Chapter 42: Eager to Bring Food
Layla had always been perceptive enough to read people’s expressions and reactions, which helped her gauge their moods. When she noticed the fleeting look of irritation on Julian’s face, she immediately realized that her earlier behavior had displeased him. Hastily, she wiped away her tears, though a trace of worry remained in her heart.
Seeing Layla looking so pitiful, Julian couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh. After all, he did care about her in his own way.
“I got sick rather unexpectedly, but it’s nothing too serious. I’ve been in the hospital for a few days, and I’m already feeling much better. You should go back to school.”
Layla, however, looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Can I stay with you? I could make you some food.”
As soon as she mentioned cooking, Adam struggled to keep his laughter in check. After all, he had just managed to bring food from Chloe, and now here was someone else eagerly offering to cook. Julian really was surrounded by women eager to cater to him.
Layla noticed the slight smirk on Adam’s face, and it annoyed her. She couldn’t understand why he found the situation amusing. All she wanted was to help Julian. Why was Adam acting like this? But she couldn’t show her frustration in front of everyone.
Julian, noticing Adam’s expression, frowned. Adam quickly averted his gaze, pretending to look at the
ceiling.
“It’s unnecessary,” Julian said. “Cooking would just waste your time. You should focus on your studies- didn’t you say you’re preparing for graduate school? Don’t waste your time here. If I need anything, I’ll call
you.”
Seeing how firm he was, Layla had no choice but to nad and leave, though she did so reluctantly after offering a few more words of concern.
Once she left, the room fell silent for a moment. Then, Daniel stood up and moved to take away the bowl of congee. “Are you going to finish this? If not, I’ll take it.”
Julian was about to say he didn’t want any more, but seeing Daniel’s expression made him change his mind. “Why should you get to take my food?” he grumbled.
At the library, Chloe had been studying efficiently until she got stuck on a difficult question. She spent a long time trying to solve it but couldn’t find the right answer. After thinking for a while, she remembered seeing a similar problem in a book she had read. She decided to go find the book to see if it could offer some insight.
was
After about ten minutes of searching in the library’s lending section, Chloe found the book:
she was looking for Just as she was about to take it, another book on the shelf caught her eye. It was about gene recombination and fusion, which reminded her of the paper Wyatt had shown her. Thinking it might be useful, she picked it up as well.
As Chloe flipped through the book, she became increasingly excited. The ideas it discussed were very similar to hers and Wyatt’s. Before she knew it, she had completely forgotten about the problem she’d been stuck on. She sat down and immersed herself in the book.
She had no idea how much time had passed when her phone vibrated in her pocket, bringing her back to reality. It was a message from Mia.
Champ& C Lagerjalinng!
*“Guess where I am right now?“*
Chloe smiled and replied, “Are you at school, or maybe just outside the library?“*
*”Bingo! I’m outside the library now.“*
Laughing at her friend’s timing, Chloe packed up her things and headed downstairs.
Mia’s job kept her incredibly busy, so the two didn’t have many opportunities to meet. Chloe was surprised that Mia had not only come to the school but had even sought her out at the library.
“What brings you here?” Chloe asked as she reached Mia.
Mia handed her a bag. “I was out working and passed by this shop that sells really good food, so I thought I’d grab something for you. You keep studying–I’m heading home.”
Chloe, holding the bag, asked, “Are you in such a rush? Why don’t you stay and have lunch with me? You’re already here at the school.”
Mia smiled but shook her head. “I’d love to, but I’ve been drowning in work lately. I was supposed to rest today, but my dad called me home. I just stopped by to drop this ‘off.”
Seeing Mia so tired, Chloe felt a pang of sympathy. She knew Mia’s job as a designer was demanding. When work came in, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be overwhelmed, with little time for rest.
Mia leaned in conspiratorially, adding, details?
“By the way, this has something to do with Julian. Want to hear the
Chloe immediately cut her off, smiling. “No thanks. I’m not interested in anything related to him. You should hurry home and get some rest. Your health is more important.”
With that, Chloe hurried back into the library, remembering she had left her things at the table.
Mia, watching Chloe’s retreating figure, clicked her tongue. She hadn’t even had a chance to share what she’d heard about their family’s competition with Julian’s. But, on second thought, maybe it was better this way. Chloe didn’t need her mood soured by unnecessary drama.
After Layla left, Julian wasn’t in the best of moods and ended up sending everyone else away too. With the room finally quiet, he felt a surge of irritation. He ripped out his IV needle and left the hospital room without informing anyone.
His reckless behavior would have surely terrified any nurse on duty, and indeed, as soon as he stepped out, he ran into one who was doing her rounds. The nurse immediately noticed the blood on his hand and panicked. Julian wasn’t the easiest patient to handle.
“Mr. Julian, your condition hasn’t stabilized yet. You can’t leave!”
“Get out of my way,” Julian snapped, clearly annoyed.
The nurse, realizing she was dealing with someone difficult, wisely stepped aside and quickly reported the situation to her superiors as Julian stormed out of the hospital.
