Sean blushed and extended his hand to Jasper, saying, “Hello, I’m Isabella’s friend, Sean.”
Jasper was skilled at masking his emotions. Even though he shook Sean’s hand, his cold smile revealed how upset he was. After that, Jasper returned his gaze to Isabella and asked softly, “What kind of competition is this? May I go there?”
“You certainly can, sir! I can reserve front-row seats for you and Isabella,” Sean responded right away.
Not wanting to talk to him any longer, Isabella took Sean’s hand and walked away.
In the afternoon, Sean went to rehearsal, leaving Isabella to wander the campus alone. Meanwhile, Jasper wore a light gray coat and was waiting for her downstairs with a hot coffee.
Isabella walked out of the building and stopped as soon as she saw him. For a brief moment, they gazed at each other in the distance.
The wind was chilly then, and the setting sun shone on the water’s surface, causing it to glow golden. The scenery was as lovely as Isabella’s mood.
At this point, she was suddenly relieved. She took many pictures of this lake to show Jasper how beautiful it was. And she wished Jasper could hold her hand and walk with her across the lake bridge every time she saw couples doing that.
” Hope that you still love hazelnut cappuccino.” Jasper handed her the cup, his gentle smile as warm as the winter sun.
Without hesitation, Isabella approached Jasper and hugged him. And she smelled his perfume as she pressed her cheek against his chest. Jasper froze when he opened his arms. He went into a daze, recalling some of the emotions he had felt for her before. Gradually, he tightened his arms, passing more warmth to her.
The next second, Isabella took his hand in hers and led him forward. She was holding a warm cup of coffee in one hand and his warm hand in the other. Afterward, Isabella smiled cheerfully and started telling him about what was going on at school.
***
“Later, I’ll take you to the library! All the new computers there are made by your company.” Isabella said in excitement.
“Okay.”
Gazing at her gently, Jasper slowed his pace. The grass and trees on this campus were still the same as they had been many years before, intoxicating him.
The annual campus singer competition at the university was about to begin. Isabella took the seat Sean had reserved for her directly behind the judges’ table.
A couple sat next to Isabella, who had been holding hands since they walked in. The girl was excitedly holding a small lighted sign in her other hand. The boy next to the girl asked enviously, “Is he really that hot? I kind of regret helping you get front-row tickets.” Hearing that the girl turned her face to him with a grin and leaned her head towards his shoulder.
Isabella looked at them, then at the man beside her. At the moment, Jasper was sitting in his chair, seemingly at ease. The stage’s scattered lights reflected on his face, making him very handsome and attractive.
At that moment, Isabella felt as if the entire world had vanished. She could only hear her own heartbeat and felt like all the images around her had blurred. It seemed he was the only one she could see in the world.
She paused for a moment before stretching out and resting her head on his shoulder. Chuckling, she extended her hand and took his broad palm in hers.
As he turned his face, the hair on the top of Isabella’s forehead brushed against Jasper’s chin. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning. “What’s the matter?” He asked, doing his best to conceal his panic.
“Nothing, I’m just a little tired. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t gotten enough sleep.” She replied calmly, still clutching his hand and pouting, as she had done since she was a child. In return, Jasper stroked her hair once more and smiled gently.
The restless audience applauded and cheered as Sean, and the three other hosts emerged from behind the curtain, breaking the silence. The contest then had officially started.
Isabella had been quietly watching Jasper’s expression. But, whether the performers on stage were singing heartfelt love songs or passionate rap, he maintained a calm demeanor.
A long time later, a freshman took the stage. He was dressed casually and performed a Hip-Hop song. He sang very well. But, perhaps because he was eager to demonstrate his talent, he did another street dance. As his dance was extremely difficult, the audience applauded him excitedly.
And to everyone’s surprise, the boy did a failed backflip and fell to the ground, just as Isabella was captivated by the performance. Later, everyone seemed surprised and sighed with regret. The boy appeared embarrassed but quickly rose from the ground and resumed his performance.
Then Isabella sighed and murmured, “He sang quite well, but he handled his failure poorly. He was probably overly concerned with the audience’s reaction.”
“Because not everyone can handle people’s questions well,” Jasper explained. He was very calm and seemed to be devoid of emotions. Although Jasper was making a remark about the boy, but Isabella felt he meant another thing: their relationship.
As her heart began to race, she asked cautiously, still looking intently at the stage, “So, how about you? Can you pull it off?”
“No, because I’m also mundane,” Jasper replied quickly.
It was typical of what he said. Despite this, Isabella was heartbroken after hearing these words. “Because we’re mundane, we must follow mundane rules, right?” She asked.
Still, Jasper remained silent. When she looked at him, she noticed that he was staring intently at the stage. His face reflected the light, his eyes clear but devoid of emotion.
Isabella shook her head. She knew they both understood the words, but neither wanted to say the implied meaning of them directly. They weren’t related by blood, but they couldn’t escape the judging gaze and moral issues from others if they chose to be together.
Knowing exactly what she should do, Isabella smiled bitterly. Well, I will grow up and let go of those absurd ideas one way or another. I don’t want to be like the performer who just stormed off stage. She reasoned to herself.
With that in mind, she let go of his hand and sat in a more comfortable position. Following that, a hilarious duo took the stage and sang a hilarious Spanish song. Isabella was amused and burst out laughing.
After the competition, some of the audience were ready to leave. As was customary, the last show featured all hosts singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You together. Many people leaving the stage paused and hummed along with them.
Sean stood on stage, the spotlights on him. Many girls screamed when they heard his pleasant voice. A boy then approached him halfway through his song and handed him a bouquet of flowers. Everyone assumed Sean was just a fan, so no one expected him to walk up to Isabella from the stage with a large bouquet of red roses.
Isabella then came to her senses and was taken aback. At this point, the entire audience was on their feet, cheering. Everybody was staring at them, cheering. And the atmosphere was upbeat.
Sean looked at Isabella with affection as he handed her the rose. He said seriously, “Isabella, I met you the first day you came to this college. I didn’t register for orientation that day, but I reached you and asked if there was anything I could do for you. Later, I invited you to join the debate team several times because I wanted to spend more time with you. I enjoyed debating with you and going out to dinner at the end of a long day.”
“To be honest, I’ve never felt so drawn to someone before. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I still don’t want just to be friends with you. Do you want to be my girlfriend, Isabella?” He looked at her and said fondly.
After hearing the last sentence, Isabella became completely terrified. It happened so suddenly that she hadn’t even recovered her composure. All she could hear were the crowd’s cheers, which felt like an invisible hand choking her throat.
Isabella felt dizzy, and her ears rang. She had many thoughts, most of which had nothing to do with the man in front of her. Suddenly, she heard someone speaking in her head, so she glanced at Jasper before responding.
However, she was disappointed that he remained calm and smiled at her. He watched the drama as a mature adult, and it seemed like it was none of his business.
Irritated, Isabella turned around, took the rose from Sean’s grasp, and said, “OK.”
The next moment, everyone started applauding and cheering. Sean smiled with relief, although he knew Isabella would likely say yes. He hugged her tightly and then waved to the audience.
When Isabella saw Jasper get up and leave with the crowd, her face turned pale.
Even though the audience in the inner hall was dimly lit and crowded, she could see him at a glance.
Jasper remained calm because these brave and childish didn’t impress him. He was also always rational and objective when it came to his feelings. He would not have minded Isabella dating a boy of such superior character and education because he was her adoptive father.
As he was far too rational to act rashly, he had almost forgotten that, he, an extremely rational person, would have feelings for Isabella. Heartbroken, he quickly left the scene as if fleeing from an invisible monster.
After getting into the car to isolate himself from the hustle and bustle of the road, Jasper shut the door. As he leaned back against the driver’s seat, ready to take a break, his cell phone vibrated.
He didn’t move and waited until the phone rang again before answering the call.
When he heard the voice on the other end of the line, he was completely awake.
“Meet me at my place for dinner.”
“Okay.” Jasper started the car slowly after hanging up the phone.
More than 30 minutes later, he arrived at an apartment building and took the elevator upstairs. He knocked on the door, and Lily, dressed in a pink satin silk nightgown, stood there staring at him.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.