Xanthus had made some noodle soup. While he was plating, Maverly drooled, saying, "Looks good."
"Thanks."
Xanthus placed them on the table, grabbed a couple of spoons, and sat down to have the meal. Maverly gobbled down her food, unladylike.
At the very least, she and Cynthia were two opposite ends, but she was, for some reason, the type that got Xanthus feeling strange lately.
"Slow down. It's hot."
Feeling quite abashed, Maverly flushed. Xanthus handed her a napkin, and she took it over to wipe her lips before eating at a slower pace.
"Doesn't your mother cook for you when you're at her place?"
"She does, but I haven't gone there for a long while. I do plan on going this year." Maverly was stuffed after emptying her bowl.
Xanthus asked her, "When are you going back?"
"During the break."
Falling into silence, Xanthus ate his soup, taking his time.
Meanwhile, Maverly got up and did the dishes. She bumped into Xanthus, who reacted swiftly and lifted his hand to evade when she came out to wipe her hands. Even so, she still bumped into his chest.
Maverly backed off quickly and rubbed her head. Xanthus held up his bowl and spoon while looking down. "Does it hurt?"
"No."
Maverly scuttled away in embarrassment. Xanthus stood for a while and did the dishes before he went to Maverly.
Sitting down, he took her laptop and looked through her folders. At first, Maverly did not pay much attention to him. After all, she was using his laptop, so it wasn't anything unusual to lend him hers.
However, Maverly caught Xanthus looking through her college yearbook and took a second glance to find she hadn't mistaken.
Failing to retain her composure, she asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xanthus threw a glance at her. "Your photos."
Maverly reeled at his bluntness.
Feeling somewhat speechless, she wondered if she should allow him to look at them. If she refused, she would seem petty, but if she did, it was rather unjustifiable. No matter what, it was photos of her and her classmates, and she was in a bathing suit in some of them.
Just as she was about to speak up, Xanthus asked, "Which one is your boyfriend?"
"Huh?"
Maverly glanced at the photo and randomly pointed at one.
Xanthus frowned. "What's his name?"
Maverly looked at it and answered, "Jack."
"This is his full name down here?"
"Yeah."
After that, Xanthus continued looking through the rest of the photos. Following that, he didn't do anything significant but fiddled with her laptop and even played some games.
Maverly was in a brown study that she could do nothing. With time, she dozed off, sleeping on the sofa.
Seeing so, Xanthus called a private detective and had him check on this Jack.
It wasn't something important; the purpose wasn't to stalk him or do something clandestine but to check his background. Xanthus didn't know how, but the private detective sent his information to his phone in no time. He had a quick look through and found said Jack had married his high school sweetheart; they even studied the same course in college and already had a baby before they graduated.
So, to say that he was Maverly's boyfriend was merely a blatant lie.
Putting his phone away, Xanthus sent a comprehensive file to the private detective, including all Maverly's classmates from high school to college. Subsequently, the private detective sold the information to Xanthus. He spent the rest of the night looking through them only to learn that none of them had ever had a romantic relationship with Maverly.
Leaning against the sofa, his head hurt and eyes sore from all the reading.
However, his curiosity only grew as he read.
Rubbing his eyes, Xanthus stretched his neck and intended to rest. Just when he shifted, Maverly kicked him. Stumped, he looked over only for her to have placed her feet on his lap.
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