Stray

Nemo shook his head, and finally shook off the last trace of drowsiness. He wiped his face and stood up straight, then he found that he could only look down at Hayden, who made a very obvious shrinking movement.

So Nemo sat back on the edge of the bed again and raised his head slightly. “Go ahead.”

“First— First of all, I’m very sorry.” Hayden stared hard at the print on the carpet. “During the ceremony, I had a wrong view of you. You have a lover. I’m really sorry. I… I thought…”

“What?” Nemo was at a loss for a few seconds before reacting. At the beginning of the ceremony dinner, when Hayden saw his face clearly for the first time, there was indeed a subtle alienation in his expression. “Uh, don’t worry. This isn’t something that needs to be apologized for.”

“No.” Hayden’s tone unexpectedly hardened a bit. “I have to apologize. You see, you noticed it too, didn’t you? I hate prejudice, but I also…” His voice became smaller, and in the end, it almost turned into a vague grunt.

“Okay, I forgive you,” Nemo responded solemnly. “I have to wash up, Hayden. If you have anything else—”

“Yes.” Hayden buried his head even lower. “That… It’s actually a little hard to say, but… Uh…”

“Please just say it.” Nemo’s expression was a bit complicated. Nurses should be regarded as the assistants to healers who faced with all kinds of bloody tragedies on the battlefield. If Hayden Wilhelm behaved like a frightened turtledove, he was unsure whether the other party was really suitable for this major.

“When you’re not with your boyfriend can you try to act with me as much as possible?” Hayden said in a mosquito-like voice. “Uh, I mean, just go to class together, okay? I ran out of my own money and couldn’t afford to hire a guard. Five silver coins a day. If you don’t think it’s enough, I can add more… And, if your boyfriend cares, just treat it as if I didn’t ask.”