Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Chapter 408

"Go to sleep," Suzy said.

The second the words left her mouth, she caught another quiet sigh from Mark.

Suzy feigned ignorance. She knew all too well that she couldn’t keep talking with him like this.

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Mark didn’t say another word.

Before they knew it, both of them drifted off to sleep.

When Suzy woke up the next morning, she found Mark was already up and had even prepared breakfast.

Surprised, she asked, "How come you’re up so early today?"

"I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep," Mark replied. "Come have some breakfast."

Suzy quickly washed up and sat down at the dining table, sharing breakfast with him.

"What time are you heading out?" Mark asked.

"Not sure yet, someone will come by to get me in a bit," Suzy said. "When I’m out, reach out anytime if anything comes up." She pointed to the walkie-talkie resting by the windowsill.

"Got it," Mark said.

Not wanting the atmosphere to sink into silence again, Suzy added, "What do you plan to do later? You can play on the computer if you get bored."

Her RV was equipped with a computer. Even without an internet connection, she had downloaded plenty of offline games, movies, and TV shows to pass the time.

"I plan to read a book," Mark said.

"If you hadn’t brought it up, I would’ve forgotten there were books in the car," Suzy chuckled. "What are you reading?"

She honestly had no recollection of what books were inside—most of them had been stuffed in at random.

"This one." Mark pulled a book from a corner shelf and handed it over to her.

The cover was missing, but flipping to the title page, Suzy immediately saw the name.

"The Quiet Nanny and the CEO?" Suzy read the title silently, cringing internally.

Her lip twitched. She looked up at Mark, then glanced back down at the book to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her.

"You’re... reading this?"

"Is that the title?" Mark asked, a hint of genuine wonder in his voice.

Suzy nodded, completely at a loss as to how this book had ended up in her RV, let alone how Mark had managed to dig it out.

"It’s pretty good," Mark evaluated. "I stumbled upon it yesterday while looking around, and since I had nothing to do, I gave it a read."

"Is it really that good...?" Suzy murmured.

Out of curiosity, she flipped to the table of contents on the second page. The Chapter titles left her stunned.

Chapter 1: Returning to the Country

Chapter 2: Reunion

Chapter 3: The Temperature of Water

Chapter 4: A Meticulously Prepared Breakfast

Suzy immediately connected the dots to Mark’s actions last night and the breakfast he had made for her... There was undoubtedly a direct connection.

She flipped through a few more pages, scanning the contents, feeling a wave of utter embarrassment wash over her.

"Here, take it back."

"Just leave it there."

"Which Chapter are you on?" Suzy asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

Mark thought for a moment. "Chapter 30."

"Are you going to keep reading it today?"

Mark nodded with absolute gravity. "I want to finish it."

Suzy stared at his deadpan face for several long seconds, trying to find a single shred of shame or embarrassment in his expression.

There was none.

"Reading this... doesn’t make you feel embarrassed?" Suzy couldn’t help but ask.

"Why should I be embarrassed?" Mark countered, his tone disarmingly sincere.

Suzy opened her mouth, then closed it.

Right on cue, a knock sounded at the RV door.

"Is someone here for you?" Mark asked.

The moment he spoke, Jenny’s voice drifted in from outside.

"Suzy, it’s me!"

"Right on time," Suzy smiled. "Well, I’m heading out. Reach out anytime if something happens."

"Stay safe."

Suzy unlocked the door and stepped out. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she glanced back on a whim, only to find Mark still watching her.

That eager, longing gaze made her inexplicably think of a loyal puppy.

"Don’t stay out too long," Mark said.

Suzy waved her hand. "Got it."

For this outing, Suzy had specifically worn a small backpack, slipping a carton of cigarettes inside in advance.

Stepping forward a few paces, she saw Jenny standing nearby, idly scratching at the ground with a dry twig she had picked up from who-knows-where.

Seeing Suzy approach, she tossed the twig aside and clapped the dust off her hands.

"Let’s go," Suzy said.

The two turned toward the parking lot exit.

"Got all your stuff ready?" Jenny asked as a gentle reminder.

"Don’t worry, I’ve got it on me," Suzy replied.

Leaving the parking lot, they crossed the main thoroughfare and ducked into an alleyway even narrower than the one from yesterday.

The buildings on either side were lower than those on the main street, with thick dust settling in the cracks of the walls and a damp, musty smell hanging in the air.

Suzy followed Jenny around two corners, past a turn stacked with wooden crates, stopping in front of a half-open iron door.

Jenny pushed the door wide and stepped aside to let her through, saying, "We’re here."

The eatery wasn’t large. A faded half-curtain hung at the door, and the tin plating along the doorframe was curling up at the edges.

Uncle Sam was already inside waiting, having arrived ahead of them.

Sitting at the innermost table, he had a roll of brown-paper-wrapped items set before him while he kept his head down, flipping through an old magazine.

Hearing the commotion at the door, he raised his head. "You’re here."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Jenny chimed in with a grin.

The two walked over and sat down across from Uncle Sam.

Setting his magazine aside, Uncle Sam slid the brown-paper scroll toward Suzy and took a sip from his teacup. "I’ve redrawn the map and added a few more details. Take a look and see if everything checks out."

Jenny took the initiative to unroll the brown paper, spreading the map flat in front of Suzy.

The paper felt thicker than the sheet she had seen yesterday. Clear, freshly inked lines mapped out a far more defined route, complemented by several lines of neat, small annotations along the margins.

Suzy scanned it closely for a few moments before nodding. "Looks perfect."

Unzipping her backpack, she pulled out a carton of cigarettes and handed it to Jenny first. After verifying its condition, Jenny pushed it over to Uncle Sam.

The carton was spotless. The moment Uncle Sam laid hands on it, his eyes lit up noticeably.

"Preserved remarkably well," he praised.

His fingers lingered on the edges of the box. Instead of hastily tearing off the plastic wrap, he turned the box over to inspect the production date and batch number on the bottom. Satisfied, he turned it back over, pressing his thumb gently against the corners to check the firmness.

Only then did he peel away the cellophane. The plastic wrap tore with a faint, crisp sound that rang out clearly in the quiet restaurant.

He opened the pack, pulled out a single cigarette, and gave it a gentle squeeze between his fingertips.

"This tobacco..."

Uncle Sam placed the cigarette back inside, neatly aligning it with the rest, and looked up at Suzy, unable to hide his excitement. "Where on earth did you get your hands on this?"