CHAPTER 506: CHAPTER 506: EVERYTHING IS THE BEST ARRANGEMENT

The teacher for this class is a middle-aged man in his forties. He’s the type who enjoys his lectures regardless of what the students are doing, but will suddenly call on someone to answer a question. Audrey Sutton is quite nervous about his class, so she usually hides in the back row.

For the first ten minutes or so, Audrey listens attentively, but soon her mind begins to wander.

She turns her head to look at Shane. He seems even more focused, looking up at the teacher’s notes on the blackboard.

She can’t tell whether he’s just pretending to be serious or if he really understands.

Looking at him like this, Audrey wonders just how many girls must have been infatuated with him during his school days.

Whoever sat next to him probably got so lost in his looks that they couldn’t focus on their studies at all.

No wonder Clarissa Morgan has never gotten over him.

"Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?" Shane turns his head and quietly scolds her.

Audrey smiles at him shamelessly and replies, "You’re good-looking."

Shane says, "Pay attention to your class."

After seeing her lower her head to start writing, Shane shifts his gaze back to the front.

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices her writing fervently and assumes she’s taking serious notes. However, soon she pokes his arm with her fingers. When he looks down, he sees her notebook slid next to him with a line written on it: Did you have any girl seatmates before?

Shane glares at her and says quietly, "Pay attention in class!"

Audrey pouts, clearly unwilling to listen, and points at the words she’d written, indicating she wants him to answer.

Shane sighs helplessly and mutters one word back: "Yes."

Audrey hands him a pen and whispers, "Don’t talk, just write."

Shane glances at the pen on his desk but ignores it, turning his gaze back to the front of the class.

Audrey sneakily takes back her notebook, writes something quickly, and hands it to him once more.

This time, when she pokes Shane, he just ignores her, keeping his eyes on the teacher.

Frustrated, Audrey frowns and tugs at his shirt hem under the desk. Shane sees she’s not going to pay attention unless he plays along with whatever she wants to do.

So reluctantly, he looks down at her notebook and reads: How many were there? Were they pretty?

Shane writes four words: Can’t remember anymore.

Audrey tilts her head to peek and immediately writes beneath his words: You can’t remember your seatmates? There’s research saying seatmates are the most likely to develop into romantic relationships!

Shane: Did you do the research?

Audrey: Don’t change the subject. You must have had a crush at some point, maybe even secretly watched some girls during class!

Shane: You think I’m like you? So who did you secretly watch when you first fell in love?

Audrey didn’t expect to dig herself into this hole and smiles at him coyly, writing below: My first crush is happening right now, openly staring at you.

Shane rolls his eyes at her, then takes her notebook, rolls it up, and holds it in his hand, giving her no more chances to pass notes.

Audrey pouts and follows his gaze, looking up at the blackboard.

She behaves for a few minutes before she whispers again, "I’m hungry."

Shane checks his watch: "Twenty more minutes, then we can eat after class."

Audrey’s stomach grumbles a few times, and she gives him a sorry look.

Hearing her stomach growl confirms she’s genuinely hungry and not just making excuses.

Shane, unable to let her go hungry, sighs and pulls out some cookies he prepared for her from his pocket and hands them to her under the desk.

Audrey beams, takes the cookies, and hands him her book and pen: "You take notes for me."

Shane doesn’t say anything, thinking that expecting her to pay attention now is pointless, and decides he’ll just explain everything to her again later.

He watches her timidly lower her head, swiftly stuffing the cookie into her mouth, chewing slowly and freezing whenever the teacher turns around.

Her sneaky demeanor is a bit ridiculous yet endearing.

Back when he was in school, he did have many female seatmates, some even like her who snuck snacks during class, but he always thought such inattentive behavior was shameful as it impacted his learning, leading him to ask the teacher to move him to the front row.

The front-row students were generally much more well-behaved, so his later seatmates were mostly the studious type.

He’s been out of school for many years now, and the word "youth" seems distant.

Audrey’s presence is what brings back some of those feelings typical of that age.

His agreement to come to school with her for this class was something he had secretly hoped for.

He wanted to try placing the two of them in the same timeframe, to feel what it’s like to grow up together.

But now he thinks that if they had met sooner, they might not have this outcome.

Perhaps she would have been that seatmate he disdained for eating in class, with no further contact after that.

So, perhaps everything now is the best arrangement.

Meeting can be delayed, as long as it’s the right person.

After lunch, Shane took Audrey back to her dorm, and he returned to the company.

Audrey’s wish was more or less fulfilled. After class, she even dragged Shane to take lots of photos around school. Now, lying on her bed, she is selecting photos to post online.

"Creak—" The dormitory door opened.

Audrey glanced up, thinking Barry Barrett had returned, only to see it was Seraphina Vaughn: "Aren’t you at work? Why are you back?"

Seraphina walked into the dorm, kicked off her high heels, threw her bag on the bed, and started complaining, "Forget work, it’s so boring, there’s no one to talk to. Why are you the only one here? Where are the other two?"

Audrey sat up in bed: "They went out to eat and haven’t come back yet. Let me check."

As Seraphina rummaged through the closet for clothes, she said, "I’ve got some earth-shattering news to share. Hurry them up and tell them to bring back some sunflower seeds."

Audrey lowered her head to text Barry and the others, smiling as she asked Seraphina, "What news? Another company boss looking for a mistress?"

Seraphina: "No, it’s about the mysterious death of Nolan Hawke! Just heard some gossip. It’s fresh and still hot."

Hearing Nolan Hawke’s name piqued Audrey’s interest: "What? Nolan Hawke? Didn’t the internet say he died accidentally?"

"Let me take a shower first. Once the others are back, I’ll discuss it with you all."