Chapter 247

Shermaine stopped toweling her hair for a second, then shrugged casually. "It's only been two weeks." She'd been pretty slammed this summer after that time they spent in Rodunst.

For one thing, Shermaine was still coaching Roy’s esports team, and apparently her training methods were working since they’d won the summer tournament and earned their spot in nationals. Now, they had to prep for the national competition.

On top of that, when Shermaine got back to Maple Leaf Ville, she found a bunch of construction issues that needed her attention.

Luckily, the other architects were cooperating with Shermaine. She’d flagged all the important stuff they needed to watch out for, and anything they didn’t understand, they could just call her about later.

Just two weeks? Joshua thought. Ever since he and Shermaine had started sleeping together, his sex life had been pretty much non-stop.

Now Shermaine had been gone for a full two weeks, and Joshua missed her like crazy—both emotionally and physically.

Joshua kept his tone casual. "School starts in two days. When are you planning to come back?"

“Day after tomorrow,” Shermaine said.

“I’ll come pick you up.”

Shermaine waved him off. “Don’t bother with that. I can just drive back myself.”

“The helicopter’s faster.”

When Shermaine heard "helicopter," she didn’t argue anymore. He was right. It would be way faster. Driving would take around four hours, but flying would cut that down by two.

The day Shermaine was supposed to come back arrived quickly. She was wearing a sun hat, walking around the construction site with a bunch of workers when a helicopter landed right in the middle of an open grassy field.

The countryside always had this peaceful vibe that just hit her. Whether it was at the Xenhall or here in Maple Leaf Ville, there was something calming about it.

Though Maple Leaf Ville definitely had better scenery than the Xenhall. When fall rolled around, all those maple trees turned this gorgeous golden color that was absolutely stunning.

When Shermaine saw Joshua show up, she led him straight into the house.

Without her knowing it, the villagers had arranged for workers to build her own villa right here. The little courtyard even had fish swimming around in a pond.

As soon as they walked inside, the villa’s climate control system kicked on automatically, and this three-foot-tall robot came rolling out to greet them. “Ma’am, it’s so hot today. Would you like some ice cream?” the robot asked cheerfully.

“No thanks, just get us two glasses of water,” Shermaine said.

“Sure thing! Give me just a sec.”

Every family in the village had one of these robots. This one tilted its head at Joshua and asked, “Who’s this gentleman?”

“That’s my husband. You can call him Mr. York.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. York!”

The robot was way more human-like than King Tiki, though it didn’t have nearly as advanced language capabilities.

Joshua had been investing in AI research for years now, and seeing this made him think he’d been wasting his time with other partners; he preferred to work directly with Shermaine instead.

The robot brought over their water and then wandered off to power down and save battery.

The second it was gone, Joshua pulled Shermaine down onto the couch and started kissing her.

Shermaine didn’t resist at all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, just enjoying the moment. Even though she never actually said she missed Joshua, deep down, she really did.

They kissed for a while, and Shermaine started feeling all sticky and gross from sweating outside earlier. Joshua had grabbed her the second he walked in without caring how she looked. “I need to take a shower before we head back,” she said.

Since they were running short on time, Joshua kissed her eyelids and said, “Sheary, give me your hand first.”

Shermaine bit her lip. “Can’t you just wait a little?”

Joshua grinned. “Nope.”

“You’re so annoying,” Shermaine complained, but she still gave him her hand anyway.

Joshua kissed the back of her hand and pulled it down.

After they got back to Basterel, Shermaine went to check in with the Chemistry Department at Basterel University.

The school didn’t automatically provide housing. Shermaine had to apply for it after classes started. She thought staying on campus would be pretty convenient, though. The last time she drove to Basterel University, it took over an hour each way.

Rather than waste three hours every day commuting, Shermaine would rather just live on campus.

Of course, Joshua wasn’t having any of that. His excuse was pretty simple—if she lived at school, what was he supposed to do?

The only solution they could come up with was to apply for off-campus housing later and have her come home to sleep every night. Joshua was already working on finding them a place.

Right now, Joshua was carrying Shermaine’s luggage as he followed her to the dorm room the school had assigned her. Wouldn’t you know it, they ran right into Jason.

Jameson and Natalie had come to drop him off too. The guys‘ dorm was right across the way.

Jameson wouldn’t normally feel awkward about this kind of thing, but when Joshua’s gaze landed on him, he felt pretty uncomfortable. Joshua’s only problem was that he was way too capable. Shermaine marrying him was like giving a chess master an extra queen.

But whatever—Jameson’d already picked out a wife for Jason from a family with power similar to the York family. That would be Danielle, and perfect.