1112 was Wyatt Wright's license plate suffix, and also his birthday.
"This scratch was my fault," Rae Bennett touched the scrape with her finger, "do you remember me? I left you a note at that time."
Wyatt Wright grunted, opened the passenger's door, then walked to the driver's side: "Get in."
He got in first.
"Oh."
Rae Bennett put away her umbrella, and followed him into the car.
As she buckled her seatbelt, "Why didn't you contact me?"
"I replied to you," he drove the car out of the parking spot, "didn't you see?"
His reply was three words: No need for compensation.
"I saw it." Wyatt Wright was checking the rearview mirror, while Rae Bennett shamelessly stared at him, "But why, why don't I have to compensate?"
As he drove out of the parking lot, he kept his eyes on the road and didn't look at her, responding absentmindedly, "It's bothersome."
Rae Bennett's hand still clung to the seatbelt, scratching it with her fingernail.
Getting his phone number was really difficult.
"Now that we live close, it won't be bothersome." It was just about giving him her number.
He recited a string of numbers.
Rae Bennett realized after listening that it wasn't a phone number: "What kind of number is so long?"
"Miss Watson's bank card number at my house. If you really want to compensate, just transfer the money there."
"..."
Really difficult to deal with.
If it had been Rae Bennett at eighteen, his lack of sociability would have at least earned him three days in a cage.
Rae Bennett took out her phone and noted down the number, she asked: "How much should I transfer?"
"As you like."
Add another three days.
What kind of diamonds should she get for the new cage? Rae Bennett's face showed no irritation, she was patient and gentle: "Did you put the band-aid?"
"Mhm."
"How did you know I was hurt that day?"
He drove slowly, focusing on the road: "I didn't know."
"Then why—"
He said, "Found it by the roadside."
Pink ones then.
It would look obedient.
Rae Bennett felt disheartened, lowering her head: "...Oh."
She took out her phone from her bag and sent a message to Doghead: Get me a batch of pink diamonds.
Doghead replied: OK.
Rae Bennett breathed out gently, reminding herself over and over: She must not get angry, must not be impatient, he likes a little sunshine.
She rolled down the car window and looked up at the sky.
The sun had actually hidden behind clouds.
"It's getting cloudy," she leaned on the car window, stretching out her hand to catch the cool autumn breeze, "looks like it's going to rain."
The recent weather had been ever so fickle, with today's forecast predicting showers.
The car suddenly slowed down.
Wyatt Wright said, "Bring your hand inside, don't stretch it out."
"Oh."
Rae Bennett retracted her hand and placed it on her knees.
Under normal traffic, it would take half an hour by car from Star Delight Mansion to the mall, but Wyatt Wright took forty-one minutes.
He found a place to park outside the mall, and before Rae Bennett got out, he asked her, "Do you have a lot to buy?"
If not much, he probably wouldn't get out of the car.
Rae Bennett nodded earnestly, "Super a lot."
He took an umbrella and also got out of the car.
It was off-peak time and the mall wasn't crowded. On the basement floor was a daily necessities supermarket. At the entrance of the supermarket, Wyatt Wright said, "You go in first."
Rae Bennett stood still, not moving: "Aren't you going in with me?"
"I am going to store the umbrella."
Wyatt Wright left Rae Bennett and went back the way they came to the storage area.
Rae Bennett grabbed a shopping cart and waited for him at the entrance of the supermarket. He returned quickly, joining her to enter the supermarket.
The toiletries were on the shelves at the very front, visible upon entering. Rae Bennett picked them out very carefully, with Wyatt Wright following at a leisurely pace.
The phone rang.
Wyatt Wright glanced at the caller ID: "I'm taking a call." He answered and walked towards the side of the shelves, "What's the matter?"
He spoke in a foreign language.
She couldn't hear the rest.
Should she install a bugging device?
Rae Bennett seriously considered for a few seconds, then continued to pick out hand soap.
She checked the origin, formula, date, and price meticulously, reading every word, then chose the most expensive one.
The laundry detergent was on the bottom shelf. She squatted down, once again examining the origin, formula, date, and price.
In the end, she also took the most expensive one.
After making her selection, she stood up and turned around, only to see Wyatt Wright behind her, pushing her already full shopping cart.
"Did you finish buying?" His patience was excellent, with no sign of urging.
Rae Bennett, holding the laundry detergent, jogged to his side, pretending to glance casually at his hands pushing the cart, calculating in her mind that she must make him do all the embarrassing naughty things she'd always wanted to do with those hands. She also feigned casualness as she looked away, placing the laundry detergent in the cart, her lips suppressing a smile, but her eyes brimming with excitement.