Forbidden Passion
Chapter 698 Noah's Feelings

Vanessa was scrolling through the trending topics at Queen Entertainment, looking seriously pissed. "Madison, where the hell did you find these paid posters?" she snapped. Madison, standing by the desk, saw Vanessa's frustration and sighed. "Noah's fans have gotten a lot smarter since the last scandal. They're not falling for it."

"That's because you haven't hit them where it hurts," Vanessa said, slamming her hand on the table.

She had spent a fortune to get this scandal trending, but it was doing nothing.

Madison, looking worried, said, "Vanessa, Noah's fans don't care about his scandals. They think Phoebe is young and beautiful, and she's his boss. If they were together, the fans would be cool with it."

Vanessa's face twisted with anger. "I don't buy that fans are that selfless. Madison, dig up some dirt on Noah. I want him taken down."

Madison nodded, "Okay, I got it."

She turned and left the office.

Outside, the assistant gave Madison a worried look. Madison just waved her off and headed back to her own office.

Madison couldn't understand why Vanessa was so obsessed with Phoebe. Sure, Phoebe used to be Theodore's wife and was in Vanessa's way, but now that Phoebe and Theodore were divorced, why was Vanessa still gunning for her? Phoebe had just wrapped up the opening ceremony, and the director was signaling the main cast to get ready for promotional photos.

Alfonso came over and whispered, "Ms. Ziegler, you and Noah are trending again."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes.

Alfonso quickly handed her the phone. Phoebe swiped through the screen, taking in the situation.

She handed the phone back to Alfonso and said calmly, "Talk to the director. Let's release a set of promotional photos while this is trending. Might as well ride the wave." Alfonso was taken aback.

He thought Phoebe would be mad. After the hospital incident, they had been careful to keep Phoebe and Noah out of the spotlight together, afraid they'd trend again. "I'll get on it." Alfonso hurried off.

With some free time and no one paying attention to her, Phoebe wandered deeper into the campus to a familiar spot where she could chill. She ended up at the sports field.

It was the weekend, and some athletes were training on the field.

With nothing else to do, Phoebe walked to the stands and picked a random seat.

On the soccer field, a bunch of young students were running around, their hair flying in the sunlight. Phoebe was so caught up in watching them that she didn't notice the soccer ball heading straight for her. Shouts of surprise rang out as the ball got closer.

Phoebe snapped out of it, but it was too late to dodge.

She stared blankly at the ball when suddenly a large, well-defined hand appeared and blocked it.

Phoebe looked up to see Noah skillfully catching the ball and tossing it back to the student who had come to get it.

The student kept apologizing and thanking them. Noah waved it off and, after watching the student run off, sat down next to Phoebe.

Noah pulled two ice creams out of his school uniform pocket and flashed a charming smile. "Want some ice cream?"

The September weather was still hot, and the ice cream looked incredibly refreshing in the sunlight.

Phoebe reached out, took one, unwrapped it, and took a small bite.

She tilted her head and looked at Noah, who was still in makeup. "Finished with the promo photos?"

Noah leaned back, his long legs awkwardly stretched out in the narrow aisle. He replied lazily, "Yeah."

"How'd it go?"

Still in his school uniform, Noah glanced at Phoebe and said, "Kinda sucks that my grades were too bad to get into Kedora High School back then."

He looked at the boys sweating on the field and said regretfully, "If I had gotten in, I would've been your junior."

Phoebe smiled faintly, "You're my junior now."

Noah suddenly turned to her, looking at her seriously. His gaze was more intense than the sun, making Phoebe's heart race.

The next second, Noah asked nervously, "Phoebe, do you really not remember me at all?"

Phoebe was stunned for a moment. "What?"

Noah took a deep breath. He had been waiting for Phoebe to remember him, but after more than three years, she still hadn't.

He didn't want to wait anymore.

"Do you remember a student named Oscar? You tutored him for a while."

Phoebe stared at Noah for a while. Just as Noah's eyes began to dim, she finally snapped out of it and said, "You were that rebellious teenager?"

Noah's handsome face darkened, his thin eyelids tightening. "How was I rebellious?"

"Sorry," Phoebe said with a hint of laughter. She carefully examined Noah. No wonder he looked familiar the first time she saw him. "It really is you. Where did you move to later?" Back then, Phoebe hadn't seen Noah many times.

Later, Noah moved away, and she focused on her studies, gradually forgetting the student she had tutored.

If Noah hadn't mentioned it today, she might never have remembered.

Fate was often unfair. The person Noah had been thinking about might not even remember him. He felt both angry and melancholic.

But seeing the concern in Phoebe's eyes, his heart melted, and he resigned himself to fate.

"My parents divorced, and I went with my dad to another place. But I could never forget you, so I applied to a university in Kedora, just to see you again," Noah said.

Phoebe smiled gently, "I'm honored to be your guiding light, and thank you for always remembering me."

Noah silently watched her until the ice cream in his hand melted and dripped.

Phoebe quickly reminded him, "The ice cream is melting. Eat it quickly."

Noah snapped out of it, seeing Phoebe smiling as she ate her ice cream. The sunlight fell on her, and she still looked like the simple and beautiful student from ten years ago. Noah sighed. Seeing Phoebe point to his ice cream and remind him again, "It's melting. Eat it quickly."

He smiled, swallowing the bitterness of his unrequited love along with the sweetness of the ice cream. This was enough for now.

As long as Phoebe was by his side and he could see that she was doing well, it didn't matter to him whether they could be together or not.

They sat in the stands, watching a soccer game.

It wasn't until Alfonso came running over that Phoebe and Noah got up and left the stands.

Phoebe threw the trash into the bin, and the three of them walked back to the crew together.

Phoebe dropped Noah off at the crew, greeted the directors, and asked them to take care of Noah before leaving in the RV.