Susan's eyes flickered slightly as she looked into the man's gaze and said calmly, "Mr. Feynman and I have rarely met in person. You must be joking."
Gavin's big eyes widened, and his expression held a faint, inscrutable amusement. "Right, just joking, Miss Cooper. Don't take it seriously."
Susan smiled lightly and raised her glass with ease. "Of course not."
After the entrée served, Susan took only a few bites, then took a ride back home with Gavin. After the elevator, they parted ways.
The next day, photos of Susan and Gavin dining together at Arc were posted online, instantly topping the trending list:
#SusanAndGavinFeynmanLateNightDinnerCloseAndPersonal#
No sooner had she entered than her phone dinged. Susan opened it and saw a message from Andrew:
[Susan, are you with Gavin? I'm telling you, this Gavi is not a good guy. Stay away from him. He's dangerous!]
Though just a text, Susan could feel the anxiety and fear behind Andrew's words. It seemed Gavin really had tangled him up badly. The golden boy Andrew must be frustrated to no end.
But compared to what Susan had suffered with him and Rebecca before, this was nothing.
Susan didn't reply and shut off her phone.
The next day on set, Susan noticed Andrew sending over coffee, packed lunch boxes, and flowers again through others. He was happy to keep sending gifts, but Susan didn't bother responding.
Not sure if it was because Gavin had threatened him, Andrew was surprisingly well-behaved and hadn't appeared near Susan for a while.
Instead, Gavin had been visiting the set more frequently. Susan privately told Director Yvonne that she hoped Gavin would stop coming. Every time Gavin looked at her, she felt like needles pricked her back, impossible to relax.
Yvonne sighed, "Gavin's always been independent. I can't control him. Maybe you should talk to him yourself."
Susan hesitated, not out of fear of Gavin Feynman, but because she didn't want to get too involved again, afraid of repeating past mistakes.
Then she heard Yvonne's chuckle, "But honestly, I've never seen him care this much about anyone." Susan's cheeks flushed for a moment. Still, she chose not to ask Gavin to leave. Maybe she could learn more from another source.
After all, Andrew was a strategist , he should have a system transmitting identity data, right?
That night, back at the hotel, Susan called Andrew. "Let's meet."
Andrew was overjoyed receiving Susan's call. He immediately asked his system, [Has her favorability increased?]
He'd been in this world two months but his favorability with Susan was still zero.
The system replied, [Sorry host, no change so far.]
Although prepared for the answer, Andrew's heart sank. But he believed he could win her over, especially since Susan had taken the initiative to meet.
That day, Susan had no schedule and met Andrew at a private restaurant inside a skyscraper. When Andrew arrived with Sam, Susan was already there.
"Mom! You finally acknowledge me?" Sam's eyes reddened as he looked up at Susan.
Susan said nothing, just gestured, "Sit down first."
Andrew hurried to seat Sam, then scanned his memory to order a huge spread of Susan's favorite dishes. "Susan, are you finally willing to admit it? You're really my Susan, right?"
Andrew's hopeful eyes locked on hers.
Susan looked at the father and son with a faint smile and said, "So what if I am?"