Next One Is a Babe

Gary made no reply, and the silence that ensued was somewhat unsettling for Cindy. As such, she quickly said, "If it isn't anything important, I'll just hang up now."

He hummed in response this time. It meant that he could hear her clearly over the phone just now, but he simply chose not to answer her question.

This irritated her for some reason, and she regretted returning his call. It would have been fine had there been an actual conversation that came from this, but the call only seemed to solidify the awkwardness between them.

She hung up the call and walked away from the balcony. Aurora stood up from the couch when she saw her and asked, "Did you manage to get a hold of him? What did you guys talk about?"

When she saw Gary's name on Cindy's phone screen earlier, she presumed it was a business call.

"Oh," answered Cindy absentmindedly. Then, she tried to school her features into an indifferent expression as she said, "He was just telling me about the investment project and all that—nothing much. I can't understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo anyway, so I didn't really take away much from the phone call."

Aurora laughed and brushed this off before walking toward the door. She then said, "Only the professionals would know all that, I believe. All we need to concern ourselves with is whether we can bankroll the investments."

Cindy said something in agreement before she sighed and mused ruefully, "I think I'll give up on investments after this. I can't seem to wrap my head around them."

Aurora opened the door as she pointed out, "Well, you're not really having problems with your investments so far. Your consultant is quite reliable, and you don't necessarily have to understand the principles of the investment as long as you have him to keep an eye on the market for you."

There was nothing wrong with Aurora's words. Gary was an investment consultant, and it was well within his job scope to keep an eye on the investments Cindy had made. However, their relationship was complex right now, and it was annoying as well as inconvenient.

Nonetheless, Cindy saw no point in telling Aurora of such things since it would only lead to a misunderstanding, so she hummed in response and did not continue the topic.

As such, they headed out of the apartment and strolled around downstairs. They had been out and about before, and they usually went home after walking around the block. However, they had barely taken a couple of steps today when someone came over to them and asked, "Hi there, did you manage to get that conundrum solved today? The man came to pester you, right? What happened to him in the end? Did you have him thrown out? Will he come back again? My goodness, it must have been terrifying for you. I even saw him make a ruckus twice today outside the compound!"

Thanks to that idiot of a man, Aurora and Cindy couldn't even take a quiet evening stroll without being questioned by the residents in the area.

Aurora kept up a pleasant smile as she said courteously, "I got over it, though it was unnerving at first. He said he would never come back again, and we've already lodged a police report on the matter. The way I see it, he will probably stick to his word if he knows what's good for him."

The resident nodded earnestly. "That's a relief. What horrible luck you must have to be pestered so relentlessly by that man. You ought to be careful from now on!"

That much was true, for it did take some horrible luck to be badgered by him.