Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 382 - 234: We Have Nothing, So This Life Must Be Lived Fearlessly

The room was dark, with the curtains drawn, pitch black.

Her feet against the floor, a chill seeping through, ice cold.

Nora Scott proactively wrapped her arms around Pedro Langley’s waist, stepping onto his shoes, entrusting her whole weight to him. She laughed, "Are all businessmen so smooth nowadays?"

"I don’t talk like them."

Pedro Langley gently huffed, a bit petulantly.

Then, he added, "I’m speaking the truth."

Nora said nothing, burying her face in his shoulder, pinching his waist.

"Not wearing shoes?"

Through his shoes, Pedro Langley could still feel it—soft and gentle upon the arch of his foot, transmitting a faint warmth.

"Mm."

Just as Nora’s word fell.

Pedro Langley bent over, suddenly sweeping her off the ground by the waist.

Nora was startled, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.

"With your body like it is now, you still want to run around barefoot?"

He teased with a tone of helplessness, but hit just the right note to keep Nora from being truly annoyed at his "offense."

Nora snorted with disdain, not bothering to argue with him.

The room was dark, but their outlines could be vaguely discerned. Pedro Langley carried her to the bed, bending to tuck her back into the still-warm sheets.

As soon as Nora lay down, the man leaned over, pressing half his body upon her.

"So heavy."

Nora complained, pushing him aside with disdain.

With Nora’s strength, tossing away a couple of Pedros would be no trouble at all. It’s just that though her mouth spoke disdainfully, her hands couldn’t bring themselves to actually push him away forcefully, opting for a simple nudge instead.

Pedro Langley’s shameless persistence was no joke, leaning on her shoulder while his hand pinched her arm.

Through a thin layer of fabric, her arm was slender enough for him to encircle with one hand. Her skin was elastic, both soft and resilient, a delightful feel.

"Haven’t you grown any wider over the years?"

"Naturally beautiful."

Whether "naturally beautiful" is true or not is really hard to say.

Nora, bustling outside all year round, with significant physical exertion, found that no matter how much she ate during strenuous activities, she never gained any weight over these years.

Of course, she was not thin to the point of malnutrition either.

Having trained in martial arts since youth, combined with proper exercise, she didn’t have bulky muscles but maintained a balanced figure with soft and resilient skin, always in peak condition.

Where other beauties might have delicate, icy skin and bones lending a hint of allure, in her case, it all turned into resilience.

Pedro Langley couldn’t help but linger upon contact.

"They say on the internet that Zero runs wild across war zones and dangerous, uninhabited territories?"

Fearing she might chase him away, Pedro Langley quickly sought out a topic of conversation.

"Those unrealistic rumors..." Nora paused, smiling as she said, "seem somewhat true."

"Give me a chance to learn more," Pedro Langley inquired with genuine curiosity.

Nora found it peculiar, "In the middle of the night, you want me to tell you stories?"

Pedro Langley’s voice raspy yet teasing, "Or else do something else?"

"..."

Raising an eyebrow, Nora pinched him.

She lifted her head slightly, saying, "Hand."

Pedro Langley sensibly adjusted his position, extending his arm to let her rest her head on.

"Have you watched Max Bell’s ’Survival in the Wild’?" After a moment’s thought, Nora asked.

"Mm."

Nora felt a bit proud, "I’ve been to nearly all the places he’s filmed at."

"Tsk——"

Suddenly pinched by Pedro Langley, Nora gasped, casting a cold glance over, "Are you looking for trouble?"

Pedro Langley held her tightly, his lowered voice carrying an ambiguous meaning, "To be able to see you alive, it’s really rare."

"..."

Nora fell silent for a moment.

"Young man, life has been too comfortable for you," after a moment, Nora teased him, saying slowly, "those who walk barefoot aren’t afraid of those who wear shoes. We came into the world with nothing, so in this lifetime, we should live freely and fearlessly."

Every path she walks is a new Chapter in life;

every hurdle she crosses equates to a rebirth.

"Mm," Pedro Langley was always convinced by her novel theories, and after a pause, he asked, "What have crises and dilemmas brought you?"

Nora paused to think, then said, "A reverence for life."

She recounted an adventure.

In the glacial region, she traveled with several experienced adventurers; one was buried in an avalanche, they didn’t even find the body, while another fell into a crevasse, yet survived thanks to determination and resistance until they were rescued.

When contending against nature, crises lurk around every corner.

Hope and death, like shadows, cling to one another.

In society, one might be knocked down and allowed to wallow, collapse, and lose themselves, but in the face of actual death crises, a single second of giving up could mean a lifetime coming to an end.

One can be insignificant and helpless, but also resilient and tenacious.

"...What kind of look is that?"

In the darkness, Nora saw the deep, dark pupils of Pedro Langley, filled with complex, indeterminate thoughts and intense emotions, leaving her momentarily breathless.

Pedro Langley whispered, "Heartache."

"..."

Nora gently pressed her lips together.

Pedro Langley added, "Sadness."

"..."

Nora Scott was slightly stunned.

He held her, sighing softly, "How much effort, how much time do I need to spend, to replace these vivid memories of yours?"

Unlike ordinary people, Nora Scott’s life was overly fantastic.

Any random experience she mentioned could leave people in awe, enough to be a lifelong topic of conversation.

But these thrilling experiences had nothing to do with him.

"You don’t need to bother." Nora Scott toyed with the zipper of his jacket, speaking leisurely, "You’ve saved me many times."

"Hmm?"

Pedro Langley squinted his eyes.

Sav... saving her...

How could he not know?

"In the wild, the most frightening thing is having no will to survive..." As she spoke, Nora’s voice lowered a bit. She lifted her eyelids and quickly glanced at Pedro Langley’s face, then spoke in an extremely rapid and light tone, "I’ve always carried your lucky charm bracelet."

She didn’t speak bluntly.

But the meaning was crystal clear.

At certain crisis moments, even if he wasn’t by her side, he became her motivation to keep on living.

Pedro Langley’s heart warmed, as if something exploded in his mind, crackling and buzzing. An indescribable emotion quickly surged through his body, making even his fingers, which were embracing her, tremble slightly.

"Don’t take it too sentimentally, I was just thinking, since you’re my first love... if I died, I wouldn’t even see if your wife is prettier than me..." Nora Scott added slowly.

"Stubborn."

Pedro Langley interrupted her, unable to help but laugh and cry.

"..."

Okay, she was being stubborn.

Despite being annoyed by that bracelet, after their breakup, she never actually brought herself to throw it away.

Only when one day she realized it, she found out she had kept it by her side all along.

Over time, it became a habit.

When bored, she would take out the bracelet, occasionally look at it.

Never thinking too deeply, just adequately.

Pedro Langley’s heart swelled with suppressed emotions, containing unknown grievances, "I thought you’d long forgotten me."

"Yes, most of the time, I hardly think of you."

In fact, the crises she encountered weren’t many.

Just a handful of times.

Each involved matters of life and death.

However, when reaching the physical limit, surviving purely by will, in her vision, there always appeared that bracelet, so she would often think sinisterly—

How cushy must Pedro Langley’s little life be?

Without her, it must be peaceful and comfortable, with no crises, just enjoying a life of luxury.

Has Pedro Langley found a new partner?

Whoever he found, surely isn’t as pretty as her. But... surely more suitable.

Has Pedro Langley married and had children?

A smart and reliable man like him, being a good husband and a good father must be a breeze.

Pedro Langley...

What’s he up to?

When time crawled painfully, her mind would be filled with thoughts of him, and somehow, she’d pull through.

His fingers ran through her hair, Pedro Langley asked her, "How do you think of me often?"

With a blink, Nora Scott chuckled, "If it were that weak Pedro Langley, he’d probably be dead by now."

Pedro Langley burst out laughing, "That’s too much."

"Otherwise?"

Nora Scott retorted righteously.

Grinding his teeth lightly, Pedro Langley complained, "You never remember anything good about me."

"I do," Nora Scott comforted, "When I’m eating dirt, I think of Loxley’s cooking."

"..."

Pedro Langley was amused by her, burying his laughter in her hair, his shoulders shaking.

So, Nora Scott laughed too.

"Are we done? Aren’t we too old for this..."

The two of them laughed together, and Nora Scott couldn’t help but complain, feeling her image had been damaged.

Pedro Langley propped himself up to one side, half-sitting, looking down at her from a close distance, with his fingers unconsciously playing with her long hair.

The night was seductive.

His Adam’s apple moved twice, and Pedro Langley spoke lowly, "At this rate, tonight we’ll..."

Nora Scott’s brow moved.

Then, she pushed him away, "Go to your own room!"

Pedro Langley, being cheeky, clung to her again, "I didn’t book a room."

"So stingy?"

Nora Scott was shocked.

Pedro Langley sighed, "Saving wherever possible, all the money goes into funding a wife."

"..."

The words to curse him for being slick swirled on her tongue and swallowed back down. Nora Scott said with exasperation, "You’re only allowed to lie down after showering."

"I’ll go right away."

With that said, still reluctant to part, he gave her a quick kiss before finally pulling back and leaving.