Chapter 349 Annoying
"Hey, everything cool?" I asked Brad, all chipper.
His eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. "As long as it's what you want, we're all good. But I got a tiny favor to ask. Think you can handle it?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?"
Brad grinned. "Fill up that little notebookwith stars. I'm seriously losing my patience here. Come on, babe, cut me some slack, will ya?"
I thought, 'Brad, talking about sex so seriously is kinda weird.'
I nervously fiddled with the hem of my shirt, avoiding his gaze.
But Brad, being Brad, switched it up and leaned on my shoulder, shaking me playfully. "Please, babe, say yes. I can't wait to get it on with you. Just say yes."
I looked up into Brad's hopeful eyes and shyly nodded.
Brad suddenly leaned in, cupped my cheeks, and planted a sweet, lingering kiss on my lips. It was long and affectionate.
That familiar scent made me feel so at ease. This kiss was so sweet; I loved it!
Brad and I were still swamped every day, only getting to hang out at night, but I felt super happy every day. As long as I was with Brad, I was happy.
One time, while chatting with my folks, I mentioned Brad buying a house and showed Helen the property deed with my name on it.
Helen didn't say much, just told me to cherish it. My dad, though, wasn't thrilled. He kept glancing at my name and grumbled, "Why live in a house Brad bought? Can't I buy a house for you? There are no good people in Brad's family; only Brad is smart enough to snag my daughter."
I was mortified by Ronan's words; Helen just kept laughing.
What was supposed to be serious turned into a joke with my parents, which kinda bummed me out!
Soon, it was competition day. Professor Evans led the team; I was the assistant, taking seven art students to Forest City for the week-long event.
Brad wasn't thrilled about my trip to Forest City, but with Professor Evans calling the shots, Brad had to deal with it.
On the morning of departure, the weather was kinda gloomy, with light rain; it wasn't cold but sticky, making me feel icky.
Brad took me to the school bus, helped with my luggage, and kept reminding me to be careful and take care of myself.
Everyone was waiting for me to say goodbye to Brad.
"Alright, it's just a competition, not like you're not coming back. Can you act like a teacher? Hurry up; we gotta go." Professor Evans finally lost patience and pushed me onto the bus, shooing Brad away.
Brad, for some reason, dared to talk back to Professor Evans, looking like a sad puppy. "With so many teaching assistants at the school, why does it have to be her? Jane has no experience in this."
"Brad, don't tell people I'm your teacher. It's embarrassing." Professor Evans looked Brad up and down with disdain. "You don't work properly every day, just indulging in romance."
The students sitting by the bus door laughed at this.
Brad angrily said, "I'm leaving her in your care. Take good care of Jane."
"Don't worry. I'll have Rafael look after her the whole time." Professor Evans smirked.
I thought, 'How could the esteemed Professor Evans have such a childish side? Now I know where Rafael gets his personality from—Professor Evans. But wait, is Rafael coming too? How come I didn't know? If I had known earlier, I would've bailed on this trip. I don't wanna deal with him at all.'
In a verbal spar, Brad didn't stand a chance against Professor Evans. I shot Brad a look, telling him to head back.
"What, Rafael's coming too? Why didn't I hear about this?" Brad, already on edge about Rafael, freaked out when he heard the news. He reached out to grab Professor Evans, wanting answers.
Despite his age, Professor Evans was surprisingly nimble; he dodged Brad's grasp and hopped onto the bus, slamming the door shut. Then he popped open a window and yelled, "It's just fun to tease you. Drive!"
The bus started moving, leaving a fuming Brad behind.
Watching Brad's figure shrink in the distance, my eyes got all misty. If it weren't for the bus full of students, I might've cried.
I thought, 'People in love are just too sentimental. It's only a few days apart; is it worth crying over? When I stayed alone at the Northern Institute of the Arts, I wasn't like this. When did I become so sentimental?'
But as Professor Evans' prized student and a participant in this competition, I had to keep it together.
Less than five minutes after the bus started, my phone began to buzz. Brad's texts and voice messages came in one after another, all saying that I had grown up, I needed to learn to take care of myself, and I needed to stay away from Adam and Rafael.
Brad used to be most wary of Adam. Ever since I met Rafael, Brad's wariness shifted to Rafael, and he became less concerned about Adam.
When I got on the bus, there was only one seat left in the front row. In a hurry, I didn't see who it was and just plopped down.
As I read Brad's messages with a mix of amusement and exasperation, the person next to me snorted disdainfully. Only then did I realize that my seatmate was Adam, the very person Brad had repeatedly warned me to stay away from.
I estimated the distance between us. Not bad, there was still an arm's length away, not too close.
And the message I was reading was about Adam, no wonder he had that strange tone.
Forest City was about 300 miles from Regalia. For convenience, the school arranged a bus, saving us the hassle of public transportation. It's safe and convenient, but it was also quite annoying.
Why annoying? When Adam and I first met, Adam's attitude towards me was different from others, and with Brad's constant reminders, I was wary of Adam for a while. As time went on, he gave me an increasingly special feeling.
Adam paid a lot of attention to me, often bringing me food and drinks, arranging things for me when I was alone, even bringing an umbrella when it rained or lending me a jacket when it was cold—actions that could easily be misunderstood.
Even our fellow art students said Adam liked me; that the way he looked at me was different.
I appreciated his gestures, but his kindness was fundamentally different from Brad's. It was as if he was expecting something in return, not simply wanting to be kind.
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