Chapter 13

Emily's body stiffened, she planned to act as if she hadn't heard.

The old lady reached out and pushed her playfully, winking at Emily. "You haven't seen Luke for so many years, go talk to him and give him a hand."

Emily couldn't possibly not understand what the old lady was doing, and she couldn’t just pretend she didn’t hear what Luke said.

She braced herself and walked towards the kitchen.

"Do, do you need me to do something?" Emily stammered, not daring to look Luke in the eyes as she spoke.

Luke chuckled but didn't say anything.

Emily raised her eyes and met his gaze. "What are you laughing at?"

Luke shook his head, then walked in front of Emily.

The next moment, a cool minty scent surrounded her. Emily instinctively took a step back.

"Are you that afraid of me?" asked Luke.

Emily awkwardly shook her head.

She wasn't scared, but she hadn't yet figured out how to face Luke.

Luke extended his arm. "The sleeves, help me adjust them."

Emily nodded awkwardly and slowly reached out to help Luke adjust the sleeves of his shirt.

She had grown quite a bit taller, and now his sleeves reached her chest.

Luke lowered his eyes, watching her.

Emily's cheeks were flushed, her long, curled eyelashes dark and thick. Her skin was fair, nearly flawless. Under the light above, the fine hair on her cheeks was visible.

Luke's deep eyes shimmered, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as though he was trying hard to restrain something.

"Done."

Finally, Emily spoke and took a step back.

Luke's eyes cleared, and he gave a smile. "Thank you."

Emily whispered, "No need. Do you need my help with anything else?"

Luke pointed to the tomatoes on the chopping board.

"Can you cut them into chunks?"

Emily nodded, washing her hands in the sink before picking up a knife and starting to cut.

She asked curiously, "What are we making tonight?"

"Beef, your favorite."

Emily's hand holding the knife paused for a moment, and the surroundings seemed a little blurry.

The next moment, a sharp pain shot through her fingertip, and she let out a small cry.

"Don't move."

Luke set down the spatula, walked over, and grabbed the injured finger, bringing it to his mouth.

Emily immediately felt warmth rushing from her feet up to her head.

Her face flushed red. "You, you..."

She tried to pull her hand away.

Luke still held her finger in his mouth, and with every breath, his warm breath traveled across her body.

She felt as though she were surrounded by flames, burning with intense heat.

"Does it hurt?" asked Luke.

Emily shook her head.

Luke looked at her finger, seeing that it had stopped bleeding. He pulled out a band-aid and placed it on her finger.

Emily was a bit surprised. "How do you always carry these with you?"

Luke smiled. "There’s a child that keeps on hurting herself, so I keep these with me all the time"

Hearing the word "child," Emily paused.

Luke was not only married, but he also had a child.

The ripples in her heart instantly dissipated.

She said in a soft voice, "Oh, thank you. Um, I might not be able to help you anymore. Sorry."

Luke smiled. "It's fine. Go talk to my grandma. I'll be done in a moment."

Saying that, he reached out his hand, as if to ruffle her hair.

Emily instinctively took a step back to avoid his touch, not looking at Luke's expression, and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

Luke's hand froze in midair, and he gave a wry smile.

‘Children are so hard to coax...’

Night fell.

When Emily left the old lady's house, it was already dark.

The old lady was a little worried and said she would wait until Luke and the old man finished playing chess before seeing her off.

Emily refused, grabbing her bag and heading toward the villa's front gate.

Even now, she really didn't know how to be alone with Luke.

The sky was completely dark, and since this was a villa area, it was hard to get a taxi. She would have to walk a few kilometers to find a bus stop.

Emily took out her phone and checked the time—it was already 9 o’clock in the evening.

She didn't expect that after walking for an hour, she still hadn't reached the bus stop.

Suddenly, a car came from the opposite direction, its headlights shining on her.

Emily raised her hand to shield her forehead and squinted at the car. The light was too strong, and she couldn't make out who was inside.

However, the car looked familiar, though she couldn't recall where she had seen it before.

Before she could react, the car slowly stopped beside her, and the window rolled down. It was only then that Emily saw who was inside.

As their gazes met, Emily's heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

"Get in." Luke spoke first.

Emily snapped back to her senses, feeling a bit nervous. "No need, I'll be at the bus stop soon."

"There are no buses here. Get in, I'll give you a ride."

Seeing Luke's posture, which clearly said he wouldn't leave unless she got in, she couldn't refuse. She lowered her voice. "Then thank you, Mr. Freeman."

She reached out to open the front passenger door.

The driver, noticing, quickly spoke up. "Miss Sanders, please sit in the back with Mr. Freeman."

Emily retracted her hand and opened the back door, getting into the car.

She sat next to Luke.

Luke glanced at her. "Where to?"

"To school, the University of Oceanfield."

After Luke gave the driver the address, he started working on his laptop in the car.

The ride was quiet, with Emily gazing out the window at the night scene passing by.

"Have you figured out your career direction?"

Luke suddenly spoke.

Emily thought of telling her mother that she was going to Jelaston, but she instinctively kept it to herself.

"No."

"Have you thought about it?"

"No."

Seeing that she wasn't very interested in the topic, Luke didn't press further, continuing to work on his laptop.

The sound of him typing on the keyboard could be heard occasionally.

Emily secretly observed the man sitting beside her out of the corner of her eye.

Luke's fingers moved rhythmically over the keyboard.

His fingers were long and strong, and each stroke seemed to echo in her nervous system.

For some reason, Emily suddenly recalled the time in the old lady's kitchen when he held her hand, gently sucking on her injured finger.

A faint flush spread across her cheeks.

"Hot?"

Luke's voice came.

He wasn't looking at her, but it felt as though his head had eyes.

Emily felt a little embarrassed and tightly gripped her bag on her lap, muttering. "No."

Luke glanced up, giving her a quick look. "Why is your face so red?"

Emily felt even more awkward. She sheepishly replied. "A bit hot."

Luke spoke to the assistant driving. "Michael, turn down the air conditioning."

"Got it, Mr. Freeman."

When they arrived at the school gate, Emily spoke up. "Mr. Freeman, thank you for the ride."

Facing her cold politeness, Luke felt a little helpless.

"Emily, you used to call me Lukey,' have you forgotten?"

Emily lowered her eyes. "I was young and immature back then. Now I've grown up..."

As she said that, she reached out for the handle of the door, but the next moment, Luke suddenly reached out and grabbed her delicate, fair wrist.