Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine couldn\u2019t follow his train of thought. \u201cBad?\u00a0<\/p>\n
How do you know?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Have you eaten there?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just heard!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s tone was a bit rushed, as if she\u2019d stepped on his tail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway\u2026 the food\u2019s not great. Harvard University is different,\u00a0<\/p>\n
though.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine was even more baffled. \u201cRoderick, are you okay?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Getting concerned about whether a university cafeteria is good\u00a0<\/p>\n
or not?\u00a0<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t sound like you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since when did you become a food critic?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick was left speechless by Madeleine\u2019s barrage of\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
questions, his cheeks growing warm. Luckily, the afterglow of\u00a0<\/p>\n
the sunset provided some cover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He quickened his pace, flustered and annoyed, putting some\u00a0<\/p>\n
distance between them as he muttered, \u201cI can\u2019t talk to someone\u00a0<\/p>\n
as shortsighted as you!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Am I talking about the cafeteria!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine watched his back as he got worked up for no reason,\u00a0<\/p>\n
thinking he was being especially weird today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wasn\u2019t he talking about the cafeteria?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She finished her Mung Bean Popsicle in a couple of bites,\u00a0<\/p>\n
jogged to catch up, and poked him in the back with the empty\u00a0<\/p>\n
stick. \u201cHey!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ricki, explain yourself. What does MIT\u2019s crappy cafeteria food\u00a0<\/p>\n
have to do with me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do I pick a school based on its cafeteria?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick stopped abruptly, turned around, and almost bumped\u00a0<\/p>\n
right into Madeleine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked down at Madeleine\u2019s flushed cheeks from her jog\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
and her clear eyes, which were utterly clueless, and a surge of\u00a0<\/p>\n
nameless anger mixed with unspeakable frustration welled up\u00a0<\/p>\n
inside him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took a deep breath, as if he\u2019d made a huge decision, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
said in a rush:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I mean is!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harvard!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harvard is better than MIT in every way!\u00a0<\/p>\n
The faculty, the campus, and\u2026 anyway, it\u2019s just better!\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2026 can\u2019t you have some ambition!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine was even more confused, blinking. \u201cI know Harvard\u00a0<\/p>\n
is better, but MIT is closer to home. Besides, Roderick, since\u00a0<\/p>\n
when do you care so much about my future?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t you supposed to be hoping I mess up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick was left speechless, his face turning beet red. Finally,\u00a0<\/p>\n
he almost gave up and growled, \u201cWho cares about you!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just worried that if you go to a place like MIT, you\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
embarrass me when people find out we were high school\u00a0<\/p>\n
classmates!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After saying that, as if he couldn\u2019t stand the conversation\u00a0<\/p>\n
anymore, he practically fled in a panic, his steps so fast it was\u00a0<\/p>\n
like a ghost was chasing him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine stood there, watching his stiff, uncoordinated\u00a0<\/p>\n
retreat, and angrily threw the popsicle stick in her hand into a\u00a0<\/p>\n
nearby trash can.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRicki, you psycho, you egomaniac!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who\u2019d want to be your classmate anyway!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had no idea that beneath the boy\u2019s clumsy words, wrapped\u00a0<\/p>\n
in disdain and provocation, was a wildly beating heart that\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted to get closer but had no idea how.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he said, \u201cHarvard is better,\u201d the subtext was, \u201cI want to go\u00a0<\/p>\n
to the same place as you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he complained that \u201cMIT\u2019s cafeteria food sucks,\u201d the\u00a0<\/p>\n
subtext was, \u201cI don\u2019t want you to have to put up with that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he worried about being \u201cembarrassed by her,\u201d the subtext\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
was, \u201cI want your future to be connected to mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, to the straightforward Madeleine, all these convoluted\u00a0<\/p>\n
feelings just sounded like Roderick\u2019s typical regional\u00a0<\/p>\n
stereotyping and personal attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The setting sun stretched their shadows long, one stomping her\u00a0<\/p>\n
foot in anger, the other fleeing in a blind panic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teenage crushes are sometimes like that, using the sharpest\u00a0<\/p>\n
words to express the softest feelings, only to end up with the\u00a0<\/p>\n
complete opposite result, causing a series of comical\u00a0<\/p>\n
misunderstandings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moonlight outside the window shifted quietly, and the\u00a0<\/p>\n
hospital room was silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s eyelashes fluttered a few times, and he slowly\u00a0<\/p>\n
opened his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment consciousness returned, a faint discomfort came\u00a0<\/p>\n
from his stomach, but what was clearer was the warm touch on\u00a0<\/p>\n
the back of his hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned his head slightly and saw Madeleine asleep, slumped\u00a0<\/p>\n
over the side of the bed, her cheek pressed against her arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her breathing was even and deep, and a few stray strands of\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
hair playfully fell across her forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of her hands was still holding his tightly, her palm a little\u00a0<\/p>\n
sticky with sweat, but even so, she wouldn\u2019t let go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s heart was instantly filled with an indescribable\u00a0<\/p>\n
warmth, and even the dull ache in his stomach seemed to\u00a0<\/p>\n
lessen quite a bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was careful, making almost no sound, just tracing the lines\u00a0<\/p>\n
of her sleeping face with his eyes, the corners of his mouth\u00a0<\/p>\n
unconsciously turning up in an incredibly gentle smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine, you must have been so scared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe it was his intense gaze, or maybe it was just\u00a0<\/p>\n
uncomfortable sleeping hunched over, but Madeleine let out a\u00a0<\/p>\n
soft whimper, her eyelashes fluttering a few times as she\u00a0<\/p>\n
groggily lifted her head\u00a0<\/p>\n
!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash ` 337 Chapter 337\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 Madeleine couldn\u2019t follow his train of thought. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}