Chapter 991: Yes, I Am the Baseball

Nikki slowly turned around and got back on track. “You’re right. He didn’t even call me once, and when I called him twice, he said that he was busy with work. Now, he has time to go shopping with that girl.”

Monica was shocked. “You’ve already called twice? I didn’t even call once.”

Nikki said, “Are you gloating?”

Monica was helpless. “You could dream before, but I knew from the beginning that he felt nothing for my type. Am I not even more unlucky than you? He gave me a home run right at the beginning.”

Nikki: “Huh?”

Monica said, “Yes, I’m the baseball. I was sent flying with one hit. There wasn’t even a chance for me to return to the field.”

Nikki opened her mouth, but was unable to refute her best friend’s metaphor, nor could she think of anything to say to comfort her.

“Alright, let’s go buy Christmas gifts. You can’t be friends with all the handsome guys. These might be the only two times we run into him.” Monica pulled Nikki forward and comforted her.

As they talked, the two girls joined the crowd.

…

Unlike Elena’s earlier “misunderstanding,” Luke really did take her to see the sights of New York City in the afternoon.

After leaving Times Square, they went to NYPD HQ to see where Luke did battle.

Then, they went to the Brooklyn Bridge and the Hudson River in the southwest to look at the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island.

They didn’t take the boat to the island. Taking a boat to the island in this weather wasn’t great. They could only wait until the weather cleared up to go.

At five in the afternoon, Luke sent Elena back to her dorm.

However, after parking his car in a parking lot not far from the back entrance, he snuck into the college while Elena was distracting the young security guard.

There weren’t any strict attendance requirements at the Paland Academy of Art, and since Christmas was approaching, most students left early.

Elena’s roommate, for example, had already gone on vacation with her nth boyfriend, and wouldn’t be back for at least a week.

A moment later, Luke finally entered Elena’s dorm.

Previously, when his sister, Claire, entered USC, he had only looked around the campus and not visited her dorm.

So, this was his first time in a college girl’s dormitory.

Paland wasn’t a very famous art school, and the rules weren’t very strict either. The decorations in the dorm were quite unique, and the room was full of strange things.

Elena’s roommate was a New Zealand girl who liked to “make friends.” She rarely returned to the dorm.

Now, the double dorm was practically Elena’s personal space. Her roommate would only come back to sleep for a night, or a day.

After analyzing the room with his Sharp Nose for a moment, Luke was no longer worried that his mild obsession with cleanliness would flare up.

Elena lived in an international dorm which had a better environment than a regular dorm. It also had its own ensuite, which was very convenient.

But this wasn’t preferential treatment, since this dormitory was much more expensive than a regular one.

Thankfully, Elena had come here on a scholarship. She was a top student in this school, and her fees had been waived slightly.

Coupled with the fact that she had a roommate who barely returned to the dorm, her living environment was much better than 1,000+ monthly rent in New York.

Of course, this was New Jersey. Rent wasn’t as high as on the Manhattan side to begin with.

As Luke surveyed the dorm, Elena had already taken off her coat and was only wearing a thin sweater and jeans. She took out a bag from her closet. “Do you want some?”

He turned around and smiled. “Of course.”

Elena opened the coffee bag with a smile. “Your taste hasn’t changed, has it?”

Luke nodded and looked at her.

Her movements were skillful and unhurried, which were nice to look at.

Suddenly, she turned her head and looked at him. “Why aren’t you talking?”

Luke sat down on a chair in front of the window and said with a smile, “I was recalling when we first met.”

Elena asked, “What’s that?”

Luke chuckled. “I remember that you invited me in for coffee on the third night.”

Elena couldn’t help but sneer. “That’s all you can remember!”

Luke shrugged. “That was my first trip abroad, and the first time a girl invited me in for coffee. It’s indeed very memorable.”

Elena couldn’t help but laugh. She threw something at Luke.

Luke caught it and examined it. He clicked his tongue in wonder. “You’re actually still growing!”

Elena spat at him and turned a blind eye to him handling her underwear.

Just like that, they chatted and laughed. When the steaming hot coffee was ready, they sat by the window with the coffee in their hands.

This habit of Elena’s hadn’t changed.

There was a chair and a small round table in front of the window. This was definitely where she had coffee in her dorm.

There were a few books on the bookshelf.

There were art magazines, literary works, and… hm? A detective novel.

Holding Elena, who was sitting on his lap, Luke picked up the detective novel. “You’re still reading this? I recall this isn’t your thing.”

Looking at the darkening sky and the falling snow, Elena chuckled. “Because I want to know what your job is like, right?”

Luke put the novel back. “The lead character in this novel is a private detective, and I’m a detective.”

Elena was lost. “Isn’t it all solving cases?”

Luke chuckled. “We can use guns to arrest and interrogate suspects, but private detectives don’t have the right to do that. But if you like it, you can pass the time with it. Both of them look for evidence, so it’s not entirely unrelated.”

Elena simply hummed in acknowledgment.

The night outside the window was getting darker, but the room was as warm as spring.

It got dark in New York early in the winter, and the street lamps lit up at seven.

Jameson, the new security guard at Paland Academy, walked around on campus helplessly.

The old security guard had retired due to illness, and he had just been employed a few days ago.

As Christmas approached, he had inexplicably been given the night shift three days in a row.

As a newbie, he could only accept it. He comforted himself that since he didn’t have a girlfriend and his parents were back in his hometown, he could still earn some money by working overtime.

The walkie-talkie had crackled just as night fell. Another old security guard on duty at the gate had openly ordered him to go out and patrol.

Jameson hesitated for a few minutes in the warm security room, but had no choice but to get dressed and walk out. He was the newbie, after all.