Chapter 538: Chapter 51 Vasilina
"Yo, Palmer, long time no see!"
The handsome man looked at Palmer with a face full of joy, wrapping his arm around Palmer’s neck, looking like a pair of close-knit brothers.
"Say something... don’t you have anything you want to say to me?"
He reached out and poked Palmer’s cheek. Palmer didn’t respond; he didn’t even look at this handsome man, his eyes staring directly at the food on the plate, eating mechanically as if the guy beside him didn’t exist at all.
"Breathe deeply, Palmer, breathe deeply," Palmer repeated to himself in his mind, "You’ve prepared for this, haven’t you?"
Palmer tried hard to adopt the mindset of a field staff, maintaining calm even when the mountains collapse before him, and having peace of mind despite the tsunami behind him.
And then... and then...
The handsome man raised an eyebrow, "Palmer, are your hands numb?"
Palmer feigned calmness, but his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The fork kept rubbing against the porcelain plate, making a piercing sound.
"It’s... it’s fine. Maybe I strained a muscle during combat today."
God, even Palmer doesn’t believe this lie, but just like a stubborn mule, he had no choice.
"Oh?"
The handsome man squinted his eyes, gently smoothing his short hair, revealing clear eyes like emeralds.
He leaned down, his breath brushing past Palmer’s ear, like someone tickling his ear with a blade of foxtail grass, unbearably itchy.
"Do you need me to feed you then?"
Palmer clenched his fists, and the poor fork bent into the shape of a worm.
The handsome man curled his lips in a silent smile. Seeing his initial victory, he didn’t continue to press his attack but instead let Palmer go in a manner of feigned retreat.
Palmer felt as if he had climbed back to shore from the water, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.
"Still the same, no improvement at all?"
The handsome man mocked, for a moment looking just like a charming girl, yet also like an effeminate man.
He shared some resemblance with Church, as nobody had ever figured out Church’s true appearance, nor could anyone instantly discern the handsome man’s gender. He carried a mysterious and cold aura.
Seeing Palmer not react, the handsome man couldn’t be bothered to continue dealing with him. After all, Palmer’s vacation was still long, and he had plenty of time to torment Palmer afterward.
Looking at Leica, who was constantly interacting with Aimou, he coughed a few times, his clear voice echoing in the room. The large dog instantly froze in place as if being caught by a predator.
"Huh? You don’t like this?"
Aimou noticed the dog’s change. Leica, as if being scolded, lowered its head. Aimou rubbed its head, but it didn’t react.
A clear snap of fingers was heard. The handsome man shifted his chair, crossed his slender legs, and smiled, yet the smile was hard to warm anyone.
He beckoned, and Leica, with its head lowered, came over shakily, obediently sitting in front of him like a solid mountain of meat.
He questioned, "First of all, when I call you back, why didn’t you return?"
"Eek..."
A series of mournful cries could be heard.
"Oh? You smelt Palmer and got so happy you forgot, right?"
The handsome man pinched his chin, posing in a thoughtful manner, "Alright, I won’t pursue this matter."
Leica happily lifted its head, panting with its tongue out, then the handsome man continued, "Haven’t I told you before, you need a healthy diet."
The dog’s smile disappeared, there is no excuse for added guilt!
Leica skillfully moved its bulky body, cozily leaning against the handsome man, nudging the chair a few inches.
It knew the handsome man disliked its licking, it made everything slobbery and troublesome to clean, so it lowered its head, rubbing forcefully to express friendliness.
Suddenly, Leica felt breathing a bit difficult; the handsome man had his hand clasped around Leica’s neck, maintaining his smile.
"Don’t play cute with me, don’t you know how old you are? At your age, pretending to be cute is not suitable anymore."
Leica let out another mournful cry, its dark eyes looking at Palmer, hard to imagine a dog’s eyes can reveal so many emotions.
Joy from the master’s return, fear from the current situation, and the pleading desire for the master to save it...
"Aren’t you going to say anything?"
The handsome man nudged Palmer with his elbow, "Leica is screaming for help at you."
Palmer turned his head away, pretending not to see.
"Hmm!"
Seeing Palmer like this, Leica was so anxious it looked as if it might start talking.
Fortunately, the handsome man didn’t excessively trouble Leica, he was just signaling Palmer that during his absence, many necessary emotions could only be vented on this unfortunate dog.
Releasing Leica, it ran miserably to the corner. Aimou didn’t understand what had happened, but no matter how she called, Leica wouldn’t come over, pressing its head into the corner as if facing the wall in remorse.
"So, Palmer, you..."
The handsome man turned around, just about to inflict a new round of torture on Palmer, but found that Palmer beside him had disappeared.
Looking to the other side, Palmer was trying hard to maintain a calm expression, but his brisk steps undoubtedly betrayed his mood.
Seeing his partner’s flustered look, Bologue was slightly surprised. Even when he was called by Lebius for a private conversation, Palmer didn’t act like this.
"Bologue!"
Palmer directly interrupted the conversation between Bologue and Fuen, he didn’t even glance at his old man, speaking to Bologue somewhat like a plea for help.
"As expected! I’m still not ready! This is terrible!"
Bologue was a bit confused, "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Palmer suddenly grabbed Bologue’s hand, looking at him nervously, "How about we go back!"
"Go back? Go where?" Fuen said at this time, "This is your home after all."
Palmer couldn’t be bothered with his bastard father, seeing no reaction from Bologue, Palmer directly reached for Bologue’s pocket.
Bologue swiftly took a step back, preventing Palmer from succeeding, "What do you want?"
"Keys! The keys to the Undying Club!"
Palmer was already talking nonsense, "I suddenly remembered, I made plans with Serey to play board games tonight!"
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from behind. Palmer didn’t need to turn around to know that the handsome man had moved the chair and leisurely stood up.
"How about this, Bologue, I’ll take you guys for a stroll, how about that? Wind Source Highlands is quite big!"
Unknowingly, nervous sweat had already covered Palmer’s face, as if he had taken an excessive amount of stimulants.
Fuen added fuel to the fire, "Son, your expression looks a bit awful."
"You... damn it, Bologue, I can still barely take you flying for a bit, you haven’t experienced flying, have you? It feels amazing!"
Palmer looked hysterical.
The sound of hard soles hitting the marble floor brought crisp footsteps, the other party approached unhurriedly, like a leisurely advancing cat, or a stalking lion.
"Bologue!"
This time, Palmer just called out Bologue’s name, his voice carrying countless words, his eyes hiding nearly a thousand-word essay, crashing together with Bologue’s gaze.
Bologue hesitated for a moment, then broke into a smile.
Seeing Bologue’s expression, Palmer seemed to grasp at a lifeline, "We are good brothers, right?"
"Of course, we’re good brothers, good partners."
Bologue nodded in agreement, pulled a key from his pocket, and placed it into Palmer’s palm.
In an instant, Palmer was on the verge of tears, this time genuinely experiencing the brilliance of humanity in Bologue.
Grabbing the key, Palmer bypassed Bologue, with no intention to even put up a facade, he quickly dashed away.
Rushing to the dining room door, Palmer trembled as he inserted the key into the lock, reminiscent of scenes in horror movies where protagonists struggle to fit a key into the lock.
Back then, Palmer had mocked them for shaking like Parkinson’s patients, yet now Palmer’s hand trembled even more than theirs.
Fortunately, at the final moment, Palmer finally managed to insert the key into the lock, his tense face relaxing, like finally reaching the bathroom after holding it in all day, revealing a sense of serenity akin to stepping into the Celestial Kingdom.
Palmer decided that once back at the Undying Club, he would give Serey a big hug, and if necessary, even slyly kiss Serey, having never missed this Night Race Lord so much.
Twisting the key, he opened the door, the bright corridor unfolded before his eyes.
Palmer took a deep breath, closed the door, and opened it again, behind the door was not the writhing darkness of Curved Path Shuttling, but only a familiar and bright corridor.
He glanced at the key, it was the key to their home security door.
"Bologue! You tricked me!"
Palmer screamed.
No time to reprimand Bologue for this damned act, Palmer was about to flee the scene, but before he could step, a strong, cold hand grasped his nape, effortlessly lifting Palmer like a young animal.
The screeching sound of his soles against the floor signaled Palmer’s final attempt at resistance.
"Just returned and you’re already leaving? Is your work that busy?"
The familiar voice sounded behind him, accompanied by warm breath on his neck, Palmer felt a bitter chill extending from his spine throughout his body.
The other party taunted Palmer with interest, "Huh? Why not greet me, didn’t we have lots of fun on the phone?"
Palmer stiffly turned his head, trying hard to force a smile, then gathered all his strength.
"Va–si–lina–!"
His voice was filled with fear and tremble.
Vasilina pressed Palmer’s head, kissed him on the cheek, then mimicked Palmer’s tone in response, with a playful echo in her voice.
"Pa–lmer–!"