Noe thought he was hallucinating.
He looked at Curtis in disbelief, rubbing his ears, "Curtis, why are you asking this?!"
Curtis glanced at Dakota nonchalantly.
He seemed calm, but his gaze was noticeably different from usual, "Curious, just asking."
Curtis lazily lifted his chin.
But his gaze was fixed on Dakota's back.
Noe: "???"
He had an inexplicable bad feeling, "Curtis, you can't be that low, right?"
Noe asked hesitantly.
Curtis slowly withdrew his gaze.
He tilted his eyes and asked lightly, "How is that low?"
"You aren't... so resentful towards Dakota that you can't find a girlfriend yourself, so you're planning to cut off all her potential suitors, are you???"
After Noe finished, he gasped, "Oh my God, Curtis! I never thought that after knowing each other for over twenty years, you could be so ruthless! This behavior is just too inhumane!"
Jasiah: "..."
Curtis: "..."
He stared at Noe with a complicated expression, wondering how his mind worked.
Jasiah added, "Idiot."
Then, the two acted in perfect sync.
They turned and walked away.
Noe: "???"
He scratched his head in confusion, looking at their heartless backs, "Wait, did I say something wrong? Hey! Why are they getting mad after being called out!"
Can't handle it.
Never thought they couldn't handle it like this.
I won't play with them anymore.
I'll go eat some more barbecue.
Refusing to go along with the bad guys.
He even sent Dakota a text message, "Warning! Don't blame me for not warning you. As a good friend, I have to give you a heads-up. Curtis is up to no good. He's coming to cut off your potential romances!"
But at this moment, Dakota didn't check her phone.
She stood by the seaside, feeling the salty sea breeze, which carried the heat of a summer night, stirring her heartstrings and creating ripples that couldn't be smoothed out.
The sensations of those two kisses hadn't faded yet.
It was as if they had been branded onto her.
It made Dakota feel like her heart was tangled with threads.
It was a feeling she had never experienced before, a tangled mess that was both itchy and thrilling.
And this throbbing didn't seem to stay behind in N City.
Even after Dakota returned to J City, for several days in a row, her dreams were filled with the kiss from Curtis's birthday.
The light flickered, and the atmosphere grew intimate.
Their lips intertwined, occasionally parting like drawn threads, exchanging breaths that were both passionate and charged.
Dakota woke up startled several times.
Even realizing it was a dream, the scenes from that night played back in front of her, making her heart race uncontrollably...
Help, help.
Could she be falling for Curtis too?
Absolutely absurd!
Dakota threw off the covers, walked into the bathroom, took a shower to wash away the sweat, and then climbed back into bed, snuggling under the covers.
But she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
These spring dreams repeatedly appeared in Dakota's sleep, lasting for several days, causing her to be severely lacking in energy at work, nearly cutting herself a few times.
Her colleagues were worried, "Dakota, has something happened at home recently? You look pretty out of it. Should you take some time off to rest?"
Dakota snapped back to reality.
She held the carving knife, feeling like crying but holding back, unsure how to explain that her poor sleep due to too many spring dreams was affecting her daytime energy.
So she could only bluff her way through, "No, maybe I'm just easily distracted after sitting for too long."
Meeting her colleagues' worried gazes, Dakota got up, "Maybe I should move around a bit. The mural work can start soon. Maybe standing to paint will help."
"Works for me."
Her colleagues agreed readily.
The work for the D exhibition hall at the National Museum, from material collection and confirmation to field visits, was now basically complete and ready to be put on the walls.
So Dakota stood up.
She habitually rubbed her lower back.
Dakota's back wasn't great, having loved drawing since childhood and often sitting for long periods, and after becoming obsessed with relief murals, she often stood for extended periods, leading to back pain.
So Dakota always had the habit of rubbing her back.
Though it didn't help much.
Sure enough, after standing to paint the relief mural all afternoon, her back was in agony by the time she finished work.
Her colleagues packed up their things and prepared to leave.
Dakota put down her tools, bent over, and quickly sat back down to rest, intending to rub her back but changed her mind when she saw the paint on her hands.
She sighed softly.
Planning to sit and rest a bit longer before leaving, since she still had to drive and couldn't do so in pain.
Unexpectedly, a colleague winked at her soon after she sat down, "Dakota, I heard your boyfriend is here to pick you up, waiting in the National Museum parking lot."
Dakota's expression turned incredulous.
She looked up in confusion.
The colleague leaned in, "Shanshan ran into him downstairs and texted me about it. He's even holding flowers. Dakota, hurry down!"
"Holding flowers?" Dakota was even more puzzled.
An image of Curtis in a suit holding flowers flashed in her mind, and for some reason, she immediately got goosebumps...
Too scary.
Putting this scene with someone she had bickered with for years was anything but harmonious.
Dakota felt restless at the thought.
She stood up, "Got it, thank you. I'll wash my hands and come down."
The colleague left excitedly.
As if it wasn't Dakota being picked up by her boyfriend, although he wasn't her boyfriend, it seemed like the colleague was the one being picked up with flowers.
The colleague was also excited.
She had to go see what kind of high-quality elite male could win over Dakota.
Dakota got up to wash her hands.
Acrylic paint was difficult to wash off, and she spent a while doing it, bending over the sink, which worsened her already sore back.
Dakota grimaced, grabbed her bag, and went downstairs.
She never expected to see Curtis's handsome but arrogant and flamboyant face, but instead saw Alan dressed in a gray suit, holding a red rose and waiting for her.
Seeing her finally come downstairs.
Alan stepped forward with a gentle smile, "Dakota, it wasn't in vain, finally got to meet the beauty."
Dakota was completely taken aback by Alan.
When her colleague told her that a boyfriend was waiting downstairs with flowers, even though she found the idea somewhat incongruous for Curtis, she subconsciously thought of him.
But she didn't expect it to be Alan.
In that moment, Dakota regretted rushing to wash her hands and go downstairs, wishing she had stayed in the office longer to fully recover from her backache.
Now she only felt that her back hurt even more.
Dakota even thought about calling the cops. She lifted her cold gaze toward Alan. 'Do you always have to be this shameless, Mr. Acosta?
"Dakota, what are you saying?"
Alan smiled, handing over the roses, "A gentleman always pursues a lady. Neither of us is married, so even if you don't like me right now, Dakota, that shouldn't stop me from trying, right?"
"Unmarried?"
Dakota rubbed her lower back. "If I remember right, the last time we met, my husband made things pretty clear to you. And yet, you're still interested in a married woman?"
But Alan clearly didn't believe it.
He didn't believe that Dakota would marry Curtis, which is why he brought flowers today.
"Alan, please move aside."
Dakota's face was visibly cold, "If you continue like this, I'll report you for sexual harassment."
With that, she tried to walk away in her heels.
But Alan blocked her path, "I don't recall ever offending Dakota. Must Dakota use such a poor lie to tarnish her own reputation just to bring me down?"
The self-assured man was about to lose his composure.
Dakota frowned. She didn't want to say another word to Alan, feeling her back was too painful to stand, especially in high heels.
All she wanted was to get in the car and find a cushion.
But Alan didn't notice her discomfort, only concerned about his own face-saving, "At least give me a chance, Dakota? Am I, Alan, not worth your attention?"
Dakota turned her face away.
She didn't even want to look at him, taking a deep breath and preparing to set him straight once more.
However, before she could speak, a voice rang out, "I didn't expect—you still be so interested in my wife."
Surprised, Dakota lifted her eyes.
In front of her was a familiar and tall figure.
Compared to Alan's deliberately dressed, fake gentlemanly appearance, Curtis, also wearing a suit, exuded a more noble and carefree vibe.
The conflicting scene still unfolded.
Curtis was also carrying flowers, but these had clearly been carefully selected—blue and white gradient roses that emitted a sweet and pleasant litchi fragrance, fresh and elegant.
His suit jacket was casually unbuttoned, the collar of his black shirt loose without a tie, giving him a somewhat sexy, rogue charm.
"Curtis?" Dakota's lips parted slightly.
Curtis walked up to Dakota, intending to hand her the roses directly, but his gaze fell inadvertently on her hand rubbing her waist.
So he didn't give her the flowers.
Instead, he switched the roses to his left hand, then placed his right hand on Dakota's waist and leaned down to softly whisper in her ear, "Does it hurt?"
