CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 30: VICTORIA TAKES THE INITIATIVE TO APPROACH HIM

The next day.

Victoria Sinclair woke up at noon. The blazing sun streamed through the window into the room. After a night rain, the sky was washed clean, and exceptionally blue.

She got up to wash up, changed into her usual casual shirt and jeans, tied her long hair into a high ponytail, and took her backpack out of the room.

In the living room, Eugene Vaughn was in casual clothes, sitting on the sofa, looking at his phone, with a glass of water on the coffee table in front of him.

In the past, during holidays at home, Victoria, fearing awkwardness and an overly cold atmosphere, would choose to go out directly.

Suddenly she remembered he seemed to have said last night when he was drunk: If only she could take the initiative once, he would...

Victoria didn’t know what he would do, but she could try.

Gathering her courage, Victoria shamelessly walked over and sat down on the couch, putting her bag in the corner beside her.

Eugene’s body stiffened slightly, his gaze slowly lifting from the phone screen to look at her, his expression slightly somber.

Eugene looked at her for a few seconds.

That gaze made her body feel hot and tense, her heart beating fast. She leaned back awkwardly, not knowing how to break the silence.

Eventually, she somewhat brainlessly greeted him, "Good morning!"

"It’s already noon." Eugene’s tone was gentle.

Victoria looked at the sunlight coming from the balcony, "Good noon."

Eugene looked at her outfit and the bag she was holding, "Going out?"

Victoria nodded again, "Yeah."

"In a hurry?"

"Not really."

Eugene put down his phone and slowly stood up, "I’m not a great cook. How about some noodles?"

Only then did Victoria realize she wasn’t in a hurry to leave suddenly because she intended him to make lunch for her.

She nervously stood up and followed him into the kitchen, "I didn’t mean to make you cook lunch for me."

Eugene stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, "Want to eat out?"

Victoria shook her head, quietly looking at him.

Such a situation hadn’t happened before, mainly because in the past, she loved hiding alone during holidays, avoiding any interaction with Eugene to prevent awkwardness.

Unfortunately, Victoria ran to his side and sat there without moving.

Eugene’s hands were inserted into his pockets as he looked down at her conflicted little face, "Want to say something?"

"I can cook." Victoria said softly, quickly walking past him.

Eugene stood still, stunned for several seconds, then turned and watched her back quickly disappear into the kitchen, the door closing behind her.

Victoria entered the kitchen, leaning on the island counter, taking a deep breath to calm her nervousness, then turned to rummage in the fridge.

Fortunately, she usually made dinner, so there was food stocked, though not much, enough for two.

She washed the rice and began cooking.

Then she took out eggs and tomatoes, baby cabbage, and beef from the fridge.

She picked up a pack of peppers and froze.

Standing in front of the fridge, she looked at the long green peppers, feeling conflicted.

Before they got married, they had a few meals together, but they were Western, like steaks and pasta, and some Japanese food too.

She wasn’t sure if he ate spicy food in home-cooked meals.

Victoria was lost in thought when the door opened, footsteps came closer accompanied by Eugene’s gentle voice, "I can eat spicy."

Victoria was slightly startled, snapped back to reality, and swiftly closed the fridge with the peppers tightly gripped in her hand, turning towards the island counter.

Eugene lightly rolled up his sleeves and placed the baby cabbage in the sink for washing.

With him around, Victoria felt particularly uneasy, always unable to relax, slicing beef into strips.

Eugene washed the baby cabbage clean, piece by piece, placed them in a basket to drain, slid it next to Victoria, and then picked up the eggs to crack into a bowl.

Each time he cracked an egg, he washed his hands, cracked three eggs, and washed his hands three times.

Victoria glanced at his actions from the corner of her eye, slowly turning to look at him.

He cleaned up the eggshells and washed his hands once more.

"You have a bit of an obsessive compulsive disorder," Victoria said, her gentle tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"It affects my life," Eugene’s voice was slightly deepened.

Curiously, Victoria asked, "Because you wash your hands often?"

"No, other situations."

Victoria was a bit bewildered, serious obsessive compulsive disorder is essentially a love for cleanliness, what else could it be?

Probably a psychological issue.

Eugene placed the tomatoes into a deep bowl, carried them to the water dispenser to fill with water, then called her softly, "Victoria Sinclair."

"Yeah." Victoria paused her movements, turning to look at him.

"Is there any medicine to treat obsessive compulsive disorder?"

"Though I study medicine, I’m not a doctor."

Eugene smiled faintly, returned carrying a bowl of hot water, stirred the tomatoes with chopsticks, gently peeling them.

Victoria hurriedly bowed her head, placed the sliced beef into a bowl to marinate.

As their conversation grew, her nervous heart gradually calmed down, becoming more at ease.

Victoria chopped the baby cabbage.

Eugene changed the topic, "Is your company’s funding problem resolved?"

Victoria nodded, "Yes, the new drug has made breakthrough progress, I submitted a report to grandpa, and will receive some support."

Eugene knew that Victoria’s grandpa referred to the government.

"So, not dragging me into it?"

"Even projects worth billions might not catch the Vaughn Group’s eye, my small company isn’t enough to concern you."

Eugene laughed but said nothing.

Victoria exhaled softly, "I know you’re considering grandma’s sake wanting to look after me, regardless of the reason, I’m very grateful."

Eugene didn’t respond.

While Victoria was cooking, he was tidying up the island counter.

This simple and warm interaction rekindled the almost frozen heart of Victoria with strands of anticipation.

Even though during lunch, they didn’t talk much, it was relatively quiet.

The cold house seemed to have gained a hint of warmth.

After lunch, as Victoria wanted to clean up, Eugene took the dishes and utensils from her hands, "Aren’t you going out?"

Victoria was stunned for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Work, or leisure?" Eugene asked while tidying up.

"Heading back to the research lab."

"Okay." Eugene carried the dishes and utensils into the kitchen.

Victoria watched his back, then glanced at the bag on the sofa, feeling reluctant to leave.

She shouldn’t have brought the bag out, or said she was going out.

Though Eugene remained as indifferent as always, at least she could chat a few sentences, and have lunch together, it wasn’t too awkward.

But having already said it, she should do it.

Victoria went to the sofa, picked up her bag, and slowly walked to the entrance to change her shoes.

She opened the door to glance at the kitchen.

Having eaten lunch together, if she left quietly, it would seem rude.

She hesitated for a few seconds and called out towards the kitchen, "I’m leaving."

There was no response from inside.

Victoria sighed softly, pressed her lips together, walked out, and pulled the door to close it.

"Victoria Sinclair."

Eugene’s voice came.

At the sound, Victoria hurriedly pushed the door open, looking at him with clear eyes, "What’s up?"

Eugene handed her a small bag of trash, "Take it downstairs."

"Okay." Victoria obediently accepted it.

Eugene stood still, watching her.

Victoria looked at the trash, and then at him, smiled gently, and slowly closed the door.

As the door closed, her heart felt empty, as if half of it was left at home.

It felt unreal, yet was undeniably real.

She suddenly realized, if she were a bit more proactive, Eugene didn’t seem so cold, nor so hard to get along with.