Chapter 4 Visiting Marysville University

"Boy, when will you have a girlfriend?" Luis, their long-time baker asked.

He was packing some muffins in the baking room while Luis was baking a walnut cake.

"I haven't found the right girl yet!" Melvin just smilingly replied while shaking his head.

"What about your only student? What is her name again?" He asked as he turned around and sat on the chair beside him.

Melvin stared at him for a while before he answered.

"You mean Crystal!"

"Yes, Crystal. Obviously, that young lady has a crush on you. Why don't you give her a chance!" he started teasing him.

Melvin didn't say anything but he constantly shook his head while smiling. When he was finished packing, he tapped their baker's shoulder and whispered.

"She's not my type!"

While walking out of the door, Luis exclaimed to him.

"What's your type, then?"

"Sweet and naive!" Melvin exclaimed back.

"Who's sweet and naive?"

When suddenly Milton, his father walked in from the back door. He just arrived from their restaurant just beside their bakery.

"Tsk tsk your son's preference for a girlfriend is a bit high. Sweet and naive. Do we still have that kind of a girl these days?"

"Haha, probably we still have. He just needs to look for that kind of girl well!" Milton reacted.

"All I know is, those two characters don't work together these days. If a girl is sweet, she might also be wild. If a girl is naive, perhaps she is also not fun to be with!" Luis chuckled as he shook his head.

Milton just laughed at his remark.

Meanwhile, Melvin was placing the newly baked muffins in the passenger's seat of his dad's car when his phone rang.

It was Crystal!

"Hello, my handsome tutor!" Crystal greeted him immediately.

"Crystal, what's the matter?" Melvin didn't really mind her sweet words.

"We've been waiting for you here in the gym. When will you deliver our sweet muffins?" Crystal asked while pouting her lips.

"I'm going now. See you in twenty minutes!" Melvin replied as he started the ignition.

At the same time, Hyacinth also went to school with their driver. As she was strolling the wide lawn, she heard a lively beat and loud voices reciting in rhythms in the gym.

"Are they practicing cheerleading?" Hyacinth became excited that she hastily strode towards the gym.

She peeped inside and saw some girls dancing rhythmically to the music. Hyacinth adjusted her sunglasses while peeping through the slightly opened door.

"Wow! That's a high stunt!" she gasped in a whisper.

"Excuse me!" when a deep voice made her startle.

"Rider?" she immediately exclaimed as she turned around and stared at the man wearing a surgical mask in front of her.

Melvin was also surprised. He squinted his eyes on the young lady whose voice kept his mind wondering for days now.

"Princess!" he exclaimed back.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked in unison.

"I study here!" and also answered in unison.

"You study here?" they asked in unison again... with a surprising look this time.

"No way!" Hyacinth exclaimed in disbelief.

Melvin just raised his eyebrows at her as he opened the door wide. The slamming sound of it made all the students in the gym glance in their direction.

"Melvin!" Crystal, their cheer captain called his name.

She walked in big strides towards them.

When Hyacinth saw her approaching, she frowned at once.

"Rude!" she murmured.

Crystal was the daughter who made a ruckus with her mom at their store this morning.

"She just called my name. How can that be rude?" Melvin sneered at her.

He thought she was referring to how Crystal called his name.

When Hyacinth shifted her glance back to him, Melvin curled up the corner of his lips. This made her upset even more that she left right away.

"Melvin, why are you wearing a mask?" Crystal asked in an instant.

"I have colds. These are your muffins. Gotta go!" Melvin reached her the two boxes of muffins and was about to leave when Crystal stopped him.

"That fast? You just arrived. You didn't see me dance yet. Stay with me for a while, please!" Crystal pouted her lips and flickered her eyes while wrapping her hands around his arm.

"Next time. I have to go to the pharmacy to buy medicine for colds!" Melvin scooted right away.

Crystal was left in the entrance with her mouth hung open. She had no choice but to go back to her squad with heavy steps.

"You're so hard to get!" she whined in silence.

Meanwhile...

Melvin didn't really go to the pharmacy but he paced back and forth as he looked around the school.

"Where did she go?" he desperately whispered in the air.

He was looking for Hyacinth who at that time already left.

Inside of the car, Hyacinth was also baffled.

"Melvin?" she unintentionally uttered.

The driver heard it and glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"Ahm! Young Mistress, where do you want to go next?" he asked Hyacinth who was blankly staring at the sceneries outside of the window.

"Huh? It's my first time in Townsend so I really have no idea about the beautiful places here," she shyly replied.

Their driver just caught her mind wandering around.

"I know one place but it's about an hour ride from here. It is the strawberry farm in the suburb. You can pick strawberries for free. You just have to pay the entrance!"

"Strawberry picking? That's exciting. We still have time. Let's go there then!" she excitedly voiced out.

At the university...

When Melvin couldn't find Hyacinth, he rode his motorcycle feeling bereft. As he inserted the key to the ignition switch, his father called.

"Melvin are you busy now?"

"No, dad. I'm going home now!"

"Good! Don't go home yet. Could you go to the strawberry farm? Your mom needs to bake a strawberry cake tomorrow!"

"Okay. See you later then, dad!"

"Thanks. Be careful in driving!"

When his father hung up, he dashed off at once.

Hyacinth and their driver arrived at the strawberry farm just in time. And because it was already almost four in the afternoon, there were only a few visitors left picking some strawberries.

"This is amazing!" she said as she took a basket at the entrance. She was so joyful seeing rows of red strawberries everywhere.

After about twenty minutes, Melvin also arrived. He parked his motorcycle beside Lee's car and strode straight towards the entrance.

Upon paying the entrance fee, he took two baskets and immediately picked up a lot of strawberries on his way.

Hyacinth who was humming and twirling while picking some strawberries caught the attention of some visitors. They couldn't help but take some pictures of her on their phone.

"She's so beautiful!" one mother said.

"Obviously, she is from a rich family. Look at her outfit and I think the man behind her is her bodyguard!" her husband replied.

Melvin caught their conversation that he looked in the direction they were staring at and was stunned with what he saw. He immediately went towards Hyacinth but pretended to be just like the others on the farm, quietly harvesting some strawberries.

Hyacinth was still joyfully twirling around when she accidentally hit a strong chest.

"Whops! Sorry!" she apologized at once.

But she was also surprised when she saw whom she had just bumped into.

"You!" she exclaimed.

"You again!" Melvin exclaimed back showing a dumbstruck look but deep inside he was sneering.

"Are you..following me?" Hyacinth asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"You think too highly of yourself, princess. I'm also here to pick some strawberries just like the others!" Melvin jeered at her.

Hyacinth frowned at his remark. She adjusted her sunglasses one more time and moved closer to him. Melvin could almost see the outline of her eyes behind those dark shades.

"I'm not a princess! Why are you picking strawberries then?"

Melvin raised the two baskets of strawberries and mockingly smiled.

"For our shop!" he simply replied.

"Shop?" Hyacinth thought for a while then stared at him.

"That was you! The guy in the bakery!"

Melvin was surprised by her sudden reaction but he didn't show it to her.

"How do you know it's a bakery? I just said shop!"

"What could be a better answer? Picking up strawberries for your hardware store?" Hyacinth sneered back.

"Can be a supermarket. So, you saw me at the bakery?"

"I didn't really see your face. I just recognized your voic~" she pursed her lips at once upon realizing something.

"You recognized my voice? You've been thinking about me!" Melvin stared deeply at her. A flash of charming smile was glued to his face.

"No! Of course not!" Hyacinth burst out.

Then she looked at their driver and said, "We have to go now. It's getting late!"

The driver took the basket from her and followed at once. When she was about to walk past him, she raised her chin and eyebrows.

"Excuse me mask man, you're blocking my way!" she haughtily whispered.

Melvin was just smiling throughout while following her steps with his gaze.

"Jacinth! It's nice meeting you!" suddenly Melvin blurted out.

Hyacinth hastily turned around. "How do you know my name?"

"I remember!" he simply replied.

"You!" Hyacinth shyly uttered.