Chapter 728: Chapter 699: Love in a Parallel Universe [021]
Sienna Thorne had just changed into her pajamas when her phone received a video call invitation. She quickly ruffled her hair in front of the mirror and applied a bit of clear lip gloss, then jumped onto the bed and picked up her phone, accepting the video call.
This was her first time video calling Simon Forrester, and her heartbeat went erratic. At the moment the screen turned from black to bright, her face flushed red with heat.
In the video, Simon Forrester was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, his hair slightly wet and glossy, his features clear and handsome, smiling at her.
Behind him was a shelf full of books. Sienna smiled sweetly at the camera and softly asked, "Are you in the study?"
"Yes. There’s a bit of work left. I’ll deal with it after our call."
"Then maybe... you should handle your work first? It seems quite late."
He curved his lips into a smile at her, "It’s okay, tomorrow’s the weekend."
"Okay then."
Sienna switched to a more comfortable position, lying on her stomach on the bed, propping her chin up as she looked at him, just giggling foolishly, unsure of what to say next.
The two had just confirmed their relationship today and had only met a few times before. Her entire knowledge of him stopped at him being the founder and chief designer of SY. She didn’t even know his age, birthday, height, weight, or likes and dislikes, let alone his family background.
She wanted to know so much but was worried about asking too many questions at once, fearing Simon might get annoyed. So, she could only clear her doubts through their interactions moving forward.
Simon Forrester wasn’t the talkative type either. At first, he didn’t initiate any topics, just smiled at her with deep eyes.
This silence made her restless. Seeing the only thing in the camera being the bookshelf, she made small talk, "Wow, you have so many books!"
He turned around to look at the bookshelf behind him, and simultaneously shifted his position so she could see the books there clearly.
"Yes, the ones behind me are the books I frequently use for work."
She zoomed in on the camera to see the bookshelf was filled with books related to architecture, so she asked, "How long have you been an architectural designer?"
Simon turned to look at the video, smiling, "I started working on projects with my professor while studying in Britione, but I’ve been independently designing for about seven years."
Sienna knew that Simon Forrester had a PhD from Cambridge University. Assuming he had gone to study in Britione immediately after graduating with his bachelor’s degree at 22, completing his master’s and PhD in three years at the fastest pace, and then adding seven years of independent designing, he would now be at least 32 years old?
Seven years older than her, he was like a mature man.
Mature men take care of people, no wonder he was so gentle.
Now, Sienna liked Simon Forrester. Love made her see him in an unrealistically favorable light, overwhelmed with admiration: "You’re amazing! So young and yet you have your own design studio, with so many internationally award-winning works!"
Simon Forrester pursed his lips and smiled, looking a bit embarrassed. She took the opportunity to continue praising him, "I’m so proud to have a boyfriend who is a famous architect!"
"Do you like me because I’m an architect?"
Sienna was stunned for a few seconds.
In those brief seconds, she tried to distinguish the reason for Simon’s attraction to her. Was it because of the halo of being a famous architect around him, or did she just purely like him?
Admittedly, she initially learned about Simon Forrester through the internet and SY’s official Weibo, and her feelings stemmed from looking at his award-winning photos. However, the real reason she courageously stepped forward wanting to become his partner was the kindness he constantly showed her.
But this feeling was difficult to explain in a few words. She tried to organize her thoughts, and on the other end, Simon Forrester smiled: "Don’t be nervous."
He said, "My family runs a factory, it’s still managed by my father and aunt. When they get older, I might need to take over the family business, which would mean not being an architect anymore."
Sienna was a bit confused.
She had previously thought Simon Forrester was from a well-educated family, given how well-mannered he was. But she didn’t expect his family to own a factory. Not that running a factory means a lack of good upbringing; it’s just hard to associate someone as noble and elegant as Simon Forrester with the image of second or third-generation factory business owners.
"Annie?"
"Hmm?" Sienna snapped back to reality, looked at the man on her phone screen, and with a red face, she said, "Even if you’re not an architect, I’d still like you."
Simon Forrester laughed loudly, standing up with his phone: "Come, let me show you where I live."
Following his camera, Sienna saw his study, which was large and full of books, with an entire wall as a bookshelf filled with books. Next to the bookshelf was a small ladder for reaching books on the top shelf.
"The interior of the house was designed by myself, with one master bedroom, two guest rooms, and a study." As he moved the camera, he introduced, "I live on the 48th floor; the lower floors are a shopping mall, hotel, and other entertainment facilities, making life very convenient. The only downside is that it’s quite far from the city center."
Holding the phone, he showed Sienna around his home. Finally, reaching the master bedroom, he simply closed the door, lay down on his bed, and continued the video call with her.
In the dimly lit environment, he propped his head with one hand and held the phone with the other, gazing deeply at her in the camera, as if he were lying beside her, looking at her while reclining on his side.
In the deep of night, emotions are abundant, and as Simon Forrester was now lying on the bed which represented intimacy, his entire mood wasn’t as straightforward as when he was in the study.
His gaze at Sienna transitioned from normal to one filled with more longing. Even though he tried to restrain himself, his voice had a slight hoarseness.
"Do you like this house?" he asked.
On the other end of the video, Sienna’s heart trembled, and with a blushing face, she softly said, "With you here, even a rented house is the best house."
Such a pure, guileless girl.
He knew he hadn’t misjudged her.
He wanted to cherish her well and treat her kindly for life.
He looked tenderly at the blushing girl on the other side of the video call, with her long black hair draped in two strands over her chest, wearing soft pink pajamas, makeup-free, yet pure enough to make him want to hold her and love her dearly.
He subconsciously brought the screen close to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss, like kissing her blush-flushed cheek.
She was so shy on the other end of the video that she covered her face.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked, "Do you need to work from home?"
"Huh?" She came back to reality, put her hands down from her flushed face, "No, I’m not handling cases independently yet, so I usually have weekends off."
"Isn’t the London case one you’re handling independently?"
Talking about that case made Sienna a bit unhappy, like a pufferfish puffing her cheeks, she huffed, "I had all the evidence collected, but then my superior said I couldn’t handle it alone, appointing a more senior attorney to lead, while I assist."
Simon Forrester immediately understood she was undergoing workplace bullying.
"Have you talked about this with Thomas Reed?" he asked.
The girl shook her head, "No... I’m worried that mentioning it would strain the relationship with Lawyer Chandler, making future days even harder."
