Miss Assassin is heavily addicted

Chapter 145, Section 19: First Love
Nothing happened all night.

On a bright and sunny day, sunlight streamed through the window onto the green potted plants, making the leaves shimmer and shine.

Nicole rubbed her eyes and groggily got out of bed. She hadn't woken up properly because she hadn't gone to bed until 11 p.m. last night. Although that was earlier than when she was working at the bar, since moving into this big house, Nicole had been going to bed at 9 p.m. and drinking a glass of milk before bed. She followed the "Secrets to Women's Healthy Growth" to cultivate her health and well-being. The first thing she did when she woke up in the morning was to rub her chest.

However, she forgot to do that when she woke up today. Instead, she picked up the book next to her pillow, opened it, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her heart was pounding.

I was completely engrossed in reading this romance novel last night; it's truly captivating.

It was a book Ruby lent her yesterday. It told the love story of a count and a maid, meant to encourage Nicole's friends to face their feelings honestly... Nicole had only flipped through it casually, but she never expected to get so engrossed in it. Last night, she read forty or fifty pages before reluctantly going to bed, and even left it by her bedside to fall asleep.

I was both inspired and interested in the story.

Of course, the most important thing is——

Nicole turned to the page she had read until her mouth was dry last night. It was this page that made Nicole clutch the blankets tightly, her cheeks burning involuntarily.

"His embrace was warm and firm, carrying the rich aroma of whiskey and his unique air of nobility. Margaret froze; this was an abyss of transgression, a warmth she shouldn't have indulged in. She wanted to break free, her reason screaming."

But his arms were tightly around her, his chin gently resting on the top of her head, and his voice whispered in her ear, carrying a plea she had never heard before: "Don't move... just for a little while... the rain outside is too heavy."

"ah!"

Nicole cried out in alarm, covering her eyes with both hands. Her cheeks flushed, she was completely flustered and at a loss. Then she slowly opened her fingers, revealing her pitiful, sparkling eyes as she looked at the words.

Nicole hadn't expected that the book Ruby lent her contained such and such scenes—she admitted that she was moved by the maid's unwavering love, but the reason she couldn't finish reading it last night was because the later descriptions were too inappropriate for children!
"Hmm? What's wrong, Nicole?"

As I was getting a towel, I passed by the door and heard a commotion inside that sounded like the sky had fallen. I was really curious.

"No, it's nothing, just saw a cockroach."

Nicole quickly brushed it off, curling up into a ball and hugging the blanket.

He Ye was speechless for a moment, feeling that he shouldn't be so indifferent to seeing cockroaches. Was the house not cleaned properly? But the maid he hired was only cleaning the study, which was something they hadn't cleaned properly last time.

"Do you need any help?" He Ye's voice was a little muffled.

"No, it's nothing! It's gone!"

Nicole remembered something, put the book under her pillow, and mumbled incoherently as she answered, afraid that He Ye would push the door open and come in.

"." He Ye didn't know what to say, so he silently left and went to the washroom to finish his morning routine.

After washing up, He Ye planned to change out of her pajamas. She opened the door to her bedroom, paused for a moment, and then silently closed it again. Since she was staying at home and not going out, the appearance of her thin plaid shirt didn't matter, and she could change it at noon.

But was last night's kiss really that effective? I'm still sound asleep and haven't woken up yet...

While He Ye was thinking, Nicole behind her opened the door to her room. The two looked at each other, then looked away with guilt, and ended their conversation with a simple "Good morning."

"Good morning."

"morning!"

He Ye felt guilty because Nicole didn't want more people living in the house. Nicole only had He Ye as her family, but she didn't know what happened last night. This fact of concealment made He Ye feel indebted.

As for Nicole—

I had already gone to the bathroom to wash up, but I couldn't forget the story I had seen last night. Naturally, I put myself in the shoes of others and also naturally imagined the Earl as someone else. So, brushing my teeth gradually turned into a messy, gurgling sound, which helped me suppress that fluttering emotion.

The morning atmosphere was quiet and peaceful.

The noise started to rise, and soon the last person in the house got up, rubbing his eyes and sitting on the bed, looking a little dazed.

At this moment, He Ye had already put on her blue apron and gone to the stove to cook. With a spatula in one hand and a frying pan in the other, she was frying eggs and toast with butter. She was truly capable in both the living room and the kitchen, and she was very concerned about the family's breakfast.

"Meow~"

I forgot to feed my second-generation house cat breakfast.

Nicole thought it over and decided to return the book. Although the story was good, it was too inappropriate! If her husband found out she was reading it again, her image in his eyes would plummet! How embarrassing!
"Bang bang bang-"

"Who?"

The door to apartment 301 in the hallway was open, and Nicole was standing at Ruby's door, knocking. The two families were neighbors across the hall from each other.

Hearing the somewhat aged voice coming from the room, Nicole knew it was Grandma Louise. Her movements immediately softened, and she politely replied:
"Good morning, Grandma Louise. This is Nicole. I wanted to ask if Ruby is awake yet?"

"So it's Nicole."

A kind voice, tinged with amusement, soon opened the door. Grandma Louise invited Nicole into the house, while Ruby was washing up. The two women's eyes met, and their gossip-loving hearts ignited—though it was one-sided, of course.

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

Ruby quickly finished washing up, then pushed Nicole into her room to chat, telling her grandmother not to interfere in her friend's affairs—after all, it wasn't convenient for her best friend to chat with her in the living room with elders and a maid, but now they could talk freely.

"Tell me what's going on!"

Ruby smiled brightly, hands on her hips, as if waiting for praise and reward. She had kept her mouth shut the first time, but forgot about it in the blink of an eye, showing no fear of being held accountable.

Nicole, with a stern face, was also unaware of the situation and asked indignantly, "Why did you lend me this kind of book!"

What's wrong with this book?

"You're asking what's wrong! It, it...it wrote that kind of thing!"

"What are you writing?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion.

"It's like, uh..." Nicole stammered, blushing and gesturing shyly, "...two people hugging each other, and then, lips to lips, you do that kind of thing...no, what are you asking me to say? It's so embarrassing!"

Nicole covered her face in embarrassment and turned her head away; the book was already on Ruby's desk. Ruby, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought, clenching one fist and making a palm with the other, then clapping them together as if she had just realized something.

"Isn't this normal? Love stories are bound to have these kinds of things. Besides, didn't you lend it to your friend? How do you know the story in it!"

"..." Nicole was extremely embarrassed and stammered, unable to explain herself clearly.

Fortunately, Ruby didn't delve too deeply into it; she simply chatted with her out of curiosity about her impressions of the book. Ruby had read it and found the twisted yet bold emotions quite interesting. The conversations between young girls rarely touched on romance or anything like that.

Nicole had no choice but to continue the conversation. She hadn't finished reading it, only up to the first fifty pages. She said she was doing a security check for her friend first, as this kind of thing was still too daring.

Ruby shook her head and said she was already seventeen. How could she look so ignorant? She had read such books when she was fourteen, and by fifteen she already knew that children don't come from prayer, but from sleeping in the same bed with their beloved.

Nicole blushed as red as a little apple, and finally, when He Ye called her to eat breakfast, she buried her head and fled in panic.

City people are definitely different from country bumpkins like her—they're so bold! "Goodbye, Grandma Louise!!!"

"Hey... watch out... Ruby, what are you and Nicole talking about?"

Grandma Louise saw Nicole running away in a panic, as if she were trying to escape through the door. She turned around and couldn't help but feel a little concerned. She had washed some apples to treat Nicole, but the little girl was so shy that she only said thank you twice before going home.

Ruby stood with her hands on her hips, her voice full of energy:
"Literary works".

……

"...You went to Grandma Louise's house and ate chocolate-covered liqueurs?"

At the breakfast table, He Ye looked at Nicole's blushing face with curiosity, since her face was indeed very red.

Nicole gripped her chopsticks tightly, too embarrassed to meet He Ye's gaze, and gave a perfunctory answer, simply burying her head in her food.

As for Sophia sitting next to her, she assumed she had come from the next room to have breakfast together that morning, so she didn't pay much attention to her.

After breakfast, Nicole volunteered to wash the dishes.

Yesterday's despair has vanished, and today she has regained her composure. She has calmed down, not only because she is certain that she cannot let go of her emotions, but also because she has learned lessons from the stories in the first fifty pages of the book yesterday...

Although the later events were quite chaotic for her, the earlier encounter and escalation of the relationship between the maid and the count still had its merits.

That's what happens when feelings develop over time.

"The Earl always seemed to 'accidentally' run into her at the mansion. When he was tidying the bookshelves in the library, he would come in to take a book and casually ask her if she could read;"

"When pruning roses in the garden, he would comment, 'You've taken very good care of this Louis XIV rose.'"

"Even on a narrow corner of the servants' staircase, they unexpectedly met face to face. He reached out and caught her as she nearly fell, the warmth of his palm burning her heart through the thin fabric of her clothes."

The words in her mind were silently read through again, as if she were actually there and could empathize with the scene. Nicole thought of her chance encounter with He Ye at the bar, of helping him mix drinks at the bar and hearing his gentle praise, and of He Ye wiping her wounds when she fell while working as a waitress.

all in all.

Although the story is fictional, Nicole believes the logic behind it is correct.

She decided to start helping out at home as much as possible, even trying to cook three meals a day, since Nicole was always the one being taken care of on ordinary days like these.

"Bang bang bang."

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Nicole was washing dishes and thought He Ye would open the door, but the knocking continued strangely for a while, so Nicole had no choice but to go out.

When she came out, she found that there was no one in the living room; she was all alone.

Instead, the bedroom door of He Ye was tightly closed.

Nicole pouted slightly, wiping her damp hands with the apron collar while wearing her apron. She could guess what He Ye was doing; he was supposedly helping Sophia with her psychological examination, which required a quiet environment and undisturbed time.

Even though Nicole didn't want to see them alone together, she wouldn't act impulsively at a time like this. Nicole believed her husband was upright and honest, and he had also said he didn't like Sofia, otherwise, why would they have divorced?

Nicole went to the front door and opened it.

"Hi Nicole."

Emma stood in the doorway, holding a book and waving to everyone, her fingers dancing like butterflies, gentle and graceful. Ruby stood beside her, smiling, revealing her white teeth.

Nicole frowned slightly.

Emma is the daughter of the Reynolds family, who live downstairs. Her parents are very strict with her, often making her wear suffocating corsets, recite boring social phrases, and practice bridal training such as piano and calligraphy, all in order to marry into a good family in the future.

Of course, most importantly, she was only seventeen years old, yet she already stood tall and proud.

If it were just that, Nicole would at most envy her, but ever since Nicole and He Ye bumped into her in the hallway last time, Emma has been coming back to play with her every few days, and her eyes are constantly darting back and forth, and she greets her husband with a smile.

Nicole didn't like her.

"What are you doing?"

“Emma has the second half of that book at home. I think your friend would really like it,” Ruby said, wagging her finger. “You can’t not let your friend see it just because you don’t like it. That’s too much. Shouldn’t friends share each other’s troubles?”

Ruby spoke with great enthusiasm, shoving her book into Nicole's hands. Emma then asked curiously if Nicole's brother wasn't home. Nicole pursed her lips, as if to shoo her away.

Finally, briefly end the chat.

Nicole reluctantly accepted the two books, since they were given to 'her friend' under Ruby's name instead of to herself. Nicole frowned, but since she had already made up a friend, she had no choice but to admit it in order to prevent rumors from spreading.

But she would never read such a book.

Well, at least for girls who haven't yet experienced romantic feelings, kissing seems like a distant dream. Nicole only understands her own feelings right now. Only when she truly realizes that flutter of attraction and it becomes unbearable will she understand the reason for the existence of this kind of literature, and why it is most popular during adolescence.

Nicole was putting the book in her bedroom.

Just like that morning, they brushed past each other and bumped into each other.

Nicole, feeling a little guilty with the two books in her arms, turned away to hide, while He Ye covered his mouth with the back of his hand, feeling extremely ashamed. There was saliva on his lips that didn't belong to him, as if Nicole wouldn't notice if he just covered it up.

The psychological evaluation is over. How did you sleep last night? Did you dream about anything?

'No, I really liked that feeling, and I'm sleepy now... So, can it be the same as last night?'

'I just got up this morning...'

'...'

The two felt awkward upon meeting, so they lowered their heads and left, praying that the other would not ask any further questions.

The morning ended in this atmosphere.

The next two days also flew by.

The interactions between the three were fraught with tension. Although Nicole found it a bit strange, she never saw Sophia stay overnight at her house. Under He Ye's influence, Yugiri gradually got used to sleeping at her house, but like Sleeping Beauty, she had to pay a price first. This made He Ye feel that the frequency was increasing, as if it were another path of no return.

In short, the appointed time arrived quickly.

The headquarters staff came to pick up Yugiri. She had recovered well, but there wasn't much difference compared to before, because most of the time she was the calm Black Iris girl, with only her eyes reflecting a different inner world.

After Yugiri temporarily left, room 302 of the Mori no Kawa apartment returned to being occupied by just the two of them.

(End of this chapter)