Chapter 31: Summoning Up Richard’s Courage

Richard walked over to Adrian and gently patted the sleeping man awake with a serious expression.

Adrian was suddenly woken up. He narrowed his eyes in fear, but heard Richard’s words. Then, he immediately became energetic and smiled. “Really? Of course!”

Neither of them woke Charles and prepared to leave the house quietly.

Firstly, it was difficult to wake this fellow up when he was sleeping. Secondly, they were afraid that this fellow would come over and spoil things.

However, Charles, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly woke up, perhaps because he had heard some noise. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and noticed Adrian and Richard, who were about to go out.

“Where are you going?” Charles stretched and yawned.

Adrian laughed dryly and said softly, “We’re going to walk around nearby. You can go back to sleep.”

He expected Charles to obey him. However, he didn’t expect Charles to say, “I’m going too.”

Thus, Adrian and Richard could only helplessly let this stupid fellow follow them.

As the two of them walked along the road, they both prayed to God in their hearts that this guy would behave himself and not ruin things.

Richard led the way. About twenty minutes later, they came to a spot not far from Richard’s house.

The house looked small, which showed that the family was not very wealthy. However, it was much better than Richard’s old and small house.

“Does the lady live here?” Adrian asked quietly.

Richard’s bronze-colored face showed some nervousness. Then, he clenched his fists tightly and nodded heavily. “I know she’s at home,” he said softly, “because the windows of the house are still open.”

“Who are you talking about?” Charles asked, full of doubt. He was still half-asleep and didn’t seem to understand their conversation.

Adrian ignored this fool and turned to Richard. Then, he encouraged Richard, “Come on, man. Get over there and talk to her.”

“You should ask her why she did that. However, I think you woke me up early because you’ve made a decision.”

Richard gulped and said slightly nervously, “I’ll say… I’ll say that I’m here to deliver her a handkerchief…”

Adrian was very helpless upon hearing this. He didn’t think that Richard would only say this after hesitating for an entire night!

However, at least he had taken a step forward. Thus, Adrian nudged Richard and urged, “Then hurry up! What are you thinking about?”

Richard staggered to the house after being pushed. He looked back bitterly, but when he saw the two of them waving continuously at him, he had no choice but to continue walking towards the house.

However, just as Richard was about to knock on the door, the orange-painted wooden door was opened and he saw a blonde girl.

The girl was about 20 years old. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, as well as a few freckles on her face. She didn’t look particularly beautiful, but she was the type that was very attractive.

Meanwhile, Richard was the leader of a beast-catching team, and he was normally able to capture spiritual beasts with a calm expression on his face. However, his heart was beating extremely quickly at this moment. After all, the girl that he liked was standing right in front of him, and she was only around 10 centimeters away from him!

“Nina…” Richard moved his lips nervously as beads of sweat appeared on his face. Then, he slowly said, “I… I’m here to ask…”

Finally, Richard couldn’t get past himself. He quickly pulled out the silk handkerchief and stuffed it into the girl’s hand at an extremely fast pace. Then, he turned to leave.

The girl named Nina saw Richard’s odd look. She said quickly in her crisp voice, “Richard, wait.”

Richard immediately stopped in his tracks and turned around in a panic. He was tall and strong, but he didn’t even dare to look at the girl he liked at that moment. He only dared to look around bashfully, and even occasionally looked back to find traces of Adrian and Charles, who were hiding.

However, Adrian was stunned by this scene. How could Richard woo a girl like this? It was no wonder that the girl was getting engaged to someone else!

“What… What’s wrong?” Richard took a deep breath and tried his best to look at the girl calmly. However, he still didn’t dare to look at her eyes. He only dared to look at her round nose, her red lips, and her freckled cheeks.

Nina looked at the silk handkerchief in her hand. She kneaded it gently and remembered what had happened in the past.

In the years she’d known Richard, Nina knew his personality better than anyone. However, that was exactly why she liked Richard.

“Have you kept this silk handkerchief for so long?” Nina murmured, not sure if she was talking to herself or Richard.

Meanwhile, Richard was almost entirely focused on Nina. Thus, he could hear her very clearly.

He nodded a little stiffly in response. Now, he could barely be considered calm. He said softly, “When you gave it to me that time, I kept it. I wanted to keep it forever, but you’re getting married…”

Richard didn’t finish his sentence. There was disappointment in his eyes, as well as a hint of regret and sorrow. In short, he was extremely sad.

Nina felt as if her heart had been cut by a knife when she saw Richard like this. Finally, huge tears flowed from her eyes. As she wiped them away, she said sadly, “Richard, I really did like you before. Even now, I still like you.”

“Then why?!” Richard suddenly turned his grief into anger as he questioned her angrily.

Nina was instantly startled and stared blankly at Richard. It was the first time she’d seen him lose his temper since they had met.

Meanwhile, Richard quickly calmed down after his outburst of anger. He knew that he had frightened the girl. Thus, he apologized, “Nina, I’m sorry. I couldn’t control my emotions well just now.”

“This time, I didn’t come here just to return the handkerchief to you. I actually wanted to hear your explanation as to why you wanted to get engaged so suddenly.” Richard shook his head and clenched his fist in pain. He sighed and said, “But I know now. I’m sorry to disturb you so abruptly. I hope that we can meet again.”

With that, Richard turned around and left resolutely.

Looking at Richard’s resolute figure, Nina tightened her grip on the silk handkerchief in her hand. She finally mustered her courage and said, “I was forced! I had no choice!”