Chapter 2

Yasmin seemed frightened by the recording incident. She stopped making sarcastic remarks and even deliberately kept her distance from me.

Without her interference, the air felt much fresher.

I gradually let my guard down, thinking she had finally learned about boundaries and stopped looking for trouble.

The month passed peacefully.

Until the day of the holiday, I packed my suitcase and walked out of school to find William's black Bentley already parked at the school gate.

He wore a pressed dark suit, his posture upright. He looked nothing like a driver.

"Sophia, let me take that for you."

William smiled as he took the suitcase from my hand and expertly placed it in the trunk.

Just as I pulled open the car door to get in, Yasmin's voice suddenly called from behind.

"Sophia, wait!"

I turned around to see Yasmin pulling her suitcase, jogging toward me.

Her eyes glanced at William and the car, and she was still catching her breath.

"My parents are working overtime on a construction project and can't pick me up. Plus, I bought a lot of study materials this month, so I don't have enough money for a cab."

"Sophia, could you give me a ride?"

She looked at me expectantly, her tone cautious.

I frowned.

Honestly, I didn't want any more entanglement with her, but seeing those yellowed canvas shoes on her feet, and considering she really hadn't bothered me this past month.

I couldn't help but relent. "Get in."

"Thank you so much! Sophia, you're the best!"

Before I could react, she had already walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in. Her movements were so natural, as if it were her designated seat.

I froze for a moment, frowning.

Usually when William picked me up, I put my bag or files in the passenger seat. No one else ever sat there.

But then I thought, it was just a seat. No need to make a big deal out of it. So I opened the back door.

As soon as the car started moving, Yasmin began chatting with William.

"Sir, this car is so comfortable. It must be expensive, right?"

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, completely different from her sharp and bitter tone in the dorm.

William smiled politely. "It's alright. Just for transportation."

"You look so young, sir. You must take really good care of yourself, right?"

Yasmin rested her chin on one hand, staring straight at William. "Do you focus a lot on health maintenance? My mom always says men need to take care of themselves as they get older, or they'll age fast..."

She babbled on and on, every topic somehow circling back to William, every word dripping with deliberate flattery.

One moment she'd praise his suit fabric, the next she'd say his voice was magnetic, and she even meaningfully mentioned:

"My dad works construction year-round. His hands are covered in calluses. Not like you, sir. You look like someone who does important things. Even your fingers are so long and elegant."

I got goosebumps listening to her and couldn't help glancing at her.

But she acted as if she didn't notice my gaze and continued chatting animatedly with William.

William clearly sensed something was off and his responses became increasingly perfunctory, mostly just "Mm" and "I suppose" to brush her off.

But not only did Yasmin not hold back, she intensified her efforts.

As we passed a dessert shop, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! This place has such famous mousse cake! I've always wanted to try it, but it's too expensive..."

As she spoke, her eyes drifted toward William, her tone taking on a wheedling quality. "Sir, have you tried it? I heard rich people have personal pastry chefs at home. Is that true?"

"I'm not rich..."

"You're too modest, sir. If you don't count as rich, then what are we? Beggars?"

Yasmin chattered nonstop the entire way. It was incredibly annoying.

I tried to interrupt her several times, telling her to stop.

But she'd stay quiet for less than a minute before finding another topic to discuss with William.

Thoroughly irritated, I simply put in my Bluetooth earbuds to block out her voice.

It was just a short ride anyway. Once we dropped her at the subway station, we'd never cross paths again.

No point getting into another conflict over such a small thing.

However, when the car approached the subway station, Yasmin suddenly said:

"Sir, actually my home isn't near the subway station. It's in the suburbs. Could you drive me a bit further?"

Then she turned to wink at me. "Sophia, you don't mind, right?"