Chapter 10: When to Get Married
Ryan stared expectantly at his parents, seemingly hoping they would kiss and hug just like he remembered.
Caroline was so embarrassed her toes could have dug a hole in the floor. She quickly changed the subject. "Sweetie, haven’t you been saying you want to eat the noodles Daddy makes?"
Adrian looked up. "Noodles?"
Caroline explained, "While you were gone the last few days, he kept talking about wanting to eat the noodles you make."
The change of subject worked. Ryan’s attention shifted to Adrian. "That’s right, Daddy! I haven’t had your beef noodle soup in so long."
Adrian was a little surprised. "How do you know I can make beef noodle soup?"
Ryan blinked. "Did you forget, Daddy? You told me it was a skill you perfected when you were studying abroad."
Adrian: "..."
Beef noodle soup was indeed his specialty. He had made it for himself countless times during his years studying abroad.
Not even his parents knew about this.
Even though he had accepted the fact that Ryan had traveled back in time from the future, hearing the boy say it... Adrian instinctively glanced at Caroline, his eyes meeting her oncoming gaze.
Thinking he might mistakenly believe she was the source, Caroline quickly distanced herself from it. "I didn’t know that. Don’t look at me."
’Even though I know the plot of the book, it never gave Adrian a dedicated side story, so of course I wouldn’t know his personal secrets.’
Hearing this, Adrian withdrew his gaze. He glanced at the time—it was only eight-thirty. "Neither of you have eaten this morning, have you? I’ll make some breakfast. The beef noodle soup requires some prep work, so I’ll make it for you next time."
"Yay!" Ryan cheered, instantly delighted.
Caroline was speechless.
She sat in Adrian’s house, watching the sight of his back as he worked in the kitchen, her feelings a complicated mess.
’I never thought I’d get to eat breakfast made by the villain’s own hands.’
She glanced around and realized he lived alone. It didn’t seem like he had a housekeeper to look after things.
After Adrian left the room, Ryan started clinging to his mother.
He asked Caroline to tell him a story, making it impossible for her to refuse when he said, "Mommy, you’ve been working overtime these past few nights. It’s been so long since you told me a story."
Caroline wanted to scream. ’Who tells stories at eight or nine in the morning?’
But she couldn’t resist her son’s pleading.
Lively chatter, a rare sound, filled the perennially quiet living room.
"Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On the mountain, there was a temple. In the temple, there was an old monk..."
"Mommy, you’ve told that one already."
"Okay, a different one. Once upon a time, there was a little tadpole..."
"Mommy, we’ve done ’The Little Tadpole Looks for His Mommy’ too."
"It was a rainy summer night. Little Red had a high fever, so her mother carried her on her back to the hospital..."
"Mommy, we’ve already heard all the stories about Little Ming, Little Bai, Little Red, and Little Qing getting high fevers."
"..."
Caroline broke into a sweat. ’My past selves have really painted me into a corner.’
As Adrian Grant deftly prepared breakfast in the kitchen, he listened to the conversation from the living room and found himself looking up.
He saw Caroline staring down, a constipated look on her face.
"Where’s that storybook you brought this morning? Take it out, and Mommy will read to you."
Caroline had given up on racking her brain for stories and decided to give her mind a break by just reading from the book.
Ryan obediently pulled the storybook from his little backpack. Caroline took it and began to read aloud, word for word.
After a few pages, Ryan started reading it himself. It was Caroline’s turn to listen, and she started yawning one after another. ’Listening to stories really is hypnotic.’
Combined with the fact that she’d only gotten a few hours of sleep after midnight, Caroline grew drowsier and drowsier as she listened. Eventually, she simply closed her eyes and, leaning against the sofa, drifted off.
Ryan’s voice grew quieter and quieter, until he stopped reading altogether. When Adrian finished breakfast and walked over, he found Caroline asleep on the sofa.
The ever-thoughtful Ryan whispered, "Mommy’s asleep."
Adrian wasn’t surprised. It had been nearly four in the morning when he’d left the previous night.
He leaned down and whispered, "Breakfast is ready. Go ahead and eat. I’ll take your mom upstairs to rest."
Ryan nodded obediently. Tiptoeing so as not to make a sound, he ran with surprising familiarity to the dining table and began to eat his breakfast.
Adrian’s gaze fell upon Caroline, who was curled up on the sofa. He bent down, slid one arm under her neck and the other beneath her knees, and lifted her steadily into his arms. Then, he turned and headed up the stairs.
He entered the room and walked to the side of the bed.
He leaned over, pulled back the covers, and had just gently laid her down when the woman in his arms stirred. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Adrian was still leaning over her. The moment their eyes met, the air went still for half a second.
Caroline had just woken up, her mind still hazy.
’Wait, where am I?’
’A room with the curtains drawn, a dim environment...’
The position they were in, the angle... Just as she was beginning to think she was having another one of her erotic dreams...
A cool, deep voice sounded, pulling her back to reality.
"You’re awake."
Adrian’s voice betrayed no emotion. One of his arms was still braced on the bed beside her, while the other was still cushioning her head, not yet withdrawn.
However, the moment he spoke, Caroline shot up in bed as if by reflex.
THUD.
Their foreheads collided.
The tips of their noses touched, their breaths mingling.
Their lips almost brushed against each other.
’So close!’
Her pupils contracted sharply!
Her breath hitched in her throat!
Caroline was now wide awake!
She reacted by throwing herself backward, collapsing onto the bed and rubbing her forehead.
The entire sequence, from impact to separation, took less than three seconds.
It was only as she lay back down that she noticed a hand behind her head.
Only then did Adrian straighten up, withdrawing the hand that had been cradling the back of her head.
"I..."
She started to speak in a hurry, but before she could finish, the voice from above gently cut her off.
"Don’t get the wrong idea."
Adrian’s voice was low, his sharply defined features betraying no emotion.
"I saw you’d fallen asleep, and with our son here, it didn’t seem right to let you sleep in the living room."
He paused, then added, "This is my home. I’m not so rude as to do that."
"If you’re still tired, rest a while longer. We have things to discuss about the boy later." With that, Adrian turned and walked out, not lingering for a second longer.
"..."
The door closed.
Caroline lay on the bed, the clean, fresh scent of Adrian lingering in her nostrils, refusing to fade.
She pulled the comforter up, burying half her face in it, and the faint, clean scent that belonged to Adrian became even more pronounced.
She quickly realized something, scrambling out of bed to look around. Only then did it dawn on her that this was Adrian’s bedroom.
’Does that mean... just half an hour ago, Adrian was sleeping in this very bed?’
Her feelings in a tangle, Caroline lay back down. She pulled the covers up, and as she instinctively went to hide her head under them, she froze. ’Stop, stop, stop! This makes me look like a total creep.’
She tugged the comforter back down, settling it just below her chin.
She had been a little drowsy before, but after all that commotion, she was now completely awake.
She tossed and turned, and half an hour later, her eyelids finally began to feel heavy.
...
After coming downstairs, Adrian kept Ryan company in the living room.
"Daddy has a question for you. When did Mommy and I get married?"