"Can we talk later? I really need to get back to my station—sorry!" Before he could press further, Sophie hurried off.
Today, like most days, she finished very late. When she finally walked out of the restaurant with her bag on her back, Archibald was already waiting under the awning in the corridor. He had clearly been there for a long time.
"Sophie! Why do you finish so late?" The moment he saw her, a bright smile spread across his face.
"Is something the matter?" Sophie pressed her fist against her aching lower back over and over, exhaustion written all over her face.
"Your mother's affairs have only just settled, and now you've moved again and changed jobs—I'm really worried about you!" Archibald guided her across the street to where his sports car was parked.
"All this time, you never called me once. I went to your apartment, but you'd already moved. Where did you go? It's so late—let me drive you home!" Archibald opened the passenger door and made a gentlemanly "after you" gesture.
"Thank you!" Sophie nodded gratefully. "But it's okay. The bus is very convenient for me."
"It's past midnight—way too late. Just let me take you back. I'm not comfortable letting you ride the bus alone at this hour." Archibald practically ushered her into the passenger seat with gentle insistence, then got in himself. He leaned over to help her fasten her seatbelt.
"From the day we met until now, you've always been so polite with me. You really don't have to be—we're friends, aren't we?"
"You were waiting for me outside the restaurant the whole time? I thought your dinner group finished around nine." Sophie asked him.
"Let's not talk about that right now. Just put your address into the navigation—I need to start driving." Archibald urged her.
With no other choice, Sophie reluctantly entered her current address into the navigation system. Once the route was confirmed, Archibald started the sports car and pulled onto the road.
"Why on earth did you move so far out here? It's so inconvenient. And why are you working part-time at a place like that? Isn't the salary from C&C enough? It shouldn't be, right? I'll have a word with Ned—get him to give you a raise."
"No, don't! I quit! This is a new job." Sophie grabbed Archibald's arm in a slight panic, pleading with him.
Archibald glanced down at her hand on his arm but said nothing. His mind drifted back to the recent period when Ned had been harsh with Sophie—bullying her to the point that she fainted on the roadside. In the end, it had been Archibald who found her and rushed her to the hospital… Thinking of that, he could more or less guess what had happened.
"So you finish this late every day—what about your classes the next morning?"
"It's holidays right now. There's still a month before term starts, so it's fine." Sophie didn't want Archibald to know she had been expelled from university.
"Even so, you shouldn't be taking jobs that finish this late. It's not safe for a girl to go home alone at night."
Afraid he would keep pressing, Sophie answered casually, "I've actually already started looking for something new. Once I find the right one, I'll switch. The new job won't be this hard, and I'll be able to finish earlier and get home sooner. So please don't worry about me anymore."
Archibald paused for a second. "Oh." He studied her evasive eyes. "Really?"
"Really, really! Look, the holidays are coming up soon, so customer traffic is heavier. That's why the restaurant has been extra busy lately and we're finishing so late."
A faint flicker passed through Archibald's eyes. "You look exhausted. When you came out just now, you were rubbing your waist nonstop. Haven't you been resting properly lately?" he asked.
"I have, I have! The past half month has just been taken up with Mom's funeral arrangements, so I've been a bit tired. But I've been trying hard to rest properly." She avoided meeting his gaze.
Archibald fell silent. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead until the car finally pulled up in front of Sophie's rented apartment building.
Staring at the building in front of him, he frowned deeply. "Can people actually live in such an old place? It looks gloomy and creepy."
"Why not? It used to be factory dormitories. The factory moved to a more remote area, so these units were left empty. Plenty of people live here now. Since they're mostly single rooms, hardly anyone disturbs you—it's actually pretty good!" Sophie unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Archibald got out too and followed close behind her, determined to walk her all the way to her door. He couldn't shake the feeling that this place was unsafe. His concern for Sophie had already been heavy; now, seeing where she was living, he felt even more uneasy.
"It's already so late—you should head back and get some rest!"
Sophie turned around, gave him a small smile, and waved goodbye. "See you!"
"I'll walk you all the way to your door. I really don't feel good about leaving you to go in alone!" Archibald, unwilling to give up, followed her anyway.
"Fine… just this once, okay?" Knowing she couldn't possibly out-stubborn him, Sophie simply agreed. After all, she was only planning to stay in this temporary place for three months at most.
"You'll probably head out again super early tomorrow morning and not get back until the middle of the night, right? Why is it that ever since I met you, you've always been so busy?" Archibald asked casually, probing without making it obvious.
"Yeah…" She gave a light laugh, then turned and walked into the apartment building. She continued all the way to the door of her single room, took out her key, inserted it into the lock, and opened the door. Then she turned around, positioning herself to block the doorway completely, not letting Archibald catch even a glimpse inside.
"There—you've seen me home safe and sound! It's really late now, so I won't keep you. Hurry back!" Sophie smiled brightly, staring straight at Archibald.
The moment the door opened, Archibald caught only a brief glimpse: the room was pitch-black, tiny—probably smaller than his own bathroom at home. When he tried to look more closely, Sophie blocked him firmly, refusing to let him see anything clearly inside the single room.
He scratched the back of his head, realizing he had no legitimate reason to linger any longer. "Well… good night, Sophie!"
"Good night! Drive safely!" Sophie stood in the doorway and waved as he left.
Archibald turned and walked down the corridor toward the stairs. Yes—the building had no elevator, only an old, worn staircase, floor after floor.
Sophie kept her eyes fixed on his retreating back until he disappeared around the stairwell. Only then did she push the door open, switch on the light, and look around the cramped little room.
Back in his car, Archibald sat motionless for a while, then lit a cigarette…
Ten minutes later, he stubbed out the cigarette butt, reclined the driver's seat, rested his head back, and settled in to sleep right there—
Tonight, he planned to sleep in the car!
Because he was determined to figure out why Sophie had lied to him.
Why had LSH expelled her? So many things had happened one after another lately that he'd never had the chance to ask her the real reason.
Archibald had known for a while that Sophie had been expelled from school, yet he still didn't understand why she wouldn't tell him the truth.
Her personality was so stubborn—while Ned seemed to have suddenly become a completely different person, putting her through hell. The reason she left C&C was already obvious.
But having her come home this late every single night was simply unacceptable!
And this damn apartment—remote, dilapidated, barely any people around! The midnight buses ran only once an hour. It was far too dangerous!
He made up his mind: tomorrow morning, he would follow Sophie when she left. He needed to know exactly where she was going to work every day—and what kind of job she was really doing.
Archibald had been tailing Sophie for a full week.
Over these past few days of following her, he finally learned the truth: on weekdays, during the daytime, Sophie worked at a convenience store until 3:30 p.m. Then, starting at 4:00 p.m., she would head to a restaurant and work there until midnight. At the restaurant, she didn't just serve customers—she also washed dishes in the back kitchen.
On her days off, Sophie would go to an amusement park to wear a mascot costume, rain or shine. She was often bullied and teased by mischievous kids, yet she had to keep working for a solid six hours before getting a break. In the evenings, she still had her restaurant shift.