Chapter 439: Miss Sinclair’s Friend

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Miss Sinclair’s Friend

The door hinge made a slight sound as it opened, and the man’s silhouette inside was clearly exposed to Tanya Sinclair’s sight. He had his back to the doorway, looking at the green ivy on the table. He didn’t even turn around when he heard the door open.

Tanya Sinclair’s heart, which was pounding wildly, was suddenly put on pause.

She slowly returned to her original state.

It’s not him...

The man was very tall, with broad shoulders, wearing a gray coat.

Completely different in build from that tall, thin figure on the mountain.

Or rather, completely different from the person she was expecting...

She opened her mouth, finally finding her voice.

"Felix Kendall."

Felix Kendall turned around slowly.

He looked at Tanya Sinclair’s expression and raised his eyebrow humorously, "Ms. Sinclair, what kind of look is that? Aren’t you welcoming an old friend who came to visit?"

Out of courtesy, she should say something, but Tanya Sinclair didn’t even have the energy to smile now. Her legs hurt from rushing back too anxiously.

Both her physical and emotional strength was exhausted.

She went over and poured herself a glass of water first.

Felix Kendall crossed his arms, observing her expression, "Angry? Your door is too easy to open. Let me have someone install a new security one for you."

Tanya Sinclair drank half a glass of water, finally regaining her composure.

"No need, I don’t have anything valuable here. Besides, there’s surveillance installed at the door."

Felix Kendall was noncommittal, "Alright, if you need anything, just call this number."

Felix Kendall took out a pen and casually picked up her teaching plan book, writing a sequence of numbers on the last page.

"This is the town mayor’s private mobile. If you say your name is Tanya Sinclair, he’ll help you."

Although Felix Kendall normally didn’t put on airs, he was someone who wielded considerable influence in reality.

Tanya Sinclair felt a bit helpless, "Felix Kendall, I don’t need any special privileges."

"Whether or not you need them is your business, but whether or not I give them is mine."

He was always reasonable.

Tanya Sinclair didn’t argue further, "By the way, why are you here?"

"On a mission, passing by." Felix Kendall kept it brief, "I heard you were teaching in the town, so I thought I’d stop by."

Tanya Sinclair moved the green ivy on the table aside, voicing her biggest doubt, "Was it you who left the medicine at my door this morning?"

Felix Kendall was flipping through the book on the table. Hearing this, he admitted it without even looking up.

"Yes. There was iodine, bandages, and other medicinal herbs. You should have used them, right?"

Tanya Sinclair sighed inwardly, suddenly finding herself ridiculous.

What was she expecting?

Was she expecting a person who was already dead, whose ashes were scattered, to bring her medicine?

Felix Kendall closed the book, looking at her, "When I arrived, you hadn’t gotten up yet, and I had some matters to attend to, so I left the medicine at the door."

Tanya Sinclair lowered her gaze without saying anything, running her nail along the edge of the table.

"How did you know that I was injured and needed these medicines?"

Felix Kendall sat down, and the chair legs scraped the ground with a short, abrupt noise.

"I arrived yesterday afternoon." He said, "I was in town taking care of some stuff, and happened to see you coming down the mountain, limping. I initially wanted to greet you, but I was on the phone and couldn’t step away. By the time I hung up, you had already walked off."

His answer was candid and flawless.

"A pretty teacher volunteering in the town, it’s easy to find out. I just came by."

Tanya Sinclair had nothing to say, "Thank you."

Felix Kendall curled his lips slightly, his tone a bit uneven: "So, who were you originally expecting?"

Tanya Sinclair remained silent.

Felix Kendall made a non-committal grunt, not pressing the topic further.

He stood up, "Ms. Sinclair, I ran all the way here to bring you medicine. You should at least treat me to a meal, right?"

"Alright." Tanya Sinclair stood up with him, "There’s a decent diner in town."

Felix Kendall glanced outside, "I see you have a kitchen here. Why don’t you let an old friend taste your cooking?"

Tanya Sinclair seriously thought for a moment: "I’m not very good at cooking. I’d hate to waste ingredients, let’s just eat in town."

Felix Kendall was amused by her words, "Fine. Expect to be taken advantage of at the meal then!"

This time, it was Tanya Sinclair who laughed.

The consumer level in town was far from needing to use the word "taken advantage of."

"I have two classes in the morning, but none in the afternoon. Let me treat you to lunch." Tanya Sinclair said.

Felix Kendall agreed rather readily, "Sure. I have a bit of business in the morning too. I’ll pick you up from school at noon."

"No need, I’ll give you the address and we can just meet at the restaurant directly at a set time."

Felix Kendall is flashy. If he shows up at the school gate to wait for her, she’ll have to explain again.

Felix Kendall: "Okay."

Tanya Sinclair sent him the location of "Crawford’s Diner." By the time she arrived at one in the afternoon, Felix hadn’t arrived yet. She waited less than five minutes before he showed up.

Tanya had been here a few times. The owner recognized her and, seeing her eating with a new face today, gave them a few more glances full of teasing and mischief.

"Miss Sinclair, and this is...?"

"A friend."

"Ah, a friend! Friends are good." The owner grinned.

Tanya smiled helplessly, not bothering to explain further—more words, more mess.

After Felix ordered and returned the menu, he waited for the owner to leave before speaking: "How are you doing here?"

"Pretty good." Tanya poured each of them a cup of tea, "The kids at school are obedient, and the people in town are friendly. It’s by the sea here, quieter than the city."

Felix nodded.

Tanya took a sip of tea and asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight," Felix replied. "Just passing through for some business; can’t stay long. Got tasks to do."

Tanya didn’t press further; Felix’s tasks were mostly not to be disclosed, so asking was futile.

She said, "Then be careful, stay safe. I’ll treat you to a meal when your tasks are done."

Felix laughed, "Sure, I’ll be there."

The dishes were served. After eating for a while, Felix pulled out a red safety charm from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it toward Tanya.

"Made by Margaret." He said, "She insisted I bring you one."

Tanya picked it up and looked at it, noting the crooked stitches. She could imagine the little girl frowning in concentration while stitching it.

Her heart warmed: "Thank her for me."

"She made one for me too. I suspect she used me for practice." Felix took his phone case apart to show her a similar blue safety charm inside, with even more crooked stitches, looking uglier.

Tanya laughed heartily.

Felix’s gaze lingered on her face for several seconds before he lowered his head and chuckled.

There was still time after the meal, and it wasn’t hot now. They strolled along the old road in town; Tanya had an injured leg, so Felix matched her slow pace.

"When do you plan to go back?" Felix asked.

"I don’t know," Tanya said, "I’ll decide when I feel like going back."

Felix glanced at her, "So, you don’t want to go back now."

"Mm-hmm."

"It’s fine not to go back. If it feels comfortable living here, just stay a bit longer." Felix said, hands in pockets, squinting at the sky, "There’s always time."

He had plenty of time too.

When they reached the corner, they bumped into Leo Rhodes and another male teacher.

Both were carrying rice wine, evidently just returning from someone’s meal.

Leo first saw Tanya and was about to wave when his gaze shifted to Felix beside her, pausing his action.

The bespectacled male teacher with him also noticed and paused his gaze on Felix’s face for two seconds before quickly looking away.

"Ms. Sinclair, had lunch?" The male teacher greeted with a smile, and looked at Felix, "And this is...?"

"My friend," Tanya said. "Passing by for some business, came to see me."

Felix nodded to the two, "Hello."

Nothing else was said, just the bare minimum of politeness.

The four stood at the corner for a couple of seconds. The bespectacled male teacher spoke first: "Mr. Rhodes, let’s go, we need to get the wine back."

"Okay." Leo smiled at Tanya and Felix, "We’ll head off first."

A little way down the road, the bespectacled male teacher nudged Leo with his elbow, "Who was that guy? Did Miss Sinclair mention him to you? He looks tall, handsome, and of good manner, clearly not from a small town."

"Don’t overthink it," Leo said. "Ms. Sinclair said he’s a friend."

"A friend?" The male teacher clicked his tongue, "With that look and manner, like a typical friend? You don’t stand a chance."

"I never did." Leo said.

The male teacher was taken aback, "Why? Isn’t she single?"

Leo stayed silent.

He thought of Tanya’s fiancé, someone she couldn’t let go of, nor could let in. How could he, an outsider, compare?

"But why?" the male teacher pressed.

Leo switched hands to carry the rice wine: "Let’s go."

After a few steps, he muttered under his breath, "Anyway, no one stands a chance."

The male teacher didn’t catch it, "What did you say about a chance?"

Leo: "Nothing."