Me After Meeting You

“Heh.” Ian started laughing, turning his head, and blew a layer of smoke into her face, his behavior so cool that it made people want to scream. However, the words that he said next instantly cleared hermind. “Jealous? No. Our contract has asection about loyalty. I think that, before you can pay the fee for breaking it, you won’t be doing anything.”

“….” Amber opened her mouth slightly, but it took her a moment to find her words. “Then why would you kiss me out of the blue?”

Actually, he also couldn’t explain why he had done that. Perhaps, it was just the nature of men? Ian wanted to ignore her, but she wouldn’t stop talking. He got annoyed, and said, “Because doing is easier than speaking. Is that enough reason for you?”

The face that he made when he frowned and became completely cold without a single hint of warmth in his gaze was somewhat frightening. Amber weakly replied, “Yes, I just want to know why you would randomly kiss me.”

She tried to suppress the fact that she was the one who had been kissed. “Was it because you suddenly realized that you were starting to like me, or because of your own desire, because you’re curious? Or did you realize that kissing was a beautiful thing that you wanted someone to experiment with?”

If the actual reason was the last option she presented, then that was a big step forward. It would mean that Ian’s illness wasn’t that serious; was his a loofness just because he hadn’t realized the charm of intimacy?

Ian looked at her, smiling, but also at the same time not. Under his gaze, Amber found it very difficult to keep speaking, and slowly stopped talking.

But her gaze was obstinate, and her expression showed her determined resolve to get an answer.

Ian found this behavior of hers surprisingly cute, and he asked, “Is the reason that important to you?”

It wasn’t important to her personally, but it was very important to her understanding of his illness. Amber nodded her headfervently as she loudly replied, “Yes!”

Ian then gave her a perfunctory reason. “Because of my desire.”

She would be crazy to believe him!

But Amber didn’t expose his lie. She followed his lead and asked, “Then, before this, did you have similar notions with anyother women?”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“NO.”

His tone was blunt and crisp; evidently, he really hadn’t.

Amber was flummoxed. “Then, to you, am I anything special?”

Ian gazed at her. “Especially ugly. Does that count?”

“… Yes.”

Seeing her speechless expression, the smile at the corner of his lips became much fuller. This time, his smile was relaxed and mirthful, and his whole body seemed softer.

Amber liked his current smile, and intentionally teased him. “Mr. Axton.”

He turned around.

She made a mockingly serious expression. “Let me tell you this, even though the truth is a form of beauty, but sometimes, lies make people happier. So, in the future, will you not speak as bluntly anymore?”

Ian thought about it for a moment before responding in an even more serious tone, “Sorry, no.”

Ian’s tone was relaxed, even jokingly so as he refused her. Amber couldn’t help but be startled, and then started laughing.

She thought that she had more or less learned how to get along with him as a friend, and that she was approaching their relationship less from a doctor-patient one. But she had suddenly thought of Elly. When she was living with that kind of family life, had anyone ever joked with her, or laughed with her without caring for decorum?

Perhaps the reason why she liked the graveyard was because only there could she say what she truly wanted to say.

She suddenly wanted to go to the hospital to look at Elly again, so she said to Ian, “Sorry, are you still busy? If not, I’d like to go back to the hospital.”

Ian looked at her questioningly.

Amber explained, “I want to go look at Elly.”

He didn’t say anything, and started the car to drive her back.

He accompanied her even up the stairs and followed her into the office. The doctor on the night shift wasn’t there, and the room was completely quiet.

Amber changed into her work clothes and came out. When she saw that Ian was still there, she said, “I might be a bit late, so you should head back first. Thank you for bringing me over.”

Because she wanted to verify her thoughts as quickly as possible, Ambrr left immediately after saying that.

***

Elly was currently entering the stage when she was the most active. But unlike before, after she had been given the sketchbook, she had clearly become much quieter. She sat there in the darkness, holding her pen, and drawing something that no one else had seen.

Amber pushed the door open. After her eyes acclimatized to the darkness, she slowly walked over, still sitting five paces away from Elly.

The sketchbook that she had left behind in the morning was still there. She picked it back up, and muttered to herself, “What should I draw?” Her voice was very light. In this dark room, it was as light as a gentle wind, not frightening at all.

Elly didn’t hear it, or if she did, she didn’t respond. Amber didn’t mind, and continued to speak softly. “I’ll draw a little bunny, then, a little bunny afraid of the dark. It yelled out in a dark house, ‘Is there anyone there? Please speak to me. I’m scared, and it’s too dark in here.’ There was another bunny locked inside with it, a bunny who was very old.

When he heard the other bunny’s behavior, he said, ‘What use are your actions? It’s so dark in here that you can’t even see me.’ The little bunny replied, ‘That’s quite alright. As long as there’s someone speaking, there’s light.'”

That whole night, Amber repeated this story over and over again. The sketchbook that she had drawn in was a mess, and because she couldn’t see, she didn’t even know what she had drawn.

Elly never responded to her. After tiring herself out from drawing so much, Amber fell a sleep by the corner of the table.

In the morning, when she woke up, the sky was already bright. The nurse on duty had walked in and woken her up. By then, Elly had also fallen a sleep. Amber slowly walked over, and noticed that a corner of the sketchbook in her lap consisted of a large pile of messy lines.

Walking out, Amber could only feel her four limbs aching. The nurse asked her, “Dr. Camille, how did you end up sleeping in there?”

Amber rubbed her eyes without speaking, and the nurse continued to say, “You’re really close with your boyfriend, aren’t you? You fell a sleep in the patient’s ward, but your boyfriend kept watch over you the entire night in the control room … Dr. Camille, you’re really lucky.”

Amber froze for a moment, then quickly ran into the office’s inner room, leaving the nurse behind.