incredibly alluring, and making her heart race.
"What are you laughing at?" Joanna didn’t feel the slightest bit seduced at the moment, and instead felt completely indignant, "Running red lights is wrong, and you can’t do that again."
The man laughed for a while before gradually stopping, but his voice still carried a hint of laughter as he called her name, teasingly drawing out the syllables.
Joanna’s heart skipped a beat: "Wha- what...?"
The man’s voice grew even deeper and more provocative: "Worried about me?"
Listening to his enticing voice, Joanna pressed a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath, trying to stay calm: "Don’t flatter yourself, I’m worried about the pedestrians. Your reckless disregard for the red lights could endanger them."
He was still in the process of pursuing her, after all.
Even if Joanna was actually worried about him, she couldn’t admit it just like that.
Otherwise, he would become insufferably smug.
"Really?" Ashton Heath chuckled softly, "You’re not the least bit worried about me?"
"...You don’t need me to worry about you."
As soon as Joanna finished speaking, she realized they had strayed from the original topic. She furrowed her brows and got back on track, reemphasizing her point with a stern tone: "Ashton Heath, stop trying to joke your way out of this. Did you hear what I just said?"
The man chuckled again, his low laughter deep in his throat, as if whispering into her ear, making Joanna’s face flush and her heart race once more.
Ignoring her rapidly pounding heart, Joanna bit her lip, "As long as you heard, don’t ever do it again."
"Baby, how can you be so adorable?"
On the other end of the phone, the man’s laughter was full of delight, and the word "baby" was spoken with extreme affection: "You believe everything I say, just like that? You trust me that much?"
Joanna: "...You lied to me?"