'Stop!'
'I can't keep thinking about this!'
Holly Wyatt felt that if she let her thoughts run any wilder, she wouldn't be able to look Silas Thornton in the eye anymore.
Her cheeks felt hot, and she quickly lowered her head, letting her long hair fall over her face to hide her expression.
She walked briskly to the sofa, grabbed a random bag of snacks, and tore it open.
Silas Thornton kept his eyes on the document in his hands, but the ears atop his head were keenly focused on Holly's every move.
The tips of his ears twitched.
'The cub opened the snacks!! Eat up, eat up!'
'The cub is drinking her milk! Drink more! Drink more! So you can grow tall and strong!'
'Huh? Why did the cub stop eating? Does it not taste good? Or is she already finished?'
Silas stealthily raised his eyes, and his dark pupils met Holly's gaze. He immediately looked back down.
'Eek! The cub caught me slacking off. It's over, it's over! Is she going to think I'm not a serious worker? Nooo! The main reason I brought my cub here today was to show her that I can provide for her!! So she won't always be so hard on herself!'
'Mumble, mumble...'
Holly looked away and kept chewing the snack in her mouth, trying to ignore the incessant chattering of Silas's thoughts.
Amidst Silas's nonsensical rambling, she turned to the side and surreptitiously slipped the tuft of tail fur she had just clutched in her hand into her pocket, adding it to the clump she already had.
She stared blankly at the milk on the table, her thoughts drifting away.
'Silas seems to be shedding a bit. Is it shedding season?'
'He's done so much for me. I should learn to take care of his fur too.'
'I can't touch it, but at least I can look at it.'
'Should I get him some fish oil?'
'To prevent shedding.'
*
「A few days passed quietly.」
Holly had never felt time pass so quickly; it was over in the blink of an eye.
She had been living at the manor these past few days and had gotten to know almost all the wolves there.
Faced with so many pairs of glittering wolf eyes, her initial awkwardness was gone.
She discovered that the wolves of the manor were simpler than humans. They spoke directly, without beating around the bush, which made them very comfortable to be around.
She slept very well, too.
The first couple of days, Silas had been too excited to sleep all night. Later, he must have gotten tired, as his thoughts would only ramble for a sentence or two each night before gradually fading away.
She had grown accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of his thoughts, unconsciously treating Silas's nightly monologue as a lullaby.
It was September, and the summer heat had yet to fade.
The air was still thick with sweltering heat.
Holly, dressed in a simple long-sleeved white t-shirt and jeans, sat obediently in the car, hugging her school bag.
Her hair hung loose, her heavy bangs covering half of her small face.
She waited with extreme patience for the man beside her to finish his instructions.
"If you can't get used to the food at school, I'll have Mrs. Archer cook for you and bring it over."
"If anyone bullies you, remember to tell me. Don't keep it to yourself."
"Pay attention in class. Did you bring the speech-to-text device?"
Holly nodded lightly.
"Mm, and also, if the dorm isn't comfortable, just move out. Don't worry about it being a hassle."
Holly continued to nod.
"You..."
"President Thornton..." the driver in the front seat finally couldn't help but speak up. He glanced at the well-behaved Holly in the rearview mirror. "You've already said all this for the tenth time."
Holly snuck a peek at the rearview mirror, and after seeing the driver's lips move, she secretly covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Silas Thornton: "..."
He flicked the tips of his ears in annoyance, their high-frequency twitching betraying his anxiety.
'Hmph! Driver Lawson, you're a middle-aged man with no cub of your own! How could you possibly understand the heart of someone raising a cub?! You have the nerve to sneak the cub snacks?! I saw you!! And you still dare to call me long-winded! I'm so mad! My fur's all puffed up in anger!! If you weren't a human, I'd toss out all those snacks you have!!'
Holly's expression was taut as she fought back her laughter. She picked up the drawing board hanging on the back of the driver's seat and wrote carefully, stroke by stroke, "I know, I'm a third-year now."
She held up the board, circled the two words "third-year," and tapped on them lightly.
Silas's expression stiffened slightly. He retracted his gaze, his jaw tightening. "Go on to class. Don't be late."
Holly blinked and glanced down at her watch.
It was already 7:40 AM, and class started at eight.
Her breath caught. She nodded quickly, gave a casual wave, and opened the car door to run out.
'Ah... Ah... My cub's gone off to school, leaving me all alone... *Snowflakes fluttering, the north wind is howling...*'
As the distance between them grew, Silas's thoughts gradually faded away.
Back in the car, Silas watched Holly's disappearing figure, then shot a glare at the snickering Driver Lawson. His face darkened. "To the office."
The corner of Driver Lawson's mouth, which had been turned up in a smile, immediately drooped. "Yes, President Thornton."
A smile doesn't disappear; it just moves to someone else.
Once Holly entered the school gates, she could no longer hold it in. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.
Suddenly, she felt a light, almost imperceptible tap on her shoulder.
The smile froze on her lips. She pretended not to have felt it, keeping her head down and quickening her pace as if a ghost were chasing her.
A pair of white running shoes, emblazoned with the logo of a luxury brand, suddenly appeared on the asphalt in front of her.
Holly stared at the familiar shoes, her steps faltering for a moment before she carefully tried to walk around them.
An arm blocked her path.
Holly was forced to look up.
An exquisitely handsome face came into view.
He was bright and dashing, with well-defined features. His upturned, almond-shaped eyes held a look of endless affection and doting. He had a high-bridged nose, and a small pink mole on its tip added a touch of beguiling charm to his elegant features.
It was Leo Kensington, a fourth-year student in the fashion design program and Holly's... senior.
At a fashion design competition, he had been a student judge and had seen her work during the blind review. He was full of praise for it, and after meeting her in person, he praised her even more lavishly and gave her a high score.
In the end, with the approval of all the student and faculty judges, she won that competition.
Leo Kensington had been able to articulate the concepts and ideas behind her designs. She had always thought of him as a kindred spirit, believing he understood her and that she had finally found someone she could resonate with.
After the competition, he sought her out to ask about the details of her design drafts, and she had excitedly typed back and forth with him, discussing her inspiration and ideas.
But gradually, she got the feeling that Leo's interest wasn't in fashion design, but in her.
After all, discussing design drafts doesn't require knowing about her family background, the reason for her being deaf and mute, or other irrelevant information about her relatives, right?
Once she realized his intentions, she began to deliberately, yet subtly, refuse all his invitations.
He also seemed to sense her rejection, advancing and retreating along the so-called boundary of friendship, never pushing her too hard, but never letting go either.
She knew Leo Kensington was the young master of the Kensington family, the kind who had been spoiled rotten.
She didn't want to play some kind of domineering CEO cat-and-mouse game with a young master like him.
Last semester, she had finally had enough. She'd called him out on his intentions, telling him frankly that they weren't a good match and that he should consider other girls.
She hadn't seen him over the summer break, so she'd thought the young master had given up on her. She never expected him to show up right at the start of the new semester.
Leo Kensington extended a well-defined hand and clumsily made a few signs, speaking at the same time. "Why do you run the moment you see me? Not even a hello?"