Chapter 388: Chapter 388: Touring the Campus
At this thought, Rosalind Lynch quickly composed her expression and walked to the hotel front desk with a smile.
"Hello, I’ve booked a room online, and I’m here to check in."
After verifying the reservation information, the front desk lady said, "I’m friends with the three people who just took the elevator, could you please arrange for me to be in the room next to theirs?"
The front desk lady glanced at her, seeing that she didn’t seem like a suspicious person, she asked, "The three guests are on the 10th and 15th floors respectively, miss, which guest would you like to stay on the same floor with?"
Rosalind instinctively thought that Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant were not on the same floor, and that Ashley was staying with that man.
So she said, "Ashley Shaw, the slightly thinner one. Could you check that for me?"
"Miss Shaw is in 1001, shall I arrange for you to be in room 1002?"
"No problem, thank you."
"You’re welcome."
...
Room 1001.
After Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant returned to their room, Ariana sighed, "I really didn’t expect someone from such a well-off family to have such a pure heart."
Ashley nodded in agreement.
"He will definitely be a good cop in the future."
"Yes, only someone like him truly deserves the profession. Nowadays, it’s too stigmatized because of a few bad apples. I hope he can remove those ’bad apples’ in the future."
"Yeah, there are actually many people who genuinely want to do good for the ordinary people. Especially in their profession, the sense of collective honor is stronger than in most people. But being human, emotions and desires are inevitable, and with them comes the potential for malevolent thoughts. Yet he... I’m not worried he’ll have those thoughts."
Ariana heard this, paused for a moment, then smiled at Ashley.
"Hey, it’s been a while since I heard you praise someone like this. Even your Leo, I haven’t heard you praise him this much. What’s going on, have you fallen for him?"
Ashley curled her lips slightly, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and said, "Even if I’ve fallen for him, he has to feel the same."
"How can you be so sure he doesn’t feel the same? Out of nowhere, he helped us with such a big favor, even crossing his own principles to do so."
Ashley widened her eyes.
"You’re not going to say he has a thing for me again, are you?"
"How did you know what I was about to say?"
"I planted a bug in your stomach."
"Damn! No wonder my stomach is so big!"
Ashley burst into laughter.
"Can you stop being so funny?"
Ariana sat cross-legged on her bed.
"Alright, no jokes, let me be serious. I honestly feel Officer Hayes looks at you differently than he looks at me. Anyway, you don’t have anyone you like right now, plus everyone says college is the time for a passionate romance. If you like him, why not... go after him?"
Ashley corrected her, "He’s not an officer yet."
"But in my heart, he’s already an officer, and a good one dedicated to the people. Wait, are you changing the subject? Answer me right now!"
Ashley shrugged.
"Stop fantasizing. Someone like him probably doesn’t even have emotions or desires, just dreams of changing the world. Even if he liked me, his family background isn’t suitable for someone like me from an ordinary background."
Having married into a wealthy family once, she knew how hard it was to fit into such a family.
Forcing her way in wasn’t exactly blissful either.
However, Ariana clung to the keyword.
"You just said, even if he liked you ’too’? Does it mean you admit you have a crush on him?"
Ashley said, "Did I say that?"
"You did! Come on, be honest. Don’t you think he’s quite nice?"
Ashley was silent for a moment and then said, "He is nice, but I’m not someone who falls in love at first sight, I prefer feelings that develop over time."
"Alright then. Leave the rest to me!"
"What are you planning?"
"Haha, that’s for me to know."
"Don’t do anything foolish."
"How could I? Alright, I’m going to wash my face and change clothes, then we’ll head out to explore the university."
"Okay."
Ashley nodded, her gaze lost as she watched Ariana’s back disappearing into the bathroom.
Actually, she hadn’t been entirely truthful earlier.
To be precise, it’s not that she has a crush on Jensen Hayes; it’s more about his character that she admires.
Perhaps it’s because of PTSD from her previous relationship, or maybe she’s inherently an insecure person.
Thus, she lacks a sense of safety, and as a result, she is very cautious about relationships.
But Jensen Hayes’s character made her feel that, if he ever chose to be with a girl, he would never leave or betray her.
So, in essence, she wasn’t attracted to the person but rather to the concept of someone providing her with complete security.
But regardless, it was a good start.
At least, her world was no longer colored only by Warren Prescott; other men started to have presence in her world too.
Other men were no longer gray in comparison to Warren Prescott.
Ariana was changing clothes in the bathroom, while Ashley was changing in the room.
Once they both finished, they left the hotel together.
In this year, Mobike shared bicycles were available all over Aethelgard, especially in University City, where you could see bikes of various colors every few meters.
The two of them slowly cycled towards Aethelgard Medical University following the navigation.
The school gate was smaller than they had imagined, perhaps because the school year hadn’t started, and the campus felt a bit deserted.
They explained their situation to the security guard, hoping to be let in for a preliminary visit.
The security uncle waved his hand and said, "No problem, go ahead and take a look. You’re not the first ones, more and more new students have been coming to check it out lately."
They thanked the security uncle and rode their shared bicycles into the school.
Once inside, they realized that although the gate wasn’t big, the interior was indeed quite spacious.
They cycled for an hour and still hadn’t covered the whole campus.
Of course, part of this was because Ariana wanted to rest frequently.
"Hurry! No more resting, I think there’s a convenience store ahead. We can rest there."
Ariana was already sweating, but hearing this, her eyes lit up.
She raised a hand.
"Permission to report, sir. I want to apply for a coke."
Ashley gave her a look, "What about slimming down for your crush?"
Ariana immediately deflated.
"I’ll slim down! I’ll buy water, mineral water okay?"
"Okay! Let’s go!"
Ashley stepped on the pedal and rode far ahead in an instant.
Ariana gritted her teeth, struggling to keep up.
Skinny people are so annoying! They never exercise but aren’t exhausted after cycling for so long.
Why did the heavens make her a chubby person?
However, when Ariana finally reached the convenience store, she was told by Ashley, who had gotten there earlier, that it was closed.
"According to the notice, it will open on the first day of school."
Ariana instantly felt crushed.
"I just wanted a bottle of water, a bottle of mineral water. Does heaven want me to die?"
Ashley was about to comfort her when a male student walked over from the opposite side of the road.
"Are you looking to buy drinks?"
The boy had a clean and handsome face, with a clear smile.
A badge that read "Student Council" hung around his neck.