Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Byron had also seen Candice. She was with Patrick, who was carrying a bag of McDonald’s. The two of them seemed to be getting along well, but Patrick had his back to him and he couldn’t see his face. He had a good figure, neither fat nor thin, and it looked like he wore glasses.

Candice signaled to Patrick. “I just saw a friend.” She got up straightaway to go see Byron, Patrick following dutifully behind.

Harry didn’t mind the complication. The more chaotic, the more exciting. “She’s chasing you even on your trip. Ah, that‘ s perseverance.”

Candice greeted them, and Harry deliberately asked, “Who’s this?”

“This is Patrick. He…”

Without waiting for her to finish the introduction, Byron turned away. “What time is our flight boarding?”

Harry understood. “10:13.”

“I’ll go on ahead.” He brushed past Candice and headed

Chapter 10 Itching to Do Something.

straight for the gate.

Patrick couldn’t hold back. “What kind of friend has that sort of attitude?”

Candice was even more embarrassed. If she had known he’d react that way, she would have never come over in the first place.

“Good job.” Harry gave her a thumbs–up. “You made him pay attention, right?”

She didn’t think so. Byron wasn’t the type to take that well.

Candice had originally been seated in economy class, but when Patrick decided to come he bought a first–class ticket and upgraded her seat too. They sat side by side, right across the aisle from Harry and Byron.

Thinking back to the scene in the waiting room, she was still angry. “I’d prefer the window please, Patrick.”

He immediately offered her his seat. “No need to be so polite with me.”

“Isn’t everyone polite with you?”

He gave her a serious look. “That’s everyone else. You’re

Chapter 10: Itching to Do Something

different, so I don’t mind with you.”

Candice laughed. “You’re such a sweet–talker. I don’t mind being polite.”

As the plane started to taxi down the runway, Patrick tentatively asked, “Which hotel do you like?”

Candice was messaging Nancy on Whatsapp and not paying much attention. “Didn’t the company already book one?”

“They picked one right in the city. It’s not very pleasant.” Patrick smiled shyly. “I heard that the night view by the river is delightful. Why don’t we stay somewhere close to that?”

Candice didn’t give it much thought. “Up to you.”

Patrick took it as a tacit agreement and breathed a sigh of relief. “Candice, have you and Rufus filed for divorce?”

She preferred not to talk about her private life, but couldn’t ignore his question. “I couldn’t live that way anymore, so it’s over.”

“In addition to the other reason.”

Candice didn’t understand. “What other reason?”

Not far away, Harry lowered his voice. “That man just tricked her into taking a room.”

Byron didn’t respond, silently pulling down the window shade.

Harry tsked. “He’s very handsome. This kind of young man is very popular with women right now.”

Byron got up and grabbed a medical text from the overhead luggage. As he turned back around he swept a glance over Patrick. Most of him was tidy and handsome, but the left side of his face was red and swollen. He’d obviously been beaten.

He had tried to do everything for Candice, but she was busy with other things and took his care for granted.

Men could be interested when women were distracted. Most relationships started in such a muddle.

In fact, Patrick had wanted to ask if she had left Rufus because of him. He hesitated for a long time, but decided not to voice his question in the end. It was a very sensitive topic, more suited to a late night.

Byron read until he was tired, stretching out his stiff neck and shoulders. His eyes inadvertently swept across the room. Candice was asleep, the bright sunlight spilling across her

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Chapter 10 itching to Do Something

face. Bryon couldn’t figure out why she seemed more delicate and fragile than other women. She was so pure.

Patrick took out a blanket and covered her, brushing back the hair on her forehead. As he moved his hand away, he leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

“Stewardess.”

A man’s voice suddenly rang out in the quiet cabin. Patrick tensed, sitting up straight.

The flight attendant made her way to Byron’s seat. “What service do you require, sir?”

Byron straightened his clothes. “Never mind. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Harry had also been resting with his eyes closed, but wasn’t asleep. The corners of his mouth hooked up into a smile. “You don’t usually like to bother people.”

Byron ignored him and went back to reading the medical

text.

Harry didn’t let him off the hook so easily. “You didn’t have any reason to call the stewardess over. Are you that bored?”

Harry ignored him. “I recently learned something from Doctor Samson over in psychiatry. There’s a kind of person who feels like someone should only like them and not anyone else. But they feel it’s okay if they see other people themselves. What kind of psychology is that?”

Byron turned another page. “Pathological.”

“No, it’s called being a bitch.”

“I was talking about you.” Bryon tossed the book at Harry. “Your pupils are dilated and you have dark circles under your eyes. Rather than staying at a hotel, you should be in the hospital.

Harry returned fire. “I’ll ask them where they’re staying. Then you’ll know where to go in the middle of the night.”

“I’ll say it one more time,” Byron enunciated. “I’m not interested in her.”

Candice got up later to go to the bathroom, but she found all the close ones were already occupied. She wandered toward economy class and found herself face to face with Byron as he came out of one.

As he brushed past, he asked, “A blind date?”

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Chapter 10 inching to Do Something

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Candice suddenly realized why he was acting so

uninterested. She had recently texted him about a blind date. He must have misunderstood and thought she meant Patrick.

“Take a guess.” She decided to tease him. “What do you think of Patrick?”

“He’s average.” He kept it short and sweet. “Not ugly, not stupid, but blind.”

“Blind?”

“The woman he likes is restless.”

Candice stood up on tiptoe, but Byron was so tall that she barely managed to reach the bridge of his nose. “I brought food to Harry in exchange for information.”

“I know,” Byron said.

Even if Candice had wanted to chase both of them at the same time, there’s no way Harry would have fallen for it. They had been colleagues and friends for more than a decade, and they mutually agreed not to get involved with the same woman. Candice wasn’t about to challenge that bottom line.

Byron looked at her outfit. “Are you going on a trip together?”

“A business trip, for work.”

“How many people?”

“There’s six of us.”

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Really.”

Candice looked at him. Byron was more conscious of his image than anyone else she knew. His shirts were never wrinkled, and even his pants were ironed. His hair was meticulously styled, and even his belt…”

She remembered his fingers unbuckling his belt that day, his fingers like hooks entangling her soul until she was dazed and confused.

She bravely tugged at his sleeve, like a small wildcat gently scratching for attention. “Are you jealous, Doctor Wilson?”

Byron lifted his head, his expression clouded with uncertainty.

“Patrick is the director of my department. He’s my boss. That’s all we are.”

<

Chapter 10: Itching to Do Something

It wasn’t enough to just clarify the relationship. Men had an innate desire to compete, to act only when they felt a sense of crisis.

“He seems to be pursuing you with persistent passion, though.” Byron’s tone was sarcastic. “You’re so self- absorbed.”

“Do you really think I’m self–absorbed?”

“Maybe for him, you’re not.” Byron brushed away her hand. “But I’ve never been jealous of a woman.”

“Without exception?”

“Of course.”

He denied it firmly, but she refuted his statement. “You’re never even been jealous of an ex–girlfriend?”

Byron gave her a look that was pure ice. The atmosphere seemed to crackle like an impending thunderstorm, about to explode at any moment.

They returned to their seats. Patrick stood up to make way. “What took you so long?”

Candice squeezed into her seat. “There was a queue.”

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Harry meanwhile nudged Byron. “What kind of tryst happens in a bathroom? Wasn’t it smelly?”

Byron kept his gaze on the clouds out the window. “Nothing happened.”

Harry suspected that Candice must have offended him in some way. Either that or she must have reminded him somehow of Vicky. Otherwise, Byron wouldn’t have made things so difficult for her, or resisted so hard.

Byron wasn’t without manners, and he could be quite generous with women. Last year, they attended a classmate‘ s wedding. Byron brought a female companion and made a show of giving her a Cartier bracelet. The reason he brought her along was because he had heard Vicky might also come. She had just gotten married, and Byron was still angry.

In the end, Vicky didn’t show. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was avoiding him.

Byron was indeed a gentle person, but it was different with Vicky. He had passionately fallen in love once, and she knew him well. She didn’t offer him another chance.

A car came from the medical university to pick up Byron and Harry from the airport once their flight landed. Candice texted Harry, and he told her they were returning to their alma mater to give a clinical lecture to his lab class.

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“Where are you headed right now?”

“To our hotel,” Harry replied. “What about you?”

Candice gave him the address of her hotel. It was a five- star, charging at least a thousand dollars a night for the cheapest room.

Harry didn’t respond for a long while. When they were almost to the hotel, he sent one more message: “You’re in for a surprise.”

Half an hour later, Candice finished putting away her luggage and walked out into the hallway, where she unexpectedly bumped into Byron. She had begged Harry to give her a hand, but certainly hadn’t asked him to book the same hotel. This was pure coincidence.

Bryon noticed at a glance that Patrick had put his suitcase in Candice’s room for convenience.

She looked at the room card in his hand. He was in 3301. She was just around the corner in 3311.

Harry came out of the room at that moment, looking at Candice. “You’re staying here too?”

Byron gave him a cold look, not missing how fake his surprise was.

Candice went along with it. “You guys are staying here too?”

“I wanted a room with a view of the river,” Harry explained. “This is the only upscale place where you can find that.”

After briefly chatting with them, Candice and Patrick got into the elevator. Byron didn’t move until theirs had gone and the next one arrived.

“That boy is quite willing to spend money on her.”

Byron’s face darkened. “Harry.”

Harry shut up.

In their social circle, no one really dared to provoke Byron no matter how rough their family background was. He had a temper and could be hard to read, but they knew he was capable of being ruthless and decisive. He was sometimes frightening.

The elevator let them out on the first floor, and Byron headed straight for the front desk. Harry stopped him. “What are you doing?”

Bryon waved his arm. “Checking out.”

Harry remained where he was. It seemed Byron really wasn’t

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Chart 10 Mching to Do Something interested in even giving Candice a chance. Even if nothing happened, he was determined to keep his distance.

Candice didn’t have time to bother with the two of them for the moment. She had an interview with a group executive at a cafe that evening, which she promptly made her way to.

The man she was meeting had a gentle appearance. She shook hands with him. “Hello, I’m Candice from Natural Selection.” Her company was well–known in the local area.

“Natural Selection?”

“We’re in a competitive market. And I compete for good people like you.”

“You have a good sense of humor.”

Candice held the door open for him. “The new owner wants to take over your team, including patents for research and client resources.”

The man sat down and accepted a coffee. “To be honest, I’m not very happy about this.”

Candice frowned. “But I’ve managed to get you an offer of a 15% salary raise from what your original company is willing to pay.”

The man shook his head. “It would have to be 30% for me to consider jumping ship.

Candice did the math, and she was surprised by what he was asking. “Twenty–five thousand a month? Are you worth that?”

The man was stunned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m quite clear that eighteen thousand is the upper limit of your abilities. The new owner is mainly interested in your team, not you. Missing this opportunity would be a huge loss for them.”

The man’s face reddened. “Natural Selection…

remember you now. What kind of people do you have working for you?”

Candice didn’t reply, tidily setting her coffee to one side.

Just as the man left, a lady came in. Candice instantly put the smile back on her face. “Hear that? He only cares about his own personal interests at the expense of your

development. You won’t find any good opportunities working for him.”

“I will discuss it with my colleagues and get back to you,” the woman said.

Candice settled the bill and left. Once she was gone, a group

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of people got up from the next booth. Byron and his teacher were among them.

At first, he had noticed her but didn’t care too much. But he couldn’t help but hear her conversation. It turned out she had quite a powerful side too.

“What are you looking at, Byron?”

Byron looked back at the speaker. “A friend, Professor Terence.”

Terence Flores followed his gaze, just in time to see Candice‘ s retreating back. She wore a white shirt with a dark brown skirt, her long hair cascading past her shoulders. She was beautiful with a sharp, energetic sense of professionalism.

“Does she work at your hospital?”

“She’s not in this business.”

Terence didn’t pursue that line of questioning as they walked out together. “How are you and Vicky?”

Byron was silent for a moment. “We split up.”

“Sorry about that. I remember when you brought her back to the school to see me, and asked if I’d be a witness at your

Chapter 10tching to Do Something

wedding.”

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“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” His tone remained calm.

Terence looked at him. “Our principal’s daughter often talks about you. She’s studying law right now. Do you remember her?”

“Hmm.” Byron paused. “A little.”

“Her name’s Josie Stewart. She’s always thinking about you, and is actually here for your lecture this time.” Terence moved closer. “You’re thirty–two years old, right?”

Byron didn’t respond.

“Byron?”

Candice had dropped a file and come back to retrieve it. She hadn’t expected Byron to be there, staring at her from across. the room.

“Doctor Wilson.”

In the presence of so many people, Byron was a little less. cold and nodded his head slightly.

Candice collected her file and said goodbye as the crowd

Itching to Do Something

looked on. “Farewell, Doctor Wilson.”

She was so good at pretending to be well–behaved.

Byron suddenly laughed. He remembered their conversation. in front of the bathroom door. She had been so fresh, clothes lightly scented with a floral fragrance. She had flirted with him, but also seemed afraid of what he might say. She wavered between boldness and restraint.

It made him itch to do something.