Chapter 71
lt;pgt;lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt; A Bridal Carry
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Okay, then. I apologize for saying that.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;When Sophie and Tristan left Nocturnal, it was raining heavily outside.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“What awful weather!”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;It was pouring, so even if the valet were to drive the car over, they would still be drenched when they
walked the short distance.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie rubbed her arms, for it was still rather chilly in Jipsdale in November. There was heating in the
bar earlier, so she didn’t feel it.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Right then, however, she was really cold.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Seeing that, Tristan removed the suit jacket from her waist and draped it over her shoulders.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Thus, his jacket enveloped her, covering even her bottom.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“What should we do now?”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“How about going back into the bar first? If you don’t like to hang out with them, we can get a private
room for ourselves.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“No, I don’t have any issue hanging out with them.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Felix and the others aren’t the hateful kind of people.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Okay.”lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;Tristan didn’t ask further, for the person speaking was Sophie, and he respected her decision no matter
the choice.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Oh well, let’s just take shelter here for a while.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;There were quite a number of people taking shelter from the rain in front of Nocturnal then. Sophie
hadn’t experienced that in a long time, so she found it rather intriguing.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Are you cold?” she asked Tristan. He’s only wearing a shirt at the moment, so he’s probably freezing!
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Nope.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Tristan, on the other hand, turned his gaze to her fair legs. I think she’s cold instead.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;He then made a call and had the driver bring them an umbrella.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;As the crowd grew, it became increasingly packed.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Some couples were already hugging, and others were even kissing.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;To protect Sophie from being jostled, Tristan kept her in his embrace.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;His chin came to just above the top of her head.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Such a posture was exceedingly intimate, with his warm breath tickling the top of her head.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Suddenly, someone jostled Tristan. He inched forward a fraction, upon which both their bodies
plastered together.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Uh…”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie abruptly felt that it wasn’t a wise decision to take shelter with him under the eaves.lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;At that precise moment, the driver came with the umbrella.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;The car was parked there, but the rain was coming down in torrents, so the curb was already flooded.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’ll carry you over.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“No, it’s okay. I can walk over by myself.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“You’ll ruin your shoes.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie initially wanted to say that she didn’t mind, but Tristan had already scooped her up.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Meanwhile, the driver opened an umbrella for her.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’ll carry her instead, Mr. Tristan!” he offered. How could I have Mr. Tristan doing such a thing?
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“What did you just say?”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Glimpsing the look in Tristan’s eyes, the driver immediately shook his head and pretended that he
didn’t say anything earlier.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Oh my God, a bridal carry! Look, that’s the ideal boyfriend! In comparison, you aren’t even willing to
carry me.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Look at his girlfriend first. She’s as beautiful as a goddess!”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“What do you mean by that?” The girl pinched her boyfriend’s ear.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;In response, the boy took her hand at once.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“No, no, you’re my goddess instead!”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;When Tristan carried Sophie over, the driver promptly opened the car door.lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;After placing her in the car, Tristan took the umbrella from him. He closed it before climbing into the car.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;It only took seconds, but his shirt was all drenched.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“How about I return your suit jacket to you?”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;However, Tristan stilled her hand that moved to doff the jacket.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’m fine, so just continue wearing it.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;The driver got into the car and turned on the air-conditioning in the car.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Where are we going now, Mr. Tristan?”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Drive Ms. Tanner home.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Your shirt is dripping water!” Sophie pointed at Tristan’s shirt.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;At that, Tristan moved to the side slightly.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Now, it won’t drip on you.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“That wasn’t what I meant.” Honest to God, I didn’t mean that!
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Just then, Tristan sneezed.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Are you okay, Mr. Tristan?” the driver swiftly inquired in concern when he heard the man sneezing.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’m fine. I’m not that delicate.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Alas, no sooner had he finished saying that than he sneezed again.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’m fine.”lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;This time, Tristan sounded incredibly solemn.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I didn’t say that you’re sick. Sir, please step on it.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie merely instructed the driver to speed up.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;There was heating in the car, so it was actually quite warm already.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Nonetheless, she still felt that he should take a hot bath as soon as possible.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Shortly after, the car drove into Wisteria Apartments’ underground parking.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“You may go back,” Tristan ordered the driver after alighting from the car.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’ll just wait for you here, Mr. Tristan.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“No, it’s okay. I’ll go back by myself.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Since he had said as much, the driver had no rebuttal left and could only leave.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Upon returning to the condominium, Sophie removed Tristan’s suit jacket.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Go and take a bath.” After all, it was easy to fall sick when one got drenched in the rain in such
weather.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Sure!”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Anyway, Tristan felt very much ill at ease when he was all soaked.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;He went into the room and took out a change of clothes before taking a bath.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Outside, Sophie quickly found a piece of ginger and scraped the skin off. Then, she surfed the internet
for recipes for ginger tea.lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;Following the steps stated in Google, she prepared ginger tea.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Truthfully, she wasn’t good at cooking. When she was alone in Horington back then, she basically had
takeaway all the time.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;She couldn’t quite fathom which wires in her brain got crossed that day either that she was making
ginger tea for Tristan.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Tristan soaked in the bathtub for twenty minutes before he came out.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Slipping on a white bathrobe, he blow-dried his hair before exiting the bathroom.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;He opened the door and went downstairs, only to see Sophie reading on the couch.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;She had already changed into casual attire that was creamy white.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;As the dim yellow lights illuminated her, it gave off a sense of warmth.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;After going downstairs, Tristan took a seat on the single couch.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;When Sophie noticed that he was only wearing a bathrobe, she couldn’t help averting her gaze.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“What are you brewing?” Tristan queried, breaking the silence in the room.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Ginger tea. It’s my first time brewing ginger tea, so I’m not sure how it’ll taste. It’s about ready now. I’ll
go and take a look.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Getting to her feet, Sophie went to check on the ginger tea.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Meanwhile, Tristan was at a loss for words.lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;Ginger tea? I positively loathe the taste of ginger tea. I don’t have a cold yet, no? Moreover, even when
I was really suffering from a cold in the past, I never drank ginger tea. But then, she prepared it
especially for me now.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;He likewise stood up and trailed after her.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie uncovered the lid of the earthen pot and watched as the color of the ginger tea darkened.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“It should be about ready.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Turning off the gas, she snagged a cloth, planning to pour the ginger tea in the earthen pot out.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“I’ll do it instead.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Tristan took the cloth from her. Wrapping it around the earthen pot, he poured the ginger tea into a
bowl.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“It looks pretty good.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie seemed extremely satisfied with the fruits of her effort.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Yeah, it’s indeed pretty good.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;While saying that, Tristan couldn’t help gulping.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Oh God, ginger tea really tastes strange! It’s bitter, astringent, and spicy!
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Are you not drinking it? I prepared it especially for you!”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;Sophie gazed at him expectantly.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;At her hopeful look, Tristan simply couldn’t bring himself to decline.lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;p/gt;
lt;pgt;Well, I reckon that as long as she gazes at me with such a look in her eyes, I’ll drink it without
hesitation even if it’s poison!
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“It’s too hot, so I’m leaving it to cool for a bit.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“Phew! I thought you lack confidence in my cooking skills, so you don’t dare drink it.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;The expression on the man’s face was really interesting, causing the corners of Sophie’s mouth to turn
up inexorably.
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;“It’s cool enough, Mr. Tristan. If it’s too cold, we’ll have to heat it up again. That’d be troublesome.”
lt;/pgt;
lt;pgt;I’ve got to make it clear that I’m only doing this for his own good. I’m not at all pulling a trick on him!lt;/pgt;
lt;p/gt;