Bryan's eyes rarely left the screen of his phone for more than a split-second on the way back home, other than the time he spent moving quickly between the high rows of shelves picking different products and tossing them in his shopping cart before making his way to the yawning man on the cash register.

  "Good morning." The man said while getting up from his seat and setting his cup of coffee aside before scanning the products one by one.

  "Morning." Bryan nodded while checking the total number go up while making himself useful and filling the bags to save time.

  "Have a nice day." The salesclerk was happy and smiling when Bryan pushed the pack of cigarettes towards the man while saying : "You can have it, I don't smoke." Then carried his bags and left the store while replying : "You take it easy Shawn, and don't forget to stretch your legs every now and then." Bryan paused at the door to enjoy the touch from the first rays of sunlight on his face, it felt like countless tendrils warmly and gently dancing on the surface of his skin.

  'You had my back in my darkest moments after all, now it's time for me to take care of you my friend.' Bryan thought while walking away heading for the building which he rented a room near this community store where Shawn works.

  Meanwhile inside the store Shawn was at a loss because him and that customer never really interacted before whenever he visited the store to buy anything but, he appreciates the generous gesture of buying him a pack of his favorite brand of cigarettes which is quite expensive even if it's much to his liking when it comes to taste.

  "But I don't remember that fellow being so healthy-looking and in excellent shape when I st saw him, or maybe I wasn't paying good attention at all." Shawn muttered while taking his cup of coffee outside the store to get some sun while enjoying a smoke.

  Bryan on the other hand quickly went back to his room and took a change of clothes from the closet and a clean towel before getting a quick shower, after spraying himself with deodorant and putting on his clothes he filled the refrigerator then started preparing breakfast.

  On the other side of the wall Linnet had opened her eyes long ago from the moment she heard Bryan coming back but she gave him time to shower and empty the bags while she took her time washing her face and brushing her teeth before applying some cosmetics to moisturize her skin.

  However, once she heard the sound of him using the kitchen utensils and smelled the scent of the food he's preparing Linnet quickly made sure her looks are okay and her clothes are appropriate before going to knock on Bryan's door.

  *Knock Knock*

  "Just a sec," Bryan said while pulling the pan from the fire and setting it aside for now before quickly going to open the door, "Come in." He gestured for Linnet to enter while going back to the kitchen in a hurry while asking : "Eat anything yet?"

  "Not yet, ate nothing since yesterday really." Linnet answered while sitting on his chair and rexed her feet on his bed then calmly swung herself from side to side slowly.

  "Then drink this until the food is ready, here... catch." Bryan opened the refrigerator and tossed a small bottle of the healthy drink which Celest recommended he buy since its extremely rich with a vast variety of all possible nutrients a human body requires, not to mention that it's an easy source since it's in liquid form which makes it easy for everyone to benefit from it but... the only issue is how costly it is and how short the expiration date of this product.

  Celest also mentioned how the company of this product is currently facing a fierce commercial campaign to suppress them as much as possible but they somehow managed to go through all the strict approval processes and pass against all odds despite their many issues like ck of proper funding among many other things.

  "Wow! You did good buying some of the good stuff," Linnet was excited after seeing the brand and quickly opened the bottle and took a big swig from it then smacked her lips a few times while savoring the taste, "I really wanted to try this one but I never got the chance, what other fvors did you buy?" She asked before emptying the bottle while greedily eying the door of his fridge like a sneaky leopard.

  "All of them but you better wait until you try my secret recipe for breakfast first." Bryan smiled from the kitchen while emptying the pan on a pte then tossing it in the sink for now before opening one of the pots on the stove and stirring it while sprinkling different types of spice on the meat and vegetables inside before closing the lid, then he went on to open the other pot and tasted the rice before turning off the heat after confirming that it's done.

  Linnet watched him work busily in the kitchen for a bit before asking : "Do you want me to lend you some money? I bet you're running low after buying so much since you only had a bit over a thousand st night."

  Bryan paused and looked at her silently for a while with an amused smile on his face before looking down at the chicken breasts inside the pan and flipped them while saying : "My phone is next to you on the desk, the code is.... you can see for yourself how much I have left in my account."

  "You poor thing... always making me worry," Linnet muttered to herself with a smile on her face but Bryan heard her clearly when she teased him, "What the..." She wasn't expecting to see so many zeros on his account and reflexively leaned backwards against the chair and felt the bance of her body dangerously flip once the poor-quality chair snapped underneath her like some dry twig!

  But the fall she expected didn't happen at all since a pair of strong arms held both herself and the part of the chair and put them on bed before kicking the part with the wheels beneath the desk.

  "That was dangerous! You should help me order a new one and make sure that it's both sturdy and very comfortable, that one was trash." Bryan said while looking her in the eyes with a smile on his face before heading back to the kitchen to continue his work.

  "Wait! How come you have so much money?" Linnet asked while closing the bank app and opening another to check if he sold the shares they bought yesterday but she found that he still owns the exact same number of shares and their current price if now higher than what their worth when she bought them yesterday which means they made some profit in a few hours!

  Linnet closed the market-exchange app then reopened the bank app and went on to check the transactions menu, there she saw the complete history of Bryan's transactions and detailed lists of what he bought, booked, spent, and earned in the st few hours.

  "Do you want me to lend you some money? I bet you're exhausted after working so much every day in the diner, I can fund you if you have any business idea." Bryan was teasing Linnet in the beginning but once she gred at him in fake annoyance he smiled kindly while throwing that offer as he gathered some of the ptes and went on to put them on the kitchen bar which is his dinner table and many other things then gestured for her to join him once he organized everything and put all the pots and pans in the kitchen sink.

  Linnet puckered her lips and sat next to him while putting his phone next to the pte, Bryan smiled and said nothing when he saw her going through the history log of the betting app then decided to let her do whatever she wants for now and take her time to think about his offer.

  But while he ate Bryan kept noticing how Linnet seemed distracted from investigating the case of his financial situation and was checking his arm, shoulder, and even his back with her fingers.

  Now he couldn't eat in peace since she kept pinching and holding with her hand once she took his silence as a gesture of invitation!

  "I guess paying so much money on a gym membership was worth it after all... Can I join you?" Linnet asked while blushing deeply but Bryan smiled kindly and patted her head while intentionally making a mess of her hair.

  "How about we split the money in my account? Just leave me half and do whatever you want with the other half be that start your own business or take a break from work and have fun with Riley, you can also join me tonight while undergo my medical examination and meet coach Celest who's going to be my personal trainer then we'll take care of your gym membership before we leave." Bryan said after nudging Linnet with his shoulder then continued to eat his food in a hurry since he still need to go meet Professor An soon.

  Linnet on the other hand was unable to stop herself from leaning her head on his shoulder while struggling to contain her tears but she was enjoying this moment of silence so much.

  Still, she didn't even say anything either to accept or deny the offer... simply because Linnet can feel the pure intentions and genuine care from Bryan since the only thing that matters for him is to make her happy.

  Yet her fingers quickly transferred enough money to her own account, she's pnning to use that money to buy both herself and him some clothes which suit her sense of fashion then choose a good spot and reserve a table for them in a restaurant she's been fancying visiting for a long while before.

  What comes next is reserving a breathtaking suite in the seventy-fourth floor of a nearby hotel, after giving Bryan more than enough chances to make a move on her or even take advantage of her but he didn't.

  In the beginning of their interaction in the diner yesterday Linnet thought that he just wasn't seeing her that way but, the look in his eyes when he invited her to come with him to his medical examination said it all... Bryan really wants to have her but he's just too inexperienced and patient.

  Much to her frustration Linnet too is inexperienced but she doesn't have any of his patience at all... which is why she decided to take matters into her own hands to get the ball rolling in this retionship.

  "Are you sure you don't want more?" Bryan asked while taking her under his wing after gathering his courage to put his arm around her.

  "No. That's enough for my p-" Linnet didn't finish her sentence and focused on her food instead.

  Bryan noticed her fluctuating emotions and choose to say nothing about it to save her the embarrassment not to mention that he's enjoying hugging Linnet so much right now, "Still, I insist that you have it."

  Linnet was startled after hearing what he just said and looked at him while muttering absentmindedly : "H-have it!"

  "Yeah," Bryan said while taking his phone, "Who knows when you might need it? So, it's better to have it on you than to have nothing at all when you happen to need it." Then transferred more money to her account but once he looked towards Linnet she was fuming and gring at him with frustration written all over her expression.

  "You insensitive bastard ouch!" She punched his chest but ended up hurting her wrist.

  He quickly snatched her hand and gently massaged her joint while asking : "Are you alright?"

  Linnet stared at him and found herself at a loss of words after seeing him panic and be so overcome by worry for her.

  Bryan on the other hand was wondering if her face is red because she's in extreme pain or if it's because the food was a bit spicy!