C31 A Dinner With Laura Tryon

The moment the words left her mouth, she immediately regretted them. Of course I liked computers. Everyone in the company knew me as a Nerd.

I laughed softly. “A little.” Laura couldn’t help smiling. “A little?” She pointed at the computer parts. “This doesn’t look like a little.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “You caught me.” The awkwardness immediately eased. Laura then held up several game boxes. I glanced at them. “You play games?”

Laura nodded. “Sometimes.” I looked at the collection. “That looks like more than sometimes.” Now it was Laura’s turn to feel embarrassed. We both laughed together.

Without work uniforms and office gossip surrounding us, the conversation felt surprisingly natural. I suddenly remembered something. “Your father was at Kite Flying Day.” Laura nodded.

“He talks about your team a lot.” I looked surprised. “He does?” Laura smiled. “Especially a certain employee.” I already knew who she meant. “Nerd?” Laura nodded. “Nerd.” We both laughed again.

We kept talking about computers, games, and work. We payed for our stuff and then I suddenly thought of something. “Have You eaten?” I asked softly “If you have not, why don’t we get something to eat.” “ No I have not eaten yet. Where do you want us to go?” She asked shyly.

The small restaurant near the shopping mall was quiet and comfortable. Most people preferred the larger restaurants inside the mall, leaving only a handful of customers seated outside. “There.” I pointed at the restaurant.

I felt nervous. I had never invited a girl to dinner before. Laura sat across from me, her hands resting neatly on the table. Even though she was beautiful, she did not carry herself like someone who wanted attention. She remained quiet most of the time, only speaking when necessary.

For a few seconds neither of us spoke. Eventually Laura smiled softly. “You look more nervous than when we were eating last time you solved that major security threat.” I nearly choked on my drink.

Laura laughed lightly. “Relax. It’s only just food.” I smiled awkwardly. “I don’t usually do this.” “I noticed.” She said and the two of us laughed.

Soon the food arrived. As they ate, the conversation became easier. To my surprise, Laura was interested in many of the same things he enjoyed.

She liked computers. She played online games. She enjoyed science fiction movies. She even followed technology news and enjoyed reading about new hardware releases.

Several times I found myself forgetting that I was speaking to a girl. It felt more like talking to an old friend. Laura was equally surprised.

Most people only talked to her because of her appearance. Others became nervous around her. But I spoke naturally to her.

When we were discussing computer components, operating systems, and games, her eyes lit up with excitement.

For the first time Laura found someone who shared her interests without pretending.

The dinner lasted much longer than we expected. Eventually Laura looked at the time and sighed. “It is getting late.” I nodded. “Yeah.”

For some reason neither of us wanted the evening to end. When we finally stood up, Laura looked at me and smiled. “Thank you for dinner.” I smiled back. “Thank you for agreeing.”

Laura hesitated for a moment before speaking. “If you find any interesting games, send them to me.” I froze for a second. Then quickly nodded. “I will.” Laura laughed. “Good.”

After exchanging contacts, we went our separate ways. As I watched her leave, I felt strangely happy.

Inside the Wood family villa, the atmosphere was completely different. Kelvin Wood was carrying his granddaughter in his arms. The little girl had just fallen asleep.

His movements were so careful that nobody dared disturb him. A large smile remained on his face. “Look at her.” “She is beautiful.” “Just like her mother.” For the hundredth time that week, Tracy rolled her eyes. “You’ve said that all day.”

“And I will say it again.” Kelvin laughed. “My granddaughter is beautiful.” He carefully adjusted the blanket covering the baby.

On the table beside him was another red packet. Tracy looked at it helplessly. “You already gave her one.” Kelvin nodded. “So?” “You are going to spoil her.” Kelvin looked completely unconcerned. “She deserves it.”

Nearby, Samantha watched the scene quietly. Ever since the birth, Kelvin had treated her with extraordinary kindness. He constantly checked whether she was comfortable.

He reminded the servants to prepare nutritious meals. He even personally carried the baby whenever possible. The distance between them gradually disappeared. For the first time Samantha truly felt like a member of the Wood family.

At that moment Ben entered the room. His expression darkened when he saw his father holding the baby again. Everyone else was happy. Only he remained disappointed.

He had wanted a son. Someone who would inherit the company. Someone who would continue the Wood family name.

Instead he had a daughter. Whenever he looked at the child, he felt conflicted. He did not hate her. But he could not feel the excitement everyone else felt.

Kelvin immediately noticed his expression. His face darkened. “Ben.” Ben looked up. “What?” Kelvin carefully placed the sleeping child into Samantha’s arms before standing. His voice became serious. “That is your daughter.”

“Whether she is a boy or a girl does not matter.” “She carries your blood.” “So Have You two decided on her name?”

The room became silent. Ben lowered his head. Since the child had arrived they communicated less and less, they never had a conversation about their daughter. He immediately looked up to Samantha feeling a little guilt.

Samantha smiled. “ I decided to name her Monica” she paused and said softly. “ I wasn’t sure of the surname though and for that I might need to discuss it with the two of you.”

Kelvin and Tracy glanced at each other, fully understanding what Samantha meant. So They had to get married for Monica to take her fathers surname.

That night, after returning home, I switched on my laptop. I logged into Weibo. Almost immediately I received several notifications.

Ignoring them, I opened the group chat shared with Chris and Alicia. Without thinking too much, I type. “I Met Laura Tryon at the mall today.”

A few seconds later Chris replied. “What?” Another message followed. “You met Team Manager’s daughter?” Then another. “Why didn’t you call me?” I laughed.

Before I could answer, Alicia suddenly appeared online. “Ohhh?” “You met Laura?” “Then what happened?” I typed a short response. “We had dinner.” The group chat went completely silent.

Five seconds later dozens of messages flooded the screen. I could almost imagine Chris and Alicia shouting from opposite sides of the city.

For some reason, as I stared at the screen filled with messages, I ended up smiling. It had been a very good day.