Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 48

I never expected the guy I was staring at to actually be Darren.

He was usually rocking those silver specs and had this laid–back artsy dad vibe going on. To put it bluntly, he gave off this slightly stuffy and old–fashioned air.

It was like he was a whole different person from the smooth charmer standing in front of me

now.

What a stark contrast.

“So, Xaviera, you’re disappointed to find out it’s me?” he teased.

I waved my hand dismissively, clarifying, “No, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that your current look is a dead ringer for a character in our game, and that’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

That probably came across a little rude.

Darren seemed taken aback, he sighed and said, “And here I was thinking you had a thing for

this version of me, Xaviera.”

I raised my eyebrows, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just then, Tina and Kevin came bounding over from the right and greeted me enthusiastically.

“Xaviera, you have no idea, before you got here, a bunch of chicks were hitting on Professor Yearwood,” Tina said with a hint of pride, lowering her voice, “and they even brought him coffee.”

Kevin mimicked in a falsetto, “Sweetheart, sweetheart, what flavor do you like?”

1

you really

was about to say something more but Darren cut him off, “If you guys keep ribbing

and Kevin wisely backed off.

university professor, was often bossed around by Tina and Kevin to attend various comic cons as their

wonder our paths crossed.

showed me around different areas and introduced me to various unique anime promotion techniques.

their help go unrewarded, so I suggested we all go out

ended up at Aurora Eats.

we passed by a second–floor private room, we bumped into Hilary dining with a few

at Darren by my side and asked, “This guy looks familiar, Xaviera. Is he

Darren beat me to it, “Hello, Mrs. Hilary, my name’s Darren.”

hand, “Handsome young man, where do you

thought, frowning

at N University,” Darren replied politely, “and I’m

had he spoken than Hilary’s look became

go ahead and

sighed, “Xaviera, I’m actually happy to see you settling down well, unlike Hogan, who’s really wearing me out.”

Only

Hilary’s makeup was a bit off, with

to hide it from you, Hogan’s really been over the top lately. He’s even been pushing me to bring Ms. Irwin to social gatherings.

her face away, looking like she was

offer was comfort, “If Mr. Zade insists, just go along with

people in the Zade family.”

the rich ladies called out to her, Hilary stopped and then returned to the private room, not before

the hang

me, still hustling for my

enjoyed dinner tonight; we were all old classmates,

I was

I felt a strange sense of contentment, like maybe life had