So thoughtful.

Claire waved her hand.

“No need. There's plenty of food at home.”

She had already spent quite a bit over the past two days.

She couldn't afford to keep wasting food and money.

Ethan didn't say anything.

He grabbed his coat and left.

Only after he was gone did Claire finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After breakfast, she washed the dishes and cleaned the house.

She simply couldn't sit still.

Whenever she had a quiet moment, the image of herself naked on top of Ethan last night would pop into her mind.

Ethan really had impressive self-control.

Or perhaps…he simply wasn't interested in her.

She glanced down at her neckline.

It was rather impressive.

Checking the tag on her bra, she saw the size: F.

In her previous life, her body had been flat, barely an A cup.

With her short hair back then, people often mistook her for a boy.

Yet Ethan had remained completely unmoved by such a devilish figure.

It seemed he truly wasn't interested in her.

Once again, Claire confirmed that the male lead's purity was reserved for the female lead.

Around one in the afternoon, Ethan returned.

He was carrying a small box of cake.

Claire's eyes lit up as she hurried over in her slippers.

"You boughit this for me?"

Ethan nodded.

“Strawberry flavor"

“I like strawberry flavor~"

She carried the cake to the dining table, opened the box, and began eating.

"Mmm, it's delicious. Want some?"

“No," Ethan replied before heading to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When he came out, Claire asked.

"Have you eaten?"

“I ate with Kyle." 

“Oh." 

Ethan glanced toward the kitchen.

“You haven't eaten?"

Claire scooped another spoonful of cake into her mouth.

“I'm not hungry. I'll eat later."

Now that she had cake, she was even less hungry.

Ethan didn't go out again that afternoon.

Instead, he began preparing dinner early.

After dinner, it still wasn't dark yet.

Claire wanted to go downstairs for a walk. 

She had been stuck at home all day.

She glanced at the man sitting on the sofa, fiddling with his phone.

"I'm going downstairs for a walk. Want to come?”

After a whole day of mental preparation, she could finally face Ethan calmly again.

She deliberately chose to forget the embarrassing incident from last night.

Ethan put away his phone and stood up.

"Let's go.”

Just as they stepped outside, the door of the neighboring apartment opened.

A white blur dashed into the house, and the door slammed shut.

Claire:"...”

Looks like he's afraid of gotting beaten up.

The two wandered around the residential complex.

On the street outside, a vendor was selling long sticks of popcorn.

Claire bought five dollars's worth which was a huge bag.

As they walked, she happily crunched away at the popcorn.

"Want some?"

She held out a picce of popcorn she hadn't eaten.

Ethan dodged it immediately, his eyes filled with resistance.

Claire didn't insist.

She continued eating happily by herself.

When they reached the commercial street, Ethan bought a cup of milk tea and handed it to her.

He even inserted the straw for her.

Claire froze for a moment and looked up at the tall man in front of her.

So thoughtful.

How did he know she was thirsty?

Did he install surveillance cameras inside her?

Sipping her milk tea,Claire wandered through the bustling crowd.

Two little boys were running and playing when one suddenly crashed into Claire's leg.

He looked about seven or eight years old, yet surprisingly strong.

Claire staggered backward.

Her back collided with a chest, and a pair of large hands caught her waist.

That familiar clean and refreshing scent.

She turned her head and met Ethan's deep, unreadable gaze.

“Thank you, honey~", she said with a grin.

Ethan released her, took the popcorn from her hand, and then held her hand instead.

Claire stared at their clasped hands, blinking.

So warm.

So reassuring.

Back at the apartment, Claire was about to take a shower when Ethan received a phone call.

“I need to go out for a bit."

Thinking about her lovestruck persona, Claire walked over and grabbed his hand, speaking reluctantly.

“Come back soon."

Ethan lowered his gaze.

Then he lifted his other hand and gently ruffled her hair twice.

She murmured softly. "Mmm."

After Ethan left, Claire immediately regained her composure.

Taking her clothes, she went into the bathroom.

She didn't know when Ethan returned.

When she woke up, it was already morning.

Ethan lay beside her, still asleep.

Claire stared at his face, once again marveling at how blessed he was by the heavens.

It was truly a feast for the eyes.

She threw off the covers, got out of bed, washed up, and made breakfast for the two of them.

Just as she was wondering whether she should wake him, she glanced over and realized he had already gotten out of bed.

After breakfast, the two of them headed to work separately.

….

At the office, Sandra immediately rushed over.

"Did you manage to appease your boyfriend?" 

Claire turned on her computer.

“I think things are okay now."

Unless something serious happened, Ethan probably wouldn't bring up divorce again.

Sandra grinned ambiguously and nudged Claire's shoulder.

"So...did you two sleep together?"

Claire: "...”

She turned and rolled her eyes speechlessly.

“Can you stop talking about sleeping all the time?"

Sandra blinked innocently.

“We're modern women. What's wrong with that? If I wasn't worried you'd be shy, I'd even discuss positions with you."

Claire:"..."

Sandra had a petite, cute, and iwnocent-looking face.

It was hard to believe such bold words came out of her mouth.

Naturally,Claire absolutely refused to admit she lacked experience.

Not long after, Manager Holly arrived and called everyone to a meeting.

During the meeting, she made an announcement.

"Due to the recent surge in orders, starting this week, everyone will need to come in on Saturdays."

Everyone's expressions turned grim, but no one spoke.

Claire raised her hand.

“Manager Holly, will working Saturdays count as overtime?"

Manager Holly pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment.

Claire sneered inwardly.

The company clearly wanted free labor.

Normally, everyone voluntarily worked overtime to leave a good impression on management, and the company never mentioned overtime pay only offering a perfunctory dinner.

The promised eight-hour workday had already disappeared.

Now even the weekends were gone.

The mood in the meeting room turned sour.

Manager Holly glanced at Claire.

“This is the company's decision. I'm only relaying it. If anyone has objections, you can talk to me privately and I'll pass your opinions to upper management. Of course, if anyone cannot accept the company's arrangements and wishes to resign, you may submit your resignation directly to HR."

After saying that, Manager Holly left the meeting room.

Everyone immediately began complaining.

"How can the company do this?"

"Yeah, hidden overtime was already bad enough. Now we don't even get weekends."

“What can we do? The economy's terrible. Even if we quit, we might not find another job."

Sandra leaned against Claire's shoulder, looking miserable.

“I’m exhausted these days. I was just looking forward to the weekend, and now there's only one day left. It's so annoying.”

“Claire, do you want to quit? let's resign together."

Claire really wanted to confidently slam a resignation letter onto HR's desk.

But she couldn't.

She was poor.

She needed money.

Grinding her teeth, she finally spat out three words.

“I won't quit.”