Chapter 5 Part 5

Bianca initially refused when Sir Pietro offered to drive her to her place near the tenement. However, no matter how much she declined, the man didn't give up, so she eventually gave in.

When they arrived near the tenement, the car barely fit through the narrow streets. Bianca told him it was fine to drop her off there, but the man simply shook his head.

Luckily, they reached the tenement without any scratches on Professor's car. She got out of the car, and so did he.

Bianca smiled at the Professor. "Thank you for the ride. I'll go ahead-"

"Can I come in?" he asked, staring deeply into her eyes.

She blinked. "U-Um, yes?"

"Can I come in?" he repeated.

Though she wanted to refuse, Bianca found herself walking with the man towards her residence.

"Oh, here comes our dear. And who's that with you, Bianca?" one of her neighbors asked.

She smiled at the woman, "He's my professor from school."

The people there suddenly got excited. "Oh, really? So what are you doing here, Sir?" Aling Manting asked the Professor.

The Professor kindly smiled at the people present. "I brought Bianca here. It's getting late, and it's not safe outside. Besides, she's not feeling well, so I offered to come as her teacher." He explained at length, ensuring no one would misunderstand.

Bianca knew her neighbors well. They were kind and good-hearted. She was grateful that the Professor had explained things.

"Oh, I see," the lady said to her. "You're working too hard, Bianca. Think of your health, you're still young." She gave Bianca a little lecture.

Bianca was happy because this woman genuinely cared about her. "Yes, ma'am."

They continued with more questions and greetings until they finally reached her residence.

"You have a very lively neighborhood," the Professor commented.

Bianca pushed the door to her house and turned on the lights, with the man following her inside.

She chuckled, "Oh, Sir, that's just a small part of it."

"Then would you let me see the whole?" His words were hard to hear.

"Huh?"

He shook his head, "nothing." The Professor glanced around and back at her. "So, you live here?"

Bianca nodded to the Professor and led him to a rattan sofa.

"Uhm," Bianca bit her lower lip. "Well, I don't have any food to offer you. I've run out of supplies." She felt embarrassed and couldn't see the Professor's reaction.

"If that's the case, let's go buy you groceries," he said immediately without any hesitation.

She looked up, "U-uhm? No, it's fine."

He raised an eyebrow, "So, what? You'll let yourself starve and faint during your class again?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Uh, well..." Bianca struggled to find the right words to say.

He stood up, "Come on. This is a treat from your Professor. I won't mind helping my student financially. If you want, I can be your sponsor."

She quickly stood up and shook her head repeatedly as he made increasingly generous offers. "No, please don't."

Taking a deep breath, Sir Pietro started walking. "Let's go."

Bianca reluctantly followed him and closed the door to her house.