Chapter 56

Alice just stood there, totally stunned, letting David hold her like a statue.

After what felt like forever, Alice finally managed to stammer, "W-What are you doing?" Her cheeks were turning redder than a tomato.

David chuckled softly in her ear and said in a deep voice, "Just hugging you and saying sorry, is that a problem?"

Alice was at a loss for words.

She said inwardly, 'If you're gonna apologize, do it right! You know I have feelings for you. Hugging me out of the blue is just making me overthink! What if I got the wrong idea? How awkward will that be?'

David gently patted Alice's back. The scent of her body wash and shampoo filled his nose, making him feel a bit moved, but he knew now wasn't the time. He didn't want to be a total jerk.

After hugging the girl he liked, David patted Alice's head. "Stop buying cakes. I don't like sweets."

Alice looked at David in confusion as he turned and left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind him. She stomped her foot in frustration.

Alice was fuming, 'What the hell! He used the spare key to come in just to tell me not to buy cakes anymore because he doesn't like sweets? Couldn't he just say it properly? Why did he have to hug me, making me so shy?'

Alice touched her ear with a red face. The breath David exhaled while speaking was still on her ear, making it feel hot and a bit tingly.

On the other side, David returned to his room, placing his hand over his heart, feeling the strong beating in his chest. He chuckled softly and murmured to his heart, "I know you like her too, but don't make it so obvious. If Alice finds out, she'll be so smug."

The next day, Alice noticed David was acting weird again.

Originally, there was a seat between her and David, but now she was back in her original seat. When she came down, David was spreading jam on a slice of bread and then placed it on the plate in front of her.

Alice paused on the stairs, swallowed, and sat tensely next to David. She glanced at the bread with jam, the warm milk, and a plate of fried eggs and sausages in front of her.

The breakfast was so sumptuous that she felt like it was her last meal.

"What's wrong?" David asked when he saw Alice not eating.

Alice looked at David, hesitating. "Do you have something to tell me?"

David asked, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you?" Alice didn't believe it, "If not, why are you being so nice to me, even spreading jam on my bread? You never did that before."

"Well, you might have to get used to it." David took a sip of coffee, pulled out a card from his wallet, and placed it next to Alice's hand. "Use this card for anything you need to buy from now on. Don't let Felix think I don't give you money and you have to use his."

Alice's eyes sparkled as she picked up the card, excitement full all over her face, "Is this the legendary black card?"

"I'm a woman with a black card now." Alice shouted.

David pressed her head down. "Alright, woman with a black card, hurry up and eat your breakfast. You're going to be late."

Alice waved her hand, too excited to stop, "Just be late. Everyone is used to it. How come you're not used to it yet?"

David was speechless.

He was probably used to Alice skipping school at various times.

When he dropped her off at school, Alice turned to go inside but was called back by David.

"I'll come to have lunch with you at noon, don't run off." David said.

"Okay," Alice replied, sounding all nonchalant. David frowned, clearly not happy, but before he could say anything, Alice had already walked off.

He thought about it and decided to let it slide. He didn't expect Alice to catch on to anything anyway.

"David's acting weird again today."

In class, Esme got a note from Alice with just that one line.

Esme propped her cheek, twirled her pen, and scribbled back. "How so?"

The note came back quickly, and under Esme's question, it said, "He's being super, super, super nice to me and even gave me a black card!"

Esme read it and wrote back. "No way!"

Esme was just green with envy. She was jealous that Alice had a black card, jealous that David gave it to her, and resentful that Alice had both a black card and a David who was so good to her at such a young age.

Alice carefully tucked the black card into the innermost pocket of her wallet, not planning to use it, just happy to have it.

Esme looked at Alice, who seemed to be glowing with happiness, and couldn't stand it. She took out her phone, put it on silent, and quickly snapped a photo, then sent it to David.

David was working when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw a message from Esme on Facebook.

Opening the chat, he saw a photo. He paused, then clicked on it, seeing Alice's face full of smiles. He couldn't help but grin. He stared at the photo for a long time.

It was just a black card, and she's this happy, not even noticing someone took a photo of her.

It seemed he needed to take Alice to a better place for lunch. He had originally booked a fancy restaurant, but now it seemed too formal. His Alice deserved a more relaxed place where she could eat freely.

At 11 o'clock, David left the office early and ran into Garrett, who was coming in to deliver documents.

Garrett paused, unsure if he should hand over the documents.

"Mr. Tudor, are you leaving early?" Recently, David had been leaving early. 'Is there something going on with Alice?' Garrett wondered.

"Yeah, I'm heading out to have lunch with Alice. Is it urgent?" David asked while putting on his coat.

"No, it's not! It can wait till the afternoon. Have a good one, Mr. Tudor." Garrett said.

David nodded and walked straight to the elevator.

Garrett watched David's back, squinting suspiciously. He felt that David seemed different, like he was in love or something.

Ivywood University had a class break at 11:30. David arrived at the university gate at 11:20 and sent Alice a text at 11:30 to let her know he was there. Within five minutes, he saw a figure rush out of the gate, quickly running to the car and hopping in.

"Anything you wanna eat?" David asked.

Alice smoothed her windblown hair, thinking she had just had a big meal yesterday. If she had another one today, her stomach might not handle it. But if they ate something else, it might not match David's style, and she wasn't sure if David would agree.

"Hmm?" David asked again.

Alice said, "Um, I kinda want to eat noodles, is that okay?"

David paused, not answering right away.

He had planned to take Alice for barbecue, steak, or fish, but Alice wanted noodles.

Alice said, "If you don't want to, it's okay. I can think of something else."

"Noodles it is," David said slowly, "You guide me. I don't know the place."