Little Bride

Chapter10

Back in the dorm, I left the bag there and sat on the chair, feeling angry.

When my roommate returned, she curiously rummaged through my bag and exclaimed, " Lorraine, do you have a new boyfriend?"

"What?" I glanced at her with little interest.

"Isn't this bag from your boyfriend?"

"What bag?"

"The latest Hermes cardholder."

"Hermes?"

Other roommates became interested and gathered around, checking the prices on their phones.

"2,000."

"So expensive."

"Lorraine, is your boyfriend from a wealthy family?"

I glanced over at the orange cardholder they were holding. Where did it come from? Wasn't it my student ID card?

I took a look and indeed, there was my student ID card inside the cardholder.

Confused, I decided to ask Albert for an explanation.

I didn't bother answering my roommates' strange questions. I put away the card and bag, grabbed my phone, and headed to the balcony.

I dialed his number for a voice call. No one answered. I tried two more times, still no answer.

I felt frustrated. Did he find me annoying? I couldn't recall doing anything to offend him. He asked for money himself and refused to accept it. Now he's pulling this stunt and not answering my calls. Is he trying to avoid me?

I gave up, angrily turned off my phone, and decided to forget.

I lay in bed, feeling drowsy, when suddenly my phone rang.

In a half-asleep state, I answered the voice call without checking who it was.

"Hello."

"Mm."

Huh? I glanced at my phone to see who it was.

Albert? I quickly snapped out of my drowsiness.

"No response? Didn't you call me so many times?" he said with a hint of teasing in his tone.

I was taken aback and quickly brought up the topic.

"What's the deal with that bag?"

"Bag?" He paused for a moment, as if thinking, "Do you want me to buy it for you?"

What on earth?

"No... it's just that orange Hermes cardholder, in my..." I suddenly got confused by his counter-question.

"Hermes... orange... hmm." His voice was somewhat intermittent, "Send me the request in writing."

He sighed, sounding exhausted.

"I didn't ask you to buy it," I realized he might be drunk, "It's the cardholder you returned to me... there's a bag inside..."

"Mm, I'm a bit drunk," he chuckled, interrupting me, clearly unable to listen to my lengthy explanation.

I sighed, wondering if it was even worth explaining to a drunkard. It would be a waste of time.

"Are you drunk and confused?" I asked.

"Mm."

"Do you know who I am?" I asked again.

He didn't answer, just laughed on the phone, "I know... when will you reimburse me for the shirt?"

Why is he still remembering the reimbursement while being drunk like this? Damn.

I took a deep breath, "I... don't have money now. Don't you have any clothes to wear?"

He paused for a moment, chuckled softly, "Indeed, I'm not wearing anything."

What? Isn't he the one who owns a company? How can he be so poor?

My head was pounding.

"Then... can you bring it over? Can I sew it back on for you?" I asked in a low voice.

In my eyes, it was just a missing button, a simple fix.

"Alright," his unexpectedly straightforward reply caught me off guard.

I felt like there was no point in continuing the conversation in his current state. I wanted to hang up the phone. "Drink some honey water to help with your hangover," I suggested.

"Mm," he obediently responded. "It's not convenient right now, I'll drink it later."

"Oh..." I didn't care if it was convenient or not. I just wanted to quickly end this awkward phone call.

"I'm in the bathtub, I don't feel like getting up," he said lightly.

Boom! I suddenly remembered his earlier words, "I'm not wearing anything."

My face started to heat up.

Even though couldn't see him, I felt a sense of shame answering the phone in this situation.

"Alright, goodnight," I couldn't wait to hang up.

He didn't say goodnight, nor did he say he wanted to hang up. I felt like hanging up on someone was somewhat impolite.

As I was struggling, I heard his voice again on the other end of the phone.

"It's 11 p.m. over there, right?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "God, please hang up quickly."

"Are you lying in bed?" he said in a low voice, making me feel embarrassed as if he was right next to me, whispering in my ear.

I was extremely embarrassed and said angrily, "Of course I'm lying in bed, otherwise, should I sit?"

There was silence on the other end, and then he laughed. And his laughter seemed to be getting more and more wild.

I stood there, not understanding what he was laughing about.

"Go to sleep, little rabbit."

"Mm," without thinking, I hung up the phone.

After hanging up, I threw my phone aside. Thinking back to the conversation just now, I felt strange, but I didn't know what was strange about it.