"Hello, Lily..." Daniel Carter’s gentle and deep voice came through, like the broadcasting voice that echoed through campus in our student days. It was like a breath of fresh spring air, even dispersing the cold around me.
Clutching my phone, my mind started to go blank, and just when I was about to speak, my language center short-circuited, and I blurted out, "Uh, so... have you eaten?"
A laugh came from the other end, "I have, what about you?"
"Me?" His question snapped me back to my senses, "You don’t know if I’ve eaten or not?"
"What do you mean? Should I know?" Daniel Carter asked back, puzzled.
I was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized—Young Master Yates didn’t call him!
"Ah..." I held my forehead with one hand, groaning helplessly and awkwardly, "I overthought it and fell into Young Master Yates’s scheme."
"What scheme?" Daniel Carter was even more confused, "Who is Young Master Yates? Natalie Yates?"
Removing the hand from my forehead, I sat up feeling a bit calmer.
Since I’d started, I had to explain this properly. After a pause, I spelled it all out: "Today after chatting about work with a colleague, it got late so we had dinner together at a seafood hotpot restaurant. Just as we were about to finish, we ran into Young Master Yates. We exchanged a few words of pleasantries and when I went to pay the bill, the waiter told me Young Master Yates had already paid. Upon hearing that, I..."
I hesitated for a moment, organized my words slightly, and then continued, "I thought as soon as Young Master Yates left, he would definitely contact you right away, saying he saw me having dinner with a colleague—who knew he hadn’t said anything..."
Daniel Carter understood and cleverly asked, "So, it was a male colleague you were dining with?"
"Just the two of you?"
"Then, this phone call..." He pondered for a moment, with a hint of amusement in his tone, "Are you afraid Natalie Yates might embellish things and say whatever, and you fear I’d misunderstand, so you’ve specifically called to explain?"
The side of my face pressed against the phone began to heat up, and even though I was alone, I felt immensely embarrassed.
He saw right through me again!
I silently wailed in my heart for a few seconds, then suddenly had a moment of clarity and quickly rebutted, "Who said so? You’re overthinking it. We have nothing between us, so why would I need to explain to you? I’m calling because I don’t have Young Master Yates’s contact info, so I wanted you to help pass on my thanks. I’ll treat Young Master Yates to dinner sometime."
This clumsy cover-up seemed particularly childish and ridiculous in front of Daniel Carter.
His low, suppressed laughter came through the phone, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Feeling somewhat wrathful and embarrassed, I said, "What’s so funny! That’s really what this call is about."
"Okay, I believe you." He reluctantly contained his laughter and teased, "I’ll send you Natalie’s number so you can thank him personally."
"No, no, that’s not necessary!" I quickly refused, "It’s enough if you just help pass it on."
I’m not familiar with him, so I’d have nothing to say, making it super awkward.
He laughed again on the other end.
"Hey, stop laughing, or I’ll hang up." I was genuinely angry out of embarrassment. Who doesn’t need a bit of dignity?
"Okay, I won’t laugh." He became serious again and genuinely inquired, "The male colleague you had hotpot with alone, is he the one who stayed late for work with you this afternoon?"
He really was digging into it.
Could he actually be jealous?
"Yes, he’s the new operations manager at my company, a young guy who loves outdoor activities. He’s quite capable and responsible, really a great find." I blurted out, unable to resist praising Calvin Yance again.
But as soon as I said it, I realized it was inappropriate.
I actually praised another man in front of Daniel Carter.
"Seems like you really appreciate him." Daniel Carter’s voice turned quiet.
"Uh..." I swiftly spun the wheels in my head, deliberately joked, "Of course, if I didn’t appreciate him, why would I hire him with a high salary?"
"True, it’s not easy finding someone you resonate with."
He responded lightly, and then both sides suddenly fell silent.
Why did that sound a bit sour? I sensed something was amiss, but fortunately, with the phone between us, I could hide it.
So after a brief standoff, I cleared my throat and steered away from the earlier topic, "So... it’s getting late, I should drive back now, you get busy—and remember to thank Young Master Yates for me."
After saying that, I was about to hang up.
But Daniel Carter suddenly called out to me, "Lily."
Nervously, I raised the phone back to my ear, "Yes?"
"If you praise another man in front of me, I’ll get jealous. Don’t forget that I was the first to express my feelings. Be fair, just, and impartial, or else—"
His deep and leisurely broadcasting voice seemed to have a magical charm, burrowing from my ear straight into my heart.
I was captivated by his low, enchanting voice, his gentle yet domineering threat.
"Or else... what will happen?" My heart raced, and I muttered in a daze.
He played coy, "You’ll know when the time comes, though I hope you’ll never need to."
He spoke like it was a tongue-twister, and my already muddled brain failed to comprehend immediately.
"The roads are slippery in the snow, drive carefully, and let me know when you get home safely."
He gave his final reminder, and I dumbly muttered, "Oh," ending the call.
Slowly lowering my phone, I furrowed my brows in confusion, pondering until I suddenly understood what he meant.
He meant to say he was the first to express his feelings, so it should go in order. If I’m willing to step out of the shadow of a marriage and want to explore new feelings, I have to be fair, just, and impartial—consider him first.
Otherwise, there’d be some consequence.
As to what exactly that consequence is, he said I’d find out when the time comes.
But he also said he hopes I never find out, so it means I must prioritize him, then I won’t need to find out about that consequence.
Do all high-IQ, highly-educated people talk in such a mind-bending way?
Once I grasped his meaning, I couldn’t help groaning repeatedly, covering my face and leaning toward the steering wheel.
Forgetting about the bump on my forehead, I knocked into it with an "ow" and cried out in pain.
Before I could settle my emotions, my phone rang.
Turning to see the screen, it was Wennie Lane.
"Hello..." I answered lethargically.
"Why do you sound half-dead? It’s the weekend, don’t tell me you’re working overtime again? It’s the first snow of the year, come out and have some fun!" Wennie Lane’s voice was high-pitched, with lively and exciting background music playing.
Pulled by that strong feeling of ambiguity, I was depressed and frantic with no outlet, so I immediately agreed, "Okay, where are you?"
"At an RV camp, the snow scenery here is great."
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Ending the call, I immediately gathered myself and headed to the RV camp.
The place was remote, with even lower temperatures, and the snow had settled without melting, covering the ground in a blanket of white.
The RV camp had a glass house where Wennie Lane, Nora Saunders, Rachel Boone, and the others sat, leisurely brewing tea and enjoying the snowy scenery. It looked so pleasant!
"Wow... you guys really know how to enjoy life!" I walked in, shaking the snow off myself and said enviously.
Wennie Lane turned to hand me a sweet potato, "Just roasted honey yams, sweet and soft."
I waved my hand, "I just finished some seafood, too full right now, maybe later."
Nora Saunders complained, "You didn’t invite us to the seafood feast, enjoying alone, that’s not cool."
"I was with a colleague today, next time it’s on me, you guys set the date."
These privileged ladies are my shareholders, who’ve helped me in times of crisis, one meal is indeed due.
Everyone cheered happily, I dragged a chair over and sat down, taking the hot drink Wennie Lane handed me.
Someone outside shouted about building a snowman, and Nora Saunders and the others all rushed out, leaving just me and Wennie Lane by the stove.
After sipping my hot drink and setting it down, I played with a roasted sweet potato from the stove.
Watching me, Wennie Lane suddenly asked curiously, "Why do I feel you have a bit of that feminine glow, like you’ve fallen in love again?"