Got out of bed, picked up the miscellaneous items one by one, and put them back into the box. Including the long rope grasped in the palm, tossed it all inside. The wind blew all morning, no snow, no rain, but stepping outside, the cold wind seemed to suck the soul out, even the body was numb. When Michael Quinn came over with peanuts and sunflower seeds, he shivered from the cold, and as soon as he jumped in the door, he snatched the blanket and wrapped himself like a zongzi. "Quinn said you definitely wouldn’t bother buying New Year goods, so had grandma buy double of everything. Here are some sunflower seeds first, the rest will be sent over when everything’s ready." Shivering, he finished talking to Nora Scott, then leaped onto the sofa, scaring off Rose who was sleeping on the sofa armrest. Nora Scott, holding a hot water bag while playing a game, responded perfunctorily, and only a moment later realized, "Ready for New Year’s goods already?" Michael Quinn retorted, then realized, "Oh, you haven’t come back for New Year in ages." Nora Scott focused on the game. "Is it fun outside?" After warming up for a while, Michael suddenly asked. Ever since five years ago, after she dropped out of school to wander, Nora Scott rarely returned to the alley. Except for a birthday visit home each year, she mostly wandered outside. The younger generation doesn’t know what she does outside, but the older ones occasionally hear bits and pieces through various connections. She went to the northwest, helped root out bandit dens, ran a non-profitable Tofu Shop, provoked local bullies but retreated unscathed; She went to a small southern town, ventured through the secluded Mechanism City in the mountains, crossed mountains and rivers just to meet rumored recluses, participated in a local animal protection association and safeguarded peace; She traveled to many countries worldwide, solo through perilous uninhabited zones, jointly through bullet-ridden war zones, and of course checked in at many famous spots; All the rumors are only a fraction of what she experienced. Her vivid life journey, like her temperament, capricious yet arrogant, exciting and fiery, each step taken towards legendary status admired by everyone. Both Michael Quinn and Joseph Sutton consider themselves extraordinary, their lives have a bit of a cheat element, yet they must admit, in comparison to Nora Scott, any extraordinary talent pales to insignificance. "With a good mindset, it’s fun," answered Nora Scott nonchalantly. "What if the mindset isn’t good?" Nora lifted her eyelids and said blandly, "Might as well be a lazy bum at home." Staring at her for a few seconds, Michael chuckled, amused, "Do you know you look like quite a lazy bum right now?" At this moment, Nora Scott indeed looked like a "lazy bum." Outside it was freezing, inside warm as spring, Nora sat cross-legged on the sofa in loose loungewear, wrapped in a blanket, holding a hot water bag, playing smartphone games like a true homebody. Not cool, not handsome, not fierce. Just an ordinary urban goddess in her home element. Nora peeked at him, "At home, what image do I need?" Michael was lost for words. At this time, Nora exhaled and tossed her phone aside. Michael stuck his head out from the blanket, "Game over?" Nora cast a sinister glare at him. Michael fell silent instantly. Nora got up, shook out the blanket, picked up the water glass on the coffee table, and walked to the water dispenser. "Hey, your teammates are still cursing you." Bringing his head closer to her phone, Michael looked at the lit screen, after reading he burst into laughter, maliciously passing on, "Calling your operations trash, dragging teammates down, tells you not to play if you can’t..." The phone suddenly got grabbed by a hand, leaving Michael without reading the rest. Marcus Shaw, God knows when he stood to the side, picked up the phone, glanced at the cursing words, opened the mic, coldly said, "If you’ve got the guts, let’s PK in the arena." Michael looked up at the young man, amazed at his protective brother move. Cold-hearted Master Shaw, within the next ten minutes, slaughtered the guy three times, always dying before he could launch any skills, by ten minutes he was bullied into going offline in defeat. Nora, sipping water and watching from the side, smiled at Marcus Shaw, "Not bad." Marcus Shaw glanced at her, returned the phone, and said, "Your operations truly suck." Ever since breakfast, Nora has been sitting on the sofa gaming; every now and then, Marcus passing by witnessed her fearlessly challenging and courageously courting death, deeply admiring her spirit. Michael munching sunflower seeds and sipping tea, almost choked on the laughter. Little brother, aren’t you too bold? He looked up, intending to sympathize with Marcus, however, Nora didn’t criticize Marcus, instead shrugged casually, implying consent. Regarding competitive operations, Nora never does well, she is only suited for using her brain. Nothing to deny there. "What’s the game?" casually asked Michael. Holding the phone, Nora sat down again. Michael found it familiar, after a few seconds, suddenly realized, "Isn’t that game famous for its ’Divine-level Planner’? It’s on mobile now?" Michael dabbles in games occasionally but doesn’t play much, only knows that meme, not much else interests him. Marcus turned slightly, seeing Nora toss her phone aside again, paused, reminded, "Someone just contacted you." "Who?" New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩 Lazily asking, Nora picked up a cup of white tea Michael brewed, blew the steaming heat, and sipped lightly. Marcus said: "Called ’Ethan Scott’." "Someone from the Scott family?" Michael became interested, body leaning forward, hesitantly said, "Heard you——" Nora gave him a look. Michael promptly stopped talking. On second thought, Michael relaxed, putting aside his earlier concern. Back then, Evelyn Easton indeed suffered in the Scott family, was bullied, so naturally, he worried about Nora being bullied upon returning to the Scotts. But, Nora is not Evelyn, with her skills, how could she be bullied by just a Scott family? Forget other methods, just with her sharp tongue and skills... meeting her, you’d either get frustrated to death or beaten to death, no other end could be expected. Beside them, Marcus slightly paused. From Nora’s father’s side? Strangely, Marcus thought of Oliver Scott. But since the chances were low, Marcus let the sudden suspicion dissipate like smoke. "Want to stick around for food?" Nora picked up her phone, clicked into WeChat messages. [Ethan Scott]: Okay, teacher. [Ethan Scott]: Teacher, meeting at Virtue Retreat at 5:00 pm today, is that convenient for you? [Ethan Scott]: Professor Tavares and I will be there. Just minutes before Marcus picked up her phone to own those guys, Nora had contacted Ethan Scott, saying she was free today afternoon. Sure enough, the message arrived. Nora raised her brows, replied. Michael clicked his tongue, cockily, "Want to invite me to dinner but can’t speak nicely?" Frowning slightly, Nora’s sharp eyes darted over, "Eating or not?" "Eat, eat, eat, I’ll leave in the evening." Michael nodded enthusiastically, rubbing his hands afterward, then asked, "Playing cards this afternoon?" Michael was surprised, "In this cold weather, not staying home as a homebody, why bother being a hero outside?" Raised her hand, tossing the phone aside. Rose meowed, jumping into Nora’s arms, her hand settled on Rose’s head, smiling softly, her eyes gleaming with cold intent. She enunciated each word slowly, "Going to find some action." Marcus + Michael: "..." Somewhere, a gust of cold wind caused them to break out in goosebumps. A bit of sympathy for the poor unfortunate soul, whoever they might be.