Chapter 454: Chapter 454

She caught a whiff of the faint scent of sandalwood on Stella once, and she didn’t quite like it.

“That’s a bit too strong for me,” Curtis replied.

That was when he realized the fruity scent of the perfume was all he could detect. It had been a long time since he smelled the faint fragrance she usually wore.

“Are you not wearing your perfume today?” he asked in the most casual tone possible.

Rayna took a sip of her tea before replying, “Yeah, I haven’t worn it in a long time. Happy broke the bottle, and the official website says it is obsolete. I stopped wearing it since I couldn’t buy it anymore.”

She then mumbled softly, “Well, I think it was selling really well in Aploth, though. I don’t know why they stopped producing it all of a sudden. I kind of miss it.”

Curtis tensed up when he recalled what he told Gabriel about that perfume.

“Why did you ask about this all of a sudden? Do you like that scent?” Rayna asked.

“Yeah, it’s faint yet pleasant. I think it would make a great gift for female clients. Who would’ve thought they’d stop producing it?”

Curtis replied somewhat awkwardly.

Whatever feelings of nervousness Rayna had disappeared when she heard that, and disappointment was all that remained.

Oh... So he only thinks it’s a great gift for female clients, huh? That’s all he thinks about.

“Let’s go,” Curtis said as he got up and grabbed his coat from the chair.

Rayna put the perfume back into her handbag and was about to get the bill for her snack, only to realize the bill was gone.

As she looked up, she saw that Curtis was standing at the counter with her bill in hand.

Rayna quickly ran up to him and said, “I ate the food, so I should be the one to pay for them.”

“I feel bad for making you wait that long for me, so the least I could do is pay for your food,” Curtis replied.

“I only stayed because I didn’t want people taking pictures of you while you were busy working. It could cause both Glory and myself a lot of trouble if word got out about you working with us. I was just playing the role of the lookout man.”

Curtis’ face clouded over, and he felt speechless after hearing that.

Rayna assumed they would be returning to the homestay, but Curtis brought her out of the homestay instead.

“You ate a lot today, so you need to go for a walk to help with digestion,” he said.

“I don’t feel like walking,” Rayna replied and turned around.

Curtis grabbed her by the back of her neck and forced her to go with him.

“You have to. You ate too much on the plane. I saw your tummy get all bloated while you were sleeping,” Curtis said in a calm yet authoritative voice.

Rayna went pale when she heard that.

What? Is my baby bump that obvious? I can’t believe he noticed it!

“Why are you so pale? You look like you’re in pain. Are you feeling bloated?” Curtis asked.

“It’s because you’re hurting my neck! I’ll go for a walk, so please let go of me! It really hurts!” Rayna exclaimed with a frown.

Curtis felt a little guilty when he saw the red marks he had left on her neck.

“I’ll buy you some ointment for it.”

“Forget it. It’ll go away on its own. Just don’t pinch me like that ever again!” Rayna replied in frustration.

Curtis felt so awkward that he quickly looked the other way to avoid eye contact.

He had noticed her tummy sticking out a little while she was asleep on the plane. Thinking her tummy was bloated due to her overeating, he decided to take her out for a walk.

Because the homestay was located in the countryside, it had very beautiful scenery all around it.

After walking for a few hundred meters, they arrived at a street lined with shops selling snacks and souvenirs.

Each of those shops had decor that reflected the culture in Summerbank. As it was not the holiday season, the place looked incredibly peaceful and calming with very few people on the street.

Rayna felt really comfortable when she felt the cool wind on her face while walking alongside Curtis on the street.

She would enter the shops that looked interesting whenever she passed them by.

In one of the shops, she stumbled upon a pair of handmade daisy earrings and decided to buy them.

Rayna had just whipped out her phone when the owner said, “We only accept cash here.”

“Then what’s this QR code doing here?” Rayna asked while pointing at the QR code on the glass cabinet.

“We only accept cash for accessories. Everything else can be paid via the QR code.”

Rayna could barely believe her ears.

Why is there a need to separate the payment methods? I don’t have any cash on me right now!

She then turned toward Curtis and asked, “Do you have any cash on you?”

Curtis felt his heart soften up when he saw how much she liked the earrings. “No. I’ll see if I can exchange some,” he replied and left the shop.

Rayna felt a warm sensation in her heart when she watched him leave.

She then continued browsing the items in the shop while waiting for Curtis to return.

Suddenly, a young couple entered the shop and began browsing the handmade accessories.

The girl’s eyes lit up when she noticed the earrings in Rayna’s hand. “Do you have any more of those?” she asked the owner.

“They’re handmade, so this is the only pair.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.” The girl then pleaded with Rayna, “Excuse me, miss. Would you mind picking something else? I’ll buy this from you for a higher price!”

“She hasn’t purchased the earrings. I could sell them to you for double the price if you’d like!” the shop owner said before Rayna could even respond.

“Hey! That’s not very nice! I saw them first! Besides, my friend is on his way to get the cash!” Rayna reasoned with the shop owner while keeping her cool.

“But you haven’t paid for them, so they still belong to me. I can sell them however I like!”

The woman asked the shop owner how much the earrings cost.

She had her boyfriend buy them even though the shop owner charged them three hundred and twenty-eight, which was double the original price.

Since the couple had already bought the earrings, Rayna had no choice but to hand them over.

Feeling disgusted by the shop owner’s actions, she stormed out of the shop and bumped into Curtis outside the door.

“Did you pay for the earrings via QR code?” he asked.

“No. Someone else bought them.” Rayna turned around and shot the shop owner a furious glare as she continued, “This shop owner sold them to that couple over there because they were willing to pay a higher price. What a disgusting way to conduct business!”

Curtis glanced at the young couple who had just stepped out of the shop and noticed that the woman was wearing the earrings.

He was about to go talk to her when Rayna grabbed his arm and said, “Forget it. It’s just a pair of handmade earrings. There are plenty of souvenir shops on the street, so I’m sure we’ll find more like them. Besides, I don’t like buying used goods.”

“All right, then. Let’s continue looking.”

The look in Curtis’ eyes turned gloomy as he glanced at the shop’s name while leaving.

Rayna searched all the souvenir shops down the street, but she couldn’t find any more daisy earrings.

Naturally, she wasn’t too happy about it.

Those earrings were the only items that she wanted, and yet, she wasn’t able to get them.

As Summerbank had longer daylight hours, the sun was just setting when they returned to the homestay at seven.

Vivi and her husband had also just returned at the same time.

“My husband hunted a few wild rabbits in the mountains this morning. Would you two like to join us for dinner, Ms. Garland?” she asked after introducing her husband.

Rayna waved at her and said, “No, thanks. We’ll have dinner outside instead.”

“Come on, don’t say that! Mr. Faymon has driven for two hours today! Think of this meal as my way of expressing gratitude!” Vivi said with a warm smile as she walked up to Rayna and held her hand.