Chapter 508
Chapter 508
After having lunch, everyone was a tad tired. Perrin and Kylie returned to their rooms to rest, while Sophia went to the study with her laptop to read the minutes of the meeting that morning Yvonne sent her. It was only at a little over five o'clock in the evening that she took Perrin and Kylie out for dinner.
Although Coldbridge was merely a third-tier city, it had a number of local specialties.
Sophia's cooking skills were dismal. Ever since graduating from high school, she rarely returned to the city and had been eating the food in Jadeborough. That day, she would be getting reacquainted with the food in her hometown after a long time.
Most of the food in Coldbridge was spicy. Sophia was afraid that Perrin and Kylie would be unaccustomed to it, so she specially asked for the dishes to be less spicy or non-spicy.
To her surprise, Perrin liked the food in Coldbridge. As he ate, he reminisced about his life with Penelope in the city when he was young. “I'm old, after all. My sense of taste is no longer as sensitive, for I find the food a bit too bland.”
Beside him, Sophia could not help giggling upon hearing that. “I specially asked them to make it less spicy, afraid that you and Aunt Kylie couldn't take the heat.”
Besides, he's not young anymore, so it's better for him to have milder food.
When Kylie heard that, she likewise burst into laughter. “If that's the case, your worry had been in vain. My grandmother was a native of Summerbank, and I grew up with her, so I love eating spicy as well.”
Pausing for a moment, Kylie continued, “But when I got pregnant with Lukas, I had inflamed gums and
too many ulcers. Thus, I didn't eat anything spicy in those ten months. Thereafter, I rarely ate spicy foods anymore.”
Sophia had never expected such a twist of events.
Doveston was a water city in Jazona, and the food there was generally bland. While there was spicy food, only a few unique dishes were seasoned with chili. For that reason, she was worried that they would be unused to the local food. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
“Then, I won't tell them to reduce the spiciness tomorrow.”
“Great.”
The few of them ate leisurely, and dinner passed in a comfortable and harmonious atmosphere.
By the time they had finished having dinner, the sky had already grown dark. The wind outside was also much colder than earlier.
Sophia led Perrin and Kylie across the road of the residential area and traveled down the old street of the past.
Everything around the place was no longer the same as her memories. It had only been eight or nine years, but her former home had long since been bulldozed and turned into a commercial square.
“Our house used to be here, but this place was acquired by investors the year I graduated from high school. Now, it has become Glorious Square.”
Holding Perrin's arm, Sophia tried to speak more about the past. She added, “There was a path here back then, and it led to the back entrance of my high school.”
She pointed at the smooth asphalt road in front of her. The path littered with potholes in the past had been transformed into an avenue. Due to the presence of a square at the side, there were many skyscrapers all around, and that road no longer led to the back entrance of her high school.
At present, there was likely no shortcut to her high school anymore. Instead, one would have to walk fifteen minutes by the main road.
Perrin directed his gaze in the direction she was pointing without saying anything. Even if Sophia had not mentioned a word, he knew that everything had changed then.
Indeed, everything had changed. No matter how good Sophia's memory was, she could draw no similarities between the ground on which she was currently standing and the place that was once a few hundred meters away from her home.
The bustling vendors below her house were long since gone. Even the old street downstairs had disappeared into thin air.
She pursed her lips briefly. “Would you like to go to my high school for a look, Granddad?”
“Yes, sure!”
Although everything had changed, with the old buildings transformed into a square and the path into an avenue, the school would still be there despite the changes.
Smiling, Kylie remarked, “I remember Lukas saying you'd been ranked top three in school ever since young.”
While it was the veritable truth, Sophia was still somewhat embarrassed when an elder brought it up. “The exams were relatively easy.”
At that, Kylie chuckled. “This is exactly what your cousin said. If your classmates were to hear this, they might just burst a blood vessel.”
Laughing, Sophia led the two of them toward her high school.
The building was still in the same place, but the exterior had changed significantly.
Surprisingly, the security guard at the gates was still the same man though it had almost been ten years.
Sophia had been a model student from a young age, used by her homeroom teacher, form teacher, and headmaster to show off to outsiders. Coupled with her striking looks since childhood, even the security guard had a deep impression of her.
The high school had been placed under tight security, so irrelevant people were not allowed entry easily.
Initially, Sophia thought it would be difficult to get in since she was with Perrin and Kylie. Unexpectedly, she had only stood at the gates for a while and snapped a photo with Perrin when the security guard in the security booth voluntarily walked over. “You were a former student of Central High School, yes?
You're Sophia... or something of that sort. I recognize you. You placed first every year. During the university entrance exam, you even obtained second place in the state and first in the city.”
Smiling, Sophia introduced herself. “Yes, I'm Sophia Yarrow.”
Upon hearing that, the security guard seemingly recalled something important. He was over the moon. “Yes, yes, that's it! Sophia Yarrow! At that time, you often hung out with the boy who placed second and another beautiful girl. They came back last year to take their wedding photos here. I wondered when you'd return as well!”
Everyone, regardless of gender and age, had an innate affinity toward those with good looks and grades.
That was precisely the security guard's sentiments toward Sophia. When he saw that she had two elders with her, he even took the initiative to ask whether she would like to bring her family into the school for a look.
Sophia did not stand on ceremony with him. Indeed, she had not been back for almost ten years. She returned once during her sophomore year with Katherine and Joshua to celebrate the school's anniversary, but never again after that.
The distance was one of the factors. That aside, it was also because she did not like socializing. Particularly due to the fact that she was the top student who was renowned in the entire school in the past, she would definitely have to socialize if she were to bump into a teacher while visiting.
She brought Perrin there that day because she wanted to let him have a look at the place she once lived. After all, her home had already changed beyond recognition. Central High School was the only
place with many memories left.
It went without saying that the security guard did not prohibit them entry since he recognized Sophia. He allowed them into the school though he did request them to register as per the procedure.
It was not the weekend then, so the students in their senior year were having a self-study session.
Coincidentally, Sophia had just led Perrin and Kylie through the school cafeteria when they bumped into her former homeroom teacher.
Sophia was an outstanding student at Central High School. As her homeroom teacher for three years, Gabrielle Yates was understandably excited and gratified to see her.
There was a lot of information about her on the internet. If it weren't because Gabrielle saw that her successful student had two elders with her, she really wanted to ask Sophia to share her experience with her students who were currently doing self-study.
Of course, she also knew that Sophia's good grades were thanks to her talent and not hard work.
She often mentioned the latter to her students, but they never took it seriously. Hence, she felt that they would likely never again dare say that she was exaggerating if they were to see Sophia in the flesh that day.
“It's self-study period right now. Would you, your granddad, and your aunt like to go to the class for a look? The principal had someone inscribe the quote you left on the blackboard before graduating, and it's now hung above the classroom door.”
Sophia cast a glance at Perrin. There was nothing the latter loved more than hearing people praise his granddaughter, so he naturally wanted to have a look when he heard about it. “I need to have a look at it! I didn't know Sophia was so incredible!”
Gabrielle was also a person with the gift of the gab. “You might not know this, Mr. Dawson, but she's not only famous in our school...”
The two of them continued walking as they talked. Kylie looked at Sophia and grinned. “Come, let's hurry up and go after them. Otherwise, your granddad will likely stay here the entire day!”
Mortified, Sophia quickly hastened ahead with Kylie.