Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

The sudden recovery of her memories caught Roseanne completely off guard.

Was she really the one who had been so annoyingly persistent, refusing to let go of someone's shirt collar?

Facing Owen's teasing gaze, she found herself awkwardly curling her toes.

Owen said, "Remember now?"

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Why even ask? Of course, it's a no-go. Who likes getting their head knocked? We're not talking about a wooden block here. Plus, you said it yourself, too many knocks and you'll end up silly."

His words instantly eased half of Roseanne's embarrassment.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

"And yet you still knocked on my head..." she muttered under her breath.

As this piece of the puzzle fell into place, the rest of her memories gradually became clearer.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

It was him who had started it all...

Owen, now serious, said, "Same old advice: drinking's fine, but moderation is key."

"Uh-huh."

Roseanne wouldn't dare object, nodding obediently like a well-behaved quail.

"What are you two chatting about?" Norris, having washed his hands, came back and downed a glass of pear cider in one go.

Owen took small, leisurely sips, a smile playing on his lips. "Just talking about drinking..."

"Speaking of which, Owen, why don't you stay for lunch? We can have a light drink; we didn't finish talking about that new nuclear power technology last time... Let's continue today!"

Owen didn't immediately accept, instead, he turned to Roseanne, "What do you say?"

"Maybe... maybe we shouldn't drink?"

Drinking leads to trouble!

"Mr. Reynolds has to head to the lab this afternoon, right, so no drinking. Dad, maybe you shouldn't either. Just having lunch would be great." Norris nodded, "Then no drinks for Owen. We'll just whip up something simple."

"Oh?" Owen raised an eyebrow. "Roseanne, do you like drinking?"

"Yeah, she mentioned wanting to have a drink with me yesterday, but her mom stopped her."

Roseanne's scalp tingled. "..." She could blink no more, as if saying, didn't you see anything!

"But she's sensible, only has a sip or two occasionally," Norris added, as if remembering something. "Last time was an exception, haha." Roseanne: ".

Owen, however, laughed, nodding seriously. "Yes, she's always measured and prudent."

"Hehe..." The proud father chuckled foolishly.

Norris was in charge of cooking lunch.

He was quick and efficient, preparing a large table full of dishes in no time, with none repeating from last time.

At the dining table-

"Owen, help yourself, don't be shy!"

After making sure Owen was taken care of he turned to Roseanne.

"Why haven't you got a wine glass?  I'll get it-" 

"Dad! No, no..." Roseanne quickly stopped him.

Norris: "?"

"Drinking's bad for your health, let's not."

Norris gave her a "you're kidding, right?" look, knowing full well that wasn't what they had discussed privately before. 

Roseanne became serious: "I've come to realize I wasn't aware enough before, but now I've woken up. Dad, you shouldn't drink none of us should."

Norris was speechless.

"And mom doesn't like you drinking, right?" Roseanne turned to Madge.

Norris had nothing to say.

This was not his dear daughter; this was a little traitor!

After the meal, Owen, out of habit, rolled up his sleeves to help clear the dishes.

Seeing this, Norris quickly told him to stop.

"You don't need to do anything, just leave it, I'll handle it."

Owen: "You didn't consider me an outsider when you invited me for lunch, so I shouldn't act like one now."

"This..."

Before Norris could find the right words, Owen had already collected the dishes and taken them into the kitchen.

Madge watched his retreating back, slightly surprised.

"See? A man as diligent as Owen is rare, hehe, just like me. No wonder we get along so well."