"What kind of relationship is this, seriously?"
He grumbled under his breath, voice low but clearly annoyed.
"Having a girlfriend and not being allowed to sleep with her is already frustrating enough. Now kissing has to come with rules too? And we can't even hold hands anymore? Tell me—how is this even called dating?"
He glanced at the girl walking a few steps ahead of him.
"We're walking like strangers, for crying out loud!"
Just as he finished venting, the girl suddenly stopped. She turned around and stared at him with a frosty expression.
"Have you seriously not noticed I'm mad right now?"
He blinked. "...What?"
"Is being in a relationship supposed to mean I can't get angry?"
"I'm upset and instead of comforting me, you're back there complaining like a child—what the hell is wrong with you?"
Morrison opened his mouth... then closed it.
Not a single word came out.
Under normal circumstances, with his usual temperament, Morrison wouldn't have hesitated.
If any woman dared to throw a tantrum in front of him for no good reason, he'd have turned around with a cold face and walked away—without a second thought. And from that moment on, that woman would cease to exist in his world.
But right now…
Right now, looking at the girl in front of him—her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, her lips slightly quivering in grievance—he couldn't bring himself to walk away.
He stood there, silent for a long moment. Then finally, he stepped forward and spoke in a soft voice.
"You're upset. That's okay. But at least tell me why, alright?"
"You suddenly pulled your hand away without saying anything… I was completely lost. I can't fix something if I don't even know what I did wrong."
Morrison told himself—this was probably just because she was Dave's little sister. He didn't want to upset her. That's why he was trying. That's all it was. Right?
He kept telling himself that.
But deep down, he knew—if it were anyone else, he wouldn't be here explaining a damn thing.
In any argument between two people, if both sides insisted on digging in, things would only get worse. But once one person backed down, even just a little, the fire naturally cooled.
Lilian was exactly like that.
She had been genuinely angry a moment ago, still fuming over the fact that he'd sneakily stolen two kisses from her earlier. But now, with Morrison's softened tone and gentle demeanor, the heat of her anger had mostly melted away.
She wasn't the type to throw tantrums for no reason, after all.
Her eyes were still red, though, and her voice carried a hint of indignation.
"You're the worst!" she huffed.
"You said you'd respect my boundaries, and then... and then—!"
Before she could finish, he pulled her into his arms.
His voice was so tender it could drip honey.
"Alright, alright. Don't be mad anymore."
"A girl this beautiful shouldn't waste her expressions on anger—it's heartbreaking to see."
"It's all my fault. I promise, I'll really respect your wishes from now on."
Morrison's voice was warm and sincere, every word coated in honey.
"Come on, let's get something to eat before the cafeteria gets crowded."
His sweet words flowed effortlessly, as if he didn't even need to think about them—just opened his mouth and the charm poured out.
Lilian, despite herself, found the anger melting away.
By the end of it, she even started wondering if maybe—just maybe—she had overreacted a little.
So she let him take her hand, quietly obedient, and followed him toward the cafeteria.
For Morrison, though, this was simply a matter of principle.
A man should know when to yield and when to strike.
He gave in this time. But the next time she pissed him off? She better be ready to coax him just as hard. He'd make sure of it.
As they walked hand in hand along the path, they passed quite a few people.
And every single time they did, Lilian would instantly raise a hand to her head—pretending to fix her hair—conveniently blocking her face like she was on the run from the paparazzi.
It was such an exaggerated act that Morrison couldn't help but feel like he was the shady one here, like she was embarrassed to be seen with him.
He rolled his eyes.
The sunglasses he had worn while driving were clipped to his shirt pocket. He pulled them out and placed them on her nose.
"Here," he said dryly. "Put these on. Saves you from all the sneaking around."
Lilian peeked up at him from under the oversized sunglasses, her eyes bright and mischievous.
She giggled.
"Thanks!"
The sunglasses were clearly his size, not hers.
With her palm-sized face, the oversized shades kept sliding down her nose no matter how hard she tried. Eventually, Lilian just gave up and held them in place with one hand—while her other hand stayed in Morrison's.
It looked ridiculous.
But also… incredibly cute.
Morrison couldn't stop chuckling as he walked beside her, the last traces of irritation completely gone.
Naïve girls have their own kind of charm.
No grudges, no games. She'd get mad, blow up a little, and then it was all forgotten like nothing had happened.
As for him—he barely knew anyone on campus anyway. Morrison wasn't part of the school circle. He was from the real world, the working world. To the students passing by, he was just some good-looking guy with a cool aura.
No one recognized him as the one and only Morrison, the name that made waves outside school walls.
Eventually, the two of them reached the private dining room Lilian had reserved in the cafeteria.
She quickly took off the sunglasses, rubbed the bridge of her poor squished nose, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Finally. Safe at last."
Morrison looked at her, watching the exaggerated expression of escape on her face, and couldn't help but say:
"Isn't it tiring to sneak around like this all the time? Why don't we just go public?"
Lilian had just poured herself a glass of water. The moment she heard that, she nearly choked on it.
Coughing and spluttering, she finally managed to swallow and waved her hands frantically.
"No, no, no. Absolutely not!"
Going public? That would be a total disaster. She was certain of it.