Chapter 14
Ian had just come out of surgery. The bandage on his face affected his vision slightly. As he reached out to place a hand on the wall for guidance, a pair of dainty hands stretched out before him. “Give me your hand, lan. I’ll lead you.”
The hands and the voice belonged to Rosalie Lane. She was also one of Lance’s students and had come abroad to further her studies a year before Ian had.
They’d both worked in Lance’s lab back home, so they knew each other. She was the one who’d picked him up at the airport on his first day in Angleria. She’d also brought him to the college and showed him around.
Ian smiled and placed a hand in hers. “Looks like I’ll have to trouble you while I’m disabled, Rosalie.”
Her ears reddened slightly, but her expression remained calm. “It’s only normal for me to care about you since I’m your upperclassman. Besides, Professor White told me to keep an eye on you before you came here. I wouldn’t want him to yell at me for shirking my responsibilities.”
Ian paused before saying, “Thanks, Rosalie.”
Rosalie had been shocked when seeing him at the airport–she almost hadn’t recognized him and had been so worried that something had gone wrong with him. She’d been relieved to learn that he’d gotten the wound on his face after an accident.
When he’d jokingly talked about her having to face a disfigured person daily, she’d immediately sought reconstructive surgery. Even when he’d assured her that he didn’t need it, she’d insisted.
Out the best doctor available so he could undergo
“I don’t think anyone would want to have a scar on their face, Ian. Since you can get surgery to get it removed, why don’t you?”
Ian had pursed his lips, too embarrassed to say that he’d used all his money on his tuition. He hadn’t had any extra money to pay for the surgery.
Rosalie had seemingly seen through him, though. She’d patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. Professor White wrote a letter to the college here to explain your circumstances and help you get a scholarship. You’ve also been given the opportunity to work part–time on campus, so you can do that when you don’t have anything on at the lab.”
That had warmed Ian. He hadn’t expected Lance to help him with so many things. With that, Ian had stopped rejecting Rosalie’s kindness.
The reconstructive surgery had to be done as soon as possible for the best results, so Ian had gone to the hospital the very next day.
The day before the surgery, Rosalie had volunteered to stay with him. He wasn’t familiar with Angleria after just arriving, so he’d been thankful for her kindness. They returned to campus after Ian spent the day getting an IV drip.
Rosalie walked him to his dorm and showed him his medications one by one, telling him how to ingest them.
“This one has to be taken once a day, and a single pill each time. It’s to prevent inflammation. This one is an external one–you have to spray it on your wound when you change the bandages.”
Her considerate actions warmed him, especially since he’d just arrived in a place where he knew nothing and no one.
Every day after the surgery, Rosalie would text Ian and remind him to take his medication and change his bandages. Gradually, the scar faded.
When the semester officially began, Ian and Rosalie were assigned to the same lab. To make it easier to discuss their research progress, they had all their meals together and also left the lab together at night.
One day, they’d burned the midnight oil at the lab to obtain some data, only getting what they wanted at the crack of dawn.
Ian stretched, feeling sore after sitting in the same position for a whole night. Rosalie leaned close to him, looking mysterious. “How about I take you to a pasta place, Ian? I know of one nearby that’s opened by a Meranian–the taste is as authentic as you can get.”
His eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed. It had been about half a month since his arrival in Angleria, and he’d been so busy with research that he’d only had time for bland meals in the cafeteria. His stomach had long since started protesting.
He and Rosalie had a satisfying breakfast. He rubbed his belly as they walked, feeling like the exhaustion of staying up all night had been washed away.
They chatted and laughed on their way back to campus, and Rosalie walked him to his dorm as usual,
They agreed to take the day off before resuming their research the next day. They were about to say their goodbyes when a familiar voice came from behind. “Ian!”
