The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

The driver placed Leila Jennings’s two bags of clothes and shoes in the trunk. After getting into the driver’s seat, he asked, "President Cole, are we ready to go?"

Nathaniel Cole, his face a cold mask, said, "Drive."

Leila Jennings politely said, "Please wait a moment."

The two of them spoke at almost the exact same time.

The driver silently glanced at President Cole in the rearview mirror.

’Whose order should I follow?’

’President Cole treats Miss Leila Jennings differently. If I don’t listen to her, he’ll probably chew me out later when he thinks about it.’

’But if I don’t listen to President Cole, he’ll chew me out right now.’

’Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I’ll just listen to Miss Leila Jennings. At least that way, there’s a slim chance I might make President Cole happy.’

Nathaniel Cole shot a cold, sharp glare at the driver. "Are you deaf? Go."

The driver looked to Leila Jennings.

Leila Jennings nodded at him in thanks, then patiently explained to Nathaniel Cole, "President Cole, I lived in that apartment for four years. Perhaps you don’t understand what a home means to an orphan, so you don’t get why I want to clean it before I leave."

The word "orphan" made Nathaniel Cole’s pupils constrict slightly. His frigid expression began to thaw.

"Most children who grow up in a welfare institution yearn for a home of their own. Even if that home is temporary and filled with painful memories, it was still a place that sheltered my body and soothed my soul during that time. I should clean it properly before I leave." Leila Jennings’s eyes were as clear as a pristine spring.

Nathaniel Cole found himself lost in them.

But he still didn’t relent.

He looked at the driver, signaling for him to go up and clean it.

The driver got out of the car again.

Leila Jennings said, "You don’t know the passcode."

The driver silently looked at Nathaniel Cole, thinking, ’President Cole, just stop arguing with Miss Leila Jennings!’

"Miss Leila Jennings wants to say a proper goodbye to her past," the driver said calmly.

Leila Jennings nodded.

Nathaniel Cole was silent for a moment, then opened his door and got out first.

He stood by the car door and urged Leila Jennings, "Are you coming or not?"

A flicker of emotion crossed Leila Jennings’s eyes. She got out immediately. Nathaniel Cole walked ahead of her.

She quickly followed.

Leila Jennings got her wish. She wiped the sofa and shoe cabinet clean, swept all the trash from the floor, threw it in the bin, tied off the garbage bag, and picked it up.

"President Cole, I’m done. We can go now."

Nathaniel Cole sneered. "Not going to take one last look?"

Leila Jennings didn’t catch the sarcasm in his tone. She shook her head and said, "It’s fine now that it’s clean. There’s nothing left to see."

"Hm." Nathaniel Cole looked at the garbage bag in her hand and reached out to help, but Leila Jennings quickened her pace ahead of him and pressed the elevator button.

The elevator doors opened with a DING.

"Just missed having to wait for the next one," Leila Jennings murmured.

Nathaniel Cole stared at her, speechless. He decided to abandon any thought of helping her with the trash.

Leila Jennings had no intention of letting him help with the trash, either. ’The renowned president of The Cole Group taking out my garbage?’

’The thought was just too surreal.’

Leila Jennings watched the floor numbers on the elevator display, descending one by one, each number moving her further and further away from her former home.

The number changed to "1".

Her eyes reddened slightly, but a faint smile touched the corners of her lips.

Nathaniel Cole’s gaze had been on her the entire time. He saw the reddened corners of her eyes and noticed the faint smile on her lips.

He remained silent.

He didn’t disturb her.

Leila Jennings stood before the green dumpster and tossed the black garbage bags in, one by one.

She pulled off her PVC gloves and threw them in as well.

Her palms were red and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

A handkerchief was offered to her.

Leila Jennings turned her head to look.

It was the pocket square from Nathaniel Cole’s suit.

"A pocket square isn’t for wiping sweat. It’s a decorative accessory."

"You seem to know a lot," Nathaniel Cole retorted, then immediately regretted it. He didn’t have to guess to know that Leila Jennings had learned that from taking care of Sean Sinclair.

The mere mention of Sean Sinclair made his blood boil.

"Let’s go already."

Nathaniel Cole stared at her with a heavy gaze.

Leila Jennings immediately started walking, got back in the car, and Nathaniel Cole followed.

The car had just started moving.

Nathaniel Cole stared at her face and said, "You’re a mess."

The driver immediately passed back a pack of wet wipes.

Nathaniel Cole pulled out a wipe with a deadpan expression. He gripped Leila Jennings’s chin with one hand, holding her head still, and started scrubbing her face vigorously with the other.

The man was very strong.

Leila Jennings’s face scrunched up as she tried to pull away.

"Don’t move." He warned her with his eyes and continued scrubbing with the wipe until her face was red.

Nathaniel Cole said, "Maybe this will teach you a lesson. Don’t just do any menial task."

He let go.

Leila Jennings’s chin was a little sore, but her face was fine; he hadn’t broken the skin.

She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. Nathaniel Cole let her look.

After just a few seconds, Leila Jennings averted her gaze and started fiddling with her phone.

’Cherry, let’s make a deal. From now on, don’t ask President Cole to help with small things like this,’ she typed.

’President Cole’s brow has been furrowed ever since he saw me.’

Cherry Cole was busy and didn’t have time to reply to her message.

Cleaning was tiring. Leila Jennings started to feel drowsy in the car. Her eyelids drooped slightly, then shot open again the next second.

A moment later, her eyelids would start to close, only to open again.

Each time, her head would give a small nod.

Nathaniel Cole raised his lightly clenched left fist to his lips, suppressing a faint smile.

He turned his head to the side.

His peripheral vision was still fixed on Leila Jennings’s face.

This time, Leila Jennings had fallen asleep.

Nathaniel Cole quietly instructed the driver, "Slow down. Turn the heat up a bit."

The driver slowed the car and turned up the temperature.

The car went over a speed bump. Although it was just a slight jolt, Nathaniel Cole’s sharp gaze immediately shot to the driver.

The driver pretended not to see it.

Both of them instinctively looked at the sleeping woman.

Leila Jennings was sleeping soundly.

’She must be exhausted.’

After another moment, Nathaniel Cole suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. A soft head leaned against him, silky hair spilling over his suit, the tips just brushing the palm of his hand.

Nathaniel Cole’s body stiffened slightly.

He only dared to glance at Leila Jennings from the corner of his eye. Her hair covered half of her small face. Through the thin strands, he could vaguely make out the delicate bridge of her nose and her faintly red lips.

Nathaniel Cole’s fingers twitched. He gently touched the strands of her hair that had fallen onto his palm, his gaze suddenly deepening.

The car stopped at the gate of No. 9 Norsen.

The driver tactfully got out, quietly opening and closing the door before leaving.

Only the two of them were left in the car.

Nathaniel Cole remained completely still.

「The sun sank below the western hills.」

Leila Jennings slowly stirred awake. She opened her eyes to find the driver gone.

Her eyes darted around before she realized her position and abruptly lifted her head.

THUD.

The top of her head slammed into Nathaniel Cole’s nose.

Leila Jennings: "!"

Nathaniel Cole pressed his lips together, raised a hand to cover his nose, and shot a dark look at Leila Jennings.

Leila Jennings said awkwardly, "I’m so sorry, President Cole."

The words had barely left her mouth.

She saw fresh blood seeping out from between Nathaniel Cole’s fingers. Her eyes instantly widened.

Nathaniel Cole felt the nosebleed too.

Leila Jennings immediately reached out, tilted his chin up, and calmly instructed, "Head back, tilt it up. I’ll call Dr. Dalton."

While Nathaniel Cole was wondering why she had Caleb Dalton’s contact information, Leila Jennings was already on the phone.

"Dr. Dalton, President Cole has a nosebleed. No. 9 Norsen."

’Tilting his head back won’t be enough.’ As she was about to tear a tissue to plug his nose, she suddenly spotted a clump of young wormwood in the overgrown yard.

She recalled an old folk remedy.

She walked over, plucked some wormwood leaves, mashed them on a rock, rolled them into two small plugs, and presented them to Nathaniel Cole.

Nathaniel Cole looked at the two caterpillar-like things, his entire being radiating rejection.

His hands were already covered in blood.

Leila Jennings didn’t have time for that. She bent down close to him and tried to pull his hand away.

She failed the first time.

She tugged a second time. Seeing the blood still pouring out, she cried out his full name in a panic.

"Nathaniel Cole."

Her tone was harsh.

But Nathaniel Cole’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.