At the center of attention, Asher walked over to a table full of girls, phone in hand, seemingly to ask someone for their number.Forget it. Wendy huffed and tossed her phone aside. Asher Voss, Mr. Popular, probably wouldn’t appreciate being bothered right now.Back at the bar, Asher returned to his seat after completing his dare and tossed his phone to an eager Ethan."Got it."The group erupted into another round of teasing cheers."Did you mention it was me before adding her?" Ethan asked nervously, taking the phone. He was afraid Asher hadn’t said anything, and the girl would be disappointed when she saw his profile picture. But since he’d already agreed to the dare, he was stuck either way.The others chimed in: "Dumbass, if you’d told her, she wouldn’t have given it!""Wow, imagine how your crush would feel—seeing Asher walk up, getting excited for two seconds, only to hear it’s actually
On Wednesday afternoon, Asher's car appeared once again in front of the Yang family's house.Vivian Yang answered the door again, leaning against the doorframe as she stared fixedly at Asher outside, greeting him bashfully."Hey, Wendy will be out soon. Do you want to come in? It's sweltering outside~""No, thanks," Asher declined outright."Asher, could you sign these for me?"The night before, she'd grilled Wendy about Asher and even raided David's room for Lightning team posters and two fan banners, determined to get his autograph.Jiang Peng was tending to her plants in the backyard—rows of vegetables and fruit trees that yielded bountiful harvests. She always gave Sam portions to take home.Simone, being American, might not always crave Chinese food, but Jiang Peng knew she'd appreciate organic produce. Over time, though Simone had never visited, she'd decided Sam's friend Yang was the most considerate of his circle.
After dinner at the Yangs', Sam went home while Wendy stayed behind.Jiang Peng added a temporary single bed to Vivian Yang's room so that when Vivian left for work the next morning, she wouldn’t disturb Wendy."Wendy, come try it out and see if it's comfortable," Jiang Peng called to the slightly reserved Wendy. "Don’t worry, if there’s anything, just tell Auntie Jiang. Don’t be afraid to speak up."Wendy reached out and touched the mattress, smiling back at Jiang Peng. "The bed is very comfortable. Thank you, Auntie Jiang. I appreciate it."After Jiang Peng left, Wendy began organizing her overnight bag—it wasn’t much, just a toiletry pouch with her essentials and moisturizer, a change of clothes, and pajamas.As she tidied up, she chatted with Vivian Yang. "Vivian, I need to keep my small night light on. Will that bother you?""No problem. Once I’m asleep, you could shine a spotlight on me and I w
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, illuminating the square table in the lounge where a freshly dry-cleaned mascot costume lay, accompanied by two to-go coffee cups—Wendy’s small gesture of thanks for Hayden’s recent help.But the moment she saw Hayden, before she could hand over the clothes or coffee, he abruptly excused himself, claiming urgent work demanded his immediate attention.Wendy waited quietly, checking her phone, praying Hayden would return soon.This was Lightning Base. Every second here increased the risk of running into Asher. She wanted to finish this quickly—to avoid him entirely.With a creak, the heavy lounge door opened. Relief washed over Wendy like a weight lifting off her shoulders. She turned with a smile, ready to greet Hayden—Instead, she faced unruly golden hair, a devilishly handsome face, and a tall, powerfully built frame.Features that could captivate any woman at first g
Wendy had planned to return the team's uniform on Monday, but when checking with Hayden, he suggested Tuesday afternoon instead. The entire team was taking group photos today, with players scheduled in shifts over the next two days for individual shots for the new season. His schedule would be more flexible then, and the mascot uniform wasn't currently needed."Understood, Hayden. I'll confirm with you before coming tomorrow."After hanging up, Hayden turned to the man before him. "Asher, was that acceptable?"Early Monday morning, he'd barely arrived at the training base when informed Asher was urgently looking for him. Hayden's stomach dropped—had he made some professional mistake?Turns out it concerned Wendy.And the schedule change wasn't due to his own commitments—Asher's Monday was packed with photo shoots. Tuesday afternoon was his first availability."Appreciate it." Asher clapped Hayden's shoulder before leaving, satisf
The couple who had gone out on a date the previous night returned home at eleven in the morning, bringing takeout lunch with them.After freshening up, Wendy went downstairs and locked eyes with Asher, who had just sat down at the dining table. She didn’t greet him, deliberately looking away instead.Simone was laying out the cutlery while asking Asher about the banquet last night. Hearing footsteps, she looked up at Wendy with a smile. "Wendy, did any guys flirt with you at the party last night?"Before Wendy could answer, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Asher had pulled out the chair beside him, signaling for her to sit next to him.At the table, Sam sat at the head, with Simone and Asher on either side. Wendy quickly turned to Simone and, under the pretense of chatting with her, took the seat beside her instead.It all seemed so natural that Simone and Sam didn’t notice anything odd, but Wendy knew Asher’s gaze neve