Chapter 19 So It Was You

"No way, really?" Dylan, now intrigued, dug up their college days. "Ursula, you told me you had someone you liked back then, and I wondered who you'd give up Timothy for. Turned out it was you?"

As Dylan spoke, she began to complain, "Ursula, you should've been upfront about liking Timothy all along! Thankfully he always liked you, and didn't get a girlfriend abroad, or you'd have really been crying!"

"Yes, yes," Ursula nodded with a laugh, teasingly replying, "Who made me so scared of not being good enough for Jinyan!"

"Come on, you two are a perfect match, okay?" Dylan scoffed playfully, "What's this talk of matching social status still doing in this day and age? By that logic, wouldn't Matthew and I be even more pitiful?"

Ursula's smile stiffened.

She peeked at Matthew, but his expression was unchanged, as he considerately placed deboned fish into Dylan's bowl, "Eat up before it gets cold and less tasty."

Dylan giggled, "Having a boyfriend is great; even eating is effortless!"


The plan had been to bask in the beautiful weather and tour an orchard, but a sudden deluge thwarted their outing, much to Dylan's chagrin. So, they retreated upstairs to play 'Fight the Landlord,' a spirited card game.

The gambling for money soon lost its luster for Dylan, who whimsically decided to doodle on the losers' faces instead. By late afternoon, Matthew and Timothy were hilariously disguised by Dylan's artistic antics, prompting peals of laughter from both Dylan and Ursula. "Come on, Dylan, give Jin Yan a break." Ursula couldn't resist chiding.

"Feeling protective, huh?" Dylan's teasing click of his tongue was both amusing and slightly irritating to Ursula. She gave him a playful glare. "Keep up this cheating and bullying, and you'll find yourself hungry tonight!"

"Hey! You're siding with love over friendship now?" Dylan's mock outrage was clear in his voice.

Ursula didn't notice the man across from her, whose faint smile suggested he was quietly enjoying the scene.

The card game continued, and Timothy's luck worsened, ended up with his face fully decorated by Dylan's doodles.

For dinner, Ursula had prepared a fish head and tofu hotpot all by herself, and her homemade sauce had Dylan raving. He kept teasing Timothy about his good fortune should he win Ursula's heart.

Ursula just focused on her meal, ignoring the playful nudges under the table. When she caught Matthew's eye by accident, her heartbeat quickened, nearly causing her to spill the vinegar.

Matthew, ever the calm one, reached out to steady the vinegar bottle. "Careful now," he said gently.

Back in her room after dinner, Ursula felt a bit out of sorts. Was it really amusing for them to tease her this way?

"Daydreaming again, Ursula?" Dylan, fresh from the shower and drying his hair, pulled back to reality. "Come on, it's shower time for you too."

"Alright, alright," she replied.

After shower, they lay in bed, the room was dark, chatting idly.

"So, how's it going with Timothy?" Dylan prodded playfully. "Have you guys...?"

"No!" Ursula replied, her voice was tinged with shyness. "We've only just started seeing each other; it's too early for that." She paused, then turned the tables. "And you and Matthew?"

"I wish," Dylan sighed, a note of longing in his voice. "Lately, it feels like Matthew's affection has cooled down. I'm always the one initiating a kiss, and he doesn't seem into it. Do you think it's me?"

He lay there, his voice dropping to a murmur, "Or maybe Matthew's hiding something he doesn't want me to know?"