Chapter 7
The puppy had to stay at the hospital for three days.
So the tall guy and I left together.
On the sidewalk outside, he stood under the streetlamp counting his talismans one by one, making sure all twenty were still there.
I watched him and laughed.
“They’re just pieces of paper. Do you really have to treasure them that much?”
“You don’t understand,” he said gravely. “In critical moments, these are lifesaving artifacts.”
I stepped closer and studied his face.
He blinked.
“What?”
I held his gaze.
Then I tilted my head.
“Can you see things other people can’t?”
He jerked.
For a second, genuine alarm flashed through his eyes.
Then, slowly, when he realized I was neither scared nor disgusted, he relaxed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.
“A little.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“Yin-yang eyes?”
His eyes widened.
“You too—”
I lifted one finger and pointed to my left eye.
“This one judges people.”
Then I pointed to my right eye.
“This one holds grudges.”
He stared at me.
Then he laughed.
A real laugh this time.
It pulled a dimple into his cheek.
I raised one brow and poked it.
“No need to worry. I’m not going to treat you like a freak.”
He looked at me for a second too long before answering in a small voice, “Usually I can’t see much. I wear a really powerful bracelet most of the time. A master gave it to me when I was little. It suppresses bad energy and keeps me safe. But today I sent it out for maintenance, so…”
I felt a little sorry for him.
“So without the bracelet, you can see everything?”
He nodded.
I considered that.
“Even when you shower? What if little ghosts peek at you in the bathroom?”
His face turned green.
“Please stop talking.”
I laughed all the way until the rideshare arrived.
Before getting in, I waved.
“I’m heading back to campus. You should go home too.”
He nodded, then suddenly called after me.
“Summer.”
I looked back.
He hesitated.
Then, awkwardly, “Didn’t you have a date tonight? You skipped it. Won’t your handsome guy be upset?”
I looked at him for a few seconds.
Then I smiled.
“So what should I do about that?”
He blinked and said nothing.
I waved once more and got in the car.
On the ride back, I opened my phone and saw a message from H sent hours earlier.
Emergency came up. Can’t do the handoff tonight. I’ll have a courier deliver the talismans tomorrow.
I stared at it, then typed:
What kind of emergency makes you stand people up?
H replied after a pause.
Does a lifelong romantic crisis count?
I pressed my lips together to hide my smile.
At least he had some sense.
When I got back to the dorm, everyone was asleep.
The next morning, I woke up to a shriek right beside my bed.
“Wynne Summers! When did you get back? I thought you were staying out all night!”
My best friend was leaning over me with a face full of shameless curiosity.
“What?” I mumbled. “What am I supposed to explain?”
“What do you think?” she cried, shaking my arm. “This morning my boyfriend texted me and said his friend wants your contact info. He asked if I could send him your profile. What happened last night? Weren’t you meeting a handsome guy? How did it end up being him?”
I sat up, yawned, and shook my head.
She froze.
“You’re not giving it to him?”
“It’s not that.”
I stretched and said lazily, “He already has it.”
It took three full seconds for the meaning to hit her.
Then she lunged at me.
“You two sneaky traitors! When did this happen?”
Half-dizzy, I grabbed my phone and sent H a message.
Good morning.
No reply.
A few minutes later, still nothing.
I frowned and sent a puppy peeking sticker.
The signal spun.
Then a red exclamation point popped up.
I stared at it.
That idiot.
He had blocked me.