Chapter 8

Cedric glanced at his phone and sighed. “The power line is impaled. I'm guessing the power won't be back for a while. You should lie back and rest, Noelle. I'll walk you home.” He offered her a hand. She looked at the ground, coughing lightly.

Noelle coughed lightly. “Naneel.” As soon as her feet touched the ground, she accidentally kicked the edge of the table, and a sharp pain made her wince. “Ow! Let me check.” Cedric crouched in front of her, sighing. He directed the flashlight on his phone toward her foot.

Noelle looked at her bruised foot; the concrete was captivating from that angle.

Cedric tilted his head, his eyes dark. He stood up and replied, “No.”

“Do you have any preferences for a partner? What kind of girls do you like?”

“Why are you asking?”

“I’m just curious. I mean, you’re so handsome. How could you not have a girlfriend? The other day, I even saw you dining at a restaurant with a beautiful woman.” Cedric’s hands paused slightly as he looked at her. “You saw that?”

Noelle nodded. “Yeah. Who was she?”

He grabbed her. “Verbal banter doesn’t work well, but your mouth sure does.”

Noelle followed as he pulled her along. She could feel the warmth of his hand on her waist. His gaze fell to their holding hands, and a small smile tugged at her lips. It turned out that he didn’t have a girlfriend. She wondered if she stood a chance if she were to pursue him. As soon as she had those thoughts, she quickly dismissed them. Cedric didn’t look the type to be easily won over. She thought it was better not to try and risk ruining their friendship. Cedric walked Noelle back to her bedroom and stopped at the door without stepping inside.

He held up his phone and instructed her, “Get some rest. Call me if anything happens. And don’t open the door to strangers.” Then she turned on her own flashlight. “I can see just fine by myself, too.”

After that, Cedric left. Noelle couldn’t help but feel that something about him was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint precisely what.

The next day, the power was back on when Noelle woke up. She recalled the previous night’s events, and her heart raced slightly at the memory. Noelle didn’t immediately go next door. Instead, she lingered in bed for a while. She checked the gaming forum and found a post about her. The headline read, “Who is the man supporting the streamer Sweet Nelly behind the scenes?”

It sparked Noelle’s curiosity. She wondered who “the man” they were referring to was. When she clicked on the post, she was greeted with shocking news: A screenshot from her livestream from the night before, when she was given Carnival and Luxury Cat gifts. Läckdell, sent dozens of Carnival and Luxury Cat gifts in her livestream last night, spending over ten thousand dollars. Their fallout with her benefactor and streamer Senda’s public accusations proved this. That explains why she started streaming again, being incentivized by him!

Noelle barely knew how to feel about the news. At first, she thought it was all untrue. Yet many people commented and speculated that she had a wealthy “sponsor” backing her, which was why…

She wrote her own comment, saying, “This is all baseless speculation.” Another commenter tried to spread the narrative further, claiming she was a woman who was “sponsored” by a sugar daddy. Anonymously, someone wrote, “Some people have disgusting thoughts! The story of Nelly’s relationship with the Liddell family is…”

Dreamer Belly is the Liddell family’s eldest daughter?