Chapter 291: Be Destroyed
"You are..." Thanks to Arabella’s emphatic description, it was hard for Aurora Donovan to ignore Melanie Yates even if he tried. "Eloise’s friend, Ms. Yates?"
"You know me?" It had to be said, Melanie’s face was highly deceiving.
Especially when she stared at you with shining eyes, her large, round Leos blinked and completely reflected your image as if you were her entire world. If it were a man with a swollen ego, he would have been captivated by her glance long ago. Unfortunately for her, she had run into Aurora, which meant her flirtatious charm was completely wasted on him.
"Oh, Eloise has mentioned you at home a few times."
Melanie froze for a moment. Completely unfazed by Aurora’s businesslike indifference, she shot a surprised look at Eloise. Gratitude sparkled in her eyes, as if she were saying, "Bestie, thanks for the assist!"
Eloise fell silent. She thought, "No, you misunderstand. I really can’t take credit for this, and I definitely didn’t mean to play matchmaker for you two!"
"Does Eloise mention me often? It’s true, we’re really good friends at school. Although we haven’t known each other long, she has taken very, very good care of me lately.
"Seeing me leave my hometown all alone to attend a university so far away, she worried I’d be homesick. So, she frequently asked me out for shopping and meals. If it weren’t for her, I don’t know how miserable I would’ve been this entire semester."
When Melanie said this, her tone was exceedingly gentle and dripping with affection—purely contrived. Even her voice shifted into a sickly sweet, high-pitched register. It made Arabella and Aurora’s hair stand on end, giving them a full-body shiver of goosebumps.
"You were clearly the one who asked me—MMPH..." Before Eloise could retort, Melanie clamped a hand over her mouth.
"I’ve never told her these things before. She probably didn’t realize how highly I think of her, so now she’s embarrassed."
Arabella and Aurora were both left completely speechless. They thought, "We can’t tell she’s embarrassed at all. And stop covering her mouth, she’s about to suffocate!"
Eloise didn’t suffocate in the end. Once released, she shot a resentful glare at the two people whose faces were contorted from holding back their laughter. She thought, "Forget it, just let the world end! Heaven knows why I ever lost my mind and agreed to accompany this girl to Brynn University!"
"AHEM, you two are here to tour Brynn University, right? Since the new term hasn’t officially started yet, you can walk around the campus and familiarize yourselves with the environment. The library over in the West District is quite nice. It houses a lot of rare materials you can’t find outside. There aren’t many people there right now, so you should be able to find seats.
"However, most of the stalls in the cafeteria are probably closed, and the vendors aren’t back yet. If you want to stay for lunch, you might have to go off-campus."
Having given his advice, Aurora felt he had adequately fulfilled his duties as a host and decisively chose to part ways with the two girls.
"I still have work to do in the lab. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take Serena over there first. Take your time looking around, and contact me if you need anything."
"Okay, go ahead with your work."
Melanie watched Aurora and Serena walk away, unable to tear her gaze away for a long time. An inexplicably smitten, goofy smile hung on her face.
Eloise’s mouth twitched at the sight. She couldn’t help but wave her hand in front of Melanie’s face. "Wake up, wake up! They’re already gone!"
"Aurora is such a nice guy. He truly is my idol!"
"...Where did you get the idea that he’s a nice guy?"
"How could he not be? He’s so handsome. He’s so handsome. He’s really so handsome! AHH! AHH! AHHH!"
Eloise gave her a bewildered look. "Wait, you chatted with him for that long, and the only thing you remember is that he’s handsome?"
Melanie slapped her hands over her cheeks, covering most of her face. "But he just is so handsome! The moment he spoke, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his face. I was so busy staring at him that I completely forgot everything he said."
Eloise was speechless. She thought, "This girl is a hopeless case!"
"Oh, right! He also told us to contact him if we needed anything. He really is such an enthusiastic and good person."
Eloise grimaced in embarrassment and helplessly reminded her, "Do you even have his contact info?" She thought, "That was obviously just a polite excuse. How could you take it seriously?"
"I don’t, but you’re his sister, so you do! What’s yours is mine. Rounding it up, he was practically saying that to me."
Eloise thought, "That logic actually works?!"
Arabella and Aurora were completely unaware of the little episode unfolding between the two girls. As soon as they stepped out of Eloise and Melanie’s line of sight, Arabella couldn’t suppress her curiosity. "Aurora, don’t you have anything you want to say?"
"What is there for me to say?"
"She obviously came here for you. Didn’t you see the way she looked at you? If she hadn’t been mindful of Eloise’s and my presence, she would have swallowed you whole."
Aurora paused, turning to flick Arabella on the forehead with a helpless expression. "Do you think I’m some hot commodity? Swallowing me whole—she’s not afraid of choking to death."
Clutching her forehead, Arabella grumbled in dissatisfaction, "To her, you’re not just a hot commodity; you’re a giant, thin-skinned crystal steamed bun stuffed with filling! It doesn’t even matter if the filling tastes good. The most important thing is that the outer skin looks gorgeous, and every single pleat on it touches her heart perfectly!"
Aurora fell silent. He thought, "What kind of terrible analogy is that? Absolutely ridiculous."
"Stop letting your imagination run wild. For a young girl her age, experiencing the first awakenings of love, it’s understandable to harbor unrealistic fantasies about romance and the future. Once she calms down and sees the gap between us, she’ll realize we aren’t suitable for each other. When that time comes, she’ll naturally wake up from her romantic delusions."
Arabella’s mouth twitched. She didn’t say anything more out loud, but she couldn’t hold back her inner mockery. She thought, "The way you talk, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were ten or twenty years older than her! Being so oblivious to romance, you deserve to stay single and die alone!"
Aurora remained speechless.
"At this hour, the lab doors should be open. Let’s hurry over. I can introduce you to my mentor before everyone starts working."
Only then did Arabella remember their true purpose for coming here today. Hastily putting away her gossip-loving heart, she nodded with a serious expression.
Because the semester hadn’t officially started yet, there weren’t many people in the lab. Most of those who stayed behind were students who lived too far away to go home for the holidays, choosing instead to camp out in the lab and continue their experiments.
Even though Aurora had joined this lab less than two months ago, he was quite famous around here. The moment he swiped his card and led Arabella through the doors, they bumped into a handsome, round-faced guy with clear, refined features.
"Donovan, you’re here at the lab this early again? And this is..."
"This is my sister, Arabella Donovan. Serena, this is my colleague from the same group, a second-year graduate student at Brynn University, Ben Sullivan."
"I wouldn’t dare call myself your senior. So you’re Donovan’s sister. Hello, welcome to our lab for a tour."
Arabella smiled faintly and shook his hand, then suddenly asked out of curiosity, "Ben Sullivan? You wouldn’t happen to have an older brother named Norman Sullivan, would you?"
"How did you know?"