Chapter 654 - 650: Your Meat Buns All Fell into a Dog’s Mouth

Cecilia didn’t know if the ’ox’ had been worked to death, but when she woke up the next morning, she felt like she was the one who was about to die.

Her small frame was aching all over, as if it were about to fall apart.

She was held fast in Emeric Grant’s arms, his head buried in the crook of her neck. The warmth of his breath washed over her skin.

Cecilia Sterling tried to move, and Emeric Grant woke up instantly.

Blinking his eyes open sleepily, Emeric paused for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice, "You’re awake?"

"I have class this morning. I have to go." Cecilia patted his large hand, signaling for him to let her go.

Hearing this, Emeric turned to check the time on the nightstand. Cecilia seized the opportunity to slip out of his embrace and sit up. She subconsciously rolled her neck and shoulders. ’Next time, I really can’t be so unrestrained,’ she thought to herself.

She groggily fumbled for her underwear beside the bed, only to find it was Emeric’s.

"They’re here."

Emeric handed Cecilia’s underwear to her, a gentle, doting smile on his face. "I’ll drive you in a bit."

"Isn’t it your day off?"

Emeric nodded. "I still want to swing by the hospital, just to do a quick round."

Cecilia didn’t refuse and simply got up to wash up in the bathroom.

The snow from last night hadn’t stuck, but the temperature had dropped noticeably. The moment she stepped outside, Cecilia couldn’t help but shiver. A second later, a weight settled on her shoulders. Emeric had draped his coat over her and took her hand. "Hurry, let’s get in the car."

Once they were in the car, Emeric turned on the heat first, then looked at Cecilia. "Just wear this jacket for today. It’s still a bit of a walk from the campus gate to your classroom. Don’t catch a cold."

Cecilia nodded.

When the car reached the main gate of Lorcain Tech, Cecilia put on Emeric’s jacket and got out. The coat was loose and baggy on her, but it was very warm.

Emeric got out of the car too and came to stand before her. He reached out to smooth the hair on her forehead, then helped fasten the top button of her collar. Cupping her face, he gave her a gentle kiss. "Go on," he said softly. "I’ll come pick you up after class."

Cecilia wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss without hesitation. "I’m off, then."

After waving goodbye, Emeric watched her figure until she disappeared through the school gates before driving away.

Cecilia kept her head down and walked quickly, taking small, hurried steps toward the academic building. But right at the entrance, a dark figure suddenly stepped out to block her path.

Caught off guard, Cecilia stopped so abruptly she nearly slammed into the person.

She looked up to see an unfamiliar face.

The young man was fair-skinned, with a clean-cut, scholarly look. He was about five-foot-eleven, wore glasses, and didn’t seem awkward or dull.

"Looking for me?"

Cecilia could feel his gaze fixed squarely on her, prompting her to ask.

The young man nodded slightly, then began a very formal self-introduction. "Hello, Cecilia Sterling. My name is Simon Spencer."

"Who?" Cecilia froze for a moment, then it hit her two seconds later. "Simon Spencer?"

The young man gave an ’honest and proper’ smile. "Yes. I’m the one who’s been bringing you breakfast for the past month or so. You should remember me, right?"

Cecilia blinked, then slowly nodded. "I do remember you. But I’ve never eaten anything you brought."

"You didn’t eat it?"

"Nope." Cecilia shook her head, staring at him curiously. "You kept bringing breakfast, and you wrote a letter, so why are you only showing up now?"

Simon Spencer’s fair face flushed slightly. "I didn’t want to seem too forward."

"But this is all still very forward. Could you please not do this anymore?" Cecilia’s tone and expression were completely serious.

It was only then that Simon noticed the men’s jacket Cecilia was wearing. His expression faltered. "You..."

Cecilia followed his gaze down to her jacket and seemed to understand. She went along with it and admitted, "Yes, I have a boyfriend. So, do you understand what I’m saying?"

She had assumed a guy who looked like him would be easy to talk to, but to her surprise, he heard her words and blurted out accusingly, "You accepted my breakfast, so why are you dating another guy?"

Cecilia: "Huh?"

Simon continued on his own, "And the letter I wrote you, didn’t you accept that too?"

"Hold on." Cecilia thought this guy was seriously delusional and quickly cut off his fantasy. "First of all, nobody asked you to bring me breakfast every day, and I haven’t eaten a single bite of anything you’ve brought, from start to finish. Also, I asked the female student who sits next to me to pass on the message that I didn’t need you to do this."

"Second, the moment I received your letter, I had it returned to you. I never opened it, let alone read it."

"Finally, bringing breakfast, writing a letter—those were all your own choices. They have nothing to do with me. Your actions don’t constrain my decisions. Just because you did those things doesn’t mean I belong to you. You need to get that straight, okay?"

With that said, Cecilia turned to leave, but she heard Simon say in surprise, "But I never got a message, nor did I get the letter you returned."

Cecilia: "?"

Simon didn’t act out in any extreme way, he just kept staring at Cecilia, insisting with his eyes that he wasn’t lying.

Cecilia was also a little stunned for a second, but then it dawned on her that something wasn’t right.

"Buddy, your meat buns all ended up in a dog’s mouth." Cecilia looked at him and asked with a dead-serious expression, "Do you like dogs?"

Simon: "?"

Inside the classroom, the atmosphere was subtly awkward.

The girl who sat next to Cecilia was now looking at her without a word, just playing dumb with a vacant stare.

"Hm?"

Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "You don’t get it?"

"I..."

"I don’t care if you get it or not. The fact that you’ve been using my name to mooch free breakfast off this guy for over a month is inexcusable. So either you pay Simon Spencer back in cash for all that food, or you might as well just start dating him!"

Hearing this, a look of delight unconsciously flashed across the girl’s face. But before she could even react, Simon cut in, refusing, "No way..."

’He liked Cecilia, not this girl.’

The girl’s face fell in an instant. She pouted and said, "He was the one who brought it, and you were the one who didn’t eat it and gave it to me. What’s that got to do with me?"

"So he just gave it to you for free?" Cecilia laughed in exasperation. "Didn’t I ask you to pass on a message the very first time? Did you? And the letter? Did you return it? Have you done a single thing I asked you to do?"

’And here I was wondering why this Simon Spencer guy kept at it even after I sent a message. I just thought he was being persistent.’

’So it turns out the middleman was pocketing all the goods?’

’It wasn’t even about the money.’ Cecilia just found the whole situation hilarious. ’Who actually does something like that?’

"Forget it. It seems this was all a misunderstanding." Simon broke the awkward silence, giving the other girl an out. He looked at Cecilia and said, "I never meant to cause you any trouble. If only I’d been brave enough to give them to you in person from the start. It’s my fault. I’m sorry."

After saying this, Simon gave a slight bow as an admission of fault, then turned and walked briskly out of the classroom without looking back.

It was all so sudden that Cecilia didn’t even have time to process it. She only snapped back to reality after his figure had disappeared.

’Is he skipping class?’