Chapter 733:

Jayden chuckled. “I see. If you finish it tonight, there will be more tomorrow night, and the night after that. You’ll never run out.”

He paused, a playful smile on his lips. “Though, if you keep drinking it every night, I should be worried you might get sick of it.”

“I won’t. I’ll never get sick of it,” Aarya quickly retorted. To prove her point, she eagerly drank the rest of the milk in a few quick gulps.

Jayden’s eyes sparkled with genuine amusement. “Seeing how much you’re enjoying this, I feel relieved.”

He set the empty cup on the bedside table and said, “Now, it’s storytime.”

Aarya nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with anticipation.

Jayden began to read from a storybook, but he’d only gotten through the first page when Aarya’s eyelids drooped, and she started snoring softly.

Jayden waved a hand in front of her face, and his gentle smile vanished. His face now blank, he stood and headed for the door. Halfway there, he remembered the cup and turned back to grab it. He looked into the bottom of it, noticing tiny particles. He thought they weren’t finely ground enough and that he’d need to grind them again tomorrow.

Elyse was adjusting the strings on her violin in the hotel chair when Gavin stepped out of the elevator with a grin, quickly making his way over to her.

“Your group assignment is up. You’re No. 3 in Group B, and the topic for the next round is ‘Happiness’,” Gavin said, handing his phone to Elyse to show her the competition notice.

Elyse frowned. “Gavin, ‘Happiness’ is such a broad theme. There are so many ways to express it. I don’t know which angle to take.”

Gavin, noticing her concern, asked curiously, “You have no inspiration?”

Elyse nodded, feeling a silent sigh escape her heart. After what had transpired yesterday, she felt far from cheerful. She even struggled with insomnia throughout the night. As she touched her violin, a wave of melancholy washed over her. “I can’t seem to muster any joy right now. How am I supposed to play a piece about happiness?”

Gavin, unaware of the previous night’s events at the banquet, checked his watch. “I have a meeting at the Violin Association soon. I can’t help you look for inspiration today. I’ll ask Irving to help you.”

Elyse hesitated. “But he isn’t fond of the cold and prefers to stay at the hotel. Maybe I should just go alone?”

“Absolutely not. You’re in a foreign country; I can’t let you wander off alone.” Gavin pulled out his phone, a frown creasing his brow. “And it’s not that he’s afraid of the cold; he’s just plain lazy and doesn’t want to leave his comfort zone. He didn’t even bother to watch your performance yesterday. Not exactly the picture of a caring friend, is he?”

Elyse couldn’t help but crack a smile. In truth, she enjoyed solitude, but she didn’t want to make Gavin worry, so she held her tongue.

Half an hour later, Irving emerged from the elevator, bundled up in a coat and a furry hat.

With a look of mild annoyance, Irving said to Elyse, “Struggling to find inspiration for such an easy topic? I bet you’ll stumble in the later rounds.”

“I knew asking Irving for help with such a small matter would annoy him. Maybe I should just go out and find inspiration on my own,” Elyse said, her voice dripping with feigned sorrow, as she looked at Gavin with exaggerated sniffles.

Irving’s irritation flared. “Don’t try to put this on me. I never said I wouldn’t come along.”