‘Come to think of it, I wonder what happened with Evan’s story that ended in a falling out last time.’
I hope it ended well.
Louisa suddenly felt concerned about that matter.
“Did you talk to your husband again?”
“Talk? Ah, you mean about the deal?”
Evan seemed to momentarily lose track of the topic as he asked her back. Then he suddenly threw a sharp question at her as if testing her.
“Haha. That conversation was already days ago. I guess your husband doesn’t tell you about such things?”
Louisa was taken aback.
She hadn’t meant to say anything bad about Edward, but she didn’t expect the question to be interpreted this way.
She blinked a few times before calmly answering as usual.
“Well, it’s an important project he’s working on. I try not to ask too much about work-related matters.”
“Is that so? I don’t think there’s any need for that.”
Evan casually implied that he was different. Seeing Louisa’s expression still stiff, Evan raised his eyebrows playfully and said:
“Well, everyone has different values.”
His aim was to belittle Edward, not to contradict Louisa’s opinion.
Evan said with a relaxed smile:
“I haven’t talked to him again yet, but don’t worry. I plan to have a meaningful conversation, if only for your sake.”
I’ll make sure it’s meaningful enough by putting him in his place.
Evan reminded himself of his true intentions, which he didn’t share with Louisa.
‘You’re too good for a commoner who can’t even recognize the value of what he has.’
Evan’s gaze became subtle.
Louisa felt uncomfortable with how he had changed somehow. Both his sudden question and the way he looked at her were subtly unsettling.
‘I shouldn’t have brought up Edward…’
Louisa regretted it a little. She changed the subject to something else.
“Oh, about the house I’m staying in. You helped a lot in arranging it, right? I didn’t properly thank you last time. Thank you so much.”
Evan shrugged lightly.
“It’s nothing. How’s the house? Is it alright?”
“I like it. It’s my first time living in the city center, so it’s fascinating to have the main street right outside the door, and there are so many people bustling about.”
At her words, Evan’s pupils dilated slightly. He couldn’t hide the smile that escaped and grinned softly.
“If you want, we can move you to an even better place. There’s a nice detached house near mine, I’d recommend it if you have any inconveniences.”
Evan subtly inserted his own wish as he spoke. But Louisa shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. I like where I am now, and it’s close to Daniel’s place too.”
Louisa’s refusal.
Although he was smiling, Evan was displeased by this fact. He made the offer once more.
“You don’t have to feel burdened, Louisa. I’d like you to speak comfortably with me. I’m sincerely worried about you.”
However, even at those words, Louisa’s expression didn’t brighten as much as he had hoped. She smiled a bit awkwardly and said:
“Thank you, but really, the help so far is more than enough. Any more than this would be difficult for me to repay, Evan.”
At that, Evan asked with wide eyes, as if feeling wronged:
“Repay? This is about helping you, do you think I’m expecting something in return?”
It was an innocent expression that would have been believable if one didn’t know his past.
But Louisa just smiled silently.
She hadn’t always been like this from the beginning.
Kindness was joyful in itself. She thought it was a world where people helped each other.
But experience taught her that if you don’t have the ability to give back, you shouldn’t expect help, or even kindness.
“Louisa.”
Evan’s eyes sank and the muscles around his mouth tensed. He easily read his past in Louisa’s quiet smile.
Evan looked at her with eyes filled with emotion boiling up from deep within and said:
“I know you haven’t forgiven me for the past yet. But that wasn’t my will, and you need to know that this moment is when I’m truly acting on my own free will. I’m always thinking of you.”
Excited, Evan blurted out the words all at once at a rapid pace.
Of course, Louisa missed what he said. When she looked up at him with a troubled expression, Evan lowered his head and touched his forehead.
He sighed once and wrote a short sentence on Louisa’s hand.
The message conveyed with a slightly ticklish sensation, that he was always thinking of her.
It was quite a touching thing to say. Judging by meaning alone, it was something one could say only if they harbored fond feelings for the other person.
But all of that was futile to Louisa.
Childhood memories. Except for that, there was nothing she could share with him.
He didn’t even come to pay respects at her parents’ funeral because her family had fallen into ruin. Winston Julia was the only one who made the trip to the grave.
Evan said it was possible for Julia because she was in a position where she didn’t have to shoulder the family’s duties.
However, flipping that statement around meant that he, who had to shoulder the family’s duties, couldn’t leave even a shred of connection with Louisa’s family at that time.
She should have understood. Since they had been engaged, he must have coldly turned his back even more to find another marriage partner.
But the moment he chose to cut ties like that, shouldn’t he not expect the same intimacy as before?
‘How selfish indeed.’
Louisa blinked a few times to straighten her involuntarily furrowing eyebrows.
He covers up the wounds he inflicted by saying they were unavoidable, but when it comes to the wounds he receives, he urges for a change in their relationship, asking for understanding.
What exactly is he hoping for from her?
Louisa just walked without giving any answer. After walking for about another minute like this, the college-affiliated hospital appeared.
Thinking that she had been avoiding answers more often these days, she greeted him:
“I’ll be going in now. Thank you for walking me here.”
“…It’s nothing. Get your treatment well. See you next time.”
Evan said with a bitter expression at the farewell greeting that came before his response.
Louisa stared at him for a moment before turning her back and entering the hospital’s main entrance.
[This is the timeline separator]When she came out after finishing her treatment and receiving her lip-reading lecture, it was already evening with the sun set.
As she exited the institute, she saw Daniel sitting on a nearby bench. Several female students, probably those taking his class, were gathered around him.
“Professor! There’s been talk that you finally have a lover?”
“You girls are saying dangerous things.”
“Actually, I saw her too. Is she really someone you’re seeing?”
“Oh, come on.”
Daniel chuckled. Although she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, the atmosphere seemed quite good.
The students’ eyes were crinkled with laughter as they covered their mouths with their hands. Louisa found it somehow pleasant to see and stopped approaching her brother to watch them.
Daniel put his hands on his knees and stood up from the bench.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not what you’re expecting. She’s my younger sister, so don’t spread strange rumors.”
“Aw, really?”
“You mischievous ones. That’s enough teasing.”
Daniel waved his hand as he made his way through the students. He must have spotted Louisa earlier, as he walked straight towards her.
The students who saw the real woman from the rumors could be seen exchanging glances and talking amongst themselves with smiling faces.
Louisa asked:
“Elder brother. Is it okay for me to come like this?”
“I was here waiting to come like this. Let’s go.”
Daniel offered one arm to Louisa.
Having satisfied their curiosity, the female students bowed slightly to Daniel and left.
As they walked, Louisa said:
“The students seemed to laugh a lot. They looked like they were having fun.”
“Fun? I feel like I’m about to lose all my hair.”
Daniel shook his head.
He grumbled that dealing with mischievous students was really something he couldn’t handle. Yet seeing her brother smiling as he said this, Louisa broke into a bright smile as well.
Seeing his sister’s smile, Daniel told her about his experiences.
Students suddenly barging in to propose a bet on basketball, or a student fooled by a friend bringing an impossibly difficult assignment and wracking their brains over it.
Whenever she heard stories about college students she didn’t know, Louisa would superimpose Edward’s face over the unnamed protagonists of the stories.
The things he had done, or perhaps could have done.
She knew that regretting time that had already passed would only nurture lingering attachments, but she wished he could have such times even now.
If only he could do what others do, even just as much as others…
Louisa quietly piled up such thoughts in a corner of her heart, unbeknownst to Daniel.
But as she was doing so, focusing her gaze only on Daniel’s mouth as they walked, Louisa ended up misstepping.
“Ah!”
“Louisa!”
Daniel quickly caught her as she stumbled and steadied her, saying:
“Are you alright? You didn’t twist your ankle, did you?”
But Louisa, startled and looking down, didn’t notice what he had said and replied:
“Ah… how embarrassing. Thank you for catching me, elder brother.”
She had always been one to answer even the smallest questions to some extent.
But what came back was a subtly mismatched response.
Daniel realized anew that his sister couldn’t hear even words spoken right next to her if she wasn’t making eye contact, and his expression turned bitter.
Louisa, who had been touching her ankle, belatedly raised her head and caught his expression.
There were only a few reasons why he would have such an expression. Louisa intuitively realized that she must have failed to hear something again.
Louisa bit her lip.
Thinking about what emotions Daniel might be feeling as he looked at her made her heart ache as well.
Knowing how much unnecessary hope can bring great despair, she was still cautious, but she decided to bring up the story she had been debating whether to tell or not before leaving the institute.
“Elder brother.”
Daniel looked down at her as she called out to him.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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Daily Life of a Scumbag Man Giving Birth (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The way for a promiscuous scumbag man to atone for his sins is to let him get… pregnant.
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, scammed countless women, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to scam them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
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