Chapter 35

“Well, that’s what you get for not doing what your dad wanted and starting a company instead.” Thinking about Yannis’s hot-tempered father, Perry couldn’t help but laugh.

The Perkins family had been in the military for generations, and Yannis’s father, James, held a high position. But Yannis went his own way. Back in college, he started a company and actually did really well.

Every time Yannis went back to the Perkins house, James looked like he wanted to beat him up–but never actually did.

Zinnia sat quietly nearby, listening to them talk.

“That’s why I don’t go back. No need to piss off my family,” Yannis said, glancing at Zinnia as he popped a shrimp into his mouth. The shrimp was juicy and tender, a little spicy, but not bad.

Yannis didn’t have an eating disorder, but he also didn’t have much of an appetite. To him, food was just something to keep the body going–not something to enjoy.

That’s why he didn’t get how Zinnia could take one bite, light up, and smile like she just found treasure. But he kind of liked watching her enjoy it.

If Zinnia knew what he was thinking, she probably would’ve rolled her eyes slowly. Honestly, if Yannis had to eat bland, veggie-heavy meals for two months straight, he’d light up at good food too.

Zinnia didn’t think she was picky, but she really didn’t like the Shaw family’s food. Their table always looked like a pile of green plants, and she never knew what to say about it.

Even when her master didn’t have much money, he never let her eat just vegetables.

Lucas and the others used to sneak her some tasty food, but when Betty found out, they got yelled at. After that, Zinnia told Lucas not to bring her anything anymore. She just ate bread every day.

Things changed after she moved to the Lynn house–finally, she got to eat real meals.

“Zinnia, do you still have those herbal pouches for insomnia?” Jackson suddenly remembered the reason Yannis had come.

Yannis looked over at him.

“Yeah. You’re still having trouble sleeping?” Zinnia stopped chewing her meat and turned to look at Jackson, a little worried. Lately, she’d really felt how much Jackson cared about her. She wanted him to be okay.

“I’m fine now. Thanks to your herbal pouch, I sleep great every night. But Yannis has insomnia too. He was wondering if you could help him,” Jackson said honestly.

Yannis had trouble sleeping ever since that thing happened years ago. Jackson’s insomnia came from staying up too late, but Yannis’s was different – medicine didn’t work, and he usually needed hypnosis to sleep.

Yannis didn’t want to tell Raymond about it, afraid it would worry him. So Jackson thought maybe Zinnia could help. After all, even Raymond trusted her medical skills.

Yannis gave a weak smile. He suddenly wished he could pretend he didn’t know Jackson. He had only asked him to check about the pouch, but Jackson went and told Zinnia everything. Now he felt kind of embarrassed.

He didn’t even dare to meet Zinnia’s eyes, worried she might be giving him one of those weird looks again.

He didn’t expect that the herbal pouch was made by her.

Yesterday, Yannis went to Jackson’s office and happened to notice a pouch on him. It gave off a light herbal smell – it was really nice.

Later, Jackson went to a meeting and left his jacket on the couch. Yannis sat on the couch playing on his phone, and somewhere along the way, he fell asleep without realizing it.

When he woke up, Jackson was staring at him, looking confused, and asked how he’d fallen asleep like that.

Yannis shook his head. He had no idea either. He just remembered smelling something kind of strange but pleasant while scrolling on his phone, and then–bam–he was out cold.

After that, Jackson held up the herbal pouch and let Yannis smell it again, asking if that was the scent he remembered.

Yannis took a sniff. He wasn’t totally sure it was the same smell, but it did feel nice and calming. So he figured maybe Jackson could help him get one too.

He asked where the pouch came from, and Jackson proudly said it was made by Zinnia. That’s how today’s meetup came about – Yannis was here to ask for her help.

“I’ve got a pouch with me,” Zinnia said, “but I don’t know if it’ll work for Yannis. I can check his condition and make one that suits him better.”

She looked over at Yannis. He was handsome, but there were dark circles under his eyes. Zinnia realized he’d had them the last time she saw him, too.

Those dark circles kind of ruined his good looks. Zinnia wanted to fix that. She studied him, thinking about what kind of herbs might help. But she didn’t know how long he’d had insomnia or what caused it.

“Yannis, come sit over here and let Zinnia take a look,” Jackson said. “Your grandpa said himself how good she is at medicine.”

“Wow, really? Zinnia’s that amazing?” Yannis hadn’t heard that before. He looked over at her, squinting slightly. His light brown eyes seemed to glow, and he had a clear smile on his face.

Zinnia met his smiling eyes and caught the way he dragged out his words on purpose. Yannis had a really nice voice – deep, smooth, and clear. Zinnia pressed her lips together slightly, thinking his tone sounded like he was acting cute.

Her dog Sunny would do the same thing whenever it wanted meat. It would whine at her, rub against her leg, and melt her heart. Even though Sunny was a big, fierce yellow dog, it always acted sweet and soft in front of Zinnia.

For some strange reason, Zinnia suddenly felt like Yannis reminded her of Sunny. Once that thought crossed her mind, Yannis actually started to look a bit cuter in her eyes. She no longer thought he was dumb.

Yannis noticed Zinnia’s gaze and felt a little weird. Her look didn’t feel annoyed or mocking anymore – instead, there was something serious and even a little gentle in it. It was strange, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.

Much later, Yannis would accidentally find out why she looked at him like that. He’d laugh out loud in disbelief. He never thought Zinnia had been treating him like a puppy this whole time.

“Come on, let’s switch seats,” Yannis said, patting Perry and motioning for them to trade places.

Perry knew Yannis had serious insomnia. It was something all of them worried about. Honestly, they were scared he might just drop dead one day without warning. So Perry quickly swapped spots with him.

“Zinnia, how are you gonna check me?” Yannis asked with a soft smile, looking down at her.

“Just hold out your hand,” Zinnia replied. She could tell Yannis was someone Jackson really cared about, so she was going to do her best to help him.

Yannis nodded and stretched out his hand.

“Zinnia, you gotta check me carefully. I’m counting on you to fix my sleep problem,” Yannis said lazily, his voice low and casual.

“I’ll do my best.” Zinnia didn’t notice his teasing tone. She just nodded seriously and placed her slender fingers on his wrist.

When it came to real business, Zinnia didn’t seem clueless at all. She got quiet and calm, focused and collected.

The three men went silent too, watching her.