Chapter 164 Blushed
It was lunchtime, and the entire lab was very quiet.
Sebastian pushed open his break room door, washed his hands at the sink, wiped his face, and then walked inside.
His change of clothes was kept in the inner room.
He opened the door, walked to the closet, and started unbuttoning his shirt while grabbing clean clothes.
Camilla woke up the moment Sebastian pushed the door open.
Her folding bed was placed behind the door, and when the door was pushed open, it just blocked her, creating a natural hidden corner.
But hidden didn't mean enclosed; it was just not easy to be discovered, not that you couldn't see anything.
So, the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Sebastian taking off his shirt, already down to his shoulders.
Camilla was stunned.
Just as she was debating whether to remind Sebastian that there was someone else here, he had already taken off his shirt.
She thought, 'Well, now there is no need to tell him; speaking up will only add to the awkwardness.'
So Camilla chose to close her eyes and pretend to sleep.
Even so, the scene she saw before closing her eyes—Sebastian's bare back, the even muscle lines, broad shoulders, and narrow waist—kept flashing in her mind uncontrollably.
The image was very clear.
Camilla suddenly felt like a thief.
Sebastian changed into a clean shirt, packed the one he had taken off, and prepared to leave.
As he turned around, he suddenly noticed the corner of a folding bed sticking out from behind the door.
Realizing something, Sebastian's breath hitched, and his body stiffened.
He quietly walked to the door and slowly pulled it over.
Sure enough, Camilla was lying on the folding bed, taking a nap.
But it seemed she hadn't woken up. Only then did Sebastian let out a slow breath.
Camilla was sleeping soundly, her eyes tightly closed, with long, thick eyelashes like two little fans.
But the blanket on her had slipped to the side.
Sebastian picked it up and gently covered her with it. Looking at her sleeping face, he was momentarily lost in thought.
When he came to his senses, he quickly averted his gaze and hurriedly left the inner room.
Fortunately, no one but himself knew about his current embarrassment and racing heartbeat.
Camilla was having a hard time pretending to sleep.
Especially when Sebastian got close, her heart started beating faster.
It seemed like he was standing by the folding bed.
With a rustling sound, the blanket was placed back on her.
Camilla was stunned.
She thought, 'Sebastian is so considerate! But why isn't he leaving? What's he standing there for? Do I have something on my face?
A minute felt like an eternity to Camilla.
Finally, Sebastian left.
Judging by the footsteps, he left quite quickly.
Camilla suddenly opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
"Sebastian? What are you doing here? Don't you have a class today?" Hector bumped into Sebastian just as he came out of the break room.
Sebastian remained calm. "Just grabbing something."
"Why are you sweating? Your face is a bit red too."
"The outer room of the break room didn't have the air conditioning on."
"That's true. Camilla usually naps in the inner room, so the outer room's air conditioning is off to save electricity. She's quite frugal, just like you."
"Yeah." Sebastian nodded.
"Hey, didn't you see her when you went in?"
Sebastian shook his head: "No. I was only in the outer room."
"Oh, okay."
Sebastian wasn't feeling guilty or afraid to admit it; he just thought it wouldn't be good for Camilla if people knew he had barged in while she was napping.
Sebastian trusted Hector wouldn't gossip, but he couldn't guarantee Hector wouldn't mention it to someone else unintentionally.
So, it was best to nip any rumors in the bud.
Hector asked, "What's your plan for the afternoon?"
"Class."
"Alright, you're busier than the principal."
Sebastian replied, "I'll be going then."
"Hey, I forgot to ask, what did you come back to get?" Hector called out to his retreating figure.
"You ask too many questions."
After Sebastian left, Camilla slept for a while longer.
She had to; without a nap, she wouldn't have the energy in the afternoon, affecting her work efficiency.
At two o'clock, Camilla got up, washed her face, and returned to the lab area.
Betty and the others also finished their lunch breaks and returned to their workstations.
"Camilla, why is your face so red? Are you feeling hot?"
Huh?
Camilla touched her cheeks. "Is it red? Maybe."
Hector asked, "Isn't the air conditioning on in the inner room? How can it be so hot?"
"I think I forgot to turn it on today."
"Oh, I see. Looks like you and Sebastian both can't stand the heat. I ran into him outside the break room earlier, and he was also red-faced from the heat."
Betty couldn't help but laugh, "No way. Red-faced from the heat? Hey, Camilla, your face seems even redder now. Darren, lower the air conditioning temperature a bit."
Camilla remained silent.
Red? No way!
Another busy day ended, and without needing to work overtime, Camilla left the lab on time.
On her way home, she stopped by the supermarket to buy some groceries.
After picking out the ingredients, she went home and spent half an hour making dinner.
Camilla set up her phone and had a video call with Alistair while eating.
"Dad, why are you still messing with those plants at this hour? Doesn't Mom mind?"
"She's busy writing her novel and doesn't have time to bother with me."
"Is she feeling particularly inspired lately?" Camilla raised an eyebrow.
"As long as she's not arguing with her editor, she's in a good mood; when she's in a good mood, inspiration flows."
Alistair paused, "Speaking of her editor, I haven't seen her call lately. You asked me to keep an eye on it, and I was wondering why there hasn't been any noise from them. And guess what?"
Camilla played along, showing a curious expression, "What happened?"
"The other day, I saw your mom's phone and found out she had blocked all contact from that editor! Isn't that funny?"
Plus, since they had moved, the editor couldn't find them even if she wanted to.
Camilla couldn't help but laugh. "That's totally something Mom would do."
Despite being almost fifty, Bella had been pampered by Alistair all these years. As a full-time writer, she didn't need to interact much with society, retaining a kind of innocence and simplicity that her peers lacked.
Like when Bella got angry at readers' criticism and announced she was quitting the internet in a fit of pique—how was that different from a child throwing a tantrum?
"Dad," Camilla suddenly became serious, "keep an eye on Mom for me during this time and try to keep her away from Debra."
The editor Simon had referred her to had already contacted her. After reading Bella's work, he immediately called.
It was already 3 AM, and Camilla had been asleep.
The man called twice before she groggily answered.
His name was Elmer Roach, and Camilla had looked him up online afterward.
He was a "golden editor" in the publishing world, with almost every suspense novel he worked on becoming a hit, each one selling film and TV rights and often being adapted into popular shows.
Elmer didn't sign authors; he only cared about the quality of the work.
After getting a rough idea of Bella's situation from Camilla, Elmer had only one thing to say.
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