Chapter 61: Crack the Shell (2)
Quietly, I reached for a lobster, cracked the shell open, and placed the meat onto his plate. I whispered softly, "I can’t eat all of this by myself. You have to eat too."
Lando stayed silent for a moment, not even moving when I did that, as if my small gesture meant something far greater to him.
Not long after, Penny made an announcement.
[Lando’s favorability has increased by +2%]
My eyes widened slightly. Honestly, I had suspected he would feel happy when I did that, since we might have shared a similar experience before. But still, I hadn’t expected him to be this happy to the point his favorability actually increased.
"Thank you," he murmured.
After that, I noticed something odd. Instead of placing the seafood shells on our own plates, we started placing them on each other’s plates. At first, he looked a little confused, but soon enough he simply accepted it, letting me spoil him while he did the same for me.
I wished I could eat everything on the table, but my body betrayed me. My stomach started to churn, and before long, I felt the urge to throw up. I stopped eating before I was full and quickly reached for my glass of water, gulping it down in an attempt to keep the food from coming back up.
When would I ever stop suffering like this?
"I’m sorry ... it feels like such a waste," I said softly, glancing at the seafood still untouched on my plate. I sighed, then added, "Can we have this packed to go? Maybe I can eat it again later."
If he were truly a spoiled young master, he might have thought taking leftovers home was embarrassing. But knowing how cruelly he had once been treated, I was certain he wasn’t the type to waste food.
"Of course," he said without hesitation. "I’ll ask the maids to put it in the freezer once we’re home."
See? It really was better to pack up what couldn’t be finished. Back when I used to eat with fellow celebrities, most of them would simply throw food away without a second thought, never considering they could save it for later.
While we were waiting for the waiters to pack our unfinished food, I started to feel a little anxious because I hadn’t touched his hand at all!
I’d planned to "accidentally" hold it at the table, but that idea had gone to waste. It would’ve looked ridiculous anyway, since both of us were wearing gloves smeared with seafood.
Was I really about to lose my precious fifteen grand just like that?
My eyes followed him as he pulled off his gloves and cleaned his hands with sanitizer again and again. Seizing the moment, I spoke up. "Should we ... take a walk on the beach? I hardly ever get the chance to go."
"Okay," Lando said immediately, not even pausing to think.
I beamed at him, thrilled that he was willing to grant my request. Before we left, we washed our hands once more at the sink, leaving his aide to handle the packed food.
"Let’s just take off our shoes!" I exclaimed, glancing down at his. He’d probably struggle to bend over and undo them, so without thinking, I crouched in front of him. "Here, let me help."
"Helcia, you—"
"It’s fine! It’s fine! Don’t be shy." I carefully slipped his shoes off, placing them neatly beneath a palm tree. "I used to help my little siblings take their shoes off too."
"You have little siblings?" he asked, surprised.
I froze for a moment, realizing I had accidentally spoken about my own life instead of Helcia’s to Lando.
What I really meant were the younger kids back at the orphanage, the ones I had cared for like my own family ... but Helcia didn’t have any little siblings, so of course it sounded odd.
"I mean the neighbor’s kids," I corrected quickly, forcing a small laugh. "Some of the neighbors used to pay me when I babysat their children for a while."
Fortunately, Lando didn’t press the matter any further, so I was safe for today. Still, I knew I needed to be more careful, or else he might think I was insane for believing I had lived two different lives.
"Let’s go over there! That spot doesn’t look too crowded!" I said, pointing to a quieter stretch of the beach.
The seawater was chilly, so I avoided the edge of the waves and led us along the drier sand, a little farther from the shoreline.
We strolled slowly side by side, letting the breeze brush against our skin. Lando could actually walk quite quickly with his crutches, but when one of them sank into a patch of soft sand, he nearly lost his balance.
It looked pitiful, and I was about to suggest that he sit down instead of walking, but then a sudden idea lit up in my mind.
Before he could protest—because I knew he would—I reached out and took one of his forearm crutches from him. Then I slipped my fingers into his hand, gripping it firmly.
"You can lean on me," I whispered.
[Ding!]
[You have successfully completed your quest: Hold Lando’s hand at the beach!]
[Reward: $15,000 has been credited to your account.]
[Remaining Balance: $92,915]
Then suddenly, another announcement popped up.
[Lando’s favorability has increased by +5%]
Holy crap ... I never thought I’d raise his favorability this much in one night, but somehow, I did.
To be honest, I’d been nervous he might get upset when I suddenly reached for his hand. But instead of pulling away, he tightened his grip around mine. It was so firm, as if he was afraid to let go, as if he was locking our fingers together on purpose.
"If ... you insist," he said.
I pressed my lips together, trying my hardest not to let the happiness bubbling inside me show too clearly on my face.
His hand was so warm, and when he—whether on purpose or not—brushed his thumb across the back of my hand, my heart nearly burst. My knees went weak, and for a moment, I thought I might actually die on the spot.
But just as I was drowning in that euphoria, a group of teenagers walked past and ruined everything.
"Seriously? Who the hell comes to the beach with crutches?" one sneered. "He looks pathetic, like a broken toy."
Another burst out laughing, his voice echoing across the shore. "Look at him! He’s just dead weight. Bet his girl’s only holding his hand because she feels sorry for him!"
The evil witch spirit that had long been buried in my heart suddenly surged to the surface, and I wanted nothing more than to kidnap those teenagers and boil them in a hot cauldron.