The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 689

Walter fell asleep in an instant, and he was already in dreamland as Novalee was still in a dilemma.

Novalee sighed as she heard Walter breathing steadily.

She took a deep breath and helped him up before taking off his dirty clothes.

Novalee tried not to gape at his figure, but she still noticed his muscular body.

She didn't expect Walter to be so well-built as he seemed weak and delicate.

Novalee's face turned red with embarrassment when she realized what she was thinking about, but Walter was fortunately asleep. If not, she would feel extremely awkward.

Novalee put Walter on the bed before using a hot towel to clean his body. However, her face was burning with embarrassment.

She had never done such things for a man before.

Having finished, Novalee was entirely exhausted and her clothes were drenched in sweat, though she didn't realize it until this moment.

Walter remained asleep as Novalee looked at him.

Then, she realized that he was quite handsome under good lighting.

However, she shook her head hard.

What was she thinking about?

Walter had only Ms. Shen in his heart.

Novalee immediately came back to her senses, and she went to the bathroom to wash Walter's clothes.

After she finished cleaning, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

Novalee tidied up Walter's room before going back to her room.

She was so tired!

Then, she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Walter got up, but he couldn't find his clothes. The moment he saw his clothes hanging on the balcony, the corners of his mouth twitched.

It was obvious who washed them, and he didn't even need to ask.

Novalee hand-washed Walter's suit out of kindness.

However, Walter's suit shouldn't be washed by hand because of the material.

He wouldn't be able to wear his clothes now even if Novalee didn't ruin it.

Walter took a deep breath as he convinced himself that Novalee did not do it on purpose, and she washed it out of kindness.

When he turned around, he saw a hangover cure as well as a bottle of hot water on the table and he guessed that Novalee must have left them there.

He knew that it was already past 12 o'clock at night when he came back, and he clearly remembered that he drank a lot, so he couldn't recall anything that happened after entering his room.

He hurriedly ran to the bathroom to have a look, but he found that it was all clean and there was no bad odor at all.

Novalee must have cleaned it up.

At the thought of this, Walter called the receptionist to ask them to buy two sets of suits and send them to him while he went to the bathroom to take a shower.

He was sure that nothing could have happened between him and Novalee as he wasn't a fool, and he would be able to feel it from his body if it happened.

At that moment, he thought that it would be nice to have a secretary like Novalee so that he wouldn't be in a disheveled state.

After the shower, Walter ate the hangover cure before drinking the hot water. After that, his stomach felt warm and comfortable.

It had been a long time since he last felt like this.

He could vaguely remember that it was his mother who had provided him such warmth when he was younger.

Walter immediately called the sanatorium at the thought of this.

"How's my mom doing lately?"

"Mrs. Song's condition hasn't changed much, but she has been sleeping more frequently and eating lesser recently. Don't worry as we have been keeping an eye on her, Mr. Song." Walter felt relieved when he heard what the nurse said, and he gave her a few more reminders before hanging up the phone.

At this moment, Walter's doorbell rang.

Then, he opened the door in his pajamas.

Novalee had already bought breakfast and she spoke with a smile seeing that Walter was awake. "I bought millet porridge for you to warm your stomach as you have drunk too much wine. It would benefit you if you eat some grains in the morning."

Novalee had rosy cheeks with droplets of sweat along her hairline, but the bright smile on her tanned appearance warmed Walter's heart as he looked at her.

He leaned against the wall as he said with surprise, "You remind me of my mother."

The corners of Novalee's mouth twitched.

"Am I that old?"

"My mother isn't old, and she's pretty."

Walter suddenly had the urge to tell her everything on his mind.

He wanted to have a chat with Novalee for a short moment, and it was because of her warmth and cheerfulness or the loneliness that he had experienced all this while. "Come in, I'll show you my mother's photos."

Walter took Novalee's hand and pulled her into the room before sitting on the bed.

He took out his phone and showed his mother's photos to Novalee.

"Look, I didn't lie to you, did I? Would you be able to tell that my mother has a son of my age if I didn't tell you beforehand?"

Walter said proudly.

On the other hand, Novalee found similarities between the photos.

She looked at Walter and asked cautiously, "Is your mother sick? All her photos are taken in the hospital."

Walter's expression became gloomy at that instant.

He hesitated for a few moments before saying in a low voice, "My mother has been in the sanatorium for almost twenty years."

"What illness does she have?"

"She doesn't have good mental health."

Walter had the urge to drink again as he spoke.

Novalee saw that he wasn't willing to talk about it anymore, so she quickly served him the porridge and said, "Eat up, or else you'll have an upset stomach."

Walter was stunned.

Other women would be eager to know more about Walter's private life as this was the only way for them to get closer to him, but Novalee didn't do so and she changed the topic in an instant.

Walter felt more at ease and relaxed at that moment.

"Your personality isn't bad, and it's no wonder why Mango thinks so highly of you. I wonder which brat will be lucky enough to marry you in the future."

"Didn't you say that I wouldn't be able to get a boyfriend?"

Novalee used Walter's words against him.

At that instant, Walter was stunned.

However, Novalee didn't argue with him any further as she got up and helped Walter tidy up the bed.

"You don't have to do it as the cleaner will tidy it up later, and they will also provide breakfast in the hotel."

"Oh."

Novalee responded, but she still made the bed neatly and it reminded Walter of his military life.

"People who don't know you would think that you've served in the military."

Novalee halted her actions for a moment before she said with regret, "I wanted to enlist, but I'm not tall enough. In fact, I'm really interested in the military, and I think I shall marry a soldier in the future." "What's so good about being a soldier?"

"Of course it's great! No one would want to recruit a person like you to become one."

Novalee was slightly angry as she thought that Walter was badmouthing the military because he couldn't get in.

She was starting to have a good impression of Walter, yet it didn't last for more than a few minutes.

Having heard what Novalee said, Walter laughed as he said, "No one wants to recruit me? You must be kidding! I would probably be a commander now if I didn't ask for voluntary discharge." "Yeah, keep bragging."

Novalee didn't believe what Walter said.

However, Walter didn't argue with her as he felt warm and homely while watching Novalee walk around his room and tidy up his stuff.

"Why didn't you collect your clothes now that they're dry?"

Novalee took Walter's suit in as she noticed that they were still hanging on the balcony under the sun.

Walter's expression darkened slightly.

"Novalee."

"Yes?"

"Shall we set some rules between us?"

Novalee was stunned at Walter's words.

"What rules?"

"Don't wash my clothes in the future." "Why? Did I not clean it properly? I didn't use the washing machine and I washed it with my hands, so it's literally spotless."

Novalee showed Walter's suit to him as she wanted to prove that she did a good job washing his clothes.

Walter wanted to tell Novalee that the suit had become worthless after she washed it. He was about to say it, but he suddenly stopped as he looked at Novalee's sincere expression.

"Nevermind."

Walter found it strange as he didn't know why he held back his words.

"I'm right, isn't it? I think I did wash it properly... I'll go back to my room now so that you can change your clothes."

Novalee left the room having said that.

Walter looked at his suit and put it in his bag without a second thought.

The hotel staff brought him the clothes he asked for, and he changed into them before leaving his room.

At that moment, Zendaya was standing right in front of his door.

Walter immediately felt annoyed seeing her.

"Are you a stalker? Why do you keep pestering me?"

"Mr. Song, I would like to reintroduce myself to you in a proper manner. My name is Zendaya and I'm a jewelry designer. Your company hired me some time ago, and I'm wondering if you still remember me?" Zendaya introduced herself politely with a smile.

Walter finally knew why her name sounded so familiar. So, it turned out that she was the jewelry designer that he was looking for.

However, he didn't respond to her enthusiastically, and he merely replied with a nod. Then, he walked past her, leaving her behind.

"Mr. Song, I accept your company's employment."

"Alright, you can go straight to my company to report for work."

Having said that, Walter went directly to Novalee's room.

"Novalee, are you done?"

Novalee quickly came out when he heard Walter calling for her.

"Yup, I'm done."

She wore a regular T-shirt and jeans, and she looked like an insurance agent.

"Go and change your clothes."

"Don't I look good?"

Novalee looked at herself in confusion.

She thought she'd dressed pretty decently.

Walter saw her reaction and he shook his head before saying, "Forget it, I'll take you to buy another more outfits."

"What a coincidence! I'm also planning to shop for clothes, so let's go together as I can give Miss Zhang some good pointers."

Zendaya hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile.

Novalee subconsciously wanted to refuse Zendaya's offer after seeing her reaction, but Walter said, "Sounds good, you can dress her up and pick some accessories for her with your unique taste." "Alright, Mr. Song, don't worry. I'll be sure to dress her up properly."

Novalee was confused, but Zendaya looked at her with a smile and said, "Miss Zhang, I'm really sorry about what happened previously as I didn't know that you were Mr. Song's friend, so please don't take my rudeness to heart. We're now in the same boat as I'm his jewelry designer, and I guess that you came on this trip with Mr. Song to settle business affairs. If that's the case, I'll take you shopping as you can't

dress up like this."

"Is that so?"

Novalee let go of what happened in an instant when she heard that Zendaya was the designer of Walter's company. She was the type of person who wouldn't stir up any trouble if the other party wasn't deliberately provoking her.

Moreover, Novalee figured that she shouldn't take it too far as Zendaya was the designer of Walter's company.

A trace of anger flashed across Zendaya's eyes as she saw that Novalee didn't mind her anymore.

"She's just a rustic country bumpkin, yet she's asking me to serve her? I'll surely teach her lesson later on!"

Zendaya had that thought deep down, but she maintained an impeccable smile on her face as she took Novalee's hand and left the hotel along with Walter.