Redo of a Romanceless Author’s Life Devoid of Love; Another Chance at Youth

Chapter 426.

Chapter 426. A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words, but a Picture Does Not Do You Justice. (1/3)

When I returned to Dawn’s side, she complained, “That must have been the longest number one of your life.”

“Haha, it really was. Sorry to keep you waiting. We can go now.”

“Weren’t yuh waiting for a text from an acquaintance of yours and planning to meet them here?”

“I got the text while I was in the washroom so I went and met up with them as soon as I finished. That’s what took me so long to get back.”

It wasn’t a lie. The sequence of events did sort of play out like that.

“I see. Who was it yuh met exactly though?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well, you’re being super sneaky about it. It’s like you’re trying to hide yuh went to meet up with a mistress or something. Does Rosa know about this acquaintance of yours?”

“Yeah, she knows.”

“Does she really or are yuh lyin?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Was that acquaintance a woman?”

“Yes.”

“What’s her name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“So I can let Rosa know and verify whether you’re telling the truth.”

“Haaaah. Their name is Wisteria. You’re free to ask her if she knows Wisteria right now if you want.” 

I held out Dawn’s phone to her. On my way back I’d already uploaded the video somewhere safe and deleted it from her phone. Thankfully she didn’t have a passcode set on her phone. I guess she wasn’t as concerned about people snooping since she had nothing to really hide. She also seemed to be an airhead so she might just be worried she’d forget the passcode.

“Ah. I completely forgot you had it.” She really was quick to prove my point about her being an airhead. If she was a girl living in the city, there wouldn’t be a second where she didn’t have her phone in hand.

“Let’s go now. It’s pretty late. We’ve still got to install the battery in your pickup truck.”

“Oh yeah. Hurry up, let’s go. Rosa’s also waiting for you.”

I sent Rosa a heads-up text letting her know we were finally heading back to the pickup truck and that we should be there in an hour.

I received a burst of texts back.

‘Slow!’

‘So freaking slow!’

‘It’s about damn time!’

‘Are you a turtle?’

‘You are, aren’t you?’

My lips twitched as I read her complaints, but I still apologized, ‘Sorry. A lot happened.’

When I told Dawn what I wanted the doctor’s name for claiming it was to sound more credible in a text to Rosa, I actually hadn’t then. I’d texted Wisteria at that time rather than Rosa. So Rosa had been out of the loop this entire time.

‘The campfire story tonight better be a damn good one.’

‘Don’t worry, it is.’

Hahaha, it’s not every day you get to lure a doctor into a honey trap to get a free MRI scan done.

After that little exchange through texts, Dawn and I left the hospital and hit the road.

…

About an hour into our drive down the highway, the sun was already setting to our side. The sky glowed a crimson hue along our left side. There were long lines of clouds in rows stretching from one end of the horizon’s edge to the other. The further away, the darker the shade of red. The golden wheat field from during the day looked like it was on fire, blazing orange.

In front of us, a black pickup truck came into view not too far away. It was still exactly where we left it. Thankfully it hadn’t grown feet and ran off on its own.

A minute later, we pulled over directly in front of it.

Thankfully, it hadn’t been tampered with and there weren’t any broken windows.

“Haaaaah. We’re finally back.” Dawn muttered as she hopped off the back of my motorcycle. She raised her arms up in the air and stretched.

“Yeah. How did you find your first time in a big city?”

She seemed pretty tired.

“I didn’t even stay for long, but somehow, I feel exhausted. It feels like I’ve been running a marathon all day and I’m all burnt out. I’m so tired I just want to go to sleep already.” Dawn climbed on the back of her pickup truck as she spoke.

“You were looking around a lot and taking pictures of everything on your phone even while we drove back. Processing all the new sights you’re unaccustomed to seeing and committing them to memory can be quite taxing mentally, so it isn’t strange you’re so exhausted.”

“Yeah.” Dawn sat down on the roof of the driver’s seat and let her legs dangle over the edge at her knees as she laid down on her back. She tilted her head up so she could watch the sun as it slowly dipped below the horizon. Her hair spread out like a fan. Some of it hung down over the front windshield and rear glass into the open trunk. For a farm girl, I couldn’t deny her current appearance was a stunning sight.

“Haaaaah. It was fun though… and not as scary as I thought it’d be.”

“Do you plan to go to the city again?”

“Of course. I want to eat more of the food in the city. It was so good.”

“You’ll get fat if you eat too much.”

“I won’t get fat.”

“Are you sure about that? It looks like you might have already put on a few points after the fried chicken you ate today.”

“Liar, I didn’t.”

“Haha. Weigh yourself on a scale when you get home if you don't believe me. If you aren’t careful you won’t be able to see your toes soon when you look down at the ground.”

She raised her legs straight up in the air and said, “Look, I can see them just fine if I do this.”

“It doesn’t count if you do that. You need to be standing up straight.”

“... I won’t get fat,” Dawn grumbled as her legs dropped back down.

As we bantered back and forth, I installed the battery while she relaxed on the roof of the pickup truck and watched the sun as it drifted further below the horizon. By now, only about 5% of the sun could be seen just barely peeking out over the edge.

“The view in the city was pretty exciting, but I’m much more used to this. This is the scenery I’m most accustomed to seeing every day. I’ve seen it so many times that it’s gotten boring. But today… right now at least… I can’t help but feel relaxed... and at peace...”

“It is quite a nice view. I guess if you see it every day it’d probably get stale though.”

Dawn didn’t respond.

I stood up and peeked over the hood to check on her, worried that she might have started daydreaming again. Her eyes were shut closed and her breathing was steady as her chest heaved up and down rhythmically. Thankfully, it seems she’d only fallen asleep. I didn’t bother to immediately wake her up and I continued installing the battery.

Vrrrrr. Vrrrrr. Vrrrrr.

When I only had two more nuts to tighten I heard a vibrating sound.

I pulled out my phone and confirmed it wasn’t mine. I stood up, looked over the hood again, and noticed the roof under Dawn was vibrating a bit. It seemed it was her phone.

It was likely her father. Seriously, now he’s calling her? Does this man not check his texts either? Considering his full voice mailbox… I guess it was possible.

“Hey, Dawn, your phone’s ringing. Would you wake up already? Seriously, answer it, it’s probably your father.”

“...”

“He’s going to be worried if you don’t pick it up.”

“...”

Not only a daydreamer but a heavy sleeper. Truly the worst combination. Looking at her right now, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a sloth.

I climbed up the back of the pickup truck and leaned over her body. I put my left hand down on the roof and placed my right hand on her shoulder to shake her awake. But as if the stars aligned and I was cursed, an unexpected disaster fell upon me without warning. My left hand slipped off the side, down the windshield.

Of course… of course it came.

The ironic end to this day’s encounter, right as the sun sank all the way beneath the horizon and the sky descended into darkness.

Awakening sleeping beauty with a kiss.

With our lips connected together, Dawn’s serene eyes slowly opened up.

She didn’t freak out.

But... I naturally did. I quickly pushed off the hood and pulled my face back away.

“Sorry, that was an accident.”

“An… accident?”