Chapter 390 The Prodigy's Public Announcement
Thalassa was well aware that Kenny had probably added the contact already.
It wasn't her place to do it.
That's why she could risk teasing without any worries.
But little did she know...
As soon as she finished speaking, Kenny glanced at her, then turned the wheel to the left and began pulling over to the roadside.
Thalassa was puzzled.
"You're stopping..." she muttered, then grudgingly reached out toward Kenny, "Hand over the phone."
What's the big deal about adding a contact?
It couldn't be that bad.
Thalassa reached out to grab his phone, but her hand was grasped by Kenny, who pulled her toward him and leaned in close. In a moment of surprise for Thalassa, his large hand encircled the back of her neck, and he pressed his lips to hers.
Perhaps it was the effect of a bit of alcohol consumed that day while on the mountain with Jessie, or maybe it was just Kenny's genius brain catching on quickly and innovating.
Regardless.
After a brief time apart, Mr. Walker's kiss was now a masterclass in technique: heart-stirring and tender to the extreme.
A good while later, Kenny finally ended the kiss. They were no longer touching, but their faces remained close as Kenny's eyes softly gazed down at Thalassa.
She looked slightly puzzled, her eyes misty like the morning fog lingering in the forest where one might chance upon a gentle fawn.
"Mrs. Walker, are you giving my number to other girls?" Kenny inquired.
Thalassa shook her head with sincere honesty. "I was only joking."
"Uh-huh." Kenny patted her head, his gaze seemingly stuck to Thalassa's face. "That's more like it."
"Why did you suddenly kiss me?" Thalassa, coming to her senses, lowered her eyelids, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"I wanted to kiss you the moment I saw you running over," Kenny said as his fingertips softly caressed Thalassa's cheek. "I know Mrs. Walker is shy, so I held back for a while; I didn't want to do it in front of everyone."
"Oh."
Thalassa gently pushed Kenny away and, blushing, sat back down.
Getting into the car, the usually chatty Thalassa was profoundly affected by Kenny's affectionate gesture and became quietly reserved for the drive.
Kenny observed this change, his heart feeling full and warm. However, this state lasted only a short time.
Upon reaching the night market in the old town, Thalassa sprang back to life, pulling Kenny from one vendor to another, buying treats and drinks, and eventually settling at a barbecue joint.
While waiting for the barbecue to be served, Thalassa shared a story about Jessie's ordeal with Kenny.
"You didn't see how bad off that golden retriever was. If Darwin hadn't spent a fortune, there's no way it would have survived," Thalassa said indignantly. "Do you think that woman has some mental illness? Bob and Grace, her grandparents, sold their house the day Jessie was found and went off to travel the world. They said they weren't running from her, but I don't believe it."
"Animal abuse is indeed vile," responded Kenny.
"It's also lucky Bob sold the house; otherwise, even if Jessie recovered, there'd always be the risk of running into her in the neighborhood," Thalassa continued.
At that moment, Kenny's phone vibrated.
He pulled it out to see a friend request from someone in a group chat he belonged to.
Glancing at the profile picture, he recognized it as Aurora, whom he had bumped into at the apartment complex's entrance.
"What's up? Is something going on at school?" Thalassa asked, "If you're busy, I can just get our food packed, and you can do your thing."
Perhaps because of a childhood spent under her mother's oppressive teaching style, Thalassa found it almost impossible to accept kindness from others with ease.
Take Kenny, for instance.
His devotion was unparalleled, so deep down, she always felt she couldn't be a burden to him.
"Spam," he said dismissively.
Kenny rejected the friend request and switched his phone to Do Not Disturb mode, his attention fully returning to enjoying the barbecue with his wife.
Aurora returned to her rented house, pacing the room restlessly, unable to sit still. She and Kenny were part of several mutual groups. After much hesitation, she searched for Kenny in one of the groups. With the excuse that she needed to talk to him, she added him on WhatsApp.
She believed she had a good understanding of who Kenny was. His family was affluent and well-educated. She figured that even if his wife disapproved, Kenny would accept her WhatsApp request out of polite courtesy.
However, after she sent the friend request, one minute, five minutes, ten minutes passed, and then hours into the night. Kenny had yet to accept her friend request.
"Argh!" In frustration, Aurora hurled her phone onto the couch, emitting a heart-wrenching scream.
"Aurora, you need to stay calm," she whispered. "He's just wrapped up with that woman and hasn't seen your request. He'll accept it soon."
She tried to soothe her growing panic. After regaining composure, she picked up her phone again, waiting for Kenny's acceptance notification.
Another half-hour crawled by.
Finally, her phone buzzed. She quickly grabbed it, discovering it wasn't the notification she hoped for. Instead, a group chat, one that was set up for international students engaging in charitable work, had suddenly become active.
It started with a screenshot posted by a group admin, an alumnus of Kenny's school. He tagged everyone. "Can you believe the prodigy got hitched so young?"
The color drained from Aurora's face as she saw the message. She opened the screenshot.
It was a snapshot of Kenny's social media post from five minutes ago. "Capturing a cute moment of the wife," it read.
Aurora had a secondary account that was connected to Kenny's profile. He rarely posted anything personal, usually sharing academic research.
While she was still in shock, the group chat exploded with comments:
"Wow, wasn't our Genius an unmovable stone? Married??"
"Admin, give us the full deal! How can we appreciate his wife's cute moments with such a tiny pic? Post the full series of nine NOW!"
"I've never heard of Kenny dating anyone, and now a sudden marriage... It must be a marriage of convenience, right?"
Amidst the chatter, someone with Kenny's WhatsApp contact dumped nine pictures into the chat.
"To be fair, she might not be a knockout beauty, but the cuteness is real. If I were him, I'd also be smitten by the cuteness!" The person who shared the pictures threw in a comment.
Aurora clicked through the images one by one. The first four were from Kenny's perspective of Thalassa. But it was the fifth image that hit Aurora hardest. Under the halo of streetlights, it showed the hands of two adults clasped together.
Two shadows lay closely intertwined on the ground.
There were nine pictures, and it was glaringly obvious Kenny took all of them.
He was always on his phone but never accepted her friend request.
A tight chord in Aurora's mind suddenly snapped.
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