Charles seemed not to hear the implication in her words and naturally sat back down. "Miss Elizabeth, is something the matter?"
"You said you needed gel; you seemed in such a hurry that I brought it over." Elizabeth produced a small box from behind her.
"Thank you, how much is it all?"
Elizabeth pushed the box straight into Charles's arms with both hands. "Why be so formal? It's not worth much; I'm giving it to you."
Having said that, Elizabeth stepped into the room and surveyed the somewhat dim surroundings. "Dear, don't you find someone to accompany you usually? It's so lonely by yourself."
Without waiting for Charles's response, Elizabeth closed the door behind her and sat down by the bed.
Seeing her actions, Charles's heart skipped a beat, and glancing at the pairs of eyes under the bed, he coughed lightly and walked to the table to set down what he held in his hands.
"You should still tell me the price; I don't like owing people."
Elizabeth's lips curled into a smile, her face flushed with a hint of crimson, and the desire in her eyes almost spilled out. "Well, in that case, give yourself to me."
"What... what?"
Before Charles could speak, Elizabeth raised the short wooden stick in her hand and tapped the oil lamp on the table, causing it to burst immediately, and darkness engulfed the whole room.
The next second, Charles caught the scent of a fragrant breeze, and a soft body pressed up against him.
"Relax, dear, you have to learn to relax. The sea is already oppressive enough."
Charles's breathing became rapid, and before he could utter a word, something soft pressed against his lips in the darkness.
Although confused by the situation, if Charles didn't respond, that would truly be unmanly. A surge of wicked heat rose in Charles's heart, and he responded quickly.
The suffocating softness finally withdrew, and rapid breaths echoed in his ear.
Just when Charles was nearly overwhelmed, a squeak emanated from under the bed, the sound like a bucket of cold water dousing his fervor.
If it had been anything else, it might have been fine, but there was still a large group of light bulbs in the room.
Charles raised his left hand, and transparent tendrils quickly wrapped around Elizabeth, pushing her out.
"Miss Elizabeth, I'm sorry, I'm a bit inconvenienced today."
In the darkness, her face looked unpleasant, the blunt rejection causing her to question her own charm.
Her voice grew colder, "Charles, aren't you being a bit too much? I'm not inconvenienced, yet you are?"
Charles took a deep breath, opened the room door, and the light from the corridor streamed in. "I apologize, I really am inconvenienced today."
"Every time at the association, I help you so much, and yet you don't seem to know how to repay the favor. Truly heartless." Elizabeth straightened her disheveled clothes and, with a composed expression, walked towards the corridor.
After the tall beauty left, she threw back one last remark, "You're not like the Governor, are you? Having a liking for men?"
A wry smile crept onto Charles's face, the friend he had made with difficulty now likely to become a stranger again, though this friend had somewhat impure motives.
But Lily was still in the room, and although she was a mouse, in essence, she was still an eleven-year-old girl.
In the dark room, Charles rummaged for a candle and lit it. After pondering for a while, he began to speak, "Lily, actually, just now—"
A voice came from under the bed. "I know what you were doing; my dad is a doctor, he taught me about these things. Mr. Charles, did I get in your way?"
"Ah..."
The next morning, Lily curled up on the pillow opened her eyes, intending to wish Mr. Charles good morning, only to find no one on the bed.
"Jump Jump, is Mr. Charles in the washroom?"
A brown rat scurried out from the crack beneath the door and then quickly darted back in, squeaking twice at Lily on the pillow.
"Mr. Charles left so early? He's really busy." Lily stretched on the pillow before sitting up.
Tilting her head in thought, she then said to the rats under the bed, "Shall we go out and play?"
Hearing the excited responses below, a smile appeared on Lily's furry face as she leapt off the bed.
Ignoring the shrieks that she induced, Lily led the rats in a rapid dash through the streets of Inner Island.
A woman in a dress with her hand over her mouth screaming, a barking stray dog, an old lady swinging her broom, and drivers slamming on their brakes—everything looked so big and novel from a rat's perspective.
But as the hostile glances around them grew, Lily quickly led the rats towards a side alley.
The quiet alley was much less crowded than the bustling streets, so Lily and her rat friends strolled leisurely.
"Wow, look at that bread; it's so big I could sleep in it. Jump off, don't you dare! That's someone else's bread!"
"Meat is off-limits too; you'll cause trouble for Mr. Charles!"
While Lily was strolling aimlessly, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the distance—it was the tall guy who worked in the turbine room.
Lily was about to rush over to greet James, but then she saw that he, who was always covered in grease, was now dressed in a tight-fitting suit and holding an extravagant bouquet.
He looked extremely nervous, with sweat soaking a circle through the back of his suit.
"Come on, let's follow him secretly and see what he's up to."
James zigzagged through the alley and finally stopped in front of a bakery.
When a petite and pretty woman in a skirt emerged from inside, James pulled out a small box and knelt on one knee. Patrons inside the shop started applauding.
"Wow! A marriage proposal!" exclaimed Lily excitedly.
Seeing the woman tear up, nod her agreement, and then embrace James, Lily's face lit up with a sweet smile. "That's so lovely."
As they entered the bakery, Lily continued walking. Right then, her stomach began to rumble with hunger.
"If Mr. Charles said I'm part of his crew, he should be giving me a salary. Then I could buy food for everyone."
The surrounding rats squeaked in agreement.
Looking around, Lily noticed a large clock tower in the distance and said to a rat nearby, "Everyone, my home isn't far from here. Let's go see Mom and then head back to Mr. Charles for food."
After her words, Lily led the rats in another mad dash, this time cleverly sticking to less crowded corners to avoid startling anyone.
Lily and the rats arrived at the villa once more; the adept rats formed a tower to lift the white rat up to a window.
Lily, pressing her face against the glass, watched a family enjoying their meal. "Did Dad come home from work early today?..."
As she saw them talking and laughing inside, her eyes began to moisten.
She stood at the window, watching until lunch was over, and hid quickly when she saw her mother coming out to take out the trash.
Longingly watching her mother return inside, Lily jumped into the trash bin and found the discarded food scraps.
She picked up a fish bone and licked the flesh from it. The brown rats surged forward, and the food remnants were swiftly cleared.
It was then that Lily heard a little girl's jubilant cry from outside. "Thank you for the birthday present, Mom and Dad! I love you guys!!"
The white rat standing amidst the trash lifted the fish bone with trembling hands as tears slid down her face.
"See, I told you, didn't I? My mom's sweet fish soup is really delicious."