Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

The car's AC was cranked up high, making Flora's cheeks flush red from the warmth. After some drinks and a brawl, not to mention all the running around, she was worn out and rested her head on Connor's lap.

Ray, pulling Brianna along, spotted Connor's car parked on the curb and knocked on the window. When it rolled down, revealing Flora sprawled across Connor's lap with rosy cheeks, Ray raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Well, well-"

"Get to the point," Connor said, looking up with an indifferent expression, clearly finding Ray a bit of a nuisance.

Ray yawned. "I'm taking Brianna home now. You two should head back soon, and take it easy."

Brianna peeked out from behind him. "Bye, Connor! Bye, Flora!"

Flora, still lying on Connor's lap, didn't even open her eyes, lazily waving her hand in farewell.

About fifteen minutes later, Moss and Beck climbed into the car. "Boss, everything's sorted, and Ms. Flora's classmates are all set," Beck reported.

Connor acknowledged with a nod, then bent down to whisper to Flora, "My place tonight?"

"Mhm, your place," she mumbled. The dorms were closed now anyway.

"Drive to Crescent Bay," Connor ordered.

"On it," Moss replied.

Once they reached Crescent Bay, Connor carried Flora to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and went to the bathroom to run her a bath, thoughtfully placing pajamas on the rack. After making all the preparations, he returned to the bedside and leaned over to the girl whose face was half-buried in the pillow. "Go take a bath and get some rest."

"I'm so sleepy," Flora whined, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around him. "How about you help me bathe?"

Connor sighed. "Stop fooling around."

Flora chuckled. "What haven't you seen? Shy, are we?" She laughed again. "Just kidding. I'll go bathe now. Wake me up at nine tomorrow morning. I wanna see Kaylee's competition."

...

University of Maple Grove, Fashion Design Department Dorm.

Kaylee was still tweaking her design drafts. Her roommate handed her a cup of hot tea. "It's already eleven. You should get some sleep. You've got the competition tomorrow."

"Thanks. I'll sleep in a bit. Just wanna make a few more adjustments."

"But we're all going to bed now, and your mouse clicks are loud. It's disturbing our sleep."

"Sorry about that..." Kaylee apologized and closed her laptop.

Her roommate shot a glance at the closed laptop, a fleeting chill in her eyes.

Later that night, the dorm was silent except for the soft sounds of breathing. The roommate quietly got out of bed, tiptoed to Kaylee's desk, and turned on her computer. Envy flashed in her eyes as she looked at Kaylee's completed design drafts. She quickly took out her phone, snapped several photos of the drafts, opened WhatsApp, and sent them to a contact with a black profile picture. After completing her covert operation, she shut the laptop and returned to bed.Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

...

The next morning at nine, Connor woke Flora up as promised. After breakfast, he accompanied her to the gymnasium. In the car, Flora played with her phone, bored. Kaylee had sent her the final version of her draft at seven in the morning. Flora was still asleep and hadn't replied yet. Kaylee had made significant progress, her skills much more refined than the previous year.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the gymnasium. The intercollegiate competition was winding down. Departments like Computer Science, Publishing and Media, Commerce, and Literature had already finished their matches, leaving only Fashion Design and Foreign Languages still competing. Consequently, the gym was less crowded than on previous days.

The fashion design competition was on the third floor. Connor and Flora entered through a side door and found a discreet spot in the audience to sit.