Chapter 043: Excessively Intelligent

Seraphina laughed for a good while before stopping, gazing at Silas with a smile. "I’m very sorry about before. I wasn't targeting you that day; I just don't particularly like having my affairs arranged by others."

She didn't say this because of her past-life connection with Silas; even if she were back in this moment in her previous life, she could have said this to him with a clear conscience. Regarding the blind date, she was simply addressing the act, not the person.

She admitted she had felt a bit of displaced resentment toward Silas at the time, but after a few days, that emotion had dissipated. Silas was outstanding; the fact that her father favored him as a son-in-law was hardly Silas's fault. It wasn't her father's fault either. Ultimately, it was because she had been so indifferent toward romance over the years that her parents had begun to worry. Even Leo seemed terrified she would end up alone forever. It was truly her own doing.

However, these things couldn't be forced. Fate—or

yuanfen

—was something best left to chance.

"Let’s let the unpleasantness of that day pass. If our first meeting hadn't been in such a setting, we should have become friends." This was also the truth. She extended a hand toward him. "Let me introduce myself formally: I am Seraphina Pierce. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Silas was first stunned by how she suddenly checked her laughter and returned to her usual calm self. Before he could react, he heard her say she disliked blind dates, and his heart gave a sudden lurch. He thought to himself that he had indeed used the wrong approach.

He had originally assumed that since she was a traditional noble daughter from an established family like the Pierces, she would prefer a formal introduction mediated by parents... In the end, he simply didn't understand her well enough. Distance truly doesn't allow one to know a person, even if that distance has been maintained for many years.

Before he could recover, she continued with her self-introduction and reached out her hand. Silas stared blankly at her hand for a split second. If he hadn't spent years perfecting his poker face, he likely would have lost his composure. He reacted quickly, lifting his hand to grasp her slender fingertips. He held only the tips of her fingers, letting go almost instantly. His hand felt as if it had been scorched; he retracted it and quickly tucked it behind his back.

As he pulled back, he gave a polite smile. "I am the one who should apologize. I didn't consider things thoroughly enough. I wanted to find an opportunity to apologize to Miss Pierce, but I had matters to handle back in the capital, so I never found the time."

Of course, it wasn't that he truly lacked time. Knowing he had used the wrong approach, he had been worried she would hate him and didn't dare appear before her again.

"I’m very happy that Miss Pierce isn't holding a grudge and is willing to be friends."

"I am Silas Sterling. It’s also a pleasure to meet you."

Silas’s gesture of quickly shaking and withdrawing his hand left Seraphina momentarily stunned, but her attention was soon diverted by his words. He didn't look for other excuses for the blind date, nor did he claim he couldn't refuse her father's kindness; instead, he said

he

hadn't considered things thoroughly. Doesn't that imply he wasn't reluctant to go on the blind date at all?

This...

Furthermore, while many people knew he was from the capital, most assumed he came from an ordinary background. Yet he told her he had matters to "return to the capital" to handle. While JH Entertainment surely had business in the capital, his choice of words—"return to the capital"—was subtle. It was hard not to read deeper into it.

As far as Seraphina knew, revealing his status as the Sterling family heir right now would bring more harm than good to him. Yet he exposed it before her so carelessly and without any defense. If she were an ordinary person, it would be fine—one could say he thought she wouldn't think that far. But she was a Pierce, and she was... a fairly intelligent person. Her background and her brain meant she was far from ordinary.

Silas was so defenseless around her, and he seemed unbothered by the blind date... it truly made her feel quite strange. Things seemed to be moving in an uncontrollable direction.

Oh well, he is Silas Sterling, not anyone else. She would just follow her heart. What happens in the future is for the future. No avoiding, no overthinking; she would just act as she felt.

Once she reached this conclusion, Seraphina stopped dwelling on it. Holding her bag behind her, she leaned forward slightly and tilted her head with a smile toward Silas. "Then... shall we keep walking?"

Silas looked at her slightly playful demeanor, his lips curving up as his eyes shimmered. "Alright."

As he stepped to follow her, Silas brought out the hand he had hidden behind his back, his fingertips lightly rubbing together. Unconsciously, his smile widened.

Walking along the tree-lined path, neither of them moved quickly; they were simply strolling. Walking side-by-side, the distance between them had noticeably shrunk from the previous meter—a physical manifestation of their closing distance. It wasn't forced; it was natural.

Neither spoke, but Silas didn't find the silence awkward. It felt as if they had known each other for many years.

For him, that was a fact, but seeing the girl behave the same way made him find it a bit odd. It couldn't be that she had also known him for years, right?

Just as he was thinking this, he saw her smile and ask, "You said you went back to the capital to handle some things. Is everything settled?"

"Yes, it’s all handled."

"That’s good." Seraphina asked because she was worried about restless elements in the Sterling family who might threaten Silas’s safety.

"Back then, you transferred to Sea City First High in your second year of high school, right?" She knew this in her past life, but she still had to ask.

"Yes. When I transferred, you were in your second year of middle school. I was several grades ahead of you."

He answered naturally, but hearing it made Seraphina’s mood even more complex. He knew much more about her than she had realized. Of course, it wasn't impossible that he had investigated her when her father tried to set them up, but she knew that was unlikely. Having lived with Silas for so many years, she generally knew what kind of man he was.

Some people thought Silas agreed to the blind date to form an alliance with the Pierces and stabilize his footing in Sea City; others thought he didn't dare offend her father. Seraphina, however, knew it was neither. Silas’s status was something people in the capital could only dream of reaching. JH Entertainment was nothing compared to the Sterling family assets. Silas didn't need to rely on the Pierces, nor did he need to fear them.

Therefore, there was only one possibility for the blind date: he was willing.

Seraphina felt an urge to face-palm. Such a simple thing—how had she not realized it before? Then, a thought struck her, and she paused.

No, she hadn't thought of this since her rebirth because she was busy avenging her family and dealing with Julian and Sylvia. But what about her past life? In her past life, she had lived to be fifty! Even if she was too heartbroken and focused on revenge in the first few years, what about later? In all those years, with her brain, how could she have failed to realize how strange it was that Silas had agreed to that blind date?

It was just like how she had lived with him for so many years without ever realizing why he was so obsessed with having "girlfriends," or why he continued to do so even after being repeatedly betrayed.

This was not normal! There was something wrong with her memory! Although everything seemed continuous when she looked back, she was certain at this moment that her memory had been tampered with. To be more precise, she had forgotten some things. What she had forgotten, she didn't know. But judging by the continuity of events, it shouldn't be anything life-altering.

Seraphina let out a secret sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't a matter of life and death, it was fine. Otherwise, if she had forgotten a hidden enemy, that would be trouble.

"What is it?" Silas’s voice called her back.

She stopped and looked up at him. After figuring some things out, looking at Silas felt different again. How could he... In her past life, it clearly wasn't like this... fine, having realized she'd forgotten things, she felt a bit less confident in that thought.

If he actually had feelings for her... what was with all those girlfriends in her past life?

A headache. For the first time in her life, Seraphina disliked her excessively efficient brain. If she weren't this smart, she wouldn't have thought of these things; and without thinking of them, she wouldn't have such a headache.

Seeing her staring at him with an unreadable expression, Silas suddenly panicked. "Wh-what is it? Is it me..." He caught himself and quickly changed tack: "Are you feeling unwell?"

He didn't dare ask if he had done something wrong, fearing she would suddenly regret her actions and go back to keeping him at a distance.