Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



The moment the words left her lips, Roseanne instantly regretted it.

But like spilled milk, there was no taking it back.

Corley chuckled, "You know... I'm intrigued by you."

Roseanne rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

The corner of the man's mouth twitched. "Don't play dumb. I know you understand me."

"What's that? Can't hear you, cough! Let's not talk about it anymore."

Seeing her feign ignorance, Corley couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Run all you want, dodge once or twice, but eventually..."

"Oh dear," Roseanne interrupted, "I forgot my tissues. Do you have one?"

"Sure."

"Lend me one, thanks."

"Now you can hear?" Corley said, half-smiling.

Roseanne was silent.

She was right. Corley indeed had something he needed from her.

But it wasn't until her coffee was nearly finished that he got to the point—

"Mr. Olson is facing a bottleneck with an ongoing project. It's been two months without progress. He's interested in your perspective. Here's all the data."

Saying so, he handed over a USB drive.

As Roseanne reached out to take it, Corley's grip lingered, their fingers inevitably touching.

His hand was noticeably warmer than hers, making the contact feel significantly different.

Roseanne quickly withdrew her hand once she had the USB.

Corley's expression remained unchanged, but his smile grew more teasing.

He was definitely doing it on purpose!

Roseanne's eyes widened in annoyance, but then he handed her a tissue-

"Clean it, no hard feelings."

Roseanne was momentarily irate, but her anger dissipated as quickly as it had come.

After all, accidentally bumping into

someone on the street was nothing

Why hold a grudge against

Corley?

Wouldn't that mean she subconsciously didn't see him as just anyone?

It was a paradox either way!

After leaving the coffee shop, Corley walked her to her building.

As they parted, Roseanne suddenly said, "You're too cunning. It's better we keep our distance!"

He simply smiled at her words. "You're scared."

"Scared of what?" Roseanne frowned.

"Scared of being charmed by me, of

losing your heart without even

ey

realizing it." At that moment, Corley resembled a proud and confident peacock. Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Roseanne nearly choked, "Scared? I'm only worried about being tricked into falling into a pit!"

"Ah, same difference."

Roseanne was puzzled. How was it the same?

"Never mind, I won't argue. I can't win with you anyway." With that, she turned and went upstairs.

Corley stood there, watching her

leave until her figure vanished around t

the stairwell corner. Ong

did he look away.

And only after seeing her apartment lights turn on did he feel reassured enough to leave.

After getting ready for bed, Roseanne plugged the USB into her computer.

As she waited for it to load, it dawned on her-

Mr. Olson had classes every day. Wouldn't it have been easier to give it to her directly at school?

Why did Corley have to make a special trip late at night? Tricked again!

On his way home, Corley received a call from Hans.

"Hey, what's up?"

"My USB, have you seen it? I swear I left it in my drawer..."

"Oh, I took it."

"Why? It's full of project data! I was planning to give it to Roseanne tomorrow. You-"

"It's already in her hands."