Falling into Her Trap: Don't Cross the Line, Mr. President-Chapter 138: My Boyfriend Has Eight-Pack Abs
Claire Shaw finally steadied herself and withdrew, "Sorry, the ground’s a bit slippery after the rain."
"Understood."
Hayden Quinn immediately stepped back a pace and looked at her foot, "Are you hurt?"
Claire’s pupils flashed with surprise, and the man chuckled lightly, "Don’t forget I’m a doctor. You might fool my mom, but you can’t fool my eyes. Don’t push yourself, wait here obediently."
Hayden took the bamboo basket from her hand and stepped into the vegetable field glistening with water droplets.
A gust of wind blew by, Claire softly brushed the strands of hair at her temples.
Hayden was carrying a full basket of vegetables and, upon turning, saw the girl in a white dress, her smile gentle and sweet.
"What’s so funny?" he asked.
Claire said tenderly, "Everything feels the same, nothing’s changed, you’re still the same caring older brother as before."
"That may not be true. Over the years, even a tree would have changed beyond recognition."
He walked ahead, holding the basket with one hand and extending the other toward Claire, "The ground’s slippery, want me to hold onto you to prevent another fall?"
As a child, Claire often stayed at her teacher’s house. Initially, her personality was very gentle, and Hayden took her everywhere.
He would take Claire to the small hill out back, he’d climb trees to find bird eggs, and Claire would keep watch below.
Upon learning he was going to eat roasted bird eggs, such a wicked thing, Claire cried tearfully, "The eggs are so cute, how can they be eaten?"
Then Hayden stuffed half an egg into her mouth, and Claire, while sobbing, chewed and said, "Bird eggs are tasty, brother, I want to eat two."
When night fell and they returned home, he would hold Claire’s hand or carry her down the hill.
Mr. Jameson looked at the two little mud-covered urchins and wasn’t angry; instead, he said gently, "Your sister is a girl, you’ll need to protect her well in the future."
"Alright, I’m definitely going to protect my sister well."
The childhood promise still echoed by her ear, yet Claire didn’t reach her hand out; she hid her hand behind her back, her expression light, "It’s just a few steps to home, it’s alright."
Hayden looked at the deliberate distance she kept and murmured softly, "Indeed, you’ve changed."
"Brother, did you just say something?"
"I said you’ve become more beautiful."
Returning home, they handed the vegetables to the teacher. Hayden gestured to her with his finger, "Little fox, come here."
Claire dragged her heavy steps toward him; this was Hayden’s room.
Hayden was five years older than her; when Claire entered the first grade, he was in the sixth.
When someone in the class bullied Claire, Hayden would stay after school, corner them, and beat them until they were bruised and swollen.
He said, "Brother will always protect the little fox," but then Miranda Shaw took Claire away and moved.
During those years, Claire didn’t even have a phone number, and after saying goodbye, there was no contact anymore.
At her new school, Claire was still bullied.
Only now, there wasn’t a big brother around to protect her, so she protected herself.
Claire crawled up from the mud, took a brick, and fought from the top of the alley to the bottom.
When she grew older, she finally reconnected with Mr. Jameson, only to find Hayden had excelled academically, skipped several grades, and was later recommended to study medicine abroad.
In the following years, Hayden returned a few times, but each time they missed each other.
This room had always been closed, and Claire had been many times but had never entered.
Modern décor, yet inside were posters of cartoons she loved as a child.
A faded pencil box; it was the birthday gift she had given him.
The desk held photos of the two of them.
Claire remembered it was Hayden’s birthday; she was over five years old and had never had a birthday herself.
Hayden placed a birthday crown on her head, let her hold a small cake with an old-fashioned lotus music candle on it, while his hand rested on her shoulder. Claire smiled especially sweetly.
Back then, there weren’t many ways to take photos, Claire picked up the frame, a smile tugged at her lips, "You still kept this photo."
"Yes, it’s a memory from that time, I even kept the negatives and printed many copies, would you like one?"
Claire nodded, "Sure."
"Sit down." Hayden held a medical kit and squatted at her feet, "Let me take a look at your foot."
Claire instinctively pulled her toe inside her skirt, "Hayden, there’s no need, I put medicine on it last night."
His gaze carried a hint of a threat, "It seems like you don’t trust me? Little fox, remember the time you couldn’t get down from the peach tree?"
Claire’s thoughts flashed back to that summer when cicadas buzzed relentlessly at age six, and the small peaches on the mountain were fully ripe.
She climbed up the tree but was too scared to come down; her legs went weak.
It was Hayden standing at the foot of the tree, who said: "Do you trust me?"
Claire, whimpering, replied, "I trust..."
"Jump down, I’ll catch you. If you’re scared, just close your eyes."
Claire closed her eyes and leapt down; the wind around her ears carried some warmth, and she landed in a thin embrace.
She knocked Hayden to the ground, underneath was soft grass, Hayden smiled slightly, "See, I didn’t lie to you."
Claire looked at the man squatting on the ground, sincerity written all over his eyes.
"Little fox, I’m a doctor, and also your brother. What are you afraid of? Let me see." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
True, he was a doctor.
Claire lifted her foot and was about to remove her shoe when the man swiftly grabbed her ankle first. His body temperature was slightly lower than Ethan Blackwood’s, his fingertips smooth.
His gaze fell on her anklet, "Quite pretty."
Claire said with slight shyness, "My boyfriend gave it to me."
The man’s fingers paused, "Well, he has good taste. I didn’t expect that crying little girl to have a boyfriend. Does he treat you well?"
Mentioning Ethan Blackwood made Claire’s eyes light up, "Yes, very well. He’s the most mature, stable, yet gentle and thoughtful man I’ve ever met, and most importantly, he’s super handsome! Every hair is exactly as I like it. Hayden, I’ll secretly tell you, my boyfriend even has an eight-pack abs, haha..."
Hayden took off her shoe and murmured softly, "Little fangirl."
As Claire animatedly and endlessly praised Ethan Blackwood, Hayden examined the wound on her sole, blood seeping out, appearing quite striking.
He dipped a cotton swab in iodine, while Claire waved her hands, her little face flushed red, "I’ll introduce you next time. Really, one look and you’ll know I’m not exaggerating. He’s truly the most masculine man I’ve ever seen, absolutely cool and awesome, he... hiss..."
When the iodine was applied to the wound, Claire gasped sharply, her expression suddenly changing.
Ethan Blackwood hurried along to the small yard, finding the door slightly open; he entered without worrying about manners.
Just as he stepped into the living room, he heard Claire’s delicate voice coming from inside, "Hiss... Brother, it hurts, be gentle..."
