Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 273 - 184: Nora Scott, Don’t Let One Thing Trap You

At the break of dawn, at a particular moment, Marcus Shaw suddenly woke up, completely alert.

Ruffling his hair, he turned over and sat up. Vaguely, through the open window, he saw a beam of light scattering across the yard. Startled, he got up and slipped into his slippers to approach the window.

Through the glass window, across the yard, he could see the lit-up living room.

The windows of the living room were bright and clear. Marcus spotted a corner of the living room, just in time to see Nora Scott sitting on the sofa, with the quiet Rose lying in her arms, serene and calm, having no idea how long she had been sitting there.

He suddenly remembered the suggestion the nurse gave him last night—

"It might be a bit troublesome; you’d better stay home these days."

Said very tactfully, if not for the nurse’s identity, he wouldn’t even know what he was talking about.

Precisely because he was a nurse, the meaning was very clear: It’s best to go home more, to accompany the elderly, as Antonio Easton’s condition was worsening rapidly.

Marcus leaned against the wall sideways, his head slightly tilted, his gaze falling into the courtyard.

He hadn’t spent much time with Antonio Easton, only exchanging greetings at home, occasionally talking with him at Nora’s suggestion, struggling to find a topic for conversation for half a day.

But he could tell, that he was a very unusual elder.

Calm, wise, insightful.

Dragging a body tormented by illness, in fact, he was clear about everything.

Not to mention, someone as proud as Nora, who was among the top in Mechanical Techniques, sincerely rated him—a master of Mechanical Techniques. She had traveled thousands of miles, met millions of people, and never met anyone who could surpass him.

The sky was gradually lightening.

Until the moment the living room light went out, Marcus suddenly came back to his senses.

He heard the movement of the living room door opening, slightly turned to avoid the window, and hid behind the curtains.

After waiting a moment, he slightly leaned out again, seeing Nora standing at the door, holding Rose, looking up at the sky cleared after the rain.

His gaze paused, and fell on Rose, who was stretching out her paws and yawning in her arms.

The scene was tranquil and beautiful.

...

Morning, seven o’clock.

Henry Chapman, who wakes up on time, received a message from Marcus Shaw.

[Marcus Shaw]: Chapman, can Rose stay at my place for a few more days?

Henry was momentarily dazed before he remembered: Today was the day he was supposed to pick up Rose.

Ten minutes later, Marcus received a reply.

[Henry Chapman]: Okay.

*

Two days later, the weather cleared up. The morning sunlight broke through the clouds and poured down, a ground of golden light, gentle and bright, bringing a long-lost warmth.

Nora found the wheelchair that had been put away for a long time, sunbathed it for two hours, and then used it to take Antonio Easton out.

"Shall we go check out the locksmith shop?"

Leaving the yard gate, Nora was pushing the wheelchair from behind.

The sunlight was just right, falling on them, warm and cozy.

"Okay."

"Are we going to sell the locksmith shop?"

"Up to you."

After thinking for a moment, Nora said slowly, "Let’s not sell it. In the future, if I’m down and out, I can still rely on unlocking for a living."

Antonio Easton couldn’t even be bothered to lift an eyelid, "When you were little, didn’t you aspire to break and enter when learning to pick locks?"

"It seemed cool when I was young; growing up, I realized it’s illegal."

Nora’s tone was quite helpless.

Antonio Easton: "..." was speechless.

From a young age, Nora’s hobbies always had the potential to go down the path of crime. During the time Nora was hanging out outside, Antonio Easton was always worried that the next time he saw her, it would surely be in prison.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, either Nora was lucky, or she really didn’t stray, anyway, she got along quite well with the police, yet she never ended up behind bars.

This was one of the few things about Nora that brought Antonio Easton comfort.

"Though this skill is quite useful outside. Without it—"

Nora suddenly fell silent.

"Why?"

Antonio Easton asked with a sinister tone.

"Just," clearing her throat, Nora said in all seriousness, "there would be a lot less fun I guess."

Not hearing the truth from her, Antonio Easton snorted lightly.

Yet, he didn’t pursue it, nor was he angry.

Already knew what Nora would encounter while wandering outside.

Whenever talking with Bernardo Quinn and others, Antonio Easton would always lament that every time he saw Nora return with all limbs intact, he felt heaven had treated Nora kindly.

...

It was a bit far from home to the locksmith shop, usually, it would take half an hour of walking, now pushing Antonio Easton, chatting along the way, it took about an hour.

All the way, it was mostly Nora talking, with Antonio Easton occasionally adding a few words.

Nora didn’t talk much normally; she preferred to act rather than speak and especially disliked recalling the past.

But this time, she became the one who rambled on, talking to Antonio Easton about her experiences outside, interesting people, interesting events. Antonio Easton listened unperturbed, with a hint of a "child’s play" feel.

Knowing that before Antonio Easton settled down, he had ventured a lot, during a time when remote places were even more chaotic and tough, with more strange and unusual things happening. He must be a well-traveled and experienced person, just like Nora Scott, who rarely mentioned past events. Therefore, Nora Scott didn’t argue with him.

Unintentionally, they arrived in front of the lock store.

Usually, someone was hired to manage and clean it, but still, the traces of time on the storefront couldn’t be hidden.

Damaged, old, the sign faded, missing a corner, the wall mottled, the door paint peeling, raising one’s eyes, it looked like a tottering elder heading towards the sunset of life.

Nora Scott pushed the wheelchair to the door, took out the key, opened the storefront, and lifted the rolling door.

After not being ventilated for a long time, musty and stuffy air rushed in, wrapped with dust. Nora Scott took a step back and saw that the inside was exactly the same as in her memory—it had never changed.

Putting away the key, Nora Scott stuck one hand in her pocket, smiled at Antonio Easton, and said, "Old Easton, did you open a lock store for me?"

Antonio Easton, drowsily sunbathing, lifted his eyelids at the sound, gave her a disdainful look.

"The older you get, the thicker your skin."

"Admitting it isn’t a big deal," Nora Scott curved her lips into a small smile and walked behind him, "I heard that when you went on a business trip, you left me at the neighbor’s house, and the neighbor didn’t take good care of me, almost sent me through the gates of hell. That’s when you decided to open a lock shop near home."

"..."

Antonio Easton ignored her.

Nora Scott reached out and adjusted his hat, "I’ve been a burden to you, do you regret it?"

The knit hat was something Nora Scott had made out of boredom at home, ugly enough to be discarded, but then Pedro Langley had shown it to Antonio Easton ahead of time, who found it acceptable and reluctantly accepted it.

"Nora Scott, don’t always think that, the deeper your bonds with people are, the moment someone sacrifices something for you, you feel like you owe them," Antonio Easton spoke slowly, but every word was clear, "For so many years, have you done anything to disappoint me?"

"Haven’t I?"

"Not all choices are about right or wrong," Antonio Easton said deliberately, "You are brave enough, independent, strong, and always doing what you want to do. In this world, not many can do what you do."

"Oh," Nora Scott slightly bowed her head, glanced at the lock store, saw sunlight pouring in, dust particles dancing in the air, and asked again, "Then are you proud?"

"Yes."

With that light, fluttering word, he affirmed everything about Nora Scott.

Her wanton childhood; her youthful arrogance; her wandering youth...

No one spends their whole life doing the right thing.

And she has been doing what she wants to do.

That is enough for him to be proud.

With a slight movement of her nostrils, Nora Scott blinked, gently raised her head again, and pushed Antonio Easton into the lock store.

"Nora Scott."

At the moment of entering, Antonio Easton suddenly called out to her.

"Hmm?"

Nora Scott paused her action.

Antonio Easton lifted his head slightly, in the bright sunlight, seeing Nora Scott looking down against the light, he spoke leisurely, "You will encounter many things in this lifetime, so don’t be trapped by one."

The breeze blew, lifting Nora Scott’s scattered long hair, gently swaying in the sunlight.

"I know."

The gentle three words, along with the lifted breeze, blew past Antonio Easton’s ears, past the decaying lock store, towards the dazzling sunlit sky.

*

Nora Scott pushed Antonio Easton along a long road.

They went to the lock store, saw Ward at the fruit shop, passed by the park basking in the sun, briefly chatted at the doors of Sir Sutton and Sir Quinn’s homes, until one in the afternoon, when she pushed Antonio Easton back into the yard.

It was rare that after being out for so long, Antonio Easton could stay awake, and moreover, he looked relatively spirited.

After pushing him into the bedroom, Nora Scott helped him lie down on the bed properly.

"Do you have an appetite? Is there anything you’d like to eat? I can make it for you," Nora Scott asked.

"You make?"

Antonio Easton shot her a questioning look.

Nora Scott blinked, suddenly realizing—she had never cooked for Antonio Easton before.

Pausing lightly, feeling a bit guilty, Nora Scott said, "What I make, tastes okay."

"Tofu pudding?" Antonio Easton asked.

"..."

Nora Scott was rendered speechless.

After another glance at her, Antonio Easton flatly said, "Go pour a glass of water."

"Oh."

Nora Scott pursed her lips, picked up the water cup on the bedside table, and turned to walk out the door.

Before long.

After washing the cup clean and pouring more than half a cup of water, Nora Scott knocked on the door and came in.

"Old Easton—"

Nora Scott’s words came to an abrupt stop.

From the open, ventilated window, a wind gently blew in, lifting the corner of the curtain.

Antonio Easton lay on the bed, eyes closed, very peaceful.