?


    Roseanne met up with her friends, and they headed off to the trendy diner downtown.


    It was noon, and the ce was reasonably busy, but they only had to wait behind two groups before being seated.


    Mamie had been itching with curiosity the whole trip, barely able to contain her gossip-loving soul. As they waited for their food, she couldn''t help herself and blurted out, "Roseanne, did you know that handsome guy who gave you the bouquet of roses? They were pretty nice, he''s got good taste."


    Roseanne nodded, her tone even, "I know him. He''s my ex-boyfriend."


    "...What?" Mamie was taken aback by this revtion, immediately silencing herself, not daring to probe further.


    Scales, however, shot her an intrigued look.


    After their meal, they headed to Madeleine''s office.


    With no sses in the afternoon, Madeleine nned to take them to theb.


    Mamie gasped, "Already?!"


    She had thought it would take at least a year of study before they''d be allowed to touch the research projects, yet here they were, diving into the "deep end" right away!


    Scales was less surprised but still found it unexpected.


    Only Roseanne knew how long Madeleine''s project had been dyed and how desperately she hoped for a breakthrough.


    By the time they left, it was already dark outside.N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    When Roseanne got home it was nine o''clock. She hadn''t had dinner and was too exhausted to even think about cooking. She just copsed on the couch, her eyelids fighting a losing battle with gravity.


    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.


    Roseanne mustered her energy to answer it, "Mr. Reynolds?"


    "I was passing by from the university, and Mr. Olson mentioned Professor Payne took you guys to theb?"


    "Yeah."


    "Just got back?"


    "Mhm."


    "Haven''t had dinner?"


    "I''m so hungry!"


    Owen chuckled, "Hold on a moment."


    With that, he turned and went back to his ce, quickly returning with a container in hand.


    "It''s still warm, make do with this," he said, handing it over with a smile.


    Roseanne blinked, "Is this..."


    It didn''t look like takeout, but if it was homemade, why the container?


    "My family brought it over."


    "No, I can''t ept this. You should have it."


    "I''ve already eaten. This is an extra portion."


    "Oh..." Roseanne was tempted.


    She was so tired today, didn''t want takeout, and definitely didn''t want to cook.


    Owen was like an angel.


    "Alright then, thank you, Mr. Reynolds! I''ll clean the container and return it after."


    "Sure."


    Roseanne took the container inside, opened it, and was greeted by the steam of still-hot food.


    The container had threeyers; the first was filled with fluffy, white rice.


    The second Mayer was all meat


    dishes, including BBQ ribs, beef st


    with


    latoes, and sautéed chicken


    with bell peppers.


    The thirdyer was divided in two, one side with vegetables, the other with soup.


    A perfect bnce of meat and vegetables, the aroma was irresistible.


    ...


    At the Reynolds Mansion, the lights were bright.


    Silver paced back and forth in the living room, restless, alternating between sitting and standing.


    Her movements were making


    Ferdinand Reynolds'' head spin,


    with you, pacing around at this bour? Trying to squash ants?"


    At the mention of ants, Silver retorted without missing a beat, "It''s your son''s fault!"


    Ferdinand was puzzled, "Which one?"


    "Who else? Owen!"


    "Owen?" Ferdinand was even surprised. Their youngest had


    always been independent,


    a


    worry, and grew up to be even more disciplined than himself.


    His friends oftenined about their no-good kids or the troublemakers they raised!


    He never had thoseints.