Chapter 9
Ruth had not ordered regular boba.
She had ordered the jumbo pearls.
Swallowing two of them completely whole went exactly as poorly as one would expect. Ruth choked hard, her throat seizing as she coughed twice. Her eyes instantly watered, and she had to grab her drink and take a frantic, massive swallow of milk tea just to recover a shred of oxygen.
But because of that single, softly spoken sentence from him—
For the entire rest of their time sitting there, her face was completely, humiliatingly red.
When they finally said their goodbyes and parted ways outside the shop, Ruth walked away much, much faster than she had arrived.
She retreated with ruthless efficiency, practically fleeing the scene. Because of that, she completely missed the way Matthew Lynes stood there, watching her back with deep, open amusement in his eyes.
After a few moments, the corner of his mouth curved upward into a lazy smile. He turned around and headed in the exact opposite direction.
Cal U Affiliated Hospital.
When Matthew found the private hospital room and pushed the heavy door open, the soundproofing instantly broke, and a scream like a slaughtered pig echoed out into the hallway.
The patient in the bed took one look at him and immediately jabbed an accusing finger in his direction. "Mattie—!"
Arthur Finlan yelled at the absolute top of his lungs, "I’ve been waiting all morning for you to visit! My leg is broken, not yours! Was I supposed to hop downstairs on one foot to pick you up? Why the hell are you so late?"
Arthur had always been loud, dramatic, and impossible. Matthew had known him for years and had long since developed full immunity to his outbursts.
Matthew shut the door behind him, waited for the nurse to finish adjusting the suspension height of Arthur’s cast, and strolled over to the bed at a leisurely pace.
"What," Matthew said calmly. "Miss your daddy?"
"..." Arthur ground his teeth so hard they nearly squeaked. "You really never say anything human, do you? You just bark."
Matthew raised a single brow.
He didn't really care about the stupid nicknames or the male posturing, but watching Arthur get irritated was objectively hilarious.
Arthur’s current broken leg situation, to summarize it simply, came down to three tragic words:
Breakup. Drunk driving. Car crash.
As Matthew stepped closer to the bed, he was about to say something else when his peripheral vision caught the messy handwriting scrawled all over Arthur's plaster cast.
The cast was covered in phrases like Get well soon, bitch, Plenty of fish in the sea, and One tree down, whole forest left. It was obvious his group of friends had written them during previous visits.
It was very on-theme, and highly educational.
Arthur followed his gaze and instantly realized he was in danger. "What are you doing? Mattie, what are you doing? Let me tell you right now! Absolutely not! Do not—!"
Acting like he didn't hear a single word, Matthew fought back a smile, picked up the black marker from the bedside table, and brought it down to the cast. "They already wrote all the deep life lessons. I'll just give you a little personal encouragement."
Arthur cursed continuously while craning his neck, desperately trying to see what was happening on his own leg.
Matthew wrote four massive, highly visible words across the plaster.
You've got this, son.
Arthur's face turned completely red with rage. "...Mattie, you motherfucker!"
Once he finished writing, Matthew pulled out his phone and snapped a commemorative photo of the deeply inspirational cast. Arthur cursed even louder.
The barrage of insults lasted for five solid minutes. It wasn't until Arthur's lung capacity finally gave out that he collapsed back onto the pillows, panting, and finally asked a serious question.
"...So, what's your plan now that you're back? Just playing around? Or are you getting ready to take over the domestic family business?"
"A bit of both." Matthew sat down on the sofa next to the bed, stretching out his long legs. "I've been in school for years. Consider me finally liberated."
"No kidding. You literally studied to the absolute peak." Arthur, who was still miserably suffering through his own Master's degree, rolled his eyes. "But you've always held a high position at the Lynes overseas headquarters. Are you really willing to give that up? You're staying stateside permanently?"
"Most likely." Matthew nodded. "It's not about being willing or not. It's the same wherever I am. Just a matter of time."
It sounded like a massive flex. Arthur instinctively wanted to scoff at him, but realizing that Matthew was stating a literal, objective fact, he forcefully swallowed his insult.
A few seconds passed. Matthew suddenly spoke up again. "Oh, right. Just remembered. I'm actually not totally liberated."
Arthur looked confused. "Huh?"
Matthew said, "I forgot to tell you earlier. I'm currently a Finance exchange student at Cal U."
Arthur stared at him in utter disbelief. "What the fuck did you just say? Exchange what?"
He got so agitated he almost tried to kick Matthew with his broken leg. "You already have a Stanford PhD! Mattie, are you out of your fucking mind?!"
Matthew just smiled and didn't say a word.
Arthur made a wild guess. "Don't tell me you got addicted to studying. Are you trying to get a PhD at Cal U too? And then Farnsworth University after that? What, are you going for a PhD Grand Slam?!"
What kind of defective brain comes up with a 'PhD Grand Slam'?
Matthew scoffed. "Am I an idiot?"
Arthur's eyes went wide, aggressively digging for the truth. "...If you're not an idiot, then why the hell are you doing it?"
Matthew didn't answer immediately. Instead, he smiled.
Sitting on the sofa with one leg stretched out, his posture was incredibly relaxed. That smile was utterly, dangerously magnetic.
It was universally acknowledged since childhood that Matthew Lynes was gorgeous. But looking at that specific smile right now, Arthur suddenly thought of words like springtime, blooming flowers, and warmth.
Matthew spoke slowly. "Probably to..."
He paused.
When neither of them spoke, the hospital room was completely silent.
Arthur was kept in absolute suspense.
After a few excruciating seconds, Matthew's smile deepened into something that could only be described as a gentle, blooming spring.
His tone was impossibly warm as he finally answered.
"To chase a girl."
