The lost heiress never forgiven

Chapter 478 Playing with Fire.

Autumn wanted nothing more than to avoid Draven. But the man was as persistent as he was clueless–e followed her anyway.

Seeing her digging for spring bamboo shoots, he began critiquing her technique. One moment it was, “You’re doing it wrong,” and the next, “You’re not using enough force.”

Annoyed, Autumn threw down the trowel. “If you’re so great, then do it yourself.”

Draven adjusted his glasses and–surprisingly–took the tool from her.

At first, he was even worse than she was. Autumn didn’t hold back, teasing him with a smirk. “And here I thought you were some expert. Turns out you’re all talk.“.

Draven pressed his lips together and said nothing. But after a while, he got the hang of it. His movements grew confident, and before long, he pulled a fresh bamboo shoot from the soil.

“Look!”

He held it up, visibly pleased. “It’s really tender.”

“… Yeah, not bad,” Autumn admitted grudgingly.

And just like that, the two of them were digging side by side, slowly warming up.

With every shoot they unearthed, their excitement grew. At one point, their combined shouts of surprise made others turn their heads–anyone unaware might’ve thought something serious had happened.

The joy of harvesting bamboo shoots… oddly enough, it thrilled them more than their usual lab successes. The feeling of tangible accomplishment was euphoric.

If anyone from their academic circle had seen them–these renowned scholars squealing over wild vegetables–they’d have been speechless.

Hands known for pioneering science and reshaping theories were now happily dirt–stained, planting and harvesting like country farmers.

drew Sierra’s attention. She glanced over several times,

“Do you…

and saw what she

clearly had feelings. But from Autumn’s expression, those feelings

mutual.

lips in amusement, he said, “Let them

guy,” Sierra said. Perhaps it was their shared scientific background–she’d always had

Draven was the one she interacted with most among

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478 Playing

snorted, “He’s only decent on the outside. Privately, he’s

blinked in disbelief.

the entire day on the mountain. By the time the outing came to a close, no one

promised to come

say in summer, the mountains are full of mushrooms and wild herbs. We

sparked anticipation. Everyone was already

gone, Sierra finally let herself relax and

day had worn her

“So… what do

smart,” Johnathan said

expected–no missteps, no suspicious remarks, and no

not have caught anything.

in fact, that even

told Johnathan one

trying to find the