Chapter 15: You're such a Jerk!

Hearing the hint of annoyance in her voice, Arthur chuckled. "But you really enjoyed it then, didn't you? You wanted me to... You know, some delicious things require effort to taste, and that effort, compared to the unparalleled experience at the end, is always worth it, isn't it?"

"F**K, I was crazy, Arthur. You weren't that strong before. I have to say, it was an irresistible experience, but if it's like this every time, I'm afraid I'll break!"

Such praise from a woman was indeed very gratifying for a man. And the intensity of their "studying" last night had surprised Arthur himself; he'd never experienced anything like it in his previous life. At the time, he'd thought it was the inherent "strength" of his current body, but his predecessor's memories and Aurora's words disproved that. So now, he could only attribute it to some small benefit after his "rebirth." After all, something as miraculous as rebirth had already happened, so a little extra benefit wasn't so hard to accept.

Finally, at noon, Aurora lazily emerged from bed and had her breakfast-slash-lunch with Arthur.

"Wow, is all this Chinese food? I don't remember you liking this, Arthur..."

"There's no harm in trying new things, is there? How do you like the taste?"

"Uh, actually, it's pretty good. This spare ribs dish tastes great. As for the others, how should I put it... They're very unique, quite different from the Chinese food I've had before."

"No matter what, it's much more delicious than our British food, isn't it?"

"That's common knowledge, Arthur. Luckily, we still have French and Italian food. But I have to say, starting today, I'm going to eat these sweet and sour pork ribs at least once a month..." Perhaps it was because she had expended a lot of energy last night, but Aurora ate with great enjoyment.

"My dear, are you free this afternoon?" she suddenly asked Arthur gently after the meal.

"Why?"

"My father happens to be in London too. I was thinking if you have time, we could meet him and have a meal together..."

Aurora's words inevitably made Arthur a little wary. They had just "studied" together, and now it was time to meet the parents? Wasn't that a bit too fast? To be honest, as for why he was with Aurora... Arthur didn't really have any deeper intentions. She was his ex-girlfriend, and they already shared an intimate history. Plus, her behavior had been quite proactive, and he'd been living a "vegetarian" life since his rebirth, so yesterday, he'd simply flirted habitually.

But flirting was just flirting; he genuinely had no intention of developing anything substantial with Aurora. Although in all aspects, Aurora's conditions were quite good, Arthur was currently "only" 22 years old, and he wasn't ready to settle down with any girl so early. What's more, Aurora already had...

"Aurora, don't you already have a fiancé?" Arthur calmly stated.

Last night, he and Aurora didn't just drink. They reminisced about their past relationship and their respective situations afterward. Of course, after a few drinks, Arthur hadn't felt noticeably drunk, but Aurora's eyes had grown hazy, and she'd talked about many aspects of her current life. Among them, she'd complained that her family was arranging a strategic marriage for her. The other party was from a wealthy family involved in shipping.

"I've only met him a few times, and we're not engaged yet. I haven't even agreed, Arthur..." Aurora stood up, took Arthur's arm, and said, "Although Bob is a nice person, very gentlemanly, and well-mannered, there's no spark between us. Ever since fate made me meet you again yesterday, I realized I still like you..."

"But Aurora, I still feel it's too fast, and you should know that I'm currently busy with family matters. You might have seen related reports. It's true, as the newspapers say, our family is facing a financial crisis and might go bankrupt. I'm trying hard to prevent that from happening. I'm sorry, now is really not the time to consider personal matters."

Arthur's words made Aurora's eyes widen. "I thought all those newspaper reports were nonsense, you know, those reports often exaggerate and are based on hearsay..."

"I wish that were the case, but unfortunately, due to the changes in my family, I now have a great responsibility, which makes it difficult for me to attend to other matters in the short term."

"Then why did you still... with me yesterday?"

"Uh, Aurora, we're both adults, aren't we? And at least I consider you a very good friend right now..."

"You..." Aurora could barely believe what she had just heard. She flung off Arthur's arm, her chest heaving violently, showing the intensity of her emotions. "You're such a jerk! No, Arthur, you haven't changed at all. You've always been a jerk from beginning to end! I actually thought we... I'm such an idiot! And I never want to see you again!"

He watched the girl storm into the bedroom, grab her coat and handbag, and rush towards the door.

"Aurora, I think we should talk calmly. Maybe you have some misunderstanding about me..."

But the girl didn't respond to his words. With a bang, she slammed the door and left.

"Well, I hope you change your mind," Arthur said, as if to himself.