"Do you need me to pounce over?" The words were gentle, the tone relaxed, playful yet natural. As soon as he finished, he didn’t move, but the cat on his shoulder, Rose, suddenly leaped down to the ground, skillfully climbed onto the bed, dashed across, and pounced into Nora Scott’s arms in an instant. The cat’s body was soft and warm, nestled in Nora’s arms, meowing coquettishly. Nora was slightly taken aback, withdrew her hands, placed one on Rose’s back and the other under its chin, teasing it until it purred. Then, she looked back at the door, raising her eyebrows as if in challenge. It was impossible for Pedro Langley to do as Rose did. Pedro smiled, strolled through the doorway, slowly circled the end of the bed, and while Nora was caught up playing with Rose, he was already standing behind her. With a slight smile on his lips, he said, "You said it." The deep, sexy voice floated down from above. Nora paused her play with Rose, instinctively tilting her head upwards to look back. However, she didn’t have time to see clearly before a shadow loomed over her. He opened his arms and embraced her, warm and firm, wrapping her from behind. "You—" Dıscover more novels at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥 Nora gritted her teeth and turned her head. Her right shoulder suddenly felt heavy, as Pedro’s chin rested on her shoulder, his face slightly turned to look at her. As she turned back, her ear grazed his hair, making her heart skip a beat. The words she wanted to hurl at him were swallowed in that split-second of heart thumping. She blinked, and his face was reflected in her eyes. His dark eyes were deep and bright, eyelashes long, casting a faint shadow. His nose was high and his lips thin, appearing cool, yet due to their slightly upturned curve, they inexplicably caught the eye. With a smile in his eyes, Pedro’s gaze brightened, his voice husky, "Pounced over, you need to pet the cat. Want to pet?" The voice burrowed into her ears, slightly tickling. Nora awkwardly acted fierce, "Don’t you have any shame?" Pedro gave an answer without a moment’s hesitation. Nora was dumbfounded. Usually, she was the one to shut people up with that answer, yet now the tables turned, and she was left at a loss for words by it. "You’re too heavy, get off." She shrugged her shoulder, intending to shake him off, a little annoyed and embarrassed in her tone. Without pressing further, Pedro petted Rose’s head and suddenly released his arms. As he stood up, his hand slid through her hair, smooth and soft, it felt so nice that he couldn’t help but ruffle her head. Nora slapped his hand away. Pleased with himself, Pedro was neither angry nor upset, instead, he looked somewhat aggrieved, "Cooperated with you and still got rejected." Nora looked at the shameless man with shock. "Rejected," Pedro intentionally reached toward the cat in Nora’s arms, "Rose, let’s go." Rose, who liked him, jumped at the chance as he extended his hand, decisively abandoning the heavenly immortal’s embrace and grabbed Pedro’s hand with no hesitation, then leaped into his arms. Pedro held the cat with one arm, and Rose immediately settled down. Seeing this, Nora sneered, "You sure get along well with it." Pedro smiled, his eyebrows warm. For a second, Nora was stunned, then in a bad mood she snapped, "...Get lost." Pedro didn’t follow the usual pattern, he was quite obedient, turning around with Rose in his arms and walked out of the bedroom. Seeing his decisively departing back, Nora furrowed her brows lightly, feeling as if she’d hit a cotton wall. She simply turned around, unwilling to look at him. A few seconds later, a knock on the door suddenly sounded. Then came Pedro’s amused voice, "Rolled away, now I’m back." Nora was rendered a bit speechless by this move. Looking over, she saw Pedro standing at the door, tall and graceful, handsome and upright, smiling at the lips, the cold, abstinent vibe all dissolved by the presence of Rose in his arms, feeling as warm as a spring breeze. Watching made the little bit of irritation in her heart vanish completely. Nora sighed in exasperation, "Can’t you at least try to be a bit of a cold and aloof CEO?" Laughing, Pedro stepped in and asked back, "Does that work on you?" So you can really ’treat the symptoms’? "What are you here for?" Nora asked. Today, she had irritated Ethan Scott, receiving her comeuppance, so she had no choice but to be annoyed by Pedro as well, eventually surrendering. "To give you a New Year gift," Pedro said unhurriedly, "and to watch an old movie together." Recalling this, Nora paused slightly and asked, "What gift?" Pedro walked to her side. Looking down at her, he chuckled and said, "Close your eyes." Nora raised an eyebrow, annoyed, "Are you teasing a child?" Pedro Langley raised his eyebrow slightly, with a hint of regret, "No sense of fun." An exasperated Nora Scott was about to retort. However, the hand that was extended to her made her suddenly fall silent. In his palm lay a black cord. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, within those brief seconds, came a magical feeling where time seemed to blur reality and imagination. Compared to the one from five years ago, this one was noticeably more exquisite and beautiful. The weaving was still rudimentary, the pattern was the same, but with slight changes. "This one, probably," after a moment’s pause, Nora spoke with deliberation, "can be sold?" Faced with such an evaluation of his painstakingly woven bracelet, Pedro found himself at a loss, between laughter and helplessness. Nora accepted with politeness. She reached out to grab the black cord, but Pedro quickly made a fist to avoid her, leaving her grasping at air. Pausing, feeling mocked, Nora was about to have an outburst when Pedro spoke, "Hand." Surprisingly not angry, Nora extended her left hand. Pedro released his hold on Rose, letting her jump down and circle around him on the floor. The cold white light shone on the skin, making it appear even more delicate and fair. Nora’s slender wrist, her tender skin wrapping the bones, had an elegant, flowing line. Leaning slightly forward, Pedro placed the black cord around her wrist, creating a stark contrast with her skin. Nora didn’t move as she watched Pedro wrap the cord around her wrist, adjusting the length. Suddenly, she looked up, her gaze settling on Pedro’s face. He had his eyes partially lowered, his expression focused and serious, with his fringe lightly swaying on his forehead. Time had erased his past innocence, bestowing upon him steadiness and maturity, yet in that moment, all the subtle changes vanished for Nora, as if he was unchanged from five years ago, with not a trace of difference. The sense of distance was slowly dissipating. The sudden voice pulled Nora’s attention back. Having tied the black cord, Pedro released his hold, letting the ends drop down. Nora looked closely and noticed that both ends were accented with a few smooth black stones that felt cool against her skin. A very ordinary cord, unremarkable yet timeless, as if it would never become outdated. She shook her wrist slightly and reached out to fiddle with the dangling black stones. "I wonder how long I can wear it." Thinking of the black cord tossed in a box, Nora suddenly felt a bit sentimental. Her voice was light, but Pedro heard it. After a slight pause, Pedro chuckled softly and said leisurely, "You can wear it as long as you like; I can always make a better one next time." Nora glanced at him sideways. His soft smile reached his eyes, and for some reason, an inexplicable emotion surged to her throat. Nora opened her mouth, but within a brief pause, she swallowed the emotion back down. "Is there no one in the living room?" Nora switched the topic. Pedro replied, "Oliver Scott came to find Marcus Shaw, and they’ve gone nearby to see how to make candied fruit." Nora clicked her tongue and said, "Boring." Those two kids, trying to seem more mature yet ultimately were still kids, drawn to new things. Nora was much the same. It’s just that because she had been traveling far and wide and had seen a lot, many fascinating things no longer intrigued her. "You’re quite busy..." Pedro’s gaze fell on the stack of blueprints on the desk, his lips curved as he asked, "I heard you unexpectedly came into some money yesterday?" Glancing at him sideways, Nora raised an eyebrow, "You know about that?" "It’s not a secret," Pedro responded lightly, then with a playful tone, he added, "So, how about a treat?" "What do you want to eat?" Nora asked casually. Nora rubbed her ears, pretending to listen intently, "Master Langley, could you say that again?" "Sugar painting." Seeing her action, Pedro laughed and then explained, "Aren’t they giving it away for free? If we don’t go now, we won’t get any." Nora was puzzled, "You think I can conjure it out of thin air for you?" Pedro, as if it were obvious, replied, "You’re good-looking; maybe you can snag a few." Is he speaking human language? Pedro smiled softly and added, "In the worst case, the sugar-pulling skills you learned, I wouldn’t mind." Nora: "..." He even remembered that. A few seconds later, Nora stood up, grabbed her coat off the bed, and then raised an eyebrow at him, "Let’s go." Nora changed her shoes and was about to urge Pedro when she saw him walking over in his jacket. Her gaze lingered on him for two seconds, and Nora suddenly felt something was off, prompting her to furrow her brow slightly. Seeing her standing motionless at the entrance, Pedro asked, somewhat puzzled. Fixing her eyes on him, Nora relaxed her brows and casually inquired, "Are the clothes I gave you not a good fit?"