Chapter 421
A tall, lean figure emerged.
The man opened an umbrella and walked toward her through the swirling snow.
Against the dark night, the scene reminded Sophia of an old painting—a traveler returning on a stormy night.
As the figure drew nearer, Sophia blinked and recognized Alexander Laurent.
He stopped before her, holding the umbrella to shield her from the snow.
"Professor, what are you doing here?"
"I had an academic conference. When I came out, it was snowing. I remembered you didn't have your car, so I came by on my way."
His voice was calm and gentle.
The snowy night should have felt cold.
But the faint warmth in his eyes softened the chill.
He glanced down at her phone.
A soft, resigned sigh escaped him.
"Cancel the order. I'll take you home."
Take you home...
A faint warmth stirred in Sophia's heart.
A smile touched her eyes.
"Okay."
...
Warm air filled the car, instantly chasing away the cold.
Alexander glanced at her bright red fingers.
He didn't need to guess.
"Playing in the snow?"
Sophia stayed silent.
A regular detective, huh?
Seeing she wouldn't answer, he didn't press.
"The thermos has ginger and jujube brown sugar tea. There are disposable cups in the compartment. Have some to warm up."
The thermos stood in the cup holder next to the handbrake.
Sophia unscrewed the cap.
Steam rose, carrying the sweet scent of brown sugar.
A few goji berries floated on the surface.
A stronger whiff brought the sharp tang of ginger.
Sophia knew how to make ginger tea.
She often made it for Ethan Roscente.
But she never liked the taste of ginger herself.
"...It's not convenient in the car. I might spill it. I'll drink it later."
She said this while screwing the cap back on.
Alexander chuckled softly.
"I added extra brown sugar. It doesn't taste bad."
"It's not that it tastes bad... I just want to drink it later! Yes, later!"
"If you hadn't emphasized that last part, I might have believed you."
Sophia had no retort.
"Acting like a child now?"
"Am not."
Amusement sparkled in Alexander's eyes.
"You don't like ginger?"
"No."
"Less ginger, more sugar. It's not spicy."
Sophia looked at him doubtfully.
"Really?"
"Try it."
"Fine." She pulled out a paper cup and poured a small amount.
Alexander watched her careful portioning with a slight smile.
Sophia took a tiny sip.
Sweet, but the ginger's bite was unmistakable.
"..."
She'd been tricked.
She still finished what she'd poured.
But her expression betrayed her struggle.
Alexander was amused.
"Your reaction makes it seem worse than medicine."
Sophia was curious.
"Professor, did you make this?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a cold?"
"...No."
And then?
There was no 'then'.
He made it, but he wasn't sick.
So it wasn't for him.
Who it was for went without saying.
Alexander looked ahead.
"It's snowing again."
"Yeah." Sophia gazed out the window.
The snow on the branches had thickened, like little white puffballs.
Alexander asked another question.
"Where are you spending New Year's Eve?"
"Kyoto. My parents are both coming."
"The Atlante residence?"
"Mm. It's the first New Year since Mom reunited with her parents. She definitely wants to spend it with them."
Isabella Sullivan was coming to Kyoto for the New Year.
Would David Sullivan stay behind in the other city?
The answer was obvious.
...
The next day, the snow lay thick on the ground.
As Sophia went downstairs, she couldn't resist a clean, untouched patch...
and started rolling a snowball.
She hadn't brought any tools downstairs, specifically to avoid playing.
Yet here she was...
Sigh.
If she knew she couldn't resist the temptation, she should have brought them.
Going back up now was too much trouble.
Luckily, rolling snowballs didn't require tools. Just her hands.
The snowball reached the size of a basketball before cracking cleanly in half.
Undaunted, Sophia tried again.
This one fell apart into a crumbly mess before reaching basketball size.
"Hiss... I refuse to believe this..."
She muttered under her breath.
A low chuckle sounded from behind her...
Sophia Sullivan turned around.
Alexander Laurent stood behind her.
He had a faint smile in his eyes.
His gaze swept over the powdery snow debris on the ground.
His smile deepened.
"Playing in the snow again?"
Sophia: "Mm-hmm."
"Trying to make a snowball?"
"...Failed."
"I'll teach you." Alexander rolled up his sleeves.
Sophia's eyes lit up. "You know how?"
"Grasp the physics, and it's not difficult."
"Snowballs involve physics?" Sophia asked curiously. "What principle?"
Alexander picked up a handful of snow.
"First, pack a small, tight snowball."
"Initial rolling requires an external force to propel it."
"As the snowball's volume increases, pressure lowers the melting point of the snow, creating liquid water."
"The liquid water adheres to the snowball's surface."
"During rolling, it lifts from the ground, and the water refreezes into snow."
"This cycle repeats, and the snowball grows larger."
Sophia: "?"
Alexander: "Why that look?"
"Easier said than done," she retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"Then watch."
Alexander was brimming with confidence.
Five minutes later—
Sophia bit her lip hard.
Holding back laughter was so difficult!
Alexander stared at the scattered snow in his hands.
A look of utter disbelief crossed his face.
"It worked last time..."
Sophia blinked. "When was 'last time'?"
Alexander pondered for a moment.
"...Maybe ten? Or eleven."
Sophia: "..."
She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Ha ha ha..." She burst out laughing.
Alexander: "..."
Epic fail.
A massive crash and burn.
They had spent over forty minutes downstairs.
Sophia checked the time.
"I have to go."
She dashed off and disappeared.
Alexander walked into the lab, thoroughly annoyed.
He finished two sets of data.
But he still couldn't forget the snowball.
He got up and went to the break room.
On his way back, he passed Professor Quincy Evans's workstation.
He stopped.
Then took a few steps back.
Quincy was focused on his experiment.
He jumped, startled by the sudden presence.
"Whoa! Are you trying to scare someone to death?"
"Ahem." Alexander cleared his throat lightly.
"What's up?" Quincy took off his safety goggles.
Alexander: "Do you know how to make a snowball?"
Quincy: "Huh?"
A new physics problem?
Spherical motion? Surface tension?
His mind raced through possibilities in two seconds.
Alexander gestured. "Just, rolling a snowball."
Quincy finally understood.
"Why are you asking? New lab evaluation?"
Alexander: "Be serious."
Quincy was baffled. "Who from up north doesn't? You don't?"
Alexander: "..."
"You really don't?"
"..."
"What do you want?" Quincy crossed his arms.
Alexander: "The snow is thick outside."
"So?"
"Teach me how to make a snowball."
"???" Quincy wondered if he was hearing things.
The workaholic wanted to skip work to play in the snow?
"Do I look like a snowball to you?"
"..."
Quincy laughed in disbelief. "You're serious? Play in the snow during work hours?"
Alexander: "Yes. And teach me."
His attitude was firm.
Quincy suddenly had an epiphany.
Sophia was from the south.
Southerners love snow.
"I can teach you," Quincy grinned. "But I still have two experiments to finish."
Alexander: "I'll do them."
Quincy: "! Really?"
"What do you think?"
Quincy's eyes shifted. "One more condition."
Alexander's face darkened. "Say it all at once."
"Combine my annual leave with New Year's Eve."
Alexander: "Pushing your luck."
"Three seconds to decide. Three, two, one—"
"Deal!"
"Let's go~ Play in the snow~"
Forty minutes later—
Quincy: "Not like that! Like this... this..."
After the nth demonstration: "Get it now?"
"Mm-hmm."
Another half hour passed—
Quincy: "Forget the deal. Can we just stop?"
Alexander: "No. Continue."
Quincy pleaded patiently. "What's the use of knowing how to make a snowball? Will little Sophia like you for it?"
"Doesn't matter. Must learn."
It was the first time Quincy saw Alexander so stubborn.
And failing spectacularly at a elementary school skill.
How novel!
After the n+1th failure.
Quincy's patience snapped: "I quit! This is impossible!"
Perfect snowballs littered the ground by his feet.
Alexander's area was piled with snow dust.
He still said: "Again."
Quincy: "?"
Alex, don't love this too much