"What? You haven't even heard of it?!"
"Tch, what a frog in a well." Ethan casually popped a grape into his mouth, leaning back with the easy confidence of someone who believed deeply in his own taste. "Your father here was born with musical talent. What do you know?"
"Damn you…" Jack grumbled, tightening his grip on the guitar neck. "You keep messing around. I'm going home to study—otherwise I'm dead tomorrow."
With that, he tucked the guitar under his arm and bolted.
Ethan watched him go, amused.
"Ding ding ding~~"
His phone buzzed against his palm. He glanced at the screen.
Ashley.
Strange. She rarely called at this hour.
He answered.
"Ashley, what's up?"
"Hey, do you have time right now?" Her voice was slightly rushed. "Can you come to my place? My mom accidentally hurt her foot. I need to take her to the hospital for an X-ray, but I can't carry her downstairs by myself."
From her end came the faint background sounds of a store — a payment notification chiming, the shuffle of people nearby.
"Okay. I'm coming now."
He hung up, shoved his feet into his shoes, and headed out the door.
The taxi ride there took less than ten minutes.
But somewhere along the way, a quiet restlessness settled in Ethan's chest.
He was about to see Diana again.
After last night.
He stared at the passing streetlights and exhaled slowly. What kind of expression would she have?
He still wasn't entirely sure what kind of expression he would have.
Outside Diana's apartment, he stood for just a second longer than necessary before pressing the bell.
"Ding dong. Ding dong—"
A soft click. The door swung open.
Ashley waved him in with a grateful, slightly frantic energy. "You're fast, come in—"
Ethan stepped inside.
And then he saw her.
Diana was curled up on the sofa, dressed in a milky-white suspender nightdress. Because of the pain in her foot, her brow was faintly creased and she held herself very still, as though any movement might make things worse. The soft warm light of the living room fell across her — across her fair skin, her collarbone, the hem of the dress that ended somewhere at mid-thigh, her long legs tucked carefully to one side.
Her hair was pinned up loosely, exposing the elegant line of her neck.
Ethan went still for a moment.
This is the same woman from last night…?
In the dim, blurred hours of yesterday evening, everything had carried a different weight — shadowed, impressionistic. Now, in the quiet clarity of an ordinary afternoon, she looked almost startlingly refined. Composed. The kind of woman who felt slightly out of reach even when she was right in front of you.
The contrast between memory and reality landed somewhere strange in his chest.
Diana looked up.
And froze.
Ethan.
Her mind emptied itself in an instant.
It was him. The same person. Standing in her living room, calm and unhurried, while she was sitting here dressed like this—
Heat rushed to her face before she could stop it. She quickly tugged the hem of her dress down, just slightly, and looked away.
"Mom, I called Ethan over — you know him, he's my good friend." Ashley spoke easily, still moving around the kitchen, completely unaware of anything unusual in the air. "You hurt your foot and I can't handle it alone, so I asked him to help."
Only then did Ashley glance over and register what her mother was wearing.
She winced a little, embarrassed on her behalf. "Sorry, Mom — I forgot. Hold on." She disappeared into the bedroom to grab a coat.
At home, it had always just been the two of them. She hadn't thought about it.
"Auntie." Ethan turned to Diana with his most polite, most ordinary smile. Warm. Easy. Completely unreadable. "Hello. Sorry to intrude."
"Mm…" Diana kept her eyes slightly averted. "Hello, Ethan."
The silence that followed lasted only a few seconds.
But it felt considerably longer.
Memories from last night moved through her like water.
She didn't know where to look. At her hands. At the window. Anywhere but at him.
"Mom, does it still hurt a lot?"
Ashley reappeared and crouched down to examine the swollen, reddened ankle with a worried frown.
Diana nodded, quietly grateful for something else to focus on.
"I'll put some safflower oil on first, and then we'll go." Ashley worked carefully, gently. Then she stood and turned to Ethan. "Ethan — can you carry her downstairs? She can't walk like this, and I don't want her putting any weight on it. I'll go down first and get a taxi."
"Of course."
He said it without hesitation.
Diana's face went warm again.
"Really, there's no need — just let me lean on someone's arm, I can manage—"
"Mom." Ashley gave her a look. "What if you make it worse?"
She was already heading for the door.
Ethan moved forward and crouched down in front of the sofa without ceremony, his back to her.
Diana looked at it for a moment.
Then, with no real alternative, she leaned forward and settled carefully onto his back.
Her movements were slow. Deliberate. She barely let herself touch him more than necessary, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders as though she might pull away at any second.
He stood in one smooth motion, adjusting his hold.
His expression remained perfectly, infuriatingly calm.
Ashley had already run ahead to call the elevator.
Ethan walked. Diana, on his back, tried very hard not to think about anything at all. But the gentle rhythm of his steps made it difficult to stay entirely still, and every small shift of balance brought a fresh wave of heat to her face.
This is fine. This is completely normal. This means nothing.
Ethan, for his part, was having a quiet and entirely private argument with himself about composure.
Stay calm. Just stay calm.
The hospital waiting area was bright and impersonal and blessedly ordinary.
Ashley rushed off to the registration desk, leaving Ethan and Diana sitting side by side on a row of plastic chairs.
Silence.
The kind of silence that has weight to it.
Around them, the ordinary sounds of the hospital continued — footsteps, a distant announcement, the soft beeping of something somewhere. Neither of them seemed to hear any of it.
Ethan spoke first.
"When I came in just now." He kept his voice even, almost casual. "You looked… comfortable."
Diana stiffened.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly, to her hands.
"You don't have to be embarrassed." He leaned back slightly in his chair. "You're an adult. It's your own home. There's nothing strange about any of it."
A beat.
"Besides," he added, in the same calm tone, "you said it yourself yesterday — you're single. So am I. Legally speaking, there's absolutely nothing to discuss."
Diana said nothing for a moment.
Then, very quietly:
"You didn't tell Ashley."
It wasn't quite a question.
Ethan glanced at her sideways. "Why would I?"
Liu Ruyan snorted and said, "You performed very skillfully last night, don't you enjoy it?"
"Didn't you have fun when we were doing it?"
"Besides, it's not like I'm forcing you. And isn't it your first time right, you were so skilled last night? "
There are some advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
patreon.com/B_A_3439