Candice wanted to speak with M, but her attention was drawn to Elio. She was captivated as he tilted his head back to drink water; his Adam''s apple was unexpectedly alluring. His simple act sent a surge of heat through Candice, leaving her flustered. She swiftly averted her eyes and turned to M.


    "Aunt Chubs, is there anything I can help with?" she asked anxiously.


    M pulled out her phone, her expression turning into a frown as shended her gaze on it. "I just got some urgent experimental results from work that I need to handle immediately." Confusion clouded Candice''s mind.


    Pointing toward the seedlings in the basket, M instructed, "Candice, can you and Elio help me in nting these seedlings? I need to deal with this issue first."


    "I..." Candice panicked, wanting to make M stay. "Aunt Chubs, I—"Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    With a warm smile, M began walking away as she said, "I''m swamped right now. Thank you so much, Candice."


    Candice couldn''t bring herself to reject M''s request. She said, "Don''t mention it, Aunt Chubs. Go ahead with your work."


    As M''s figure vanished, Candice''s heart pounded. Overwhelmed by anxiety, her breath grew quick and shallow. She turned to find Elio standing behind her, his piercing gaze locked on hers.


    He was a man of few words who always gave off a cool, distant air. In their childhood, Elio deliberately avoided Candice whenever they crossed paths.


    Each attempt she made at conversation was met with silence. He would not even acknowledge her presence.


    Over the years, Candice hade to view him as a person who was distant and unapproachable, notoriously reserved, and hard to engage in conversation.


    ?


    Yet she found her feelings toward him puzzling. Unlike with other guys, her heart would race and flutter whenever she saw Elio. It lefther


    body tense and her mind unsettled.


    en.swhovels


    Candice felt even more awkward and embarrassed now that they had slept together. She struggled to regain herposure.


    Elio broke the silence and asked softly, "Do you want to nt them?"


    Candice nodded in response.


    Setting down the bottle of mineral water, Elio walked over to the corner to retrieve a pair of new gardening gloves. As he returned to Candice, she reached out to take them. Elio pulled back slightly and said huskily, "Let me help you with them."


    Candice was surprised at first but then held out her hands. Elio carefully slipped the gloves onto her hands, his actions deliberate yet marked by noticeable tension. "Your hands are quite small," hemented, his soft voice pulled at her heart.


    Candice looked down at her hands. She had never considered them small, but they seemed tiny next to Elio''s.


    After he had fitted the gloves on her


    hands, Elio went to get the


    gardening tools. He secretly let out a nervous breath. His breath was


    uneven just from touching Candice''s hands.


    Yet this was minorpared to when he had climbed into her bed. That had been the most nerve-wracking experience of his life.


    Candice nced at the ill-fitting green rubber gloves on her hands and smiled joyfully. In a yful tone, she asked, "Elio, do my hands look like a frog''s webbed feet?"


    The affectionate way she said his


    name made Elio''s heart skip a beat.


    He nced at her gloves before his attention was captured by her radiant smile-warm like sunshine and breathtakingly beautiful.


    Her smile and casual remark deeply touched Elio, softening his reserved demeanor. He found himself smiling back and said, "Yeah, they do look a bit alike."