Ethan turned his head, looked at Nora's anxious little face, and pretended to be puzzled. "Nora, what's wrong?"
"Ethan!" Nora hurriedly explained, her voice tinged with urgency. "I... I never said I wouldn't cook for you! Really! You don't need to hire a nanny..."
She was afraid Ethan might misunderstand.
"I know." Ethan nodded, his tone a bit businesslike. "But I don't like taking advantage of people. You know that, I told you. If you won't eat for free and won't take a salary, then I'll just have to spend money to hire someone, right? I can't let you work for nothing, can I?"
He deliberately made the reasoning sound very reasonable.
Nora twisted her fingers, conflicted.
The ingredients Ethan had bought were just too expensive—bird's nest, seafood... If she cooked with them and got to eat the food and still take a salary, wasn't that way too good a deal?
She lowered her head, struggling fiercely inside.
In the end, a compromise won out: she'd eat a little, the cheapest stuff, or... maybe just rice and vegetables?
She mustered her courage and looked up, her voice soft but clear. "Then... then I'll eat. Ethan, don't hire a nanny. I'll cook for you."
She paused, then quietly added, "I... I can eat a little less..."
Ethan nodded. His goal was achieved. All of this was just to make sure Nora ate something better.
He drove back to school first, but it wasn't even evening yet.
Ethan told Nora to head back to the dorm first, and to come down at six to meet him at the parking spot.
Ethan went back to the dorm and immediately took a shower.
Every dorm room at NYU comes with a private bathroom, which makes showering pretty convenient.
Especially now, in September—it's still basically summer in New York. It's hot, and you start sweating all over before long. Not showering would feel gross.
He thought about the pay-per-use shower system in his dorm. If you weren't careful, a single shower could run you a few bucks.
That made him think of Nora without meaning to. Each shower he took himself cost about a dollar, and since her hair was so long, she'd definitely need more hot water. So each shower probably cost her more than that.
And since Nora's meals only cost a couple of dollars each, the hot water was probably no small expense for someone as careful with money as her.
She probably didn't want to spend money on things like body wash and facial cleanser either...
Ethan could almost picture it—she probably had just one bar of the cheapest soap, and when she showered, she had to use a basin to scoop water, carefully saving every drop...
And right now, Nora was exactly as Ethan had pictured.
On the toiletry shelf in her dorm room, there was just one lonely bar of soap.
Every time she showered, she patiently waited until all her roommates were done before going into the bathroom, filling a plastic basin with water and using it as efficiently as she could.
By the time Ethan finished showering and drying his hair, it was already six. He walked over to the parking spot.
But there was no sign of Nora.
In the past, whenever Ethan showed up, Nora would always be standing there early, waiting for him. But today was strange—even if something had held her up, it shouldn't have taken this long.
He took out his phone and called her.
Then came the automated message: "The number you have dialed is switched off..."
Ethan's frown deepened.
At that moment, a figure came jogging up from a distance—it was Nora.
Her cheeks were flushed from running, sweat beading on her forehead, a few strands of hair stuck to her temples. She stopped in front of Ethan, panting. "E—Ethan, I'm sorry! I... I just lost track of time!"
Her eyes were full of apology and panic.
She'd used the time to run to the bookstore and look up cooking recipes, spending a long time there trying to figure out how to cook the ingredients Ethan had just bought her.
She kept thinking about the pile of expensive ingredients Ethan had bought that afternoon, worried she might ruin them, so she wanted to flip through a cookbook first.
She found recipes for black-bone chicken and seafood, standing by the shelf completely absorbed, silently running through the steps in her head as she read.
She was so focused that she completely lost track of time.
Until the bookstore owner reminded her, a little annoyed, "Young lady, are you here to read or to buy books? This isn't a library!"
She snapped back to reality, realizing how late it was. She'd rushed back as fast as she could, but she was still late.
Her plan was simple: at least learn the cooking process first, so she'd know how to make these ingredients.
Ethan looked at the beads of sweat on her forehead and asked, a little concerned, "What were you doing? Why couldn't I get through on your phone?"
"Phone..." Nora hurriedly pulled the old Nokia out of her pocket. Sure enough, the screen was black. "It... it's dead."
She felt a bit embarrassed.
Ethan was puzzled. "This phone can go ten days, two weeks without a charge. Why would it die now?" He took the phone from her hand, and sure enough, it was off.
Nora said weakly, "It might be broken..."
He tried pressing the power button, but there was no response.
After a moment, he pressed his fingers in and pried open the back cover.
Hisssss!
Ethan's eyes narrowed. The battery was clearly swollen and warped, puffed up like a piece of bread, the edges stretched tight!
Wow, the battery's swollen...
If this kept up, it might explode one day while charging.
He gently closed the back cover and handed it back to her. "Let's go," Ethan said.
"Mm—okay!" Nora replied obediently, following behind Ethan.
After they'd walked for a bit, she remembered the key question and asked quietly, "Ethan, where are we going to cook?"
She figured it would be some shared kitchen, or the small studio he'd rented.
Ethan didn't turn around, his stride never faltering. "You'll see once you get there."
After walking for a while, the two passed through a lush Oak trees.
One small courtyard after another came into view for Nora.
Since the start of the semester, her life had basically been confined to dorm, class, and dining hall. Without Ethan, her life wouldn't have changed much, and she probably wouldn't have set foot in Oak Ridge even after four years of college.
Nora slowed her steps without meaning to, her eyes widening as she looked around with curiosity and delight.
The evening breeze rustled through the Oak leaves, whispering softly, easing the late-summer heat and bringing a rare sense of coolness and calm.
These rows of elegant, quiet courtyards were places she'd never set foot in before.
The quiet scent of the forest gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity and ease, loosening something tight inside her, and a faint, relaxed smile crept onto her face without her noticing.
It reminded her of the forest behind her old house...
Ethan stopped in front of a small courtyard decorated with wind chimes, took out a key, and opened the gate.
Nora looked at him, surprised. How did Ethan have a key to this place? Wasn't this where the school's professors lived?
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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