OPEN UP

"I'm not mad… at you… I like you."

Her voice was soft, sleepy and mellow. Her tone could steal any man's heart.

Alex's heart skipped a beat. He froze for a moment.

The next second, he thought, 'She is just a kid. She meant a normal 'like'. Nothing special.'

He smiled. "I'm happy that Sakura likes me. So, do you want to go downstairs and have dinner with us?"

"Okay!" Sakura nodded.

"Freshen up first. I'll wait for you in the dining room."

Alex ruffled her hair once again before leaving the room.

Sakura looked at his back with longing. Her heart softened when he touched her head.

It gave her a familiar yet unprecedented feeling.

'Is it because he does this often?' she wondered.

However, she didn't ponder too much. Her stomach cried out in hunger.

Growl~

She hurried to the washroom and washed her face just like Xue Lin taught her.

After that, she went downstairs and found three men waiting for her.

Lucas grinned at her and said, "You are quick. Come and join us. I've been waiting for hours."

"Lies. You just came." Mateo mercilessly unveiled the truth.

"Hey! When did you become my enemy?" Lucas instantly retorted.

Sakura still didn't get used to them. She stared at them without a word.

Alex noticed her discomfort. He gently called out, "Sakura, come."

Upon hearing his voice, Sakura's heart tingled for no reason. She stepped forward and sat beside him.

Alex placed a bowl of chicken and sweet corn soup in front of her. "Drink it. I already cooled it."

"Mm…" Sakura hummed and took a spoonful of soup into her mouth.

Soon after, she covered her mouth and looked at Mateo.

"It's delicious!" she exclaimed.

She knew he was the cook.

She had seen him serving dishes at noon. Also, Xue Lin was praising his cooking style.

At noon, she was too bashful to utter anything around so many unknown people.

However, she remembered what Xue Lin told her, "There is nothing wrong with expressing your feelings with words. If you don't say it, they won't know."

That's why she gathered some courage and expressed her feelings.

But, she didn't expect this reaction from what she said.

Lucas put a meatball in his mouth when he heard her speak. The meatball dropped from his mouth and rolled on the plate.

He didn't care about the meatball. He slowly raised his head and looked at her.

As for Mateo, he was slurping the soup. He choked as soon as he heard her speak.

Even Alex stared at her with surprise.

Lucas was the first to break the silence.

"Holy moly! This is the first time I've heard you speak so loudly. Sakura dearest, why is your voice so sweet? Why don't you speak again? I want to hear more."

He looked at her with his puppy dog eyes.

Sakura didn't know why but, in her eyes, he looked exactly like a dog who was wagging his tail to get a bone.

She muttered, "You are annoying."

Lucas: "…"

Alex chuckled. He stroked her head and said, "You did well."

Sakura was delighted to be complimented by him. She giggled bashfully and then looked at Mateo.

When Mateo noticed the expectation in her eyes, he cleared his throat and said, "Thank you. As you can see, I'm the cook here. If you crave something, let me know. I'll cook it for you."

Sakura blushed. She finally got someone else to talk to her now.

'Talking to people is fun. I thought Mateo was scary but he is nice. Talking can help me understand people.'

She gathered more courage and replied, "Okay!"

"Girl, how come you talk to them but not me?" Lucas complained.

He was jealous that those two only got attention from her when he didn't.

He reminded her, "Did you forget I was there to bring you home? You should at least thank me–"

"Thank you."

Before he could finish speaking, Sakura thanked him.

Lucas was speechless.

"You want to play like this, huh? Fine. I'll show you who is a better player. You or me. Just so you know, you cannot come to my room if you can't be my friend."

He warned her.

The way he spoke piqued Sakura's interest.

'What does he have in his room that I can't see?' she wondered.

The more she tried to come up with something, the more mysterious it was to her.

The more it was mysterious to her, the more curious she became.

The more curious she became, the more she wanted to find out what was in his room.

Mateo lived with Lucas long enough to know what he was plotting.

"Enough! What are you planning to do with her? She is just a child. She has dolls to play with already. Don't bother her."

He reprimanded his housemate and looked at Sakura.

Since she praised his cooking earnestly, he started to have a soft corner for her.

Who doesn't love an honest compliment?

He told her, "We are busy tomorrow. The next day, we will take you out to play outside. We will play with balls like those children."

He pointed at the television.

Sakura turned her head and saw some children playing with balls in the park. They were laughing and running after a colorful ball.

"Can we play like them?" she asked.

"We can. We are all children in adults' bodies," Lucas grinned. "We can play anything you want."

"But I wonder what we should do about tomorrow. Will it be okay to keep her in the apartment alone?" Mateo looked at Alex.

Alex poured more soup into Sakura's bowl.

He stated, "We will take her to Headquarters. She can take her coloring book and colored pencils and pass time drawing."

Mateo inquired, "And who will accompany her? I don't want employees to become too curious about her."

For him, the company and its reputation came first. Nothing else mattered.

"I have someone in mind," Alex said.

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"Oh my! Who is she?" a sultry voice asked.