Feeling the low pressure from the back seat, the driver asked after driving for a while: "Mr. Preston, are we heading back?"
"To Donovan Ryan's place."
Donovan Ryan was an old classmate of Ian Preston's. After graduation, he opened a private kitchen that gained a bit of fame.
Thea Lynch didn't want to stay with him, rubbing her reddened wrist where he'd grabbed her, she refused: "I'm going back to the institute, it's not on the way. I'll just grab a cab, no need to trouble you."
"No rush. Haven't you eaten yet?"
"Are you getting forgetful in your old age, Norbert? I already ate with Norbert Rhodes."
"Are you sure you could swallow this food? He didn't even bother to find out what you like. Clearly, he doesn't care about you. You shouldn't associate with such unreliable men."
Thea Lynch: "..."
Thea Lynch appeared obedient but still had a rebellious streak deep inside. Not long after sitting down, Ian Preston stepped out to make a call, and when he returned, she was gone.
In the private room, he only saw Donovan Ryan sitting inside, "Where did she go?"
"She ran off shortly after you left, couldn't stop her. She even paid the bill." Donovan Ryan said, waving a wad of cash with a smile. "Avoids you like the plague, still holding a grudge over that thing, perhaps?"
"Hey, Norbert, she seems a lot more outgoing than back then. Doesn't stammer as much when she talks, and the hearing aids are gone."
Returning to his seat, Ian Preston lit a cigarette and said nothing for a long time.
——
Thea Lynch didn't return to the compound. She messaged her aunt and went straight to a hotel instead.
Since her teenage years, she rarely stayed at the compound, living mostly with her parents. After the accident in high school, she moved to her grandmother's in Westmere, never returning to her parents' house.
That night, Thea Lynch couldn't sleep and stayed awake until late.
She dreamed again of the day of the car accident, blood trickling down her forehead, everything turning crimson. She survived by luck but injured her ears, hearing nothing.
Upon waking to the news of her parents' death at the scene, she clung to her brother on the hospital bed, crying until she passed out. Her personality changed drastically, becoming withdrawn, so much so that she was nearly mute.
The scene shifted to the day she decided to confess to Ian Preston after the college entrance exams.
He always showed up on time at the school gate to take her to her grandmother's, but that day he was late and sent someone else instead. The next day, she heard he had a fiancée.
Soon after, she went abroad with her uncle.
That first winter abroad was the same day she removed her hearing aids for the first time.
The doctor repeatedly asked, "Miss Lynch? Can you hear me?"
It was the first time she heard sound without the hearing aids since the car accident.
She nodded with surprise, stumbling over her words in the expectant eyes of the doctor and her uncle: "I can hear!"
Leaving the hospital that day, she sat in the car looking out the window. At the corner, Ian Preston's figure flashed by...
Suddenly, the alarm blared, jolting Thea Lynch awake, gasping. In view was the familiar hotel room. The curtains in front weren't fully drawn, sunlight spilling through the gaps.
She stared at the curtains for a few seconds before snapping back, turning off the alarm. It was only eight in the morning; she hadn't slept long. But today, she had something important to do.
Buying flowers, Thea Lynch took a cab to Coronet Hills Cemetery, arriving at ten o'clock.
As she bent down to place the flowers, her gaze caught another bouquet of white chrysanthemums below, and she paused.
Confused, she reached out to touch them. The petals were still fresh, indicating it hadn't been long since they were placed there, and her parents' photos had also been carefully cleaned...
Someone had been here shortly before.
At this time, there were hardly any people around. Walking up, she hadn't seen anyone she knew.
Multiple figures flashed through her mind, but she dismissed them one by one, deciding not to think further.
Near noon, Thea Lynch finally got up to leave. The journey from the Coronet suburbs to the compound was quite far; on the way she couldn't help but nap. As she got off the car, her head felt a bit heavy, feeling light and airy as she walked.
"Is that Thea back home?"
Hearing the commotion at the door, her uncle peeked out and hurried to greet her.
"Uncle?" Thea Lynch was a bit surprised, "Aren't you supposed to be at the base?"
Her uncle reached out to take her backpack, "And you didn't give a heads-up. I had to take leave last minute, hurried back and just made it in time to see you."
"Are you planning to stay abroad for good?" Thea nodded, following her uncle inside.
"Is grandpa not here?"
"He's out playing chess, doesn't know you're back yet."
The old man had lost use of his legs, survived a narrow escape back then, and now relied on a wheelchair.
At the tail end of summer in Coronet, the sun was still scorching. Afraid of the sun, Thea sped up her pace. As she neared the pavilion, she spotted her grandfather in a wheelchair and the person behind him.
That person also seemed to notice her.
"..." Thea Lynch awkwardly pulled a smile.
Opposite, the old man squinted, unable to see who was ahead. Fortunately, Ian Preston was there, "It's Thea, she's back."
"Thea?"
"Yes. Right up front."
Upon hearing this, the old man raised his right hand eagerly in a small wave, calling Thea with a hoarse voice.
Thea quickly jogged up, "I was just coming to get you."
"No need, there's little Ian." The old man grasped her hand, "Where were you yesterday, why didn't you come back?"
"I went to see Mom and Dad early this morning, so I stayed at a nearby hotel last night."
"You and little Ian went and came back together? Yet he told me you weren't at home. This rascal." The old man gently slapped Ian Preston behind him.
Huh? Thea blinked, looking up at him. Was it him who left the flowers?
Their eyes met, both silently acknowledging but not explaining.
Her uncle came out to bring the old man inside. At the hallway, Thea took the chance to stop Ian, "Did you go to Coronet suburbs this morning?"
"Yeah, initially wanted to stay longer, but got a call from home so I came over."
He casually explained his presence at the compound, making it seem like a coincidence rather than him deliberately seeking her out.
"Why didn't you come back yesterday?"
He asked the same question as the old man.
Before she could repeat herself, Ian Preston stepped forward, directly confronting: "Avoiding me?"
Thea Lynch found herself pressed against the wall, reminiscent of when she used to be punished by her brother for misdeeds as a child. Ian Preston would pass by and just watch, never pleading on her behalf.
He had been like that since childhood, fewer words and an attitude more aloof than her brother's stern demeanor. In her childhood, she truly despised him, but later she genuinely grew fond.
She stubbornly replied: "No, why would I avoid you."
Hearing her aunt calling, Thea responded quickly, darting away. Ian Preston watched her retreating figure for a long while before quietly following.
Her aunt was enthusiastic, inviting Ian Preston to stay for lunch. During the meal, her aunt kept serving them food. While eating, her uncle seemed to remember something and asked Thea, "When are you heading back, Thea?"
"Next Monday."
On the other side, Ian Preston glanced at her, frowning gently: "Still going back?"
Her aunt naturally chimed in: "Yes, Thea found a job abroad, she has to return for work."
The atmosphere inexplicably fell into a strange silence, the tension hanging cold and thick.
"Really." His voice finally came after a pause, indifferent yet implicitly intense.
His gaze was so intense, it was impossible to ignore. Thea focused on her meal, but eventually, she couldn't bear it and asked sharply, "Is there a problem?"