Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

The pink bubble that had just burst suddenly reformed.

Adrian Grant didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he asked, "Did you drive?"

Caroline Whitman: "I did."

Hearing this, he just nodded. "I didn’t. Perfect, you can give me a ride."

At that, Caroline Whitman gave him a suspicious look. "You didn’t drive?"

"My driver dropped me off, but he had a last-minute emergency and had to leave. He’s not back yet."

"...Fine." Caroline opened the driver’s side door. "You drive, then. You can just take us straight to our destination."

Adrian Grant said nothing and got into the driver’s seat.

He drove the car into Azure Heights.

Caroline thought he was planning to get takeout and come up to her apartment to talk, but as they got out of the car, Adrian explained, "Parking is terrible over there. It’s really close to your place, though—only a ten-minute walk."

"Oh." She obediently got out of the car, her mind already running through the restaurants in the area.

’Wait, are there even any good places to eat around here?’

She didn’t ask any more questions. Since it was nearby, she figured she’d just follow him and see.

She followed Adrian’s lead out of the complex, and they walked side by side along the street.

The area where she lived was fairly quiet. After leaving the complex, the road was lined with dense, shady trees. There were very few cars and, at night, even fewer pedestrians.

Caroline suddenly remembered that article, "How to Hold Hands."

’Dim lighting: check.’

’Scenario one: a walk in the park.’

’This wasn’t a park, but it felt no different from taking a stroll.’

The two of them walked side by side, so close they were practically touching.

The back of Caroline’s hand brushed against his several times. Though the contact was fleeting, it felt searing hot.

She snuck a glance to her side. Adrian’s hand hung naturally along the seam of his pants, his knuckles well-defined, his fingers clean and long.

’If I just opened my hand, I could grab his.’

’Unfortunately, thinking about it was one thing...’

’...but every time I worked up the courage to do it, all sorts of scenarios would flash through my mind.’

’What if he suddenly pulls his hand away?’

’What if he thinks I’m being weird?’

’Wouldn’t the atmosphere become unbearably awkward before we even start eating?’

’This ’accidental’ move is just too obvious.’

Caroline hesitated, but ultimately, she chickened out.

She looked down the road. Not far ahead was an intersection. Her eyes lit up as she immediately thought of another perfect scenario—

’Crossing the street.’

’While we’re crossing, I can pretend to be concerned, grab his hand, and say something like, ’Watch out for cars.’ It would be totally natural and not at all deliberate.’

However, after she surveyed her surroundings, she realized the road was practically deserted. There wasn’t even an electric scooter weaving through traffic, let alone any cars. Besides, people’s safety awareness was pretty high these days; no normal driver would run a red light.

’Reaching for his hand under these circumstances would be like writing ’I want to hold your hand’ all over my face. It couldn’t be more obvious.’

Caroline sighed internally. For the first time, she deeply understood that it’s one thing to read all the theories, but putting them into practice was harder than anything.

Distracted and conflicted, she followed Adrian in silence for more than ten minutes.

By the time she snapped out of it, she realized Adrian had led her down a secluded alley. The path was narrow and dimly lit.

Nearly all the storefronts in the row were closed.

At the very end of the alley, Adrian finally stopped.

Caroline looked up and saw a grill-and-cocktail bar tucked away in the alley.

’No wonder he said parking was bad here.’

"How did you even find this place?" Caroline was stunned. "I’ve lived in this neighborhood for years and never noticed it. You just came back to the country and you already know the area better than I do?"

Adrian: "It’s reservations only, not open to the public. A friend told me about it."

They were shown to a private room for two and ordered some food.

Once they were seated and the food had arrived, Caroline took the initiative to start the conversation. "Is there anything else work-related we need to hand off? I was thinking about it on the way here, and all the projects seem to be progressing smoothly, without any issues."

Adrian: "I have a new project concerning future development in new energy and artificial intelligence. If you’re interested, we can discuss it. If it’s viable, our two companies could take our collaboration a step further."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. ’So he’s serious, he really is here to talk business. And here I thought he just wanted to get a late-night snack with me.’

"I’m all ears."

The cocktail Adrian ordered arrived. He took a sip, then unhurriedly set the glass down. The casual, approachable air he had at her home was gone, replaced by a serious, all-business demeanor.

He spoke eloquently for a while, and Caroline raised an eyebrow. ’This sounds a lot like Ethan Xavier’s project proposal from the other day. It used the same new concepts Adrian is mentioning now.’

She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did Ryan tell you this?"

Adrian looked at her with amusement. "In your eyes, am I really that unreliable? The kind of person who can only make decisions based on what our future child tells me?"

Caroline: "..."

’It’s because he’s *so* reliable that I wanted to make sure.’

"Oh, okay. So you came up with this yourself, then?" Caroline asked.

Adrian hummed in affirmation.

Once he confirmed, Caroline said casually, "That’s great. An interested overseas company also wanted to have an in-depth discussion with me about this. Their ideas happen to overlap with yours. I was planning to follow up with them for a bit, and if everything looked good, I was going to finalize the deal..."

She smiled and continued, "But since you’ve brought it up today... well, we’re old partners. If you’re willing, I’m on board."

Caroline beamed.

’She would much rather work with Adrian than with the unfamiliar Ethan Xavier. After all, the guy’s business acumen and foresight were truly impressive.’

Adrian laughed. "I’ve only discussed this with you verbally. You haven’t even seen a formal proposal yet. Are you really that comfortable partnering with me?"

Caroline: "The fact that you came to me with this first shows you have good judgment. That means the other aspects won’t be lacking, either. It only makes sense to trust you."

Adrian: "..."

They had entered the bar around ten-thirty.

And they left at eleven-thirty.

The midnight breeze felt nice.

Caroline had had a little to drink inside as well. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but she was still clear-headed.

They exited the small alley.

Caroline looked down at their long shadows stretching out under the streetlight. "Has your driver not come to pick you up yet?"

Adrian had been drinking, and so had she. Neither of them could drive, that was for sure.

"I’ve already called my driver. He should be on his way. I’ll walk you home first."

"Okay."

They reached the intersection again and waited for the light to change.

Caroline watched the red light’s 60-second countdown, silently calculating. They were already more than halfway back. ’If things keep going like this,’ she thought, ’I’m really going to go home empty-handed.’

Ten seconds until the light turned green.