Chapter 57

Alice picked a spot downtown for their meal. The street was lined with electric scooters, bikes, and regular cars, making David's fancy ride stick out like a sore thumb.

The joint was clean and bustling, packed with folks slurping noodles. With no seats left downstairs, Alice and David headed upstairs, scoring a table with a decent view.

They snagged a window seat, ordered two of the house noodle specials, a couple of juices, and some snacks. The bill came to under a hundred bucks, leaving David scratching his head.

Once the waiter bounced, David asked, "Is this gonna be enough?"

Alice's eyebrow twitched. She shot David a look, thinking he should be glad she liked him. Otherwise, she'd have bailed right then and there.

'What does he mean, enough? Does he think I eat like a horse?' Alice fumed internally.

David was clueless about his faux pas, but seeing Alice was silent, he zipped his lips and stared out the window.

The view wasn't mall-level fancy. The street was lined with trees and had an old-school vibe. Up ahead, a lively square with a fountain danced to the beat of the music.

Soon, their noodles arrived.

Alice had been here loads of times. After a break, the flavors were just as bomb as she remembered.

The juice and snacks followed. Alice grabbed a snack, dunked it in sauce, and took a bite. The savory juices dripped into her bowl, the meat and sauce combo hitting just right.

David watched Alice munching away, eyes half-closed in bliss, and couldn't help but grin, chewing slowly.

Alice glanced at David, eating all prim and proper, then at herself, cheeks stuffed and wiping juice with her hand. She felt like a wild animal in comparison.

She took a few sips of juice and shot David a look.

"What's up?" David asked.

Alice said, "Are you gonna have lunch with me every day now?"

David raised an eyebrow. "Why? Scared I'll catch you ditching class?"

Alice's mouth twitched. She wanted to say she wasn't scared at all! She just wasn't sure if she should pass up such a sweet deal.

"How about this," Alice said, smacking her lips, "You stop picking me up from school. I'll come to your office."

"Huh?" David was puzzled.

"I'm worried Clara will see you, get pissed, and then give me hell when you're not around. If I snap and hit her, you'll have to come to school to clean up my mess," Alice rattled off.

David reached out, ruffled Alice's hair, and sighed, "You need to learn patience. If violence solved everything, the world wouldn't be such a mess."

"So, can I come to your office for lunch?" she asked, hoping to look like his girl.

"Sure," David agreed.

He didn't mind picking her up, but figuring out where to eat every time was a pain. Now that he was sure about his feelings, he didn't want to be too casual with Alice.

After dropping her back at school, David returned to his office and told Garrett, "From now on, order an extra lunch, something nutritious. Alice is still growing and can't just eat veggies with me."

Garrett thought, 'Why you gotta flex on me like that?'

Garrett was both confused and ticked off. As a single dude, David's sudden lovey-dovey behavior felt like a slap in the face. Just a few days ago, David was flying solo too.

Back at school, Esme yanked Alice out of the classroom and dragged her into the restroom.

This scene felt all too familiar. A few months ago, she was hauled into the restroom by a bunch of girls for a "lesson," but she ended up schooling them instead.

"What do you want?" Alice asked, eyebrow raised.

Esme shut the restroom door, crossed her arms, and gave Alice a hard look. "Are you dating David?"

'He gave her a black card. If they aren't dating, I won't believe it!' Esme thought.

David used to act like a guardian, but now he wasn't, and he even handed her a black card. If he wasn't her boyfriend, what was he?

Alice chuckled at Esme's question, leaned against the wall, and shook her head. "If David were my boyfriend, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops! Why would I keep that a secret?"

"But..." Esme hesitated.

"No buts," Alice patted Esme's shoulder. "Stop watching so many trashy dramas. In real life, unrequited love is like biting into a green apple—sour and bitter."

Esme murmured, "Is it really that bleak?"

Alice opened the door and headed back to class.

Alice pondered, 'Isn't it? If every unrequited love has a happy ending, there won't be so many broken hearts. It's because they can't, so some unrequited loves have to swallow the bitterness and watch the other person be happy.'

Alice continued thinking, 'Besides, someone always has a spot in David's heart, someone I can't beat or push out. No matter how hard I try, I might never make David like me. Why set myself up for that kind of hurt?'

The way things were now was actually pretty good.

At least she could still live under the same roof with him, have him pat her head, and care for her.

Really, it was quite good this way.

During class, Alice propped her cheek on her hand and opened David's profile on her phone, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"Alice, stand up and answer this question," Declan called out, clearly annoyed with Alice's daydreaming.

Esme turned around, raising her book to give her a hint, but Alice didn't even lift her head. "Sorry, Mrs. Martinez, I don't know."

Esme couldn't help but giggle, quickly covering her mouth.

Declan trembled with anger. "I want to see what kind of score you'll get with that attitude!"

Alice replied, "Don't worry, my score will definitely be the highest in the class." She looked up at Declan. "You should worry about the other students first."

Alice wasn't just talking big. It was true. In the last test, if Declan hadn't insisted on her writing out the solution process, she wouldn't have tossed the test paper aside. If she had completed it, her score would probably have been the highest in the class.

She didn't know why she was so smart. Despite skipping classes and getting into fights, she always managed to get good grades. Otherwise, the school would have kicked her out ages ago.

Alice didn't realize her finger was pressing on the send voice message button. When the teacher called her, she didn't move her finger, and the voice message was recorded and sent.

David, who was at work, received Alice's voice message and played it.

A few seconds later, David fell silent, thinking it was necessary to have a talk with Alice.