In the afternoon, Tina bought some fruits from the supermarket downstairs and came to Luca’s room.
After Luca opened the door, Tina glanced at her and asked, “Is Mr. Crawford still inside?”
“He left quite some time ago,” Luca explained hastily in case Tina misunderstood something.
Seeing that Luca was quite nervous, Tina waved her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell anyone what happened earlier
this morning. I know Mr. Crawford’s character, and I don’t think he’d do anything out of line.”
Tina walked in, and Luca closed the door.
Tina placed the bag of fruits on the coffee table and said, “I was at the supermarket buying some fruits earlier, and I accidentally
bought some extra. Here, have some.”
“Thank you.” Luca did not refuse. She knew that Tina had specifically bought the fruits for her.
“Right, do you feel better now? I was so afraid earlier. If I had known that you can’t swim, I wouldn’t have goaded you into
competing.” Tina felt guilty even though she was not to blame for what happened to Luca.
If Luca had not stepped into the pool, she would not have nearly drowned.
“I don’t blame you. I didn’t do my warm-up exercises.” Luca did not expect her leg would cramp either.
After all, she only wanted to participate and was not interested in winning. That was why she did not make adequate
preparations before stepping into the pool.
“I’m glad that you’re fine. Right, do you want to go hiking tomorrow?” Tina asked.
“Hiking?” Luca frowned. She would rather stay in the hotel. If she wanted to visit some attractions near the hotel, she would
rather do so herself.
“Yup, Mount Jadeite near here is a famous attraction. I’ve heard that the scenery there is breathtaking this time of the year. Do
you want to go?” Tina asked.
“I don’t think I’d want to go. I don’t like crowded places,” Luca said while shaking her head. She would not want to join unless it
was mandatory.
“Don’t overthink it. There won’t be that many people this time. I’d love to go there, but the other people find it too tiring, so I
haven’t found anyone else to go with me. There are cable car stations along the mountain. If you’re tired of walking, we can take
the cable car to the top. Why don’t you come with me, Dr. Craw?” When Tina cleaned Luca earlier in the morning, she noticed
that Luca had a good physique resulting from working out.
She guessed that Luca must love sports and the outdoors.
The other female colleagues are not fond of tiring activities, and she did not want to invite any male colleagues. That was why
Tina wanted to invite Luca; it was better than going alone.
“I think I’ll make my decision when I see my condition tomorrow,” Luca said.
She was quite tempted by the invitation. However, her leg had just suffered a cramp, and she did not know if it would still be
painful by tomorrow morning.
It was then that Tina remembered Luca had suffered a leg cramp earlier. “Right! I’m so sorry, Dr. Craw. I forgot.”
“If my leg is fine by tomorrow, I’ll go with you,” Luca said. She could not make the promise just yet.
If her leg was still hurting, she would not torture herself by hiking.
In any case, she would love to go. She had been under a lot of pressure lately, and viewing some beautiful scenery might ease
her mood a little.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to push yourself if you can’t make it. Please rest well, Dr. Craw. Right, I’ve also bought some
ointment for you. I’ll put it next to the fruits. You should massage your calf after taking a shower later tonight. You’ll feel better,”
Tina said.
Luca thanked her and wanted to pay her for it.
Tina smiled and waved her hand. “It’s fine. It didn’t cost me money anyways.”
“Wha...” Luca was taken aback. How did Tina buy something from the supermarket without using money?
Tina could see the confusion on Luca’s face. She said, “To be exact, it didn’t cost me any of my money. If you insist on paying for
it, you shouldn’t give the money to me. Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time.”
After that, Tina left the room.
Luca looked at the shopping bag on the table. There were some fruits and a tube of ointment.
She recognized the brand from the packaging. It was a well-known brand from Japan. Three years ago, when she had first
started Brilliant Design, she had overworked herself and, because of her lack of physical training, would usually be sore all over.
She tried to keep it a secret from Luke, but Luke noticed it anyway. Whenever she felt sore, Luke would use that brand of
ointment and massage her calves, waist, and shoulders...
Of course, there were other activities after the massage...
Naturally, her muscles did not feel any better the next day. In fact, they hurt more than before.
Luca blushed when she thought of that. ‘... Just what am I thinking?
‘It’s just a tube of ointment. Why would I be thinking of that?’
Whatever happened earlier seemed to have dredged up some intimate memories from the past.
Luca shook her head. She uncapped the ointment, squeezed some white cream out of the tube, smeared it over her calf, and
gently massaged it.
The ointment still smelled as herbal as before. As she massaged herself, she could not help but recall the times when he
massaged her.
That warm and gentle palm, applying an appropriate amount of pressure...
When Luca woke up the next day, she pinched her calf muscles.
She had massaged herself twice the day before because she wanted her leg to heal. She got out of bed, took two steps, and
realized that her leg was no longer sore.
The massage worked.
Luke had always bought high-quality products. Even the ointment that he bought was extremely effective...
She looked at the ointment that she had placed on the bedside cabinet. Then, she remembered Tina’s invitation, so she went to
brush her teeth.
When she came out of the bathroom, she noticed that Tina had sent her a message asking if she could make it to the hiking trip.
Luca replied: [My leg is fine. Why don’t we go hiking together?]
She thought that it would be okay if it were only Tina and her.
She received Tina’s reply not long after: [Alright. I’ll pack up and look for you. Let’s have some breakfast before the hike.]
Luca replied: [Alright.]
She searched on the Internet for any information on Mount Jadeite. It was a popular tourist attraction that boasted beautiful
scenery. There was also a maple forest. In the fall, the wind would blow past the trees and cause maple leaves to fall onto the
ground. It was exceptionally poetic.
Luca thought that Mount Jadeite was not a very big place, so she would only have to pack lightly. She took out a tracksuit and a
small backpack from her suitcase.
She put her purse and phone into the backpack, changed into the tracksuit and hiking shoes, then waited for Tina to arrive.
Ten minutes later, Tina knocked on her door. The two people went to the hotel restaurant to have their breakfast.
Zoey and Jenni happened to be at the restaurant at the same time. They had just stepped away from the buffet line when they
saw Tina and Luca approach them while dressed in sportswear. “Good morning, Tina. Are you going hiking with Dr. Craw?”