Chapter 79: Please Don’t Mind It
After the celebration, it was a buffet banquet. The guests ate very little. Most of the time was used for conversation and socializing. The weather was so good, not too cold or too hot. Many people walked on campus to relive the students’ time.
When Arianna’s work was all over, she ate a little thing in the cafeteria, and then a female colleague dragged her to go to the labyrinth for a walk and chat.
That female colleague recently had a little emotional problem and wanted to talk to Arianna particularly; perhaps it was because Arianna was a good listener.
The labyrinth forest was a famous scene on the campus. More than two thousand short trees separated a small space into many small rooms like a honeycomb, which looked like a labyrinth when people came in there. This place was strictly controlled and monitored by the campus to avoid students doing something indecent here. In fact, students and visitors only come here during the day.
The female colleague hooked Arianna’s arm and walked through the forest with her. They sometimes bumped into a pair of little lovers who were very close to each other, doing homework or whispering. The lovers treated Arianna and her colleague like they were trees.
Today the college warned students to behave because of the VIP guests, so Arianna did not see something harsh in the eyes.
Arianna and her colleague sat on the stone bench and rested. Suddenly, a female voice came from the other side of the wall of trees, “Do you still remember that? I wanted to study at this college. I once spent a period of time visiting this campus every day. At that time, this forest did not exist, and there weren’t so many buildings.” Arianna felt the voice was very familiar.
“Yeah.” A man answered. Now Arianna identified the voice as Travis Cooper. It turned out that the woman was Susan Cooper. What a coincidence!
“My scores were clearly enough for this college, and I was actually transferred to another college to study another major. Those suckers had no idea their rash action had caused the country to lose a good surgeon. I am still very angry about that now.”
“Did you not intend to study medicine because you wanted to stab a knife into someone’s body legally? Or am I mistaken?”
“Fuck you! I obviously love the medical profession from my nature. Now you see that I work hard to contribute to the medical cause, right?”
Travis was quiet for a while. Then Susan said, “Hey, go home to dinner this evening. In the afternoon, I will go to the lake to buy fresh fish, and I will make a nice fish dish for you tonight.”
“Maybe you can spend your energy on something…. more creative. I don’t want to get gastroenteritis again.”
“If you don’t come home tonight, you are dead!”
Arianna walked out of the forest with her colleague after Travis and his wife left. The female colleague said, “That sounded like Travis Cooper and his wife. Today I spoke to them.”NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.
Arianna responded vaguely.
“Mr. Cooper looks indifferent, and Mrs. Cooper looks elegant. I did not expect they were actually a funny couple. However, their relationship seems to be very good. I thought couples like them are just looking close to each other in appearance.”
“There are always exceptions,” Arianna answered after receiving an expecting look from her colleague.
Sometimes Travis Cooper did not show up, but his shadow was around.
One day Arianna was choosing a cufflink for Charles as a birthday present in a high-end menswear store. The boss put out many boxes of expensive cufflinks for her choice.
Arianna had been a quick buyer. She just took a look at all of them, picked two or three designs, and compared them, and then she chose a square style, not the most expensive or the most special, but simple. The boss praised her for her wise choice and her quick buyer spirit.
When she asked the boss to pack the merchandise and was about to pay, somebody behind her said, “I want the same type of cufflink chosen by this lady just now.” It was an elegant and gentle voice. Arianna turned and looked back and found it was Susan Cooper.
“Sorry lady, we only sell one piece for each design in this shop. Please look at something else?”
“Is it possible to help me with the same cufflink? It doesn’t matter if it is expensive.”
“This… In fact, this style chosen by this lady is very common. This cufflink was picked up by myself from abroad, so I can’t necessarily find the same. You see, I have dozens of other designs here.”
“But I only like the design she picked. So, please help me out?”
Arianna put that set of cufflinks back on the counter and smiled at the boss, “Let the lady buy this cufflink. I want to change that elliptical design.”
“Thank you very much, Miss.” The boss smiled and sighed, “I give the two of you a 5% discount. We don’t usually offer that.”
“To take away someone’s favorite thing, how rude I am. In fact, I am not in a hurry. I can wait for you to help me get this design when you procure goods next time.” Susan smiled at the boss.
“It doesn’t matter, I thought it would look great before. But it is just a decoration. There are many decorations on sale, right?” Arianna said softly.
“Oh, really. So, thank you for giving up what you like.”
“I did not. Please don’t mind it.”
Susan insisted on asking Arianna to have a drink. She was sincere and humble, and her attitude was firm and tough. Arianna thought that she was actually rude the last time Susan invited her, so she went with her.
There was a cafe upstairs. When they went upstairs together, Arianna saw the “man in black” again. This time this man was in a gray suit, looking very ordinary, walking only one meter away from them. The man slightly nodded when he saw Arianna, and his poker face seemed to have smiled for a second, so Arianna returned him a smile for a second.
Arianna ordered a rich cappuccino. Susan said to the waiter, “I want the same as hers.”
The man in gray who kept standing one meter away from Susan stepped forward and said, “Miss, the doctor said you can’t drink coffee.”
“I like coffee.”
“Coffee is not good for your health.” The man in gray insisted. “What good does health have if I cannot achieve the basic taste enjoyment?” Susan spoke slowly.