"Are you there?" Adrian Vale asked softly.

Behind her phone screen, Evelyn saw the bubble pop up over Adrian's head and couldn't help but grin. She poked the boy's cheek again, watching his eyelashes flutter. It felt so real, like he could actually feel her touch.

Sensing her response, Adrian's tense shoulders finally relaxed. The driver caught the change in his expression through the rearview mirror, but he was already used to the young master's weird behavior and just kept driving, stone-faced.

The black sedan pulled into the underground garage of a private sports complex. "Everyone out," Adrian told his team.

The staff bowed respectfully and cleared out fast, leaving the massive gym empty just for him. The overhead lights flickered on one by one, reflecting off the polished wood floors.

Adrian walked in and picked up a volleyball. "Teach me. What do I do?"

Watching him stand there in the middle of the court, Evelyn first thought about how loaded her baby boy was—she joked that it'd be nice if he could just support her—and then, without skipping a beat, she paid for a voice pack.

Right after the payment pinged, a mic icon appeared. Evelyn cleared her throat and held the button.

"Don't jump into the hard stuff yet. Just try bumping the ball first. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart."

The sweet voice suddenly echoed in his ear, making Adrian shudder.

It had been way too long since he'd heard that voice. Not the cold text on paper, but a real voice that carried Eve's warmth.

Every word she said felt like it was hitting a nerve, making his breath hitch. A dark, almost twisted joy surged through him, and a smile crept onto his face.

Eve, Evie... I wish I could just hold you.

In the game, Evelyn saw a pink heart pop up over Adrian's head and giggled.

"Awesome, he must really like volleyball," she thought.

"Yeah, exactly like that. Keep bumping it," she kept coaching him, her voice flowing into the game world through the mic.

Adrian did what she said, but his mind wasn't on the ball at all. He was greedily soaking up every syllable and every tiny breath she took.

"I was on the college volleyball team back in the day," Evelyn chatted while she watched him practice. "I loved it so much because being with the team gave me this amazing rush."

Adrian's movement froze for a second.

"We'd always get together for pickup games when we didn't have night classes. It felt so... youthful," she said with a laugh, getting lost in the memories.

Adrian listened quietly, his eyes dropping, his expression unreadable and dark.

He didn't need to guess to know how much people loved Evelyn. Someone as bright and sunny as her deserved a life full of flowers and cheering crowds.

If only he could be a part of that life.

Too bad his "guardian angel" was from a different world; there was no manga artist named Evelyn Carter in his.

That thought killed his mood instantly, but her voice soon smoothed things over again.

"Keep your arms straight," she said. "There you go."

She kept rambling on to Adrian like she usually did, hoping to breathe some life into his rigid, robotic routine.

Suddenly, the screen went black and a pop-up appeared: "Don't get addicted! You've hit your limit for today. Please log back in tomorrow."

"Are you kidding me?" Evelyn groaned as she was kicked out of the app. "This game is great, but the forced daily time limit is such a pain. Even paying doesn't fix it. I don't get why they'd just leave money on the table like that."

It was almost 1 AM. It was getting late, so she figured she'd just call it a night. She plugged her phone in on the nightstand, killed the lights, and drifted off.

Back at the gym, Eve's voice suddenly cut out.

Adrian stood there, stunned. "Eve?" he tested.

No answer.

"Evie, did you leave?"

Still just silence, his voice echoing through the empty building.

The volleyball slipped from his hand, bounced off the floor, and kept bouncing lower and lower until it eventually rolled away and stopped.

Adrian didn't move.

The harsh gym lights cast deep shadows over his face, hiding the gloom and obsession in his eyes.

He slowly reached up and touched his ear, trying to hold onto the lingering warmth of her voice.

"Gone again..."

After a long while, he finally moved. He didn't bother picking up the ball; he just walked straight to the locker room, looking incredibly lonely.

The next morning, sunlight peaked through the curtains onto Evelyn's face. She stretched, and Sunny immediately perked up at her feet, tail wagging.

"Morning, Sunny." She rubbed the golden's head, yawning as she walked into the bathroom.

She was brushing her teeth while checking her messages when she saw one from her editor from an hour ago. One of her finished series from last year was getting a physical release.

She almost sprayed toothpaste on her screen. She rinsed quickly and typed back: "Yes!! I'm totally in!"

The editor replied fast: "The parent company is sending someone to coordinate. Add him on WhatsApp." Then he sent over a contact card.

Actually, this was a new editor. Her old one got transferred right after he confessed his feelings to her. Which was fine—made things less awkward.

After cleaning up, she sent a friend request. The guy's profile picture was a stunning sunrise, and his name was just one word: Vale.

Probably his last name.

He accepted her request almost instantly. Habitually, the first thing Evelyn did was hide her Status updates from him.

"Hi, I'm Evelyn Carter. My editor mentioned the publishing project," she sent as a polite intro.

His reply was short and to the point: "Here's the contract. If it okay to you, you may sign it. I'll mail the hard copy."

Evelyn opened the PDF. The terms were surprisingly good—the base pay was huge. Once she saw everything was solid, she signed it.

She was about to close the chat when he sent: "There's a bug in your app."

Evelyn paused, sending back a question mark.

"I can't see your Status," he added.

Is this guy for real?? Who just asks that?!

Evelyn was dying of embarrassment. She scrambled to fix the permissions and eventually replied: "Oh, maybe it's just a bug in your app. Try refreshing it lol."

Ugh, so cringe...

Her phone buzzed. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see it.

Vale: It's working now.

Drawing Manga Forever: Great, lol.

Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. This guy was a little weird, but it's not like they were going to be best friends anyway. No big deal.

She tossed her phone aside and hugged Sunny. "Anyway, getting published is a win, right?"

Sunny barked, seemingly agreeing.

Eve laughed and rubbed his ears, forgetting the awkward moment as she went to make breakfast.

On the other side of the screen, someone was going through her photos over and over, saving every single one. His eyes stayed locked on her bright smile.

"Eve... Evie..." his deep voice shook in the quiet room. He didn't stop what he was doing for a long time. Eventually, he obsessively kissed the girl in the photo and let out a long, satisfied sigh.