CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 48: MUTUAL PINCHING (FIRST UPDATE)

Kenneth Osborne had a calm expression as he dragged Lawrence Winters quickly away, arriving at the elevator door on the first floor of his home.

Lawrence Winters was still in deep thought, "Kenneth, I think I was really unlucky when I was a kid."

Kenneth Osborne was slightly stunned, recalling their childhood. His expression softened as he nodded with a smile, "You were quite unlucky. Do you remember swimming at the children’s pool at the Cultural Palace in the city? The water was so shallow, and you sank to the bottom just after getting in?"

"Do you want the truth?" Lawrence Winters squinted his eyes.

"Of course."

"The truth is, I actually don’t remember it." Lawrence Winters laughed so hard he bent over, "But my uncle and my mom often remind me."

"How do they remind you?"

"They say I was about four years old at the time? I sank at the bottom of the children’s pool and you were the one who saved me. They tell me not to forget my lifesaver." Lawrence Winters winked at him with a sweet smile on his delicate peachy face.

Kenneth Osborne felt touched and, holding her hand, smiled and said, "So, how are you going to repay your lifesaver?"

"Hahaha, Kenneth, a great favor doesn’t require thanks, it’s too big a debt, I’ll repay you in my next life!" She folded her hands and bowed to him, then turned and walked towards the lobby.

"Always teasing." Kenneth Osborne helplessly patted her head, "Can you swim now?"

"Of course I can. I don’t have any psychological shadows." Lawrence Winters shrugged indifferently, reaching out to press the elevator button for the floor.

As she said, "The thing I remember most is the year my grandparents passed away, I was five years old then, and the neighbors said I cursed them to death. I didn’t want to burden my mom and uncle, so I sent myself off to the orphanage and refused to leave... It was still the orphanage that contacted my uncle to get me back."

All the old neighborhood folks knew about it, and sometimes they still laugh about it when it comes up now.

Kenneth Osborne silently thought about Lawrence Winters’s childhood, then suddenly said, "...Being with you, I don’t mind being unlucky."

Lawrence Winters: "..."

She pulled a long face, "Kenneth, what kind of talk is that? I’m not unlucky anymore! — Lately, it’s your sister causing my bad luck, okay!"

...True enough.

But she completely missed the point of what he meant.

Kenneth Osborne wanted to sigh but also wanted to laugh. In the end, he just pinched her sweet little cheek as she protested.

Lawrence Winters didn’t dodge this time, laughing as she said, "The best defense is a good offense!"

Then she lunged forward, stood on tiptoe, and pinched Kenneth Osborne’s left cheek in return.

Just then, the elevator arrived, the doors opening with a clatter, revealing a young girl and two middle-aged people inside.

As soon as the doors opened, they saw the young couple outside standing so close and pinching each other’s cheeks, the three were stunned.

Kenneth Osborne quickly let go, clearing his throat as if nothing happened.

Lawrence Winters was a bit slower, maintaining the posture of pinching Kenneth Osborne’s face before quickly retracting her hand.

Though neither was particularly shy, both still blushed.

The three people inside the elevator held back their laughter as they briskly stepped out and cleared a path.

Kenneth Osborne and Lawrence Winters pretended like nothing happened and walked into the elevator, but their slightly hasty steps betrayed a bit of awkwardness.

Once the elevator doors closed, Lawrence Winters first pressed the button for Kenneth Osborne’s floor, then for her own.

Her home was on the top floor, many floors higher than Kenneth Osborne’s.

Kenneth Osborne thought about what had just happened and couldn’t help finding it funny.

He touched the part of his face Lawrence Winters had pinched, then reached over to pinch her face again, "You’re learning, fighting back now."

Lawrence Winters pushed his hand away, smiling, "If you do this again, I won’t hold back next time!"

All the earlier awkwardness instantly vanished, and they started talking about returning to school.

Lawrence Winters rubbed her own face and said, "Don’t rush to book the plane tickets yet. I haven’t discussed it with my mom and uncle. This time going back to school, they’ll definitely have plans. I don’t know if we’re getting plane or train tickets."

...

Meanwhile, at Lawrence Winters’s home, Nick Zeller was also talking to Gabrielle Winters about Lawrence Winters.

"Little sister, are you really willing to let Lawrence go to the Capital City to study alone? Besides, she’s only half a semester away from graduating college, does she really need to stay on campus? She’s grown up with us, practically never leaving. — How about I go to the Capital City to keep her company?"

Nick Zeller thought he could still give it another try, testing the boundaries of Gabrielle Winters’s patience.

"Big brother, Lawrence has been following you to study from the Celestial Path Sect since she was six. Her schooling has been intermittent." Gabrielle Winters put down the art book she was looking at. A bit weary, she removed Yasmine Winters’s gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed her temples, "This isn’t good. She’s still young and should attend school with kids of her age, like ordinary children, leaving family, growing independently, or she’ll never mature."