Medford, with its limited entertainment options, became quiet and peaceful after midnight.
Under the moonlight, the powerful engine sound of a commanding Rolls-Royce Phantom broke the tranquility.
Soon after, the car pulled up and stopped directly in front of Connie's house.
Then, a faint knock sounded from outside.
Bathed in moonlight, Collins, dressed in a tasteful floral long dress and with delicate light makeup, seemed to have specially prepared for this operation.
The door opened, and Mike appeared before her, silhouetted against the light.
"Mike, I… I…" Collins, who had prepared to confess, found that she couldn't even speak clearly due to nervousness the moment she saw him.
After all that effort, she didn't even have the courage to confess, and feelings of annoyance and self-reproach instantly overwhelmed her.
Having lost her courage, Collins dared not look into Mike's eyes, finally just hanging her head in shame.
"Was your journey smooth?"
Mike, who had already guessed, greeted her like an old friend, "Come in and sit down first…"
Her actions this time could be described as both bold and crazy, but now was not the time to assign blame.
And to be honest, Mike had been under a lot of pressure before, and it was only when she appeared that he truly relaxed.
"Oh, okay. Thank you..."
Collins, her confession plan having failed, mechanically followed Mike into the room.
At this point, the situation couldn't get any worse.
Hitting rock bottom, she completely calmed down, even having time to reflect on the reasons for her failure.
It was then that Connie and Paige, hearing the commotion outside, both walked out of their rooms.
Paige, after glancing at Collins in the living room, whose hair was slightly disheveled and who looked disheveled, turned and went back to her room.
Little girls generally mature earlier than boys.
Moreover, Paige had her own pride; despite her usually amiable demeanor, she, like Sheldon, believed that humans and monkeys could never be true companions.
To explain, there was a natural barrier between super high-IQ geniuses and ordinary people.
Ordinary people simply couldn't understand the world of geniuses.
Categorized this way, Mike, Sheldon, and Paige, the three geniuses, naturally belonged to the same camp.
Therefore, Paige didn't care how many girls Mike dated; she knew that she would be the only one to stay with him until the end.
This was the confidence of a genius.
In this situation, Paige, confident in her own appearance, understood that the only obstacle between her and Mike was time.
Paige needed to grow up quickly and become a great beauty.
This also explained why Paige had been sulking earlier when Mike said she wouldn't grow tall.
On the other side, Connie, who also appeared in the living room, looked at the girl beside Mike, first with a bit of surprise, then with an understanding smile.
With her excellent mindset, what she loved most was gossiping.
"Mike, there's still steak and red wine in the fridge. You can enjoy them with this young lady…" After greeting the two, Connie gave Mike a meaningful look before turning back to her room, "Ah, I'm getting old… I get sleepy easily… and my ears aren't as good as they used to be…"
Accompanying Connie's departure was her mumbling.
Although it sounded like an old woman lamenting the unforgiving passage of time, Mike knew that Connie was subtly hinting that no one would disturb his "good deed" tonight.
"Do you want something to eat first?" Mike asked her after only the two of them remained in the living room.
"No, I'm not… hungry…" Her good upbringing made Collins about to be polite, but her stomach chose that moment to rumble, making her unable to continue her sentence.
A blush crept up her cheeks.
"You haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Mike asked in surprise.
She had been so focused on confessing earlier, rushing over without having dinner.
Now, she hadn't even managed to confess, and one unexpected event after another kept happening.
Things seemed to be heading in a strange direction, and Collins's expression became increasingly awkward as she realized this.
Well, Mike understood everything without her having to answer, just by her reaction.
"You can have some snacks first; I'll go make you something to eat…"
There were dried fruits, small biscuits, and other snacks on the living room table. Mike instructed her, then went to the refrigerator to get some ingredients and headed straight to the kitchen.
Soon, a simple dinner was prepared, including a pan-fried steak and a glass of hot milk.
When Mike came out with the food, Collins seemed to have also re-composed herself.
Sitting gracefully on the sofa, her expression had returned to calm, exuding a unique charm.
"Thank you."
After the food was placed in front of her, Collins politely thanked him before enjoying her belated dinner.
One had to admit, people with good family education truly were different.
Even her eating exuded elegance.
"Are you planning to elope with me, coming over alone so late at night?" Mike asked with a hint of mischief after she had almost finished eating.
He hadn't forgotten how much trouble this elegant girl had caused him earlier.
After all, if Collins had really gotten into an accident this time, the little Sean family would definitely have come looking for Mike.
"Cough, cough… I didn't—"
The sudden question almost made Collins choke. After tidying the disturbed plate in front of her, she turned to Mike and confessed, "I came here to tell you that I like you."
"You might not care about this, but I still want you to know…"
Perhaps to leave no regrets, or perhaps because Collins was about to go to college and thought they wouldn't have a chance to meet again.
So, she poured out everything on her mind.
Then, she stared at Mike anxiously, as if waiting for his judgment.
"Would you like some red wine?"
After a moment of silence, Mike took two glasses of red wine from the side, handed one to her to help her calm down, and then continued, "Actually, I'm not that picky about girls; as long as they're pretty enough, I like them all. You just happen to fit my aesthetic…"
This was purely a scumbag's statement.
Collins clearly understood what Mike meant, and her expression became unusually complex.
A girl at an age of fantasy would certainly hope for a pure love.
And Mike's answer was quite disheartening.
Good news: Mike seemed to have feelings for Collins too.
Bad news: Collins couldn't be the only one.
"Give me another glass of wine!" Collins, once again conflicted, chugged the red wine in her hand.
"Are you sure you want another drink?" Mike asked seriously.
In this situation, if she drank more, it would mean something.
"Drink, why not drink!" Collins, who had only had one glass of red wine, seemed to already be tipsy.
With mutual affection and Mike having nothing to lose, there was naturally no reason for him to stop her.
As several glasses of wine went down, Collins grew bolder, and her gaze at Mike's handsome face became increasingly unrestrained.
She needed to vent now…
Thus, a drinking session slowly moved from the living room to Mike's room.
[Charm attribute +20]… [Flexibility attribute +3]… [Dance experience +66]…
It had to be said, Collins was indeed worthy of being their school's cheerleading captain; not only was her beauty on par with girls like Regina, but her "skills" were also not inferior to Regina's.